First Surrender (Chance Encounters #3)

Chapter Seven

Jackson

“ W hat in the hell were you thinking?” I direct my question at the blanket-wrapped woman that I’m furious with. I was almost home for the night when I got the call about a structure fire. I detoured here immediately in case the emergency crews needed backup.

Luckily the fire units responded quickly, working to subdue the fire in record time. The paramedics were blocking my view of the resident who dumbly went inside a burning building before I finally got a chance to see who it was. Natalie Halstead. The thorn in my side that wreaks havoc wherever she goes.

“Why are you here?” She removes her oxygen mask to speak, giving me a full view of her soot-stained face and hands, as well as the pissed-off glare that I’m becoming accustomed to.

“It’s my job to be on scene. It’s their job,” I indicate to the fire engines, “to go into burning buildings,” I snap. “What the fuck were you doing?” I shout louder than I intended and the outburst stuns me so badly that I practically stumble backward.

I never raise my voice.

Her eyes are round with just as much surprise, but when she removes the mask again, she’s leveling me with another sinister look. “Awh, is Sheriff Small Dick afraid that he was going to find me dead? Too bad for you, you can’t get rid of me that easy.” She rolls her eyes, righting the oxygen over her face.

“Nat.” I exhale, roughly. I don’t even know how to begin to explain that I don’t care how much she dislikes me. I wouldn’t want to see her get hurt. I’m not that type of person.

“Don’t call me that. No one calls me that,” she bites out her words through the plastic. Before I have a chance to tell her she messed up by telling me that, because now it’s a tool to annoy her, a little boy with yellow blonde hair pops around the doors to the ambulance.

“Look, sissy, they gave me a helmet.” He giggles. His genuineness is pure and dissipates all of the anger in the air. “Oh, hi,” he says shyly, noticing me for the first time.

“Hi, buddy. That is a cool helmet.” I crouch to his level to admire it with him. At nearly 6’4, I’ve had the issue of scaring children with my size.

“Yeah. I thought so. The firefighters saved my sister. She was trying to save our box.” He shrugs and I look at her. Her eyes stay averted but I notice her jaw is locked.

“What kind of box?” I ask the boy.

“Our memory box. Has all my papers. Pictures. My secret security card.”

“He means his social security card,” she adds from beside us.

“Oh. I see, so all the important stuff that makes you, you.”

“Yep.” He pops the ‘p’ on his word. Then smirks at himself for doing so.

I glance at Natalie and she’s looking at me strangely, without the usual disdain. The sudden change makes me nervous as if she’s trying to get my guard down. My hand hovers toward the holster on my hip, ensuring my gun’s secure because I wouldn’t put it past her to shoot me with my own weapon.

“What’s the prognosis then? Are you okay?” I ask her to break the staring contest we’re suddenly having.

“I’m fine.” Except she starts coughing, painfully hard and loud enough that one of the paramedics jogs over to check on her.

“We’re going to transport you to the hospital,” the young paramedic says. She looks like she’s still in high school and a little intimidated by Natalie’s strong personality.

“What?” She and the little boy say at the same time.

“I’m sorry, it’s protocol. Smoke inhalation is super dangerous. Your lungs could suffer if you don’t get the right medical care,” she explains meekly, pulling her stethoscope onto her ears.

Natalie lowers the blanket off her shoulders to allow the girl to check her lungs but all I can think about is her coat slipping open the other day and that red lace staring back at me. The piercing is still haunting me, too.

Today she’s wearing a thick, frumpy sweater. It’s not appealing in the slightest but it doesn’t help to keep my eyes from wandering over her. It looks too big and distinctly masculine. She’s wearing a man’s sweater and I am annoyed that I noticed. Or, that I care.

No, I don’t care.

“What about me?” The boy asks on trembling lips, looking at his sister with round fearful eyes.

I look to her because it is her brother after all, but I see fear in those eyes too. It’s the same as when she was yelling at me in the courtroom, the common denominator for her fear is clearly her brother.

“What is your name, buddy?” I ask, still squatting to his level.

“Declan, but my friends call me Dec.”

“Can I call you, Dec?”

“I don’t know. I just met you, how do I know you’re my friend?”

“Ah, smart kid. Well, I’m a police officer. The Sheriff, actually, it’s my job to keep you safe. Could that be a start?”

“Where’s your badge? All cops have badges.”

I unzip my coat then ultimately decide to shrug it all the way off my shoulders so he can see my uniform. I unclip the badge from my shirt and hand it to him. “You can hold onto it, okay? That way if you ever need anything, you can tell anyone that I am your friend and they’ll get a hold of me.”

I don’t know why I told him that. Maybe because I know who his father is. Or maybe because I’ve already been hearing quips from the fire chief in my ear, advising on the radio that it might be arson. Either way, I want this kid to be protected by someone.

“Here, I don’t want you to get cold.” I drape my Sheriff’s jacket around him and roll the sleeves up to his wrists before he does a little spin to admire himself.

“Look, sissy.” He’s smiling big and I can’t help but reflect it until I look at Natalie and notice the deadpan stare being leveled at me.

“Very cool, bud. Hey, will you go let our neighbor know that I’m okay? I can see her worrying from over here.” Natalie motions to the older woman standing just behind the yellow tape.

“Sure.” He takes off, proudly showing the woman his shiny new badge as he reaches her then spinning to show her the SHERIFF logo on his back.

“You shouldn’t have done that.” The familiar hateful tone is back and in full force.

“Done, what?”

“Don’t get his hopes up that you’re going to be his friend or that you are going to be around. He doesn’t need another man to disappoint him in his life.” Her words are like venom, but I know they aren’t truly directed toward me. Declan Randolph has done a number on this family. The kid definitely doesn’t deserve the hand he was dealt.

Natalie on the other hand, I don’t know. She aggravates me enough that I don’t quite feel sorry for her like I do the kid.

“Who said that I wouldn’t be around? You live in Rollins County. I am the Rollins County Sheriff. Are you planning on going somewhere?” I throw back at her.

“Don’t start with me, Small Dick. You know what I mean. If he thinks you are his friend and then you only show up during emergencies, he’s going to associate his friends with bad things that happen to him. Leave us alone.”

“Why do you automatically assume that I am a terrible person? Does it bother you that I might be telling the truth? That I have every intention of sticking around to keep that boy safe?”

“Why would you? I’m here. I’m taking care of him like I always have. We don’t need you.” She coughs through her final word but I can hear the anger regardless. This woman drives me crazy.

“Um, miss, we need to go, now.” The paramedic is shuffling her feet awkwardly after watching our verbal wrestling match.

As soon as the words are fully out of her mouth, I see the fear again that I saw a few minutes ago. I’d almost believe that she has an aversion to hospitals if it weren’t for her next question. “What about my brother?”

“Well, we can’t transport a minor unless he’s the patient. Is there someone who can take him?” The silence that follows is eerie.

She responds, “No.” At the same time, I say, “Yes.”

“What? No.” She looks at me like I have three heads.

“I can give him a ride. Let him hit the lights. Distract him for a few minutes before I meet you at the hospital.” Simple. It is an easy solution, she should be grateful.

“No chance. You could be a child molester.”

This woman never quits. “Why would you think that? Why do you always assume the worst?”

“It’s easy to assume the worst when you’re always handed the worst.”

The frustration of this conversation is going to give me a stroke. Luckily I’m saved from a gasket completely blowing when Dec skips over and skids to a stop next to us.

“Okay, Dec. Here’s the deal, buddy. We’re going to take my car, we’re going to grab you some food and then we’ll meet your sister at the hospital. Sound good?” I ask him, completely undermining his sister who is shooting more lasers at me with her eyes.

“Yay! I want a cheeseburger!”

“Great, my favorite.” I glance at Natalie who has yet to say anything, realizing that she will do anything to shield her brother from whatever harsh realities that have happened to her in her life that have made her so pessimistic. Her eyes are cold and hard, glaring at me.

“Your sister knows, deep, deep down that you are going to have the best time with me. So, give her a hug. We’ll catch up to her in about an hour. If we get lost for some reason,” I say pointedly, speaking to her with my head cocked to the side so she really understands these next words. “She can send out the National Guard to look for us because I know she’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe.” I finish sternly.

She huffs and looks away. I got her. She knows that I wouldn’t do any harm to Dec and she’s annoyed that she knows it. The paramedics start readying the ambulance to leave and I back up to give them space, putting my hands on Dec’s shoulders so he stays put too.

Before they can close the doors, she leans forward from her seat. “Hey, Dec. Can you tell me how many fire trucks are here?”

He immediately stretches on his toes to start counting, looking off to the side and the rest of the commotion, while she flips me the bird.

This woman is going to kill me.

“See you at the hospital, fireball.” I salute her by scratching my nose with my middle finger. Steam blows out of her ears as they shut the doors.