Saved By The Firefighter
Chapter 70

Kelvin's point of view.

I glance up from my desk across to where Joanne sits, she is concentrating on something, nibbling the top of her pen, her brows furrowed. A smile forms on my lips, she is totally adorable. One thing I already understand about this gorgeous, and yes, sexy as hell, woman, is that you would think she is super confident, but she is so deeply under-confident, that it annoys the hell out of me. I want to hunt down every man who has caused her to feel she is not good enough and let loose on them. However, their loss is my gain, and I am more determined than ever to uproot all the negativity from her life, and allow her to blossom, and feel, no matter what, she is more than good enough.

I had heard her last relationship ended badly, of course it was via the station gossip brigade, and I never let them see I was remotely interested in what happened. But, let me tell you, I seriously was bothered. The last bozo she was with, for a good few years, turned out, he had a whole family, that she knew nothing about, only finding out when the wife rang her, to say that she had just found out herself that the i***t was living a double life. Apparently, his dying mother, who he needed to go spend time with, who lived miles away, and was far too ill to deal with guests, was alive and well, and the other woman was the one with serious medical issues. I know from Ben, that had crushed Joanne, she felt so responsible, even though she was completely innocent, he had us all fooled. From what I can gather, she has not embarked on anything with anyone since that harrowing experience, over 4 years ago.

Taking a breath, I turn my attention back to the latest report from the police, regarding the arson attack on the nightclub. It is harrowing reading. The death toll now stands at 15 with one other person clinging to life in the intensive care unit. My heart breaks as I read this s**t, seeing those poor people, who had gone for a normal night out, only to be trapped in what must have felt like hell. Those who escaped the flames, where subsequently crushed under foot, of hordes of panicking people, desperate to escape the blaze. I have to make the decision, day-in and day-out to send my team into the flames, to rescue the victims, and each time, I pray that 6 go in, and 6 come out. With this arsonist on the loose, who seems determined to cause as much death and destruction as possible, it makes the whole situation even more dangerous. I cannot help but fear not only for the citizens of Sunderland, but for my committed team of firefighters, who, without a second thought for themselves, rush in to try and save those who cannot save themselves. It was that fire which made me realise, life is far too short. There were many different reasons to not ask Joanne for the date, she is the mother of one of my team, and now my assistant, but none of that matters in the grand scheme of things. Not now, seeing the death and destruction which had occurred that night, I am determined to grab every chance of happiness and run with it.

I glance up at Joanne, and catch her watching me, her cheeks redden as I give her a small smile and wink, and she adorably looks away, back to her work. I have a telephone conference call at 17:00 hours, today, so cannot take this amazing woman home. However, my need to show her just how special she is takes over, and so I call for a taxi to arrive at the fire station, giving my debit card information to cover the fare. Standing up, I walk out of my office, and offer her my biggest smile.

"Hey Joanne. I cannot give you a lift home tonight, so I have ordered a taxi, it is all paid for," I tell her.

"Oh, thank you, but honestly you didn't have to do that; I can get a bus easily enough." She blushes.

"Well, just drop me a text when you get home safely. The taxi will be here at five. Also, before you go, I know it is just one date, but I think I should inform Ben that I am taking you out," I tell her. Joanne scrunches up her face, as she looks at me, worry clouding her features.

"Is that really necessary?" she asks.

"Yes, I think so. One, because I need your son's trust in me to remain high, and if I do this behind his back, that trust will be shaken. But also, to let him know, I have the best of intentions," I tell her. "Okay, I understand, but can we keep it confidential to everyone else please?" Joanne asks.

Nodding my head, I agree. Yes, I feel I have to tell Ben, but for the rest of the team, it is far too early to let them know I am looking to date their teammates mother.

"Deal." I smile.

I watch Joanne, pack up her things, in that sexy outfit, which, I know has really made her uncomfortable all afternoon, but I appreciate her effort. This conference call is droning on and on, going over things that have already been discussed, and could have ended ten minutes ago. As Joanne walks out of the office, she does a quick turn and waves at me, again a blush on her cheeks. Watching that a*s of hers sway as she walks out the door, has me going half-chub.

Then my concentration is brought back to reality, when someone asks for my opinion. I resist the urge to tell them, it is the same as it was twenty minutes ago when we first discussed this and begin to, once more, give my thoughts, which have not changed. Finally, that part of the meeting is done, and I can move on to what I really want to ask, regarding Lucy's brother Cal. I mention to my superiors about his application and my need for a part-time firefighter on my squad, sending a scan of his application attached to an email, so they can review it now, speeding up the whole process.

As my superior goes through the application, he instantly sends it over to HR with his personal recommendation, along with my need for Cal to be on my team. Then he assures me, I will have a first-stage interview for Cal by the end of this week. I am hoping that means he can get the fitness test done by the end of next week, so he can join the next intake which is in three weeks. Once that's done, I can then give Twinkle the good news that he has just 16 weeks to wait to partially retire and keep his ever-moaning 'Mrs' happy.

I hear the banter, coming from the common room, and I know my team is turning up for their shift. I get up from behind my desk, and walk out, to see Davey sat in his usual spot, reading his Sunderland Echo, Josie is busy distributing some home baked cookies, and I make a mental note to grab one or two before Twinkle devours the lot, as Ben walks in. He is a gentle giant of a man, and I have never felt intimidated by him, until right at this moment.

"Ben, can you come into my office a moment please?" I ask, turning on my heel, and heading back behind my glass doors.

Ben stands in the door frame, filling it.

Okay, here goes.

"Shut the door please," I tell him, sitting back down behind the safety of my desk.

Ben stands, his head tilted to one side, waiting for me to begin. Clearing my throat, I take a breath.

"I just wanted to do you the curtesy of letting you know, I have asked your mam out for a date on Sunday night," I tell him.

Ben remains silent, but there is nothing unusual about that, then nods his head.

"Okay," he finally states.

"Obviously, we do not want this spread around the fire station, as it is just a first date at the moment, but it did not feel right doing this, without informing you," I continued.

Ben looks at me his eyes holding mine, as he begins to speak.

"If you are doing this just because you can, then don't. Because if you hurt her, in any way, shape, or form, boss or not, I will beat the crap out of you," he tells me, his voice low, and all the more menacing for it.

"I am going to be straight with you. I have liked her for a while now, but did not do anything about it, because obviously, you work for me. I am not going to mess her about. I really like her, if I do anything to hurt that amazing woman, then please, do beat the crap out of me," I tell him. Ben nods his head, then turns and walks out of the door of my office and back to his team.

The night wears on, thankfully it is another quiet one. Most of the team is catching some sleep on their bunks, when Wayne walks into my office.

"Hey there Boss." He smiles happily at me, his fake American accent sounding more southern USA today, which makes me wonder which YouTube content he has been watching now.

"What can I do for you?" I ask him, to be honest you cannot help but like the lad.

"I brought you some of the Tagliatelle carbonara we made, you missed food." Wayne smiles proudly, at the bowl of mush he places in front of me. I do not have the heart to tell him I missed that deliberately, so thank him as he walks out the door.

The tagliatelle is so over cooked, it falls apart when you lift it with a fork, the carbonara sauce, is like gloop, and the bacon he has in it is black from being burnt. I know the lad will be back to collect the dish, so I really do need to eat it, and show willingness, so with a silent prayer that I do not contract food poisoning, I take my first mouthful, and almost gag it is so disgusting. Yeah, I was going to take Joanne to a little Italian restaurant down by the beach, but this s**t has put me off for life.

I spend the rest of the night shift, looking at different places to take Joanne on our date, settling on the Asian fusion place right on the sea front, and booking the table online.

As the sun begins to rise, we have less than an hour left of this night shift, when the bell goes off, and the guys all run for the fire pole. My heart literally stops, as I listen in to the information from dispatch, hoping and praying our arsonist has not struck again.