He chose a table in a more protected corner of the courtyard. “I’ll sit with Tiny if you want to order the coffee.”
“Sure. What do you want?”
He looked at her without talking for a moment and Dakota felt the heat racing up her cheeks. She hadn’t meant it quite like it sounded.
“Pie or something else?”
Adam blinked, breaking the moment. “Uh, you choose.”
*
After coffee Adam watched Dakota walking away with Tiny prancing along beside her. She’d insisted on heading back to her cottage on foot to walk off the second piece of pie he’d talked her into eating. The mix of emotions he felt when he was with her only confused him more than he already was but he felt it impossible to stay away.
He gathered his car keys and walked back to where he was parked outside the gift shop. Rachel stood at the counter, one of Dakota’s decorations in her hand as she spoke to a customer. Knowing her, she’d have them all sold by the end of the day. He drove away, a sense of despair shadowing the enjoyable coffee date they’d shared.
The door to the Cherry Lake Fire Station was up and a truck sat parked out front getting a polish from Jake Woods, Cory’s father. He grinned when Adam pulled onto the side of the road and got out.
“Hey, Adam.” He threw the cloth over his shoulder and held out a hand. “You have Cory more excited than I’ve seen him in ages offering to give him a coaching session.”
“It’s the least I can do. Besides, I need to keep fit off season and sitting in Dad’s office isn’t going to cut it for me. My coach will have a fit when I get back to work.”
“How is your dad?”
“Getting better. To be frank, Jake, I’m worried sick over this heart condition he has.” It felt good to be able to talk to someone who’d dealt with health issues in the past.
“I get that. When Lily was first diagnosed, everyone freaked out as to be expected. It took quite a while for me to stop panicking whenever Cory hurt himself. I was sure he was going to suddenly fall ill like his mother had. Totally irrational I know because we had him tested and he doesn’t have that cancer gene that took her.” Jake wiped at the smear of polish on his hand. “Have you thought of seeing if you have any kind of heart disease? You know, taking precautions in case you do.”
“Yeah, I’m heading to Seattle to see the team doctor soon. He seems pretty upbeat about it but there’s a fifty-fifty chance I’ve got the same thing.”
“Oh man, that sucks.” Jake slapped him on the shoulder. “Guess that would mean a career change too?”
“Something like that.” Adam kicked at the edge of the garden bed and dislodged a brick. Cursing under his breath, he leaned down to fit it back in place.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to get on the wrong side of you. I’m trying to be sympathetic here. You know you can use me as a sounding board anytime you like. I mean, with what I’ve been through, I might be able to help you sort out that mess in your head. Sometimes it feels as though you’re drowning in grief and don’t know how to save yourself.”
Adam peered into sympathetic eyes. Jake was one of the good guys, the kind of man who would do anything for anyone. It was one of the things that made him such a great fireman too. He could empathize with people who had lost more than they thought they could cope with. Cory was only eight years old when they lost his mother. “Thanks, I know you mean well. It’s hitting me and I’m not sure how to deal with it all. I’m all over the place.”
Jake grabbed his shoulders and steered Adam into the firehouse, through to the staff room and pushed him into a chair. He poured him a coffee and placed it into his hands. “I remember when they told us about Lily. I panicked at the slightest little thing. Blew up over others. My emotions were like wildfire, unstoppable and totally unrealistic. Not that I thought that at the time, I thought I had it all under control. Big tough firefighter, used to putting myself in danger for others, nothing was going to faze me. Imagine me thinking I could cope with everything, even my wife being diagnosed with a terminal disease.” He pulled out a chair and sat opposite Adam.
“It took a while but I did manage to calm down and see things for what they were. Lily was dying, no argument there, no matter how much I didn’t want to believe it. They couldn’t do anything for her as much as I didn’t want to hear it. And boy did I fight it. I argued with the doctors, screamed at the unfairness of it all. Searched for anything that could help her.” He grimaced. “It took me far too long to accept what was happening and those days could have been better spent looking after my wife, making the most of what little time we had left. But I finally realized I could be there for her, make her remaining time on earth as pleasant as possible. It’s all I had to offer. You see, Adam, life is what you make it. One door closes and another one opens. Sounds corny but that’s the way it is. Some things you can’t fight. I had Cory to look after.”
“And you’ve done an amazing job with the boy too. He’s a great kid.”
“He is and if
