Rekindle The Flames (The Men of CLE-FD Book 4) by Toye Lawson Brown

their sweaty bodies made her nose crinkle and her
eyes water.  Ryan stood by the garage with the basketball perched between his arm
and hip. He didn’t appear too upset.  She looked in the yard next door. 
Lolita’s car wasn’t in the driveway either.
    Ryan wiped his drenched face with his t-shirt that was
lying on the ground. All three firefighters were shirtless, showing off their
perfect bodies and giving the teenage girls and women outside heart flutters
and hot flashes in the process.
    He bounced the ball on the ground. “I saved you two
hamburgers.  They’re in the microwave if you’re hungry.”
    “I’m starving.  Thank you,” she said feeling the guilt
take her over.  She went into the house and to the kitchen.  Ryan’s cell phone
was on the counter ringing.  Megan peeked at the phone.  “Dammit! It’s Mom
calling him.”  She swiped her finger across the screen to cancel the call and
clear it from the call log.  “She wants to play dirty? Two can play that
game.”  She took out her cell phone and dialed it waiting for her father to
pick up.  “Dad, I need to talk to you and it can’t wait.”
    “What has your mother done now?”
    “Ryan is home and I don’t want him to overhear our
conversation.  Are you somewhere I can meet you in like an hour?”
    “I’m at the office.  You can come here if you want.”
    “Thanks, Dad.  I’ll see you shortly.”
    Megan took the food out the microwave and put it in the
fridge.  She loaded the dishwasher and cleaned up the mess Ryan had made in the
kitchen.  His cell phone rang again. Wiping her hands on a dishtowel she picked
it up; the number was unknown.  Her heart pounded hard against the walls of her
chest.
    Ryan walked in the kitchen. “There’s my phone.  I wondered
what I did with it.”
    Her hand shook as she handed it to him. “Yeah, it was on
the counter.  Are Orlando and Ryan gone?”
    He looked at her and asked. “Yeah, they’re gone. Megan,
what’s wrong? You’re shaking.”
    “Nothing, really.  Mom and I got into it again and I can’t
shake it off.  Ryan, she might try to call you.  Just ignore her call, please.”
    “Why would she call me?  I’m the last person she wants to
talk to.”
    “She’s pissed at me because I told her to stay out of our
marriage.”
    “I’m not for her damn drama so it won’t be hard for me to
ignore her calls.  So, did you find a marriage counselor for us to meet with?”
    “Um, not yet.  Hey, you want to go to a movie tonight?
This is your last night off before you return to the station tomorrow.  I have
to run out for a minute.  It shouldn’t take me more than a half-hour at most.”
    He filled a glass with tap water and drank it down.
“Sounds like fun.  I need to take a shower.  Lock up when you leave out.”
    “Enjoy your shower.”  He started to leave and she called
after him. “Ryan, wait.  I have to tell you something.”
    He stopped and turned around. “What is it and can it wait
until I take my shower?”
    She shook her head. “No, it can’t wait.  I have to tell
you this before I fall completely apart at the seams.”
    “I knew there was something going on with you. What the
hell is going on?”
    The tears started to fall from her eyes before she could
tell him the story.  “Something happened to me.  I never told you because you
were under so much stress dealing with the stuff going on at the school and
with your trial coming up.”
    The color drained from his face as he stared at her. “What
happened to you?”
    “Ryan, I found out I was pregnant shortly after we got
married.  I was waiting for the right time to tell you.  I wanted everything to
be perfect but then all hell broke loose with the accusations from that girl
and you going to jail for a week.”
    He staggered against the counter. “What?  That sonogram I
found in the garage was yours? Dammit, Megan, I don’t care what I was going
through you should have told me.  What