Free Daring Devotion by Elaine Overton Page B

blame. With the dizziness and hallucinations he’d been experiencing lately, he should’ve never been on the truck. But his pride wouldn’t allow him to stay behind while the whole team went out.
    And now, he was not only suspended, his promotion was on the line, and to add insult to injury, he was being forced to see a shrink. That kind of stuff stayed in your file permanently. Now, he had to go home and try to explain all this to Andrea.
    Cal sighed with exhaustion, as he began collecting a few of his personal possessions. He’d tried to outrun the tornado, and had gotten flattened by it instead.

    Andrea knew something was wrong the minute she turned the corner and saw Cal sitting in the hospital waiting room. He sat with his elbows resting on his knees, and his favorite baseball cap in his hand. As she drew closer, Andrea noticed that he was slapping the hat back and forth between his hands in an unconscious motion, but it was his face that told the tale.
    Thinking he was alone, Cal had let his guard down and it was the first time Andrea could ever remember seeing anything like concern on his chocolate-brown face. His soft brown eyes were narrowed in concentration, his front teeth were sunk into his full bottom lip, and his forehead was crinkled with worried lines. Her man was troubled, but if she were to say that to him, she knew he would deny it. Just like Atlas, he carried the weight of the world on his broad shoulders, and insisted on carrying it alone.
    Coming closer, she intentionally walked heavier, forcing her small feet to slap, slap against the tiled floor. As expected, the concerned expression disappeared as if it had never been there and Cal stood to greet her with a smile.
    â€œThere she is!” He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her cheek. “The sexiest woman in Detroit.”
    Andrea reached up and wrapped him in her arms. He may not want her to know his pain, but it did not stop her from wanting to comfort him. “Only in Detroit?”
    â€œDid I say Detroit? I meant the world.”
    â€œOnly the world?”
    He leaned back to look in her face. “What? Are you trying to compete with the angels?”
    â€œOkay, I’ll take just the world.”
    He wrapped her even tighter in his arms. “Baby, if I could give it to you I would,” he whispered in her ear.
    Andrea accepted the tight embrace, reveling in his controlled strength. “What are you doing here?”
    He glanced at his watch. “I was in the area, and remembered that you take your lunch break around now. Am I too late?”
    â€œNo, perfect timing, actually, but I can’t go far. Would you mind eating in the cafeteria?”
    â€œLead the way.”
    A few minutes later they sat across the table from one another at one of the small hospital cafeteria tables. Andrea was trying not to laugh as Cal struggled to get comfortable in the small seats.
    â€œWho the hell do they expect to sit in this thing?”
    â€œA normal size man.” She chuckled.
    He glanced at her sharply, sensing the humor in her eyes was at his expense. He leaned forward to whisper in her ear. “I fit you just fine, don’t I?”
    Andrea felt the chill run through her whole body at the not-so-subtle reminder of the previous night. “Perfectly.” She whispered back, and with a light kiss they each returned to their own sides of the table.
    Only then did it occur to her that something about the timing of this luncheon was off. Cal coming to have lunch with her on his off time was a common enough occurrence, but according to her memory, he should be at the firehouse.
    â€œAren’t you on duty?”
    â€œUm, there’s been a, um…” Cal didn’t realize it would be this hard to say it. “I was suspended.”
    Andrea tried to squelch the bubble of hope that immediately appeared in her heart. She looked into his eyes, and the anguish she saw there popped the bubble