No Easy Choice Read online

  NO EASY CHOICE

  Sisters of Fire

  Book 3

  Kathryn Shay

  No Easy Choice

  Copyright © 2021 by Kathryn Shay

  All Rights Reserved

  Published by Ocean View Books

  Cover Design by Shelley Kay at Web Crafters

  Smashwords Edition

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the bookseller and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Table of Contents

  Cast of Characters

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Epilogue

  Author’s Note

  Don’t Miss All of the Sisters of Fire Stories

  NO EASY CHOICE Excerpt

  About the Author

  Cast of Characters

  Sisters of Fire:

  Firefighter Annie O’Shea

  Firefighter Trish “Mac” Mackenzie

  Lt. Tess DiMarco

  Lt. Julia “JJ” Jensen

  Battalion Chief Lynn Lucas

  Battalion Chief Brooke Cartwright

  Significant others:

  Colin O’Shea (Annie)

  Nathan Mitchell (Mac)

  Capt. David Ashford (Tess)

  Derek Wayne, (JJ)

  Ken Lucas (Lynne)

  Family:

  Cora and Sean O’Shea, parents

  Mary Ferris, Annie’s mother

  Bridget O’Shea, daughter

  Two unnamed O’Shea Brothers

  Isabella and Maria, Tess’s daughters

  Colin’s Crew on Truck 1 Group 1 ~ Crystal City Fire Department:

  Firefighter Colin O’Shea

  Lt. Ben Benedeski

  Firefighter Lou Banks

  Firefighter Al Callahan

  Paramedic Jodi Pearson

  Paramedic Bob Anderson, “Andy”

  Other officials:

  Fire Chief Joe Redman

  Police Chief Ray Lincoln

  Dr. Suzanne Blakely, fire department psychologist

  Various Battalion Chiefs Roncone, Landry

  Various Firefighters: Capt. Daniels, Capt. Zander, FF Keiko Nguyen, Spike Samuels,

  Donny Richmond

  Annie’s Meadows Park Group:

  Barb Baker

  Sally Kramer

  Judi Nettles

  Anita Lopez

  B.J. Winslow

  Places:

  Crystal City Diner

  Conor’s Restaurant

  Lakeview Restaurant

  The Elmwood Inn (The Grand Hotel)

  Meadows Park

  Chapter 1

  Annie leaned against the bar and looked out at the crowd who gathered at Brothers&Sisters, a firefighter hangout, for the fiftieth birthday celebration of Ben Benedeski, Colin’s lieutenant on Truck 1. She breathed a sigh of relief.

  “What’s that for?” Trish Mackenzie had come up to her.

  Man, she was so pretty with a new haircut that framed her face and called attention to her eyes. Annie tugged on her own overgrown hair, which she’d tried to curl.

  “This is the first time I’ve been out in ten days.”

  “Peach is your color.”

  “I finally fit into my favorite blouse and capris.” She’d been working out for months now. She ran sometimes before Colin left for work, or took Bridget on power walks, plus she’d picked up a stationary bike at a garage sale real cheap.

  Trish scowled, then. “But seriously, you haven’t been out of the house since our last get together?”

  “Bridget got sick and we’ve been cooped up inside. We couldn’t even go to the park.”

  “Honey, going to the park with a baby isn’t getting out.”

  Annie sighed. “Colin’s been working two jobs—one at his parents’ gas station and of course the firehouse. So, I’m pretty much stuck in the house.” She could hear sadness in her own voice.

  “I could have come over to spell you.”

  “And risk getting the baby’s cold? She’d slobber all over you. That’s why I didn’t ask you or the others for help. Even Colin’s mother. But Bridget’s well enough today, so I asked Cora to watch her. She was excited about it.”

  “I understand, but that sucks.”

  “Yeah, it does.” Ready to change the depressing subject, she smiled over at her friend. “So, are you excited about the wedding in a few weeks?”

  “I’m excited about taking vows with Nathan.”

  “How sweet. I felt that, too.”

  “Felt?”

  She shrugged. “I still feel that way, I guess. It’s just hard having a baby to take care of now. I know, I know, I cried for two years because I couldn’t get pregnant, so I bite my lip not to complain.”

  “Quarantined for 10 days with a sick infant is worth complaining about.”

  Colin came up to them. He was cute in his green T-shirt and khaki shorts. He held out his phone. “It’s Mama. You should talk to her.”

  “What does she want?”

  “I don’t know, she asked for you.”

  Motherly concern overshadowed husband annoyance. “Hi, Mama. What’s going on?”

  “Bridget won’t stop crying.”

  “She’s up this late?”

  “She woke up flushed. I took her temperature. It’s only 99. But her nose is stuffy and I did what you said about the vaporizer.”

  “I’m sure you did. One of us will be there in fifteen minutes. Rock her and keep her head elevated.”

  She handed the cell back to Colin and explained the situation. Trish turned around to the bar to give them some semblance of privacy. “What should we do?” she asked her husband.

  “You have to go home.”

  “Me, why?”

  He gestured to the room. “This is my station house’s party. Ben’s my lieutenant. My whole crew got subs so we could have the night off.”

  “Colin, this is the first time I’ve been out in ten days.”

  “I guess. Do you want me to go?”

  Her heart sank. “You don’t want to take care of our sick child?”

  His expression said, No. “Sure, but she probably wants you. Not me.”

  Annie glared at him, then set down her beer, none too gently. “Never mind, I’ll go.”

  He reached for her arm. “I’ll walk you to the car.”

  “Don’t bother.” She strode away. When she reached the door, Trish caught up with her and tugged her around.

  “This isn’t right, Annie.”

  “I know. But I take care of my kid.”

  “Colin could do it.”

  Annie let out a heavy breath and felt tears threaten.

  “Want me to come with? You’d at least have somebody to talk to.”

  “No, Ben’s your lieutenant, too. Tell him I had to leave?”

  “Sure.” She leaned over and kissed Annie’s cheek.

  Annie hugged her and left.

  On the drive home, she talked to herself. Honestly. Colin could have let her have the night off, but he’d been right about the party for Ben. So she tried not to overreact. This was all temporary, anyway. And something she’d freely chosen—not to go back to her job for two more months after the paid maternity leave. When she did return to work, things would change, and she didn’t want to be a wimp about what happened in the meantime. She’d put h
er big girl panties on and do what she had to.

  When she walked into her house, she heard the screaming in the living room, where she found Bridget, clearly upset, clasped against her mother-in-law’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Mama, I left right away.”

  Cora stood and handed the baby to her. “I called Sean, dear. He’s coming to get me.”

  Nodding, Annie dropped down on her rocker and cuddled Bridget close. She quieted almost immediately.

  “She wanted her mama.”

  “Or her daddy.”

  Cora’s brow furrowed. “Colin? Why should he come home? He works so hard to earn money for you, he deserves a break.”

  Annie bit her lip before she spoke. “I know. You were raised like that.”

  And Annie knew how much her mother-in-law believed in traditional roles. When Annie was sixteen, her mother Mary died and her father had taken off years before. Cora O’Shea was best friends with Mary, who’d named Cora as Annie’s guardian. The entire family treated her like an O’Shea, except Colin, because they’d already fallen in love at fifteen.

  Annie was two years younger than Colin, who went to Bingham College to get a two-year associate degree in fire suppression. Meanwhile, she took the same fire department recruit course as he had and when she graduated, they both went to the fire academy together.

  Sean arrived and beeped the horn from outside. Cora headed to the door, but she turned back. Annie knew the woman loved her, too.

  “How long since you’ve been out, Annie? Didn’t you go to one of those Sisters of Fire things?”

  “I missed one. Bridget was sick.”

  Staring at Annie, Cora cocked her head. “That’s not right either. You should talk to Colin. Or I will, if you want.”

  “No, I will, Mama.” She gestured to the door. “You better go. Pa doesn’t like being kept waiting.”

  Bridget began to fuss again when Cora left. She could sense Annie’s mood. She’d left breast milk for the baby tonight, but she opened her blouse and bra and Bridget clamped right on. And quieted.

  As she nursed, Annie thought about the circumstances of her life. Circumstances she’d coveted for a long time. Still, she could be angry at having her only night out spoiled.

  * * *

  Colin O’Shea had a shitty time after Annie left. He wanted to stay and asked her to leave instead. She was home all the time with the baby, and coaxing her to agree wasn’t right. When had he become so selfish? All their life together, he watched out for her. Not tonight, though. He sipped his beer in shame.

  Ben, the birthday boy, approached him. “Hey, you look like you lost your best friend.”

  Geez, Colin hoped not. “Annie had to leave. Bridget was screaming and my mother called for help.”

  “I remember those days. Kelly was so tied down, I had to cut back my painting hours.”

  “Didn’t you need the money?”

  “Uh-huh. Man, it was hard maxing out all those credit cards. She made great money at the bank even back then, but she took a year off with each kid.” Ben focused on him. “It’s not my business to ask, but you seem unhappy lately.”

  “We’re handling it, Lieutenant.”

  “I’m not prying. Or scolding you. I’m concerned.”

  When Ben left, Colin wondered how he could fix the situation of being away so much.

  Annie had an idea when she said she needed two more months, which would be unpaid…

  “We could take some out of our savings. The 401K?”

  “No, the 401K is untouchable. It’s our retirement.”

  “We’ll have pensions from the fire department.”

  “We’ll need more.”

  “Then we can take from her college fund. Or the house fund. We been saving for all these years for those, too.”

  Because they had two incomes, and two part-time jobs, they lived on their firefighter salaries, put their part-time job earnings in other accounts.

  “No. I’m not touching our savings.”

  “We worked hard to make it all. If we use some for my leave, you can cut back your gas station hours and could spend more time with her. And me.”

  “We promised we wouldn’t touch that money.”

  “We didn’t know what it would be like to have a baby then!”

  “No.”

  “There’s only one other answer, then. Take the line of credit available from the bank. Or don’t pay off the credit cards every month.”

  His face blanched. “And go into debt?” He said the word like people whispered cancer.

  “I know that’d be hard for you. But it would only be for two months. I need you home…”

  She made the suggestion even though she knew why he hesitated. Why he was so unyielding about finances. His mother and father were poor because his father was young and squandered money when they married. Colin remembered how awful those days were, not having money for school supplies or football cleats. Finally, Pa turned himself around and bought the garage. Colin had learned his lesson but his older brothers hadn’t. They’d gone bankrupt and asked his parents for money. Colin couldn’t be like them. So, in the end, he’d won the argument with Annie and said they’d just cut back on spending.

  “Hey, Colin.” Mac tapped him on the shoulder. “How’s Bridget?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “What did Annie say when you called to check on her?”

  “Um…”

  Mac’s face blanked. “Hell, Colin, she was upset about having to leave.”

  “You’re right, Mac. I’m a shit.”

  “No, you’re not.” She squeezed his arm.

  “I keep making mistakes since we had Bridget.”

  “Mistakes can be made up for. But you gotta work out some balance.”

  So Colin headed home. He glanced at the clock in the car. Midnight? Wow, he had no idea how late it was. He went in the side door to his house, turned off a light in the kitchen and made his way to the back bedrooms.

  He tiptoed into Bridget’s nursery. She lay on her back, sleeping. The whir of the vaporizer was the only sound in the room. Overwhelming love surged through him as he ran a finger down her silky cheek. Damn, he was missing a lot.

  Then he went to his and Annie’s room. Heard Annie’s soft breathing, smelled the scent of lotion she put on every night. At the bed, he saw she was laying on her side, her hands folded beneath her cheek. Her hair was still curly and messy like she wore it to the party. He should have let her stay at the bar. Like Mac said, he had to figure this out. Tomorrow, before he had to go into work on the night shift, he’d ask Annie to help him do it.

  * * *

  “We’re going to enjoy this lovely day, Bridget. You’re all better and we can go to the park.”

  And let Colin sleep. Even though they’d argued last night at the party, she knew he was exhausted these days, too.

  As she settled the baby in the dark blue old-fashioned carriage, Bridget watched her. She was tracking well with her big blue eyes. And she smiled at Annie. Was there anything better than that? On the walk over, she cooed and gurgled up a storm-all indecipherable-but Annie treasured the soft baby noises.

  At the Meadows Park entrance, she took a right, enjoying the trees swinging overhead and the hot sun that beat down gently. But Annie was cool in a light, yellow sundress. She reached the playground and found her friends, all mothers who came to the park three times a week for a playgroup. They sat at two picnic tables, one for adults and a small one for the kids. They picked a spot up close to the jungle gym, swings, wooden play set to supervise them.

  “Annie,” one woman called out. Barbara Baker, mom to four rambunctious boys under the age of five, was a sweet woman who’d always been nice to her.

  “Hi, everybody.”

  Another of the group, Judy Nettles, who had three girls, smiled all the time. “Annie!!” Judy stood and hugged her. “We thought you went back to work.”

  “I was supposed to, in two weeks.” She gazed down at Bridget, who was bus
y trying to grab her bare feet. “But I couldn’t do it. I took two more months of maternity leave. Bridget was sick these past ten days. This is the first time I could get out.”

  “Glad she’s okay now.” A third woman, Sally Kramer, also a working mom, told her. “I’m so thankful to have the summers off from teaching.”

  “Yeah.” Anita Lopez, another stay-at-home mom, added. “I’d go back to my job if I could have summers off.”

  A shadow fell over their table. Annie glanced up at a man and immediately went on alert. Men in playgrounds at nine in the morning could signify trouble. She glared at him.

  “Um, you’d better introduce me,” he drawled with a grin. “Your friend looks like she’s trying to assess whether she can take me or not.”

  Barbara said, “This is Brent Winslow. He often joins us.”

  “Hi, newcomer.”

  “Hi, I’m Annie O’Shea. And yeah, that’s exactly what I was doing.”

  “You couldn’t.”

  “Couldn’t what?”

  “Couldn’t take me. I have a black belt in karate.”

  “She’s a big, strong firefighter.” This from Judy.

  His grin faded. “I’m sorry. I’d never offend one of America’s Bravest.”

  That made her smile. She angled her head at the kids. “Which ones are yours?”

  “The monkey in purple on the jungle gym is my oldest, Charlotte, 5. The other is Cosette, 2 now, right there in the sandbox.”

  “Your children have literary names.”

  “He knows,” Barbara put in.

  He gestured to the carriage. “She’s yours?”

  “Uh-huh. Bridget O’Shea.”

  He peered down. “Ah. She’s even got the Irish reddish hair.”

  “Like my husband. She has his blue eyes, too.”

  Bridget cooed up at Brent. He squatted down. “Oh, wow, what a gorgeous smile. Hello, Baby Bridget.” He chuckled. “I love your onesie.”