Chapter 67

When Taren walked into the kitchen, Sal, the next shift manager, was petting Prissy. "And who do we have here?"
"She belongs to a woman whose house burned down last night. Her name is Kiki Long." Taren replied, filling a shallow bowl with water. When he set it on the floor, Prissy ran toward it and started lapping it up immediately. "The woman's in the hospital and I thought this little lady could stay with us until she can go back to her mama."
"You know her?" Sal's eyebrows pulled together in concern.
Taren nodded. "We went to high school together."
A sly grin spread across Sal's face. "Are you sure you're not keeping the cat to get in good with Kiki?"
Taren laughed. "Oh, no! I had enough the first time around." After Scarlett left, he vowed never to fall in love again. "No, I just thought we could look after the cat until Kiki gets on her feet." He bent down and scratched the top of her head. The cat leaned into his hand, obviously enjoying the attention. "By the way, her name's Prissy."
"Okay, but there's only one problem with keeping her here."
"What's that?" Taren looked up at him, concern filling his eyes.
"Getting her away from the guys."
Taren laughed. "I was afraid of that."
Sal bent down and picked up Prissy. "You go on home and I'll take care of this little lady here. I'll go get some cat food in a little while, but in the meantime-." Sal walked over to the cupboard and pulled out a can of tuna. "I think this might suffice." Sal opened the can and set it on the floor, along with a bowl of water. Prissy started gobbling it up as if she hadn't eaten in a year.
"Well, I see she's in good hands, so I'm leaving. Merry Christmas." Taren gave Sal a wave goodbye over his shoulder and hurried out to his dark gray Jeep Grand Cherokee. He started it and waited for it to warm up. When he was younger, he loved his muscle cars, but traded them in for a family-oriented car. Abby was worth every sacrifice he would ever have to make. Taren smiled as he thought of his daughter. It was amazing how life changed people. Fast cars and football scholarships, gave way to providing for his family. And after Abby was born, he put the thought of fast cars out of his mind and turned down his football scholarship with no regrets.
As he waited for the car to heat, he couldn't get Kiki out of his mind. So, he thought that he'd go by the hospital to check on he before going home. Even though he was in a hurry to see Abby, he could spare a few minutes for Kiki. Also, he wanted to make sure that she was going to be okay.
Luckily, it had stopped snowing and the sun shone brightly onto the new blanket of freshly fallen snow as he turned expertly around street corners, headed toward the hospital.
A few minutes later, he drove into the parking lot and locked the car. The cold wind blew through his heavy coat, so he pulled it tighter around himself and hurried inside. When he approached the front desk, a young receptionist was waiting.
"I'm a firefighter and last night we brought a young woman in here. Her name is Kiki Long. Could you tell me which room she's in?"
"I'll check." The nametag on the receptionist's uniform said Jane. She punched a few buttons on the computer as she studied the screen. "Yes- she's in room 1-221."
"Thank you." As Taren hurried down the hallway, his heart pounded loudly in his chest at the prospect of seeing Kiki again, although he wasn't sure why.
"Just go down the hallway--" the receptionist called after him.
"I'll find it." Taren waved over his head, not looking back. "Thanks for your help." He hurried down the hallway and to the elevator. Inside, he pushed the button and a few minutes later he was walking down the hallway, headed toward her room. When he approached, he heard voices coming from inside. Not wanting to intrude, he stopped at the door, ready to bolt, when a man leaned over and saw him standing in the door.
Great. She's married, Taren thought to himself. Figures.
A moment later, the man walked to the door, his muscles bulging under his coat. "Would you like to come in?" The man stood back to let him in.
"I just came by to check on a Kiki- to make sure she's okay."
"Well then, you've come to the right place." The man walked in, expecting him to follow. "This is--"
"Taren Davis?" Kiki asked from the hospital bed, wearing a nasal oxygen cannula on her face as her light auburn hair fell over her shoulders. Yes, it was definitely her. "What are you doing here?"
Taren smiled. "You're not going to believe this, but I was the firefighter who carried you out last night."
Kiki pulled the oxygen cannula from her face and quickly combed her fingers through her hair. "You've got to be kidding me. I didn't know you were a firefighter."
"I just wanted to stop by to make sure that you were okay. Taren breathed a sigh of relief, glad that she was up and talking. "I'll go ahead and go. I don't want to intrude." Taren started backing toward the door. "Merry Christmas."
"No, please. Come in." Kiki motioned him inside.
"Well, I think we'd better go." He recognized the woman as Jocelyn Taylor from high school. She leaned over and kissed her cheek and whispered, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
Taren pretended not to hear.
Kiki smiled. "Thanks for coming, Josselyn."
Jocelyn smiled, and gave Kiki's hand a gentle squeeze. "I'll come by tomorrow."
"If I'm still here," Kiki corrected. "I'm getting out as soon as I can. I hate hospitals."
Jocelyn laughed. "Well, we'll see. Remember my offer." For a moment, Taren wondered what she was talking about, but Kiki seemed to know. "It was good to see you again, Taren. Taren this is Caden Scott, my fiancé."
"It was nice to meet you." Caden held out his hand.
"Taren Davis," he replied, shaking his hand. "And the pleasure was mine."
"I'll see you tomorrow." Kiki wiggled her fingers at her and watched as they left.