Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 59647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
My alarm woke me at eleven, and I struggled to force myself awake. I had been having the best dream, and it was slowly slipping away with the dawning realization of what I had to do.
Once I was up and dressed, I threw my bags in the car and made the short drive to the station. As I pulled in, I saw Sofia’s car in the visitor parking area and that it was empty. It meant she was inside waiting for me. I tried to prepare myself as I got out of the car and headed inside.
Chief McDaniel met me in front of his office, holding his hand out for a shake. Guiding me inside, I was surprised to see Sofia sitting in one of the chairs. She stood and crossed over to me, and I pulled her in for a deep hug. When our embrace broke, I saw something that appeared to be reaching toward empathy in Chief’s eyes.
“Kieran, I wanted to say again how much I appreciate you taking the time to go through this training retreat. I feel like the department will be in good hands with a well-prepared man to take the reins when you come back. I know it comes as a sacrifice to your personal life, but I appreciate it, and so do the mayor and the governor.”
“Thanks, Chief,” I said, noting how he had looked at Sofia when he said, “sacrifice to your personal life.” “I hope I do you proud.”
“You better,” he said, passing by me and slapping my shoulder. “After you lost the chili cook-off to that goof from the diner.”
I laughed as he exited, a grin I came to know as the one he employed when he was pleased with himself for knocking someone down a peg crossing his face. He shut the door behind him, giving Sofia and me a private space for the moment.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“No,” she said, shaking her head and laughing it off. “But I will be. We’ll video call. And it’s only six weeks. We can make it six weeks. I made it my whole life until I met you; I can handle another six weeks.”
“Hey,” I said, feeling the words caught in my throat. I knew what I wanted to say. I just couldn’t make myself say it. Not because she didn’t deserve it, but because I didn’t want to hurt myself. I had never said those words to any woman, and if I left and she found someone else…
I didn’t want to waste them.
“Yeah?” she asked, hopeful eyes looking up at me. She wanted me to say those words. And yet, I couldn’t.
“I’ll be back,” I said. “If you’re willing to wait, I will be back.”
“I know. I will.”
I pulled her tight and kissed her lips softly. She sank into my arms, and when I pulled away, she stumbled a little. I caught her and righted her before smiling awkwardly.
“I’ll call you tonight when I get there.”
“Okay,” she said. “Bye, Kieran.”
“Goodbye, Sofia,” I said, opening the door. “Tonight. Probably about eight.”
She nodded.
“Eight,” she repeated, and I could see the tears forming in the corners of her eyes. I had to go. If those tears fell and I saw them, I might never make chief.
I nodded and opened the door, swiftly exiting and heading to the locker room, where I had a few things I needed to get out. Once I grabbed them, I slipped out of the door to the parking lot, hopped in my truck, and took off.
As I drove, I flipped on the regular radio for the first time in forever. I didn’t care to listen to the music I always listened to, because now it would only remind me of Sofia. I searched for a classic rock station, and when I found one, I settled back in the seat, hit the cruise control, and rolled down the window a bit.
The fresh breeze was nice, and the sun was shining. It was as gorgeous a day as a person could hope for as they drove over the mountainous area of southeastern Tennessee. Yet, all I could think about was Sofia and how we could make this work, even with me gone for so long, so early in our relationship.
I had looked up the itinerary for the retreat while I was at home. There had been the faintest notion of driving back to Ashford in the middle of everything just to surprise her and then driving back the next day. But attendance was mandatory every single day, and the only day we had off was in the middle, and it would come after a twenty-four-hour shift and before another one.
It was a program designed to wear you out, to take you to the limit of your stress level and push you a bit further, all in a safe environment. We wouldn’t even be staying in the same place the entire time. There would be travel during the course to locations around Tennessee where scenario fires would be set to allow us to strategize and test our knowledge. All while studying for and taking exams in a traditional classroom on the property of the retreat.