Burned by Unknown

went into the bedroom and closed the door and he went in the bathroom. He lowered the lid on the toilet and sat down. His headache pounded against his temples and hunger pangs gnawed at his stomach. He wasn’t lying when he said he hadn’t eaten in a day. The granola bars and bottles of water he consumed between fires had worn off long ago.
    Finding strength to stand, he turned on the water in the shower. The odor of the new shower curtain tunneled past the smoke in his nose. He looked around the bathroom. The walls appeared to be freshly painted. He saw streaks of yellow bleeding through the thin coat of white paint slapped over the top. The paint job definitely wasn’t done by a professional.
    Nick opened the medicine cabinet to look for the aspirin. He felt weird looking at her personal stuff on the shelves. He wasn’t a snoop by nature and never looked through the personal items of the women he dated. He noticed the aspirin bottle behind a box of tampons. He had sisters and was used to seeing them in the bathroom when he lived at home. However, this was Lincoln and she was not one of his sisters.
    Tenderly he inched the box over with his finger to get to the aspirin. Suddenly the shelf tipped and dumped the items from the cabinet into the sink. “Holy shit,” he muttered as he scrambled to pick up the items.
    “Oh, the stupid shelf in the medicine cabinet is broken so be careful.”
    Now she tells me . He picked the spilled items from the basin, lining them on the counter of the vanity. He drew in a breath when he picked up the dispenser containing birth control pills. “At least she’s responsible,” he said putting the pill dispenser on the counter. He popped two aspirin in his mouth and dipped his head under the spigot to wash them down.
    Nick stripped off his clothes and put them outside the bathroom door before he stepped into the shower. The pulsing stream of warm water instantly eased some of the aches from his tired body. Her shampoo sat on a corner caddy. He opened his hand and squeezed out a palm-full of the fruit scented shampoo and rubbed it through his hair to scrub away the dirt and grime.
    The shower revived him, restoring some of his energy, but not a lot. With his headache easing, the growl in his stomach intensified. Whatever she was cooking smelled delicious and he couldn’t wait to eat.
    Nick tucked in the ends of the towel to secure it around his waist and followed the aroma of the food. He found Lincoln in the kitchen tending to the pots on the stove. He stood with his shoulder braced against the doorjamb and watched her work. Her back was to him, her slim body looked sexy in the skinny jeans and thin cotton white t-shirt. Wisps of hair that hung from her ponytail drew his attention. The impulse to push them out of the way and press his lips against her sleek neck swept over him. He fought it off and scolded his libido for having such thoughts. It didn’t matter how attractive he found Lincoln; she was off limits.
    Although he and Anthony’s rocky friendship was close to being over, he had to stick with the code. The only way a firefighter at Station 30 would pursue an ex-girlfriend or ex-spouse of a fellow firefighter is if the firefighter left the house or God forbid, lost his life. He didn’t despise Anthony enough to wish that fate on him.
    Quietly, he continued to watch her not wanting to interrupt her concentration on preparing dinner. He knew he should announce he was standing there but instead stepped back into the living room to regain his composure. The thick towel wouldn’t be able to hide what was on his mind.

Chapter Ten
    Lincoln took care in preparing dinner. She didn’t want to burn the first meal she fed to someone other than Anthony. She made gravy from the meat drippings and poured it over the pork chops before placing them in the oven to finish cooking. Stirring butter and cream into the mashed potatoes, those were done too. The peas and carrots also were ready to