Page 5 of A Hard Habit to Break
“I don’t want your hair.”
“Well, you should,” he huffed. “My PawPaw said every hair on my head is precious. It’s special.”
“Okay,” Rachel acquiesced. “But I still want the house, a ring, and a cat.”
“I gotta save up for it,” he defended, miffed that she didn’t like his hair when he really liked hers. It looked soft, like the cotton candy at the county fair, and it matched her freckles.
“How long is that gonna take, Noah?”
“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “Like when we’re old. Maybe twenty years.”
“That long?”
“You already being a difficult wife, and I don’t even know if you’re a good fan yet.”
“You’ll see. I’ll be the best fan and wife you ever had.”
“You better. ’Cause a deal’s a deal. You can’t take it back, no matter what.”
“I won’t. And you promise that you’ll build me a house right here on the water. In my favorite spot.”
Noah nodded with certainty. After all, they stood on Calvary land. “Since I’m going to be your husband, it’s our favorite spot,” he said, extending his hand. “Deal?”
“Deal.” They shook to seal their promise.
“Your hair looks really weird now. Should I cut mine like a matching husband and wife?”
“As your husband, I say no. Red is my favorite color ’cause I’m going to be a brave and strong fireman.” Then he could saveeverybody and have a lot of friends, besides two older brothers, who knew how to do everything that he didn’t.
“I like fire engines,” Rachel said, smiling at him. “While you’re at work, I’ll build our house.”
“No, you won’t. You gotta let me take care of you.”
“Do not,” she stomped.
“Yes, you do,” he shot back, feeling his face heat. “Then I can make you happy.”
“I’m happy now. And my daddy said I can build just as good as any boy.”
“Not better than me. I’m the best at everything. I’m going to build you the best house, so you’ll never leave. I’ll show you, wife.”
“Huh, you’re not the only one good at stuff,” she said, crossing dirt-smeared arms over her grimy T-shirt, “I’m going to build a hundred houses.”
“Not without your husband.”
“I’ll show you, Noah Calvary.”
No matter how old Noah got, he remembered that he found his wife at Landing Falls on his sixth birthday.
CHAPTER ONE
Twenty-five years later
NOAHCALVARY STRUTTEDinto the Service County Fire Station under West Virginia egg yolk sunshine on Thursday morning, ready to prop his boots, polished to an obsidian crystal shine, on a new desk. For him, the elevator of life went in one direction—up. He operated at one speed, a high-octane sprint across every finish line, which left his opponents in awe. Winning was threaded through Noah’s DNA, as elemental to his existence as breathing. Today, he’d earn another gem for his crown, the first firefighter lieutenant to chair the town’s redevelopment committee. His strategy moved him one step closer to his ultimate goal—the only fire captain in the state’s history to hold the position by age thirty-one. He’d worked toward the position since his volunteer fire service days as a fifteen-year-old cadet.
“Mornin’, fellas!” He waved to Stroker, Jimmy, and Caleb, the team of firefighters he led daily, a responsibility he shouldered with pride every day that an alarm bell called them into harm’s way.
“Purd-dy boots, Noah,” Jimmy joked, aiming the water nozzle at the rig’s tires while Stroker and Caleb buffed the red door panels to a streak-free glimmer.
