He knew a lot could happen in three months and Greg could have grown up and did his damndest to learn the job, but he knew that wasn't the case. They had several run-ins with the jackass over the past three months and seen his skills first hand. It was more than obvious that he didn't belong on a truck. He was still a cocky arrogant little jerk who mouthed off to nurses and didn't know shit when it came to simple care for a patient. There were more important things to focus on, he reminded himself. Like the woman in his arms who was obviously upset.
"What's going on, Joe?" he asked softly.
"Promise you won't get mad?"
"I promise," he agreed even as he wondered what she could possibly tell him that would upset him. Then a thought occurred to him, a rather frightening thought.
Could she be pregnant?
They'd been having unprotected sex for three months and even though she was on birth control that was still a risk they should have considered. Birth control wasn't a hundred percent and accidents happened. A baby with Joe? Hell, yeah, but not now.
Not yet.
He wasn't ready to be a daddy yet. He wanted to focus on Joe for a little longer before they moved ahead. Hell, he wanted to be a paramedic by the time they had a baby just so he could make more money so that she wouldn't have to work.
But if she was pregnant now he wouldn't have a choice. He'd have to man up and do the right thing by her. If she was pregnant now that also meant that he'd have to wait a few years to do the paramedic course. He loved his job, but they would need the money. He'd have to take as much overtime as he could get his hands on and hope she didn't kill him because that would leave her to watch the baby by herself most of the time. He wouldn't be happy about it, but he would do it for her.
"Bill called me last night," she said, shooting him a look as she nibbled on her bottom lip.
"And?" he prompted when it looked as though she was going to drag this out.
"You remember when we signed up for the paramedic training list?" she asked, sounding hesitant.
"Yes." They'd signed up six years ago with the knowledge that they would probably never make it up the list before they decided to go to school.
Every two years the city came up with enough money to send two city EMTs to train as paramedics. It was a long list and more importantly it would save whoever won the spot fifteen grand. It also meant those selected wouldn't have to worry about losing their jobs while they attended training. As great as it would have been to be selected they'd known the chances of that were slim and had been saving money every year to pay for school and to cover bills while they trained. He estimated that they had another year or two of saving before they could do it.
"We got it this year," she announced quietly.
It took a moment for her words to sink in and when they did he couldn't help smiling. "We got it?" he asked excitedly.
She swallowed nervously as she nodded. "Bill called me on my way home. I told him that I would tell you," she explained.
"We got it?" he asked, barely able to believe it. When she nodded he leaned down and kissed her, unable to help himself. This was great. This was beyond f**king great. Not only did they now have a serious chunk of change in the bank to keep, but their training would be paid for and they had guaranteed jobs at the end.
It also meant that they could move forward, something he'd been toying with since they got together. They'd known each other for over twenty years and he knew he wanted to be with her for the rest of his life.
"You got it," she mumbled against his mouth.
"What?" he asked, sure he misheard her as he pulled back.
"I said," she said, licking her lips nervously, "that you got it. I turned my spot down."
He could only stare in wonder at her for a moment before he blurted, "Why the hell did you do that?"
Chapter 29
"You promised not to get mad," she said, trying to climb off his lap, but the damn man pulled her back down and wrapped his arms around her, keeping her right where he wanted her.
"That's before I found out that you did something insanely stupid," he snapped. "I'm calling Bill and telling him that you changed your mind," he said, shifting her in his lap to get at his phone.
She snatched the phone out of his hand before he could make the call and tossed it on her seat where he couldn't get it. She knew he'd be mad about this, but she couldn't force herself to go through with something that wouldn't make her happy.
Six months ago she would have been ecstatic to get a free ride to paramedic school, but now.......
Now she wanted different things in life. Thanks to Eric's over protectiveness she'd discovered that she loved other aspects of this job. She worked two shifts a week as a dispatcher and as much as it pained her to say this, she loved doing that a little more than working on the truck. She also loved teaching.
Several times a month she taught CPR and first aid and a few weeks ago she helped teach the EMT course at the community college and she loved it. She'd never grow rich doing these things, but she really enjoyed doing them. Somehow they went from being her backup plans when she couldn't work on the truck any longer to what she wanted to do now.
She still loved working on the truck, but wanted to do that part time now. She could still work with Eric while he attended school. Once he was working full time as a medic she fully planned on picking up an overtime shift with him once or twice a month. Thankfully she'd taken the course required for basics to work with medics last year so she was all set.
"Give me the phone, Joe," he said, trying to move her off his lap so he could grab the phone.
"It's not what I want anymore, Eric," she said, trying to figure out how the hell she went from wanting this so badly to turning it down flat to take a new direction in life.
"Explain," he said tightly as he sat back and shifted her on his lap so that he was once again looking at her.
"It's all your fault," she said, deciding that was the best way to go. When his eyes narrowed on her she hastily rethought that plan and went with another approach.
She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair as she thought over all the reasons that stopped her from accepting what used to be her dream. Finally she decided on the truth.
"I love working on the truck, Eric. I love working with you, but....."
"But?" he said quietly when she hesitated.
"But I want to try other things. I still plan on keeping my ticket and working with you part time, but I've really been enjoying working in dispatch and teaching and I want to give that a try," she explained, holding back the main reason for her decision since she had no idea where he stood on the matter.