Chapter 23

The next few weeks were tense. Zoey bounced between her mom’s and Dawson’s house. She felt lost without her store, but the insurance investigator had concluded it was not her fault and cut her a check to rebuild. She was searching for a contractor on her computer while sitting at Dawson’s kitchen table. He was on shift at the firehouse, leaving her alone to figure things out.

Glancing at the clock, she decided to drive over and surprise him with dinner. She quickly changed into a loose summer dress and pulled her hair into a messy bun.

Grabbing her phone, she texted her mom that she’d swing by on her way back from seeing Dawson. After stopping to grab some Chinese, she parked her car and hurried into the station.

“Hello!” she called out. “I brought dinner!”

Captain Hunter popped out to greet her, “Zoey! How are you? Here, let me help you.” He grabbed the big box she was balancing on her hip. “Come on inside… everyone will be glad to see you.”

Since she’d been unemployed, she’d used a lot of her free time bringing snacks and goodies to Dawson’s shift at the station. They treated her as part of the family whenever she was there.

“Dawson! I found something that belongs to you…” Jason called out. Kristof and Jonesy barrelled into the dining room, laughing and cutting up.

“Zoey!” They smashed her in a group hug.

“Hey, fuckers, off my woman.” Dawson pulled her from their grip and kissed her. “This is a nice surprise.”

“I missed you and thought you’d like some dinner.”

“You didn’t need to bring me something just to visit.”

“Speak for yourself, Dawson. I am always happy when your woman shows up with food… she keeps us fed well!” Paul laughed as he grabbed a plate.

Just as Alex, the medic on shift, sauntered into the room, the alarm bell went off.

“Well, fuck,” Dawson frowned.

Station Six–all units. Signal 33 structure fire.

1701 Cape Boulevard

“That’s my mom’s.” Zoey gasped, digging her phone out of her bag. Her call went straight to voicemail.

“She’s not answering. Oh God, Dawson…”

Dawson kissed her. “Let’s go, guys. Zoey don’t leave the station. Please.”

She watched as the trucks barrel out of the station. Zoey didn’t wait—she couldn’t. This was her mother. She ran to her car and tore out behind them. There was no way she was waiting at the station when her mom wasn’t answering her phone.

Dawson’s leg bounced nervously as the truck sped down the road.

“Hey man, you, ok?”

Dawson shot him an uneasy look. “Let’s just get there.”

Uri nodded. “Her mom is going to be fine.”

As they pulled onto her street, Dawson noticed there was no sign of fire. No smoke. Nothing.

“The neighbour who called it in said they thought they saw smoke coming from the backside. But I do not see anything, you?”

Dawson bolted out of the truck as it came to a stop. “There,” he pointed to a small wisp of grey billowing up from the rear of her house. He ran toward the side, coming to an immediate halt when he found Zoey’s mother pointing a shotgun towards a man.

“Katrina?”

“Oh, Dawson, hey.” She said casually, as if she wasn’t standing there holding a gun on a man. “This moron tried to start a fire in my back yard. I caught him dousing my bushes in lighter fluid.”

Ur looked over at Dawson. “Um… ok.”

“He wasn’t expecting a little old lady to pull a gun on him. Idiot.”

She set the gun down against the house as Dawson leaned down and grabbed the man’s neck. Lifting him up, he twisted his arm and walked him towards the front.

“Whoa… what the hell?” Lt. Hill glanced at the man in Dawson’s grasp.

“This fucker tried to set her house on fire. Go around back and hose down the bushes. He poured lighter fluid everywhere. Ms. Horton subdued him before he could set this place in ablaze.”

“DAWSON!” Zoey flung herself out of her car. “Where’s my mom…. YOU!” She skidded to a halt, jabbing her finger in his face. “Why, MARCO?” She spat in his face.

“You were mine.”

“You tried to set me on fire? My mom on fire? What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Her mother walked around the house, holding onto Lt. Hill. “ZOEY!”

Zoey ran towards her mother and embraced her, “Thank God. When I heard the call, I freaked out.”

Her mom snorted, glaring at Marco. “I’m fine. He wasn’t expecting a gun-toting old woman.”

Police arrived and arrested him, putting an end to the nightmare finally. Dawson hugged her tight as they watched them drive away with him in the back of a squad car.

“Well… we have enough to put Marco away for a long time, Miss Horton.” The detective shook Dawson’s hand and gave her a soft hug.

“Thank you.”

Zoey smiled as the detective left, turning towards Dawson. “I think I’ll stay here with my mom. Y’all enjoy the food. You should be able to heat it up.”

“Seriously… you’re worried about us and dinner?” Dawson kissed her cheek. “Take care of your mom tonight. I’ll be here for breakfast in the morning.”

“Sounds good.” She kissed him hard on the lips. “I love you.”

“I love you.”

Dawson climbed into the truck, relieved the call went the way it had. He wasn’t sure how he’d have handled it if something had happened to her mother. He was all too familiar with what losing a parent to a sudden tragedy was like. If he had his way, she’d never feel that kind of loss.

Zoey and her mom stayed up talking about the events that had transpired over the last few weeks. Katrina couldn’t stop singing Dawson’s praise. She was beyond ecstatic that Zoey had finally met a man that saw her just as she did—beautiful and deserving of love.

Zoey had admitted she was in love with him, and that he’d confessed the same for her. Her mom headed towards bed blabbering about planning a wedding soon. All Zoey could do was smile at her.

After a few exchanged texts and a phone call, Zoey had crashed hard. Her body had been pushed to its limit. After saying goodnight to Dawson, sleep claimed her.