Todos los capítulos de His Best Friends Sister: Falling for the Firefighter: Capítulo 21 - Capítulo 30

Ethan's jaw tightened, and he turned away, heading toward the kitchen."I need a shower," he said, his voice clipped.Ava looked at Jaxon, her heart aching. He met her gaze briefly, his eyes filled with a mix of regret and love, before he turned and followed Ethan. The door to the bathroom closed, and Ava was left standing in the living room, alone with the weight of her actions.The house was quiet, too quiet. The usual sounds of a family waking up were absent, replaced by a suffocating tension. Ethan came downstairs first, his hair still damp from the shower, his face cleaned of soot. He avoided looking at Ava, his eyes fixed on the floor as he moved through the house. Jaxon followed, his eyes meeting Ava's for the briefest of moments, a silent apology in their depths, before he too looked away.Ava tried to speak, to reach out to them, but the words died in her throat. She didn't know what to say.Ethan broke the silence, his voice cold and distant."I'm going to bed. I need to sle

Rescue Engine 3 rumbled down the highway, its lights flashing, sirens silent. The cab was a coffin, the air thick with unspoken words and the lingering scent of smoke.Ethan gripped the wheel, his knuckles white. Jaxon sat beside him, staring out the window, his jaw set. The silence was a living thing, growing heavier with each mile.The call had been bad. A multi-vehicle pileup on Route 9, a semi jackknifed, fuel spilling, flames licking at the sky. They’d worked as a team, cutting people out, dragging them to safety, fighting a war against the fire and the clock. The adrenaline had been a drug, a temporary escape from the storm brewing between them.Now it was wearing off, and the truth was creeping back in.Jaxon’s phone buzzed. He didn’t check it. He didn’t need to. He knew it was Ava, worried, waiting. He could almost hear her voice, soft and steady, telling him to be safe. He wanted to answer. He wanted to tell her he was okay, that he was coming home. But he couldn’t. Not yet.

 Ava had been drowning in her work for seven days. The silence at home was suffocating, a gaping wound that Ethan’s absence had left behind. He avoided her at every turn, and the house felt colder, emptier without his presence. Ava threw herself into her rotations at the Summit Springs Clinic, taking on extra shifts, volunteering for overtime, anything to keep her mind and body occupied. The exhaustion was a welcome numbness, a reprieve from the constant ache in her chest.The clinic’s emergency line blared, shattering the monotonous hum of the waiting area. Ava’s head snapped up from the chart she was updating, her heart pounding.“Summit Springs Clinic, how can I help you?” she answered, her voice steady despite the adrenaline rush.“Industrial accident at the lumber mill,” the dispatcher’s voice crackled over the line. “Crush injury, severe bleeding. Paramedics are en route, ETA five minutes.&

 Ava stepped into the house, the morning sun casting a warm glow through the open curtains. The air smelled of coffee and toast, a familiar comfort that no longer tightened her chest. She walked through the hallway, her steps steady, her chin held high. The old dread that used to weigh her down with every step was gone, replaced by a quiet strength that settled in her bones.Ethan was in the living room, his back to her as he leaned over a stack of papers on the coffee table.He straightened as he heard her footsteps, and his eyes flicked up, meeting hers.For a moment, he just stared.Then his brow furrowed, and he set the papers down, turning to face her fully.“Ava?”She stood in the doorway, her hands relaxed at her sides.“Morning, Ethan.”His gaze searched her face, his expression unreadable.“You’re... different.”Ava didn’t flinch.“

 The radio on the wall buzzed to life, the dispatcher’s voice loud and urgent. Ava’s heart skipped a beat, her fingers tightening around the clipboard in her hands. She knew that sound. She’d heard it too many times to count.Incoming emergency.“Summit Springs Clinic, we have an ambulance en route with three casualties. Severe smoke inhalation, crushing injuries from a structural collapse. ETA three minutes. Prepare trauma bays, alert the surgeon on call. Over.”Ava’s breath caught in her throat. She knew that voice. Captain Harris. She knew that call sign. Station 3. She knew that building. The old mill warehouse. She’d been there a hundred times, playing with Ethan and Jaxon, climbing the scaffolding, hiding in the shadows.She forced her hands to stay steady, her face to remain calm.Nurse Ava was on duty. She had a job to do. But inside, her heart was pounding, her stomach was churning, an