When the loud roar of the crowd dies down somewhat, we make our way back over to our table only to find that it’s been occupied. “Bar?” Blake asks against my ear.

“Sure,” I try my best to disguise the excitement in my response, but Jade can sense it. That’s where the group of firefighters is and even though I can’t touch, it sure won’t kill me to look.

“Wait for me.” Jade falls in line with us as Johnny grabs hold of her hand. Yeah, she’s just as excited as I am.

When the guys are turned toward the bar ordering our drinks, Jade leans down and whispers, “How the hell have we never been here before? A bar dedicated to firefighters? It’s like we’ve died and gone to Heaven.”

“I know.” I pitch my voice low so Blake can’t hear me, but can’t stop myself from jumping up and down in excitement.

“What’re you two chatting about?” Blake asks suspiciously as he hands me my drink.

“Oh, nothing,” Jade deflects, looping her arm through Johnny’s. “Gracie and I were just talking about how great this place is.”

Seemingly placated, Blake takes a long pull on his beer and scans the room. “Doesn’t seem like anything special to me,” he huffs.

“Oh, I don’t know. Gracie, what do you think?” Shooting Jade a death-ray stare, I try to stop her from egging Blake on, but it’s really no use. The two of them are like oil and water and I can barely blame Jade; she’s just the easier one to reason with.

“Come on, Gracie, let’s dance.” Jade pulls me back out onto the dance floor when a new song starts up and I’m glad for it. Seems like the further away from Blake I am, the more fun I have.

Three times.

I heard the name three times.

My head always turns when I hear the name Gracie, but my eyes never fall on someone who looks even remotely familiar.

But the woman dancing out there looks just what my Gracie would–at least the vision that’s in my head.

It has been eighteen years after all, but there are some things you just don’t forget. For me, it’s two things—her hair and her laughter. Both bright streaks of light in a mostly dark world.

As I lean my elbows back against the bar, those are the two things screaming at me, telling me that the woman out there just has to be my Gracie.

“See something you like?” Ian elbows me in my side, nearly knocking my drink out of my hand as he does.

“Huh?” I pull myself back to the here and now, away from the girl I knew so long ago. “Uh, no. Just spaced out there for a minute.” Avoiding having to say anything else, I swallow back the rest of my Jack and Coke.

After placing the empty glass on the bar, I turn back to face the dance floor immediately. There’s a pull to her—the girl dancing out there with her friend. Sure, she’s beautiful—not all that graceful, but she’s moving like she’s having fun. A lazy grin pulls at my lips as I watch her stumble a little as she dances. Her friend rights her and they laugh like it’s the funniest thing they’ve ever witnessed.

“Here you go, man.” Ian hands me a shot and while they’re generally not my thing, we’ve all just had a crazy shift. Loosening up with a few drinks when I don’t have to be at work again for another two days isn’t a terrible idea.

By the time we’re done with our shots, I try to find Gracie out there, but all I catch is a glimpse of her back as she walks off to the bathrooms with her friend.

“She’s really caught your eye, huh?” Ian asks as we walk over to a high-top off to the side of the bar.

“Not really.” Yeah, it’s a lame defense, one that Ian sees straight though. He shoots me a ‘cut the shit’ look and I give in. “Okay, fine. She’s cute.”

“The redhead? No, she’s not cute, man. You need to get your eyes checked. She’s smokin.’” His voice has that ‘on the hunt’ quality to it, and it irks me more than it should.

Cocking an eyebrow at him, I laugh. “You’re really going with smokin’? Can’t come up with anything more original?”

Shrugging, he leans back in his chair. “What do you expect? Some Shakespeare shit? Yeah, that is most definitely not going to happen.”

“Fine, she’s more than cute. But she has the same name as someone I used to know when I was a kid. I was looking at her to see if I could figure out if it was her or not.” My answer is mostly truthful. To be honest, trying to figure out if she is the Gracie I rescued from that fire all those years ago is only part of the reason I was staring at her. The other reason is plain as day.

She is smokin.’

By the time I finish telling Ian the rest of the story about what had happened when Gracie’s house burned down, I see her walking back out of the hallway where the bathrooms are located. As she walks toward the bar, a guy grabs her, pulling her through the crowd.

The music is too loud for me to hear anything, but the look on her face says everything I need to know. He’s hurting her and not letting go. Jumping down from my stool, I start to walk over to them. Her friend is trying to get in the middle of them, but it’s not working.

“Where the hell did you go?” The guy is practically yelling in her face.

“Blake, you’re hurting me. Let go.” She squeaks, trying in vain to pry his hand off her arm.

Walking up behind him, he doesn’t see me, but she does. Her eyes go wide when my hand drops to his shoulder. “Excuse me, but I think the lady said you were hurting her.” I tip my chin at his claw-like grip on her arm.

After releasing her, she rubs a hand over where he’d just held her. Relief washes over her face as her friend pulls her away from the asshole.

“And who the hell do you think you are?” he seethes at me.

A smug chuckle bubbles out of my mouth. “Someone who knows enough never to lay a hand on a woman.” Stepping past him, I make sure to brush my shoulder against his with more than a little force.

“What the fuck?” he yells, grabbing my arm and pulling me back to his face.

I’ve got a few inches on him and I revel in the fact that I can look down at him as I say, “You might want to reconsider that.” My eyes travel down to his hand on my arm.

“And you might want to reconsider sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong,” he retorts nastily. At least he’s smart enough to take his hand off me. “Mind your own fucking business,” he adds before turning toward the table where the girls are.

Following behind him, I want to make sure he leaves Gracie alone, and I want to make sure she’s okay, too.

“Get the hell away from her,” the other girl yells, standing as Blake approaches the table.

“Stay the fuck out of this, Jade,” he mutters. Pushing past her, he almost knocks her down.

With a quick side-step, I move around Blake and help steady Jade before she stumbles over completely. “You okay?” I ask, holding her at arm’s length.

Wordlessly, she nods and I let go of her. Luckily, I’m able to turn my attention back to Blake and Gracie just as he’s about to pull her from the bench.

Twisting his arm around his back, I make sure he doesn’t lay a finger on her. “Listen, asshole. Why don’t you leave these girls alone? They clearly don’t want you around, so get out of here and make everyone happy. Okay?” When he nods, I let him go.

A quiet and shaky voice cuts through the glacial stare in which Blake and I are locked. “Blake, go. Please. I’ll talk to you tomorrow when you’ve calmed down.”

“Hell no!” he yells. “I’m not leaving you here with this guy.” He pokes me in the chest and I rein in my desire to punch this asshole right in the face.

“You’re coming home with me. Now,” he demands.

Gracie stands from her seat and steps between us. “Blake,” she says calmly, placing a hand on his shoulder. “You should go before you say or do something you’ll regret. I’ll call you tomorrow. I promise.”