Rory: Hope City, Book 7 by Maryann Jordan (uplifting books for women txt) 📕

that matters is that we did serve.” Mr. Charles’ smile widened, and he nodded, a twinkle back in his eyes.

It appeared Mr. Charles was right about his strong bones, and he’d suffered nothing more than a loss of dignity when he fell. Rory and his partner, Shania, gently lifted him to his feet, steadied his wheelchair, and assisted him to sit. The facility’s CNA on duty hovered about, making sure he was comfortable. Rory glanced at the nightstand, seeing a wedding picture with a much younger Mr. Charles and his beautiful bride. Noting that there was a single hospital bed in the room, he sighed, fearing that Mr. Charles was a widower.

As though following his line of sight and train of thought, Mr. Charles reached out to take Rory’s hand, shaking it firmly. “That’s my Millie. She’s been gone about five years now.”

“She was a beautiful woman, Mr. Charles,” Rory said, holding the older man’s gaze while Shania packed up their equipment.

Mr. Charles grinned and nodded. “She was beautiful. Best cook. She could fry a mighty fine chicken. And let me tell you, she didn’t suffer fools lightly.”

Rory chuckled, thinking of his own mother, then patted the older man’s shoulder. “Make sure to put the brake on your wheelchair before you make a transfer, Mr. Charles. I don’t mind coming back to see you, but I’d rather it be for a friendly visit and not a broken hip.”

Finishing the paperwork at the nurse’s station, he had it signed before he and Shania walked back out to the ambulance. He climbed behind the steering wheel as she buckled into the passenger seat. Now that he was assigned to the Second Battalion’s Clifton Street Station, he’d been partnered with her for the last month. The relationship worked well. She was smart, funny, nurturing, and dedicated to the job. She was also dedicated to busting his chops when needed.

“You were good with him,” she said.

“He reminded me of my grandfather. In fact, it was funny, but I even thought of my mom when he talked about his wife.”

“If nothing else comes in, we can head back to the station.” Just then her phone vibrated, and she grumbled under her breath. “My kids are going to be the death of me.”

“What’s going on?”

“Today was a teacher workday, and for the first time, I allowed my thirteen-year-old daughter to babysit her two younger siblings. Leon was home this morning, and then when he went to work, our next door neighbor had her eye on the house as well. So far, they’ve been fine, but my phone has vibrated with a million texts. Mom, we’re almost out of peanut butter. Mom, I put grape jelly on Julius’ sandwich, but he now says he wants strawberry. Mom, I told him I’m going to take his Xbox away.” She sighed heavily and shoved her phone back into her pocket.

“Belinda’s a good girl. She’s just probably nervous and wants to make sure she gets your approval on everything.”

“Well, I’m just glad there aren’t many teacher workdays in the school year!” As they pulled into the station, she commented, “Your brother’s wedding is this weekend, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, tonight’s the rehearsal and tomorrow is the wedding.”

“I always like weddings. Especially if good food and good music are plentiful. Everybody’s happy, or at least they should be.” She cast a sideways glance toward him. “You taking a date?”

He sighed, scrubbing his hand over his face. One of his recent hookups had been near him at the pub when his group of friends toasted Sean over his upcoming wedding. He’d seen the speculative gleam in her eye, noticed her cozy up with her breasts tight against his arm, and her wide eyes staring up at him. She’d even gone so far as to suggest he should have a date for his brother’s wedding, intimating that she was going to be free. It was one of the many reasons he’d realized hooking up with someone from the Celtic Cock was not the best idea. Continuing to run into someone that he had spent the night with even after they both agreed it would only be one night was something he hated to do. Glancing to the side, he realized Shania was waiting for a response. “I thought about it, but no. I’m not dating anyone and the idea of asking a casual acquaintance and having them around my family just didn’t appeal to me.”

She barked out a laugh. “Afraid your mama would get the wrong idea?”

“Hell, you know my mom. She’d either like the girl and start wanting to plan my own wedding, or she’d ferret out that I had no interest in the girl and would be furious that I’d brought a hook-up to a family event.” Pulling into the station, he drove the ambulance straight into the bay. “It’s all good, though. Blay isn’t taking anyone either, so I won’t be the only one without a date.”

Rory leaned against the side of the church and stared across the expanse of grass in the park leading down to the Inner Harbor in the distance. The wedding was over, and as one of the groomsmen, he’d finished with his required photographs. He’d thought the photographer would never stop having them pose. Pictures of the groomsmen. Pictures of the groomsmen with Sean and Harper. Pictures of just the McBride brothers, and then the McBrides and the Kings. Family pictures. Wedding party pictures.

Those were the hardest. Somehow, it had seemed he’d been placed next to Sandy for most of those photographs. There was no doubt she was as beautiful as ever. Her thick, pale blonde hair was pulled away from her face and arranged in a loose bun near the back of her neck, with wispy, curled tendrils waving about her face. The bridesmaids were all wearing light blue dresses, and Sandy’s showed off her curves and made her blue eyes stand out even more. Her silver, heeled sandals gave her several added inches,