I laugh. “People are still using that excuse?”
“Oh, but it gets better,” Anna smirks. “We live in a town with, what, 300 people? Everyone knows everyone. And I know for a fact that this kid doesn’t even have a dog.”
I burst out laughing. “Did you call him out?”
“Of course. But because I’m the best teacher ever, I gave him a chance to make it up. And then I reminded him that I know his mama, so he better not ever lie to me again.
“That poor kid.” I shake my head, still grinning.
Anna grasps dramatically. “Poor kid? Poor me! This is the level of nonsense I deal with every single day.”
I roll my eyes, but it feels good—letting myself laugh, even if just for a moment.
“Oh! I forgot.” Anna perks up. “Tomorrow, I need to head over to Ink & Paper. Hilda’s holding onto some books for my students. Want to come with me?
I nod, warmth spreading in my chest. “Definitely. I love that place.”
CHAPTER 4
Sebastian
I’m leaning against one of the trucks in the firehouse, surrounded by the guys, my uniform soot-stained from this morning’s drill. It’s been one hell of a morning.
Cap simulated a warehouse fire for our drill, complete with thick smoke and controlled flames. I had to lead the team through the dark and smoky space, practicing search and rescue maneuvers, and crawling on our hands and knees to stay below the smoke.
The heat was intense, and now, standing here in the aftermath, I look like hell. The guys are all laughing as I tell them how Libby called me again to get her cat out of a tree.
“I swear that cat waits until I’m about to start a 3-day shift to put me to work,” I say, shaking my head. “I walk over to the tree, and the damn thing jumps right on my head! I didn’t even have to climb up. Just landed on me like it was planned.”
My friends burst into laughter, shaking their heads.
“The cat has it out for you, man,” Mateo says between chuckles.
“Right?” I run a hand through my hair. “I’m telling you, she does it on purpose.”
The clock on the wall catches my eye, and my stomach drops. Shit.
“I almost forgot—I gotta head out,” I say, already pushing off the truck.
“Forgot what, Seb?” Andres asks, raising an eyebrow.
“Picking up Maya from school. I promised I’d bring her back here for a bit.”
Maya’s my six-year-old niece and, hands down, the coolest kid I know. She’s been begging me to come back here every day, and I finally caved. Her mom, my sister, Analyse, is a teacher at the elementary school, and since I wanted to spend time with Maya, I offered to pick her up for a few hours.
Luckily, we live in a town where nothing ever really happens, so it’s easy to bring her here. If the alarm does go off, Hilda runs right over to grab her. Ink & Paper is right across the street, so she hears the alarm before the rest of the town does.
Everyone in this town looks out for each other—it’s just how things are. Hilda has always been there, part of the background of my life, and she always will be. She's watched me grow up, just like the rest of the town, and at this point, she’s just as much family as anyone else.
Andres claps me on the shoulder. “Well, you’d better get going then. Can’t leave our girl waiting.”
When Maya was born, we all fell in love with her instantly. There was no hesitation, no question, she was ours. She had a whole firehouse of uncles before she could even hold up her head, a team of men who would drop everything for her, no questions asked.
The first time Analyse brought her to the station, she was just a few weeks old, wrapped up in the softest pink blanket, with a tiny fist curled near her face. We all crowded around, this group of rough, soot-covered men turning into absolute mush at the sight of her. And from that moment on, she had us.
Birthdays, school plays, scraped knees—we were there. We taught her how to ride her bike in the firehouse lot, chasing after her while she wobbled on training wheels. We let her sit in the trucks, honk the horn, and pretend to be just like us. She’s got an entire army behind her. And if anyone ever dares to mess with her, well…let’s just say they’d regret it.
Her dad walked out before she was even born. A fucking scumbag who didn’t want to be in her life. I was furious when it happened—furious for Analyse, for Maya, for the fact that this coward of a man couldn’t see what he was leaving behind. So the guys and I stepped in, and promised we’d always be there for her and Analyse. A promise we all intend to keep.
