“I’m sure this will be the year,” Noah promised. He’d pledged his allegiance to the city he’d loved for the past twenty years. A true fan rooted for the Browns even if they continuously lost. Every year would be a better year though. Always.
“What’s going on? Not that I’m sad, but usually my little brother, a big badfire chief, is too busy to call his elderly sister except once every weekend.”
“I called Williams and offered him a job today.”
“Jacen Williams??” Abby had known Williams well, as he’d been Noah’s best friend for over a decade. His absence was not forgiven by Abby during Noah’s divorce. “Did he speak to you or let you listen to the dial tone like usual?”
“Cell phones don’t have dial tones. We spoke this time. He wasn’t happy. I don’t know what I was thinking… isn’t five years long enough?”
“It was never your fault. You stood by his side for a year while he froze you out.” She paused, then asked, “You offered him a job?”
“He’s a perfect candidate for captaincy. Not only is he skilled, but PR will also love it.”
“Ah, the hell-bitch director of PR. What’s her name? O’Malley?” Noah was thankful he was working from his home office tonight because he preferred the HQ staff not hear Abby’s commentary.
“Fitzpatrick.” Abby and Hannah Fitzpatrick had butted heads during the news coverage of his appointment to fire chief. “She’s great at what she does. Which is the other reason I’m calling.”
“Are you asking me to do some PR? Because you know the answer,” Abigail said.
“Ideally, this time no one will hunt you down on the internet. However, if a reporter did contact you, could you read a prepared statement?”
“The one where I tell them that you’re the best brother in the world?”
“The one where you tell them I’m hardworking and dedicated to the job.”
“Can I give them your phone number and tell them you’re single?” she suggested.
“Very funny. You could also come here for the big kick-off for my new fire programs in September.”
“That’s changing the subject. You’re not seeing anybody?” This was an ongoing topic of disappointment for Abby.
“No, Mom, I’m not. I’ve got work and work.”
His sister checked to confirm none of her children were nearby. “All work and no play makes Noah a monk. Get laid already.”
Again, good thing he was doing this from the comfort of his own home. “Mom definitely wouldn’t have said that.”
“You’re almost forty. It’s time,” she stated, refusing to let the topic go.
“Time for me to settle down and have kids? I tried that, and it didn’t work.”
Noah knew Abby had considered Kathleen leaving Ohio good riddance to bad garbage. “She didn’t work. You were fine. I’m not asking for nieces or nephews. It’s a long way off. I want you to have someone to make you… happy. And you’re missing out by not getting any.”
“Tell me this isn’t the motivational talk you gave Nathan,” Noah laughed. He loved his sister, sometimes wishing he had the freedom to be as audacious as she was.
“Hank gave the Talk. I bought him condoms. They’re in a jar on top of the mantle. Thus far, none have disappeared.”
“Is that good or bad?” Noah didn’t want to imagine his nephew getting laid. Hilariously, with a similar age spread, it must have been how Abby had felt when Noah had started dating.
“Isn’t ‘no news, good news?’”
Noah considered her statement in the context of Firehouse 15. He’d discovered at the debrief that no news was bad news. If Williams wasn’t willing to bite, he’d have to find someone else. The firehouse needed someone youngish and hungry but disciplined. A captain or lieutenant nearing retirement would be run ragged in a week.
The list of temporary possibilities was short. McClunis would bring the discipline, though the likelihood of her murdering Lieutenant Rodriguez seemed high. It was too close to the opening of the department revamp to send an assistant or even a section chief.
His most capable division chief, Alan Hastings of Operations, was pushing seventy and needed an assistant, not a temporary captaincy. His previous assistant, Haskell, was on a temporary assignment in Battalion 8. Assistant to Division Chief of Operations would be an excellent opportunity for mentorship for Clarke or Rodriguez as Noah himself had trained under Hastings before becoming a battalion chief.
He could send Hudgens to Operations. Her record indicated she could apply for lieutenant this coming year, and he bet Hastings wouldn’t get distracted by imagining her naked.
