“Is it?” The chief slung an arm around Tex and walked him out of the office. “Let’s have a chat about that, son.”
Mack wanted to laugh at his friend’s discomfort.
Sue did it for him. “I swear. Tex dating the chief’s daughter is like a gift from heaven. Ed and I thought it would be a nightmare, but it’s turned into so much fun. For me.” She laughed again.
“Me too.” Mack waited until Sue’s laughter died before he added, “I’m sorry about Templeton. I wouldn’t have touched him at all except he threw a punch.”
“And once again, you’re my problem and I’m not even your lieutenant.” Sue sighed.
“We all know how crowded and unsafe a fight would be in the gym. I’m really sorry, Sue.”
“But that hit had to be satisfying, right?” She grinned. “I’ve been wanting to deck that prick since he got here last week. Not that I’m telling you that.”
“Not that I’m hearing anything you say. I never listen.”
“Yeah, that’s what Ed says about you.” Sue shook her head. “Say, that reminds me. Make sure you get with Ed when you’re back on duty. We’ve been checking schedules since the holidays are nearly here. I don’t think your crew has had any vacations in a while. Not that you’d get one this close to the end of the year, but still. Time off helps. Take it.”
“Nah, I’m good. Besides, we don’t work Thanksgiving or New Year’s.”
“Lucky bastard.”
“Yep.” Mack grinned, talked a bit more with Sue about his car, of which she was a huge fan, then left for the gym once more.
The great thing about working with his team in their fire station was the people. He wasn’t lying to himself when he admitted to loving his job because of his crew. But it went deeper than that. Mack enjoyed his peers and his bosses. As much as their four-man crew teased the other crew in C shift, he would go into a fire with any of them at his back.
But he knew how badly one bad apple could spoil the barrel. It had happened often enough back in his Air Force days. A great platoon with an awesome lieutenant and terrific staff NCOs. Then a new sergeant would come in and ruin everything. They’d need to make sure nothing hampered the team with Templeton on board.
Especially since it seemed Tex would have to monitor the guy.
“Get your ass chewed?” Reggie asked.
Brad joined him, cornering Mack by the pull-up bar.
“Nah.” In a low voice, Mack said, “Sue laughed, and the chief cheered us on.” Not everyone needed to know about the hate on Templeton, not if the guy had a passing chance of turning good. “Then the chief said Tex could babysit the guy and walked him out of the office for some ‘father-son’ time.”
Brad laughed, and Reggie slugged Mack on the shoulder.
“I love it so much that Tex is dating Bree,” Reggie said. It hadn’t always been that way, but with Bree such a terrific match for Tex and Reggie softening his views on dating thanks to his recent engagement, love was in the air.
Perpetually.
Probably why Mack kept thinking about Cass and whatshe’dthink of his takedown. She’d be into it, for sure. Probably give him pointers on how to be more effective when dealing with an unruly perp. He grinned.
As a former Security Forces specialist for the Air Force, or what the other services referred to as military police, Mack knew how to handle physical conflict. In his job as a firefighter and EMT especially, that knowledge came in handy.
He wondered how much in-depth knowledge Cass had about hand-to-hand combat. She’d jacked him up nicely at the bar, but he hadn’t put up any resistance.
“What are you thinking so hard about?” Brad asked, staring at him.
“Huh?”
“You have a dopey look on your face.” He looked at Reggie, then they both looked at him and said at the same time, “It’s a woman.”
“Ha. Whatever.” Normally, Mack shared everything with the guys. They knew how much he loved classic cars, that he didn’t care too much about dating since women had always come easily to him, and that he would never,ever, indulge in peppermint schnapps and mint Oreos ever again. But getting real about Cass was different. He’d never been so lovestruck before, and it confused him.
Tex entered the gym with an annoyed expression. “Talk about a shitty day.”
“Maybe for you.” Reggie smiled wide. “Mack’s got a new girlfriend.”
