He was flanked by August, Parker, and Liam. Weston followed in the rear. This would be his first meeting, as he was still in the basic training sessions for new volunteers. Zane appreciated the guys spending an hour at the firehouse when there wasn’t a fire to put out. They were busy with their lives, with children, wives, girlfriends, and fiancées.
Zane didn’t have any of that. Not because he didn’t want it. But because he hadn’t yet figured out how to want it without Mabel.
The rest of the crew, old guys and young guys, even some kids fresh out of high school, trickled in.
Liam elbowed him. “That’s crazy about Mabel.”
Zane’s chest seized, and he swallowed hard. If she had sustained more damage to her trachea than he thought yesterday, he’d have that guy’s head on a platter.
August joined them. “Yeah, we heard about what happened yesterday. That’s messed up.” He was getting married in a couple of weeks, and something about the excitement over that had opened him up a little more. He talked more than he used to with the KNO guys.
Zane opened his mouth to ask Liam what he meant about Mabel, when Weston chimed in. “I heard you laid the guy out. Knocked him out cold.”
Zane felt his back molars squeeze hard against each other. “A toddler could have done that. His blood alcohol was point two!”
Finally, there was enough of a lull in the conversation. Zane stretched his sore knuckles and turned to Liam. “Is Mabel okay?”
Liam frowned. “I think so. Although Tory told meshe was pretty shaken up.”
Should he have stayed there with her longer? He’d wanted to hug her, to pull her close, to be there when the doctor came to examine her. Technically, his job had been done and he needed to walk off the adrenaline. As a paramedic, he was supposed to leave once he’d handed the patient over to the hospital. But in a hospital the size of the county’s, those lines were blurred sometimes because of the lack of staffing. Besides, Mabel needed his help, and he would always help her. He couldn’t stop himself.
A knowing grin formed on Mack’s face. “Dude. She’s fine. I think Liam was referring to something else.”
Liam nodded and clapped a hand on Zane’s shoulder. “Okay, man. Look, I know things with Mabel are complicated.”
Things with Mabel? There were no things with Mabel. Nothing that added up to anything, anyway.
Zane opened his mouth to protest, but Parker interrupted. “We’re not pretending to know exactly what’s going on between you two or what went on before, or…” Parker shook his head. “But you gotta know that Mabel’s going out with another guy.”
Fighting for neutrality, Zane straightened his back, willing his breath to stay even. “So?”
“It’s not a date,” Mack told Parker. “At least, Cady didn’t make it sound like it was official.”
“Ruby said they were going to some function together, so it would technically be a date,” Weston added.
As much as Zane wanted to put someone in a choke hold again just to get some straight answers, he had to control himself.
He fought to maintain his neutral face. “What Mabel does is her business. You guys don’t need to report anything to me.”
The looks on their faces all said,Yeah, whatever.
Liam continued. “Okay, so look. Mabel has this professor. Or it’s an old professor.”
“He’s old?” August asked.
Liam let out an impatient breath. “No.” He laughed as he glanced at August. “At least, I don’t think so. ‘Old’ as in ‘former.’ But, anyway, he guest taught some lectures, and the news got around that he asked Mabel to attend a nursing gala where he’s being honored. He asked her to go as his date.”
August laughed and mumbled something about her being hot for the teacher, but Zane wasn’t having any of it. Mabel had gone on dates in the past. Plenty of times. But now that they were barely speaking to one another, it felt different this time. A roar of jealousy raged inside of him.
This felt oddly final somehow, which should have felt relieving to him.
But it didn’t.
Mabel was moving on.
Chapter 5
For a guy like Zane—two hundred fifty pounds and six-foot-four—a visit to Silver Plum’s one and only grocery store, Food ‘N’ Friends, never ended up being as quick as he would have liked.
