“Whew-wee,” I hear Cat-Man whisper-shout a little too loudly from behind me, prompting me to glance back at him, my brows raised.
Admiring the chief’s twenty-year-old daughter who is home from college is one thing but catcalling her will result in a much worse punishment than washing the trucks in sweltering conditions.
Plus, though Maggieisa knock-out, she’s too sweet, too innocent, and doesn’t deserve to be disrespected by an inappropriate gesture like that.
Maggie turns to follow the obnoxious sound of Josiah’s whistles, lowering her sunglasses to take in the sight of me and the three other shirtless firefighters working on the vehicles.
“Clay Cameron!” she shrieks with a wide smile and immediately begins sprinting toward me.
Before I can react, she’s launching herself at me, wrapping her tiny arms around my neck and standing on her tiptoes to hug me tightly. The juxtaposition of her soft, supple body against my hard, sweaty one is stark, and she holds me for much longer than she should as I stand frozen, unsure what to do.
It’s been just over a year since I’ve last seen her, the summer before she left for school in Houston. She’s changed a lot from the girl I remember into the woman she is now. We’ve never been particularly close—our families were, but she’d always been just a kid. There was a time when she acted as if she couldn’t stand me, and I was sure I deserved it. So, this warm, enthusiastic welcome is both unsettling and completely out of character.
I stand confused by the affectionate greeting, which feels a lot like we’re long-lost friends and not hardly acquaintances, until I notice her wobble slightly on her thick, wedged sandals beforecatching herself and letting out a soft hiccup.
When she pulls back, she’s smiling at me, all those perfectly white, square teeth, her sunglasses are now pushed up on top of her head and her hazel eyes are shimmering with flecks of green, brown, and full outdrunkenness.
At that moment, the driver’s side door opens and a tall figure with long, shaggy blonde hair and a lean frame steps out. He strides confidently in my direction without acknowledging me.
“Babe,” he calls out, “Let’s get out of here. Go say hi to your dad so we can get going or we’ll miss Kenny Chesney.”
I narrow my eyes, glancing between the two of them and trying to piece together their relationship. This guy certainly has guts showing up at Maggie’s father’s fire department, surrounded by shirtless, muscular firefighters ready to protect the chief’s daughter. But it quickly becomes clear that his confidence is sorely misplaced.
I haven’t paid much attention to Maggie’s social circle in the past, but this guy doesn’t strike me as someone the Chief would want his daughter involved with. Especially since he’s been eagerly anticipating her return for the summer after not seeing her for over a year.
Maggie hiccups beside me again, and before she can say another word, I decide to shut down this shit show before it spirals any further.
“She’s not going with you,” I respond coolly.
Confrontation might not have been my thing when I was younger, but I’ve changed a lot over the past six years, and I’m no longer one to sit back and idly watch as people ruin their lives. Something inside of me tells me that if Maggie Hollister gets in the car with this loser, her life is going to be ruined.
“Fuck off, dude. Don’t you have a fire to go put out or something? Like, I don’t know, maybe the sun? It’s hot as hell out here,” the stupid blonde kid shoots back, clearly annoyed.
I step towards him, moving Maggie behind me slightly in a protective stance before getting closer to his face and taking a discreet sniff of his breath before lowering my voice.
“I’m going to call you a cab and send you to wherever the hell you crawled out of. You’re going to take it and miss out on Kenny Chesney tonight. And Maggie will be going to her home to sleep.”
He hisses in response.
“Or I can call my good friend Sheriff Davenport and have him come get you for drinking and driving, public intoxication, underage drinking and supplying to a minor.”
I hear Maggie gasp behind me as her body stiffens, standing ramrod straight. Shaggy-haired Blondie narrows his eyes, trying to peek around the solid wall of muscle I present to catch a glimpse of her. I casually shift my weight, blocking his view entirely, cutting off any chance of making eye contact with her.
“Don’t even look at her,dude,” I drop my voice lower as I let out a growl that causes the kid to jump backwards slightly.
“Whatever,” He tosses back as he heads towards his vehicle. “I’ll wait in my car for the cab.”
“You’ll wait in the station!” I bark back, causing him to jump and quickly redirect his footsteps to the station instead.
I make sure he’s inside of the building before turning back to Maggie. Her plump lips are slightly parted as she looks up at me, running her tongue across the bottom one nervously. She’s clearly more sober than she’d been a few minutes ago. The brown and green in her eyes swirl with nerves, and for a moment, I hate myself for being the reason behind the fear she’s so clearly wearing all over her face.
I shake my head, reminding myself it’s for her safety.
She’s not your friend, and that guy could’ve seriously hurt someone.
“I won’t tell your dad,” I say, keeping my voice steady. “But you need to get out of here. He’s been telling us all how excited he isabout your summer home from college. He’ll be really hurt if he sees you like this.”
She nods vigorously, her eyes still full of anxiety.
