“Can I take off my boots first?” I asked, supporting myself on the ambo. Korbin shook his head and turned away, returning to the kitchen.
“No. It’s urgent.”
Urgency in this job was never good, though it was always required. I quickly glanced over my shoulder at Hansen, who looked equally confused before following Korbin into the kitchen. I pushed the door open and stopped short, my jaw dropping open. Standing around the table were half my crew; some guys were missing, including Tanner Rey, but most of them were there. Sat in the middle of the table was an enormous orange and red frosted cake decorated with the words:We’re Glad You’re Still Alive!
“It’s not much,” said Korbin with a shrug. “But there’s cake. We figured you deserved cake.”
“Holy shit,” I said, and some of the guys laughed. I looked over my shoulder at Hansen, wondering if he’d planned all this, but his eyes were open wide as he took in the scene. “Thanks, guys.” I looked around the room. “I thought you were all still mad at me.”
“You went into a burning building to save this jackass,” Nick said, taking my jacket from me, the first thing he’d done all the time I’d known him that didn’t make him a complete asshole. “That’s the kind of thing a true fireman does to save his family.”
“Firewoman,” I corrected, and Korbin rolled his eyes. “And I hope you’d all do the same for me.”
“Let’s not get too cocky,” Korbin said, but then a ghost of a smile flitted across his lips.
“I baked the cake,” Finn cut in. He looked mighty proud of himself until Korbin scoffed loudly, punching him playfully in the arm. Finn flinched, glaring at him.
“Then you dropped it on the floor,” Chief Davis, standing on the other end of the table, said with a small smile. I grinned, grateful to see him there. Chief Davis was one of my favorite people.
“Yeah, that’s why it’s sunken down in the middle,” muttered Nick.
“Don’t expect a cake for everything you do right,” Korbin said stiffly, reaching for the knife on the table to cut the cake. “You’ve still got plenty of time to screw up.”
I looked around at my crew, and for the first time since I’d known them, I had a deep sense of belonging settle inside me, reassuring me of what was to come.
I just might, after all, finally fit in.
Chapter24
Hansen
“Mayor Jensen. Hello, we weren’t expecting you.” The following day, I stood so fast from the table that coffee sloshed from my mug down my shirt, burning the skin underneath. I winced and grabbed a paper towel to sop up the mess. Mayor Jensen walked through the door, his hand out for me to shake. He was smiling, but behind that smile was a steely glint that sent a shiver down my spine.
“No worries, Mr. Hansen, I didn’t let anyone know I was coming,” Jensen said. He dropped his hand after shaking mine and looked around the room as if searching for something or someone. “Where is everybody?” he asked.
“They’re upstairs still. Engine One had a call at about four this morning. They’re catching up on some much-needed rest.”
“I see.” Mayor Jensen nodded his head once, eyes still skimming the room in the same way a principal might scan a new teacher’s classroom. I stood there awkwardly for a moment, unsure what to say or do. Typically, we were prepared for a visit from the mayor ahead of time, but this must have been an impromptu trip for him, one I obviously wasn’t prepared for.
“I heard about the call your crew went on the other day,” Jensen said, his balding head catching the light from the ceiling. “You know, word gets around.”
“Please, have a seat.” I signaled to the table, and Jensen sat heavily in one of the wooden chairs, folding his hands on the tabletop in front of him. He was an intimidating man, Jensen, but I’d dealt with worse. Mayor Jensen also happened to be a man I didn’t particularly like.
“The girl, Paisley Hill,” Jensen said, pinning his beady eyes on me. “She came back to work?”
“Yes, of course,” I said, feigning a smile. I was glad Paisley was still upstairs because being called ‘the girl’by the mayor of all people would probably be grounds for a throat punch, and I wouldn’t even blame her for it.
“I see,” Mayor Jensen said. He looked around again, seeming slightly uncomfortable. “Were you expecting her to?”
“I—I’m not sure how to answer that, Mayor. She was merely doing her job. It was up to her whether she could take the heat, no pun intended, and return to work to continue. And she did. She’s doing well.”
Silence settled over the table. Upstairs, I heard the water in the shower room turn on, alerting us that the crew was waking up. Mayor Jensen looked back at me.
“Does she shower with them, too?”
“The stalls are draped off from each other,” I told him. “She doesn’t walk around up there undressed.”
“Would your men appreciate it if she did?”
