McKenna glances around the porch and front lawn at all our guests, a broad smile on her face. “And that’s it. Well, that and him putting the ring on my finger and all the crew celebrating our engagement with a cake they had brought in. But then he had to leave for Iceland for six months, so we didn’t set a date yet.”
McKenna’s friends gather around her, all hugging her and chatting.
My mom swipes a tear from her eye and softly smiles at Dad, who wraps an arm around her shoulder.
My brother, Luke, steps over and stands next to me. “Well, that’s that. Our baby sister’s getting married.” He stares at her, hands in his pockets, lips drawn into a line, his head slightly bobbing.
I nod. It’s going to take some getting used to.
“I’m happy for her,” I tell Luke.
“Yeah. Me too. It’s just crazy.”
My eyes drift toward Carli. She’s standing next to McKenna, smiling and laughing, her blonde braid shining in the sunlight. I have thoughts of her—thoughts I shouldn’t have.
“Yeah. It’s crazy.”
Guests lingered well past sunset. I grabbed a little sleep and came in for my shift at seven thirty.
We’re in the bay doing morning checks, but my mind is still only half here. Half of me is still on the ranch.
Dustin’s words snap me out of my spiraling thoughts. “Cody. Earth to Cody …”
I look around the bay and then at him. “Huh? … Okay. Yes.” I don’t know what I’m saying yes to, but over fifty percent of the time, yes is a safe answer.
Did I just space out? One hundred percent yes.
We’re just checking and rolling hoses—a job I could do in my sleep. And my mind is unhelpfully replaying the way Carli looked at me before I hightailed it away from her truck at the end of the night.
All evening I’d catch her looking at me or averting her gaze as soon as I glanced over at her. When McKenna announced her engagement, Carli’s gaze met mine. I don’t know what she was thinking. A flash of her in white filled my thoughts. Then Luke walked up and I was abruptly reminded why thinking of Carli as anything but my sister’s best friend is strictly off limits.
The rest of the evening, Carli and I seemed to be in this silent dance. She’d look, I’d glance away. I’d look, she’d smile shyly. We’d both go to grab something and our hands would brush. I have no clue what’s going on with her and we’re neveralone long enough for me to actually approach her. Not that I’d come right out and ask her anything. I can’t—so I won’t.
I run my hand down my jaw, looking Dustin in the eyes. His amused grin tells me this was one of the times my answer should have been, “No.”
His smile only spreads wider when he says, “Okay, yes?”
He raises a single brow. “You’re okay with posing solo out front of the station in your firefighter calendar outfit to raise funds for the upcoming pet adoptions?”
“Lack of outfit,” I mutter, referring to the shirtless poses we had to do in the name of charity. “And no.”
The bay fills with laughter from our whole crew. I’m the brunt of the jokes for now. We rotate on the skewer. The teasing rarely lands on Greyson, but the rest of us take our turns in the hot seat. It’s all in fun.
“So, you’re going back on your word?” Dustin goads me.
“What did you really say?” I ask.
“I said, let it drain,” he admits, pointing to the full hose at my feet.
“Oh, yeah. Right. I’ll do that.”
We let the water out of the hose and roll it back tightly, Dustin and I working in tandem. Then we load the hose neatly back into the bed of the engine.
“Cody? A word?” Captain says, sticking his head into the bay.
“Coming!” I say, grateful for the reprieve from the harassment of my crew.
“Have a seat,” Captain says. “And shut the door.”
