“Thought so.” He tore a bread roll and offered me half. “So who do you talk to when things go sideways?”
The honest answer was no one. I processed things internally, worked them out in my head or with my dragon, and moved on. But sitting across from Percy, watching him demolish bread and fries,something stirred inside me.
“I’m talking to you.”
He paused. My admission had caught him off balance. And his composure slipped before he recovered and pointed the bread at me.
“Damn. That was smooth.”
“It wasn't a line.” I wanted to tell him everything about me, my hopes, worries, and dreams.
“I know.”
We were grinning at each other across the table. His foot brushed over mine, and I put down my fork and was reaching across the table when my pager went off.
The insistent beeping cut through the sounds in the restaurant, and I was on my feet before my brain caught up. Station 12 was paging all off-duty personnel, which meant something big, maybe a multi-alarm fire, but it was something the on-duty crew couldn't handle alone.
“I have to go.” I was already pulling cash from my wallet, dropping enough on the table to cover both meals.
“Go. People need you.I'll be here when you get back. Well, not here, here. But you know what I mean.” He waved his hand. "Go save people and places.”
I wanted to say something that captured the pain of leaving and the enjoyment of the past two hours, but the pager wasn't patient, and neither was a working fire. I squeezed his shoulder as I passed,and the contact sent heat flaringthrough my palm that lingered as I jogged to my truck.
As I pulled onto the highway, I replayed the evening. He’d offered me half his bread without asking. And he'd seen through my hard exterior in the space of a dinner and called it out with a kindness disguised as teasing.
How was it possible to know someone for such a short time and feel likethey’dinterpreted your whole life?
I merged onto the highway and pushed the truck faster. There was a fire to fight and a crew that needed me. But for the first time in longer than I could remember, there was also someone who'd be there when the smoke cleared.
SEVEN
PERCY
Larkin had texted at two a.m.
Everyone's safe. Sorry I ran.
I'd typed,Go to sleep,Lieutenant,and stayed awake for another hour, counting the minutes until I saw him again.
But today was competition day, and my breakfast was threatening to reappear. Not because I was nervous, but I'd eaten three eggs, four slices of toast, and drunk half a pot of coffee, and now I was standing in the sun wearing forty-five pounds of gear while my stomach revolted.
There’s a revolution? With pitchforks?My dragon peered through my gaze.
Don’t worry. It’s just my stomach.
I adjusted the straps on my air pack and bounced on my toes. The hose drag relay was the first event of the cup. Station 12 was in red, while blue was Station 9’s color. A crowd of locals had wandered over to watch because small-town entertainment options were limited.
The event was straightforward: a team of four had to connect a hose to the hydrant, get the water flowing, and then drag two hundred feet of the heavy, water-filled line to a target and knockit down with the spray. The fastest team was the winner. But the hose weighed a ton once the water hit it, and controlling the nozzle when the pressure was pushing back was like arm-wrestling a bear. Or a dragon.
I was on the nozzle, so the one who had to brace against the kickback and aim. I'd been doing it for ages, and I was damned good at it.
Briggs gave me a thumbs-up. Hallie was stretching her shoulders, and Tom, our fourth, was doing that thing where he muttered to himself.
I scanned the field. Station 12 was on the other side, huddled around their lieutenant, who was talking in a low voice. For a moment, I lost focus as an image of Larkin at dinner had me gulping and sent a trail of goosebumps sprawling over my skin.
Larkin glanced up and our eyes met. A slow heat spread through me as I recalled him squeezing my shoulder at the restaurant. I could still feel it, though that might have been my imagination.
I dragged my attention to the hydrant we'd be using. I could think about Larkin's quirky grin, intense gaze and large hands after we'd won the cup.
