“I’m telling you,that woman doesn’t make a bad batch.” Troy Kelleher snapped off a piece of the cookie, shaking his head and clucking his tongue. “This goes on record: she’s an even better baker than her dad.”
Mitch knew better than that, having stumbled into Faith’s baking mishap just the other day. But he kept that information to himself. It seemed she’d chucked those burnt cookies exactly where they’d belonged—the trashcan.
But he couldn’t deny the impressive platter of treats that had been dropped off at the firehouse during his workout. A dozen cookies sprinkled with sugary perfection. Several small loavesof pumpkin bread studded with melted chocolate chips and dusted with powdered sugar. And a handful of colorful cupcakes, each resembling something straight out of a Martha Stewart magazine.
“What I wouldn’t give to have a woman like that baking for me,” Troy mused, snorting as he took more than his fair share of sweets into his palm.
Mitch didn’t dignify the misogynistic comment with a response, but he did get in line for one of the cookies.
“No woman’s ever going to want to bake for you, Kelleher,” Danny Ramsey asserted with a quick jab to his colleague’s side. “Not once they realize how much you consume in a day.”
“Or how pigheaded you are,” RJ Townsend added.
Mitch stayed on the periphery of the conversation, quietly observing the ranks. He knew better than to insert himself in a conversation he had no real stake in.
But he didn’t have the luxury of silence for long.
“What about you, Abernathy?” Danny turned his attention to Mitch, pointing at him with a half-eaten sugar cookie. “You got a woman at home?”
“No woman,” Mitch said, thankful for his turn at the table of desserts. He selected his treat, then stepped back to offer the others room to get theirs.
“Guy like you doesn’t have a wife?” RJ questioned.
“Not even a girlfriend,” Mitch admitted with a chuckle.
“Well, you stick around Snowdrift long enough and that status will likely change,” Troy interjected. Mitch wasn’t sure he cared for any sort of relationship advice coming from someone who still chewed with his mouth open. “The women will go absolutely feral once they learn you’re not already spoken for.”
Oh, Mitch sincerely doubted that.
His interactions with Faith alone proved he wasn’t exactly a hit with the ladies. She’d gone so far as to make Mitch feel mildly repulsive. That didn’t feel so great. Was he really so bad?
“I’m not really in the market to date.” That wasn’t the purpose of his relocation to Snowdrift, anyway.
Sure, he’d wanted to start over, but dating had been the furthest thing from his mind. Rebuilding his confidence in a career he’d pinned his entire future upon was the only goal. Relationships would come later, if at all.
“I’ve got a sister that you might like.” Troy didn’t let up, like a determined dog on a bone. “Petite blonde. Super book smart. I’ll give you her number.”
Mitch just nodded. Sometimes, that was all you could do with guys like Troy. They didn’t know when to throttle back.
“What was it like at your last firehouse?” Danny had moved closer to Mitch’s shoulder, so the question wasn’t loud enough for all to hear. But that didn’t keep Mitch from tensing.
A cold bead of sweat trickled down his spine, and the cupcake he’d been munching on suddenly felt like sawdust in his dry mouth. He tried to choke it down.
“I’ve always thought working in the city would be so much more exciting than up here in the mountains,” Danny filled in when Mitch didn’t immediately respond. “I bet you got some crazy calls.”
“It was busy,” Mitch said with an imperceptible shrug. “Never a dull moment.”
He recognized it was a vague reply, but it appeared to appease the young firefighter, despite the lack of details.
“I bet. I hope to get transferred to a big city someday. It’s gotta be a lot more exciting than hanging around here where the action is minimal.”
Exciting? Maybe to some, but for Mitch, it had only led to burnout. And costly mistakes.
“I think Snowdrift has plenty to offer,” he supplied, hoping his words were an endcap to their conversation.
But Danny in his youthful eagerness kept going.
“Yeah, if you like rote and repetition. But seriously, the most interesting thing to happen is the occasional avalanche, and even then, it’s usually the Ski Patrol or Search and Rescue teams that get all the fun.” The kid frowned. “And would you believe we haven’t had an actual fire around here in four months? Even that was just a controlled burn that got a little out of hand. No structures or anything. Totally boring.”
