“I’m going to be honest with you Michelle. I need a house today and if you can make that happen, I’ll pay extra,” I said, trying to give her my best puppy eyes. “I was supposed to rent from Mrs. McCoy and well that didn’t work out.”
“Oh god, that woman always tries to rent out that house and that man never moves.” She rolled her eyes. “I was hoping to still get some stuff packed up.”
“I’ll stay at the Bed and Breakfast tonight, but I have things coming tomorrow,” I said, wracking my brain for something else to entice her to let me stay tomorrow.
“No, stay tonight, but just be warned I’ll be coming by to pack some things,” she said.
“Deal,” I said, pulling out the envelope of cash I had with me. “This should cover the three months I’ll need the place and extra, for letting me stay here.”
“Uh—” She looked at the envelope in shock.
“Just in time for your trip,” Nova said.
“Holy shit, you sure you don’t want to stay longer than that?” Michelle looked at me with wide eyes.
I shook my head. “I have to be back in Denver in August.”
There was a possibility I wasn’t going to get renewed by the Yetis, but my agent was hopeful we would get something. I justhad to be positive. I would get my friendship back with Jude and I’d go back to hockey. Everything was going to be ok.
6
jude
The fires west of us had been coming closer and the time off I had requested had been denied. I had big plans to go to Sam, help him out for a few days and hopefully salvage our friendship. Except life decided that wasn’t going to happen, and I had been swamped with work. If I wasn’t at work, I was sleeping and I had to go west a few times to help out.
Winds were picking up. With no rain in sight, everyone was worrying that this was going to get worse in the blink of an eye. As it was, we didn’t have a very large force here in this area, even though we did have help coming in from the bigger cities. If things went south, we would have to wait for more help.
Today was a pretty chill day, and the Chief let me go a little early. Everyone was tired from last week and we were all getting out early when we could to rest. I glanced at my phone as I hopped into my truck, seeing a text from Theo.
Theo – Stop by for dinner if you can. I know you've been working hard. Eat, have a beer and I’ll send you home with leftovers, so you don’t have to cook tomorrow.
Me – Depends on what you are making.
Theo – Nova’s making green chicken enchiladas. Two big pans full of rice and beans.
Fuck, I was always down for Nova’s cooking.
Me – On my way.
I wasn’t in the mood for company, but food and beer would help me sleep better tonight. I had a shift out west again tomorrow for a day. Then I'd come back and do another shift at the fire station with hopefully two glorious days off after that. I was desperate for those days off. My mental and physical health needed it.
The moment I stepped out of my car I smelled the enchiladas; my mouth watered and I walked faster. I knocked before walking in, seeing Colt, Atlas and Sol playing some game in the living room. Sol was giggling as I realized they were playing Uno.
“Jude!” Sol yelled as I closed the door. “Come play!”
“I will,” I said. “Let me say hello and I’ll be ready to kick some butt.”
She giggled, setting down a card as Atlas groaned.
I made my way into the kitchen as the smell of utter deliciousness made my mouth water more.
“Hey, Jude,” Nova said as she put a top on a pot. “Just in time. Rice will be done in about fifteen minutes.”
“Great, can I help with anything else?” I asked, giving her a hug.
“Nah, you need to go chill.” She opened the fridge, handing me a beer. “Theo was telling me you've been working nonstop. You need a break.”
My heart warmed. Nova was amazing.
