Page 127 of My Favorite Hero

“You’re quieter than usual,” she observed.

“Sorry. Had a long talk with the chief. Shifts are changing.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“Not necessarily. Right now, I’m the only guy who does the three-on, four-off. I’ve been building up my extra time, planning on adding it on close to retirement. He allowed it because, at the time, staffing was cut due to budgets. I don’t get extra pay, just bank the hours. But it’s been determined from the higher-ups that it’s no longer allowed since we have enough people again. So it’s back to two-on, four-off.”

“Oh.”

I rubbed my jaw. “It’s fine. I’ve only been doing it for about a year, so no big deal. I’m single, so it wasn’t a hardship. The married ones prefer being home at night.”

“Makes sense.”

Our appetizers arrived, and the scent of the garlic shrimp wafted between us. My stomach growled, and we dug in, the seafood delicious.

“How many firefighters are there? I was surprised the other day—there seemed to be more than I expected.”

I grinned, feeling self-conscious. “We’re a small station, and we rely on volunteer firefighters to help keep costs down. My being there a third night actually worked well since you can’t depend on them consistently. Sometimes they’re not available to come help. But they’re part of us.”

“Does every station have volunteers?”

“Some small towns only have volunteers, aside from a captain.”

“Maybe I should become one.”

I paused, my last shrimp hanging in the air. “Lots of heights, climbing, and heavy lifting.”

“Never mind, then.”

I chuckled. “You’d rock the gear, Pixie.”

She laughed. “I think I’ll leave that to you, Thorne.”

I decided that was a good idea. I wasn’t sure I could handle Casey around the station—or going out to an incident. I’d be far too worried to concentrate.

I winked at her. “Good plan.”

The rest of the meal was incredible, and we shared our mains. I had steak, and she ordered grilled halibut. Both were equally enjoyable. I laughed when she informed me she wasn’t sharing her dessert.

“Crème brûlée, Thorne. Not a chance.”

I ordered the apple crisp, once again amused as she dipped her spoon into my dish, while keeping hers out of reach. She hummed around a mouthful. “Delicious.” She winked.

“I noticed the other day after the truck pulled in, you didn’t come inside right away,” she said. “I wondered why?”

“As soon as we return from an incident, our first priority is to refurbish the truck. Fill the water and air tanks, clean and rewind the hoses. Everything needs to be ready in case we have to head out again. Some days we do that over and over. Other days, it happens once. You never know, so you have to be prepared. We work as a team, so it only takes about fifteen minutes, usually.” I took a bite of my crisp, enjoying the bite of the cinnamon and the sweetness of the apple. “Plus, each of us is responsible for our PPE.”

At her questioning look, I smiled. “Personal protection equipment.”

“Ah.”

“Sometimes it needs cleaning, and we always need to make sure our breathing apparatus is fully filled.”

“Oxygen?” she guessed.

“Nope. Compressed air.”

“Oh.”