Page 56 of Dandelions and Smoke

Her whole face lights up. Her bright blue eyes go wide, and her smile grows, making my heart skip a beat. She bounces around the corner of the counter to get to me and jumps up for a hug, wrapping her arms around my neck. I drop my arms around her, pulling her tightly into me, breathing in the scent of her, warm vanilla and something sweet, mixed with the smells of the cafe. I nestle my head into the crook of her neck like it’s home, taking an extra second to enjoy this before pulling away, letting all the stress from my worries slide off of me, and setting her feet back onto the floor.

“What are you doing here?” she asks, pleasantly surprised.

“I was on the way back from City Hall and thought I’d stop by.” My eyes shift to Ainsley before returning my gaze to hers. “I was thinking we could have lunch together.”

Admittedly, I was only stopping by to say hello, but after what Ainsley and Tris said, I think stopping by for lunch every day Rory is working might not be a bad idea. Her ADHD has never been a secret to me. She’s been open about it, but it hasn’t been a conversation piece either. It’s simply a part of who she is, but if there are things I can do to help alleviate some of the not-so-great symptoms, like forgetting to eat, then why not support her where I can?

“Ooo, that sounds great. I think I’m actually starving,” she realizes with a laugh. Turning, she looks between the girls. “Would you two mind if I take my break now?”

They wave her off, and she makes us both turkey club sandwiches before we sit down. Rory chooses to sit at one of the long tables that line the windows. Unsurprisingly, it’s the one bathed in the most sunlight. She still refuses to accept the cold weather, and since it’s January, that’s all we have here in the Adirondacks.

Ainsley has covered the cafe with some sort of white flowers, making the hanging vines on the wall stand out, giving everything inside that cozy cabin feeling. With each passing season, there’s always something more that I appreciate about my home here. This cafe will always be at the top of the list now.

“So what did you do at City Hall, Mr. Chief?” Rory teases while we eat.

“Oh, you know, just fulfilling all my super chiefly duties,” I joke back.

“Ah, yes.” She nods, pretending to be serious. “The very important paper pushing.”

I laugh, shoulders shaking. “I’ll have you know I put out two fires this morning.”

Rory’s eyes widen as she leans in, excited to hear about it. “Really?”

“Yes, there was a small fire in the kitchen at The Harvest Cellar. Their whole ventilation system needs replacing soon, but the owner doesn’t seem too concerned.”

“And the second fire?” she asks.

My eyes narrow, trying to mask my amusement, but I start to laugh. “The second fire was because of Billy and Mark.”

“Stop,” she says in disbelief, eyes bulging. “Of course it was.”

“Yeah, I thought Levi was actually going to kill them this time.” I shrug. “I wouldn’t blame him, but it did make for a realistic training session.”

“If they put it out, then technically you only put out one fire,” she points out, like I knew she would.

I lean in, looking over her shoulder to where Tris is still attempting to sweep the floors, and drop my voice to a whisper. “Who do you think calmed down Levi?”

She snorts loudly, and we both laugh together.

“Okay, that’s a fair point. That’s one wildfire only Tris knows how to handle.” She shakes her head.

We’re just about finished with our lunch when the culprits of said fire walk through the door.

“Aw, are we too late to join the party?” Mark grins, pulling up a chair.

Levi heads right over to Tris to say hello, and Billy joins us.

“Ainsley, looks like our order of Strawberry Shortcake has arrived on time after all,” Rory teases, achieving the reaction she’s hoping for as Billy sits down with a huff.

“Hardy-har, so funny,” he grumbles. “The pink is almost all washed out. We can stop with the nicknames now.”

An echo of disagreement sounds from the group. Watching Billy’s bright pink hair take weeks to fade out has been the highlight of most of our days. His harrowed screaming as he ran through the station after unknowingly applying it in the shower will forever play in my head on a reel of favorite moments.

“I’ve learned my lesson, Pinky,” he laughs, being a good sport.

“Do tell,” she insists.

“Knock before entering,” he grumbles.