Keeping It Professional (Love Heals All Wounds #2)

1. Miles

CHAPTER 1

MILES

I could feel my day getting ready to suck.

It was a beautiful morning, midwinter crisp, pretty enough to put in a snow globe. The first birds were up and cheeping away. I was hunched up like a grumpy old crow, putting off heading into the station. The second I did, the suckage would start, and it would keep sucking for days. Maybe weeks.

I checked my watch: quarter to five. Another five minutes, and I’d head in. I’d finish my coffee, send up a quick prayer, then I’d go in and?—

“Fletcher. You’re here.” Jones poked his head out. “Clive says quit stalling and get your ass inside.”

I chugged the last of my coffee and tossed the cup in the trash. “Tell him I died.”

Jones laughed. “Come on. She can’t be that bad.”

I groaned, because yeah. Yeah, she could. A new partner was never fun, even a good one, and a bad one — a bad one would ruin your life. A bad one would cost lives. My stomach felt tight.

“Clive wouldn’t hire someone who can’t do the job.” Jones patted my arm, but I shook him off. He was newish himself, two years on the job. He’d had the same partner the whole damn time.

“You don’t get it,” I said.

Jones frowned. “Get what?”

“You know when Ford calls out sick and you’re stuck with whoever? This is like that , but for weeks, maybe months. There’s this whole settling-in period, finding your rhythm, and just when you think you’re on the right track, you butt heads over something, and you’re back to square one. You know what it’s like? It’s like a first date. A weeks-long first date with lives on the line.”

Jones shot me a sort of wary half-smile, like he was trying to work out if I was kidding or not. I curled my lip at him to show him I wasn’t.

“ Fletcher! Get in here! I see you out there.”

We both winced at Clive’s bellow. I sighed. “Wish me luck.”

“Fletcher, I swear to God…”

I groaned, braced myself, and marched back to Clive’s office. His irritation seemed to fill the small room, and I knew he’d been dreading this as much as I was.

“This is Sophie,” he said, as I walked in. “She’s straight out of training, first day on the job, so I’m counting on you to?—”

I caught sight of Sophie, and my heart took a dive. My ears rang. My blood boiled. I gritted my teeth. She looked like a doll or a kid’s action figure, all cute and shiny, fresh from the box. Paramedic Barbie. What was Clive thinking? He was still droning on, touting her bona fides, but all I could see was her dumb rookie glow, bright eyes, big smile, like she couldn’t wait to dive in. She had no idea. Not the first clue.

Clive scowled at me. “Got it?”

I hadn’t heard a damn word, but I nodded anyway. “Sure. Hi. I’m Fletcher.” I stuck out my hand. Sophie grabbed it and pumped it, and her whole face lit up.

“It’s so great to meet you.”

“Yeah, likewise. Great.” I tried to keep the sarcasm out of my voice, but Sophie glanced at Clive, then back at me. Her smile dimmed a moment, then came back full force.

“I’m a quick learner, don’t worry. I won’t slow you down.”

Bubbly. She was bubbly. Like a sink full of suds. She might’ve been fun to meet out at the bar, all peaches and cream and pretty blue eyes. But here on the job, she’d be a disaster. The thing was with bubbles, they tended to burst. They left a ring in your sink, and streaks of soap scum. She’d puke her first shift or break down in tears, or if I got lucky, she’d full-on faint. Panic, pass out, face-plant on a patient.

“Go on,” said Clive. He nodded at Sophie. “Turn in your paperwork. He’ll be right along.”

I bit my tongue till her footsteps died out, then I let loose. “Are you kidding? Some rookie?”

Clive sagged. He looked tired. “Can’t you just take this for the compliment it is?”

I sputtered. “A compliment? How do you figure?”

“She’s got to learn from someone, and I picked you. You’ll teach her good habits. Start her off right.”

I wanted to argue — couldn’t someone else do it? Someone more patient, someone with kids? Someone who could deal with her starry-eyed joy? For me, this was serious, life and death business. But Clive would just say that’s why he picked me, so she’d learn to treat each call with the same care I did. And he would have a point, but still — but still .

“What is she, nineteen?”

“She’s twenty-six. Don’t be a jerk. This job’s hard enough without you being a sourpuss.”

Clive had made up his mind, that much was plain. I sighed one more time to vent my distaste, then stalked out to meet Sophie and start our shift. She was giggling with Jones, because of course she was. I whistled at her to get her attention.

“Okay, come on. Maintenance check.” I jerked my head at our rig. Sophie came bouncing over. She was practically vibrating — excitement or nerves? From the smile on her face, I guessed mostly the former, but the gap between anticipation and anxiety was too slim by far. Physically, chemically, they were much the same. She was going to be jumpy. I’d have to watch out.

“It’s important, to start with, you?—”

“So, since it’s our first shift, should I— Oh, sorry.” Sophie’s blue eyes went wide. “What were you saying?”

I narrowed my eyes at her. She needed to chill. She hadn’t quit fidgeting once since I’d met her, shifting foot to foot, rubbing her hands. I mimicked her foot-shifting.

“You need a break?”

“Huh?”

“You’re doing the pee-pee dance. You need the bathroom?”

Her cheeks went bright pink. “No, I do not . It’s just cold as balls in here. Should’ve layered up.” She rubbed at her arms, then stood still at last. “So, should I do the check, since it’s my first day? Y’know, so you’ll spot if I miss any steps?”

“That’s what the checklist’s for.” I jabbed my finger at her clipboard, but she had a point. Even if she followed the checklist exactly, she might stow some gear someplace expected. That could cost precious seconds out on a call. “All right,” I said. “We’ll run through together.”

We checked the oxygen tanks, main, portable, and backup, then the odometer, the fuel tank, and all our fluids. Sophie checked our tire pressure while I did belts and hoses, then she got in and tested the lights.

“What’s next?” I asked, when she was done. “Don’t check your list. From memory.”

Sophie took a deep breath. She bit her lip. “Sirens, electronics, AC and wipers. Exhaust fan. Reverse alarm. All of that. Then we get out and check the outside, if the doors open smooth, if there’s weather strips peeling. We check the back step, the running boards, windows, antennas. Anything that moves, we make sure it’s smooth. Anything attached, we check it’s on tight.”

I found myself relaxing, if only a hair. Sophie was thorough, if nothing else. She was meticulous as we checked our equipment. Everything countable, she counted it twice, then stowed it back right where she’d found it. By the time we were done, we were running late, but just by ten minutes. For a first day, not bad.

“I didn’t catch your first name,” said Sophie, as I signed out our bus.

I stiffened slightly. “It’s Miles. But I’m Fletcher at work.”

Sophie chuckled at that, though I couldn’t see what was funny. “Then I guess I’m Reeves. Where are you from? You don’t sound like you’re from Boston. I’d guess Indiana, maybe? Or Tennessee?”

I sucked a breath through my nose and let it out slow. I couldn’t blow up at her on her first day. However antsy she was, that would double her nerves, and the last thing I needed was her freaking out.

“I’m from here,” she went on, oblivious. Smiling. She had a sweet smile, gentle. Sincere. Patients might like it, find some comfort there. Me, I found it annoying, directed at me. Like she was trying to win my approval.

“You can’t suck up,” I said.

Sophie’s smile vanished like a magician’s rabbit. Her brows drew together. “Excuse me?”

I wanted to kick myself. I’d gone and snapped at her. I hadn’t meant it to come out as harsh as it did, but she needed to understand this was a workplace.

“When I’m at work, I’m at work.” I gestured around us. “I check my personal life at the door, and you should too. When you’re on the job, you need to be on it, not distracted with accents or my first name.”

Sophie’s smile was already back, wide with relief. “Oh, right. I get it. You start getting personal, where does it stop? They covered that in training, situational awareness. Got to stay focused, or you’ll make mistakes.”

“That’s right.” I forced a smile of my own. She’d got the message, and she wasn’t offended, but I’d lost awareness myself. Let frustration take hold. “Listen, why don’t you go borrow a sweater? It is cold out there, and cold gets distracting. Clive has some from our fun run in a box in his office.”

Sophie strode off and Jones edged up beside me. He nudged me hard in the ribs.

“Nice one. Real smooth.”

“Isn’t your shift over?” I shot him a glare.

“Sandy’s picking me up. She’s not off till six.” He covered a yawn so wide his jaw cracked.

“Long shift?”

“The longest.” He pulled a sour face. “I know I say it every year, but no one knows how to?—”

“—drive in this weather.” I rolled my eyes. “We were posted last night near Morton and Harvard, and you should’ve seen this idiot came screaming through. He hit a patch of black ice and did a three-sixty, and I’m not even joking, he never slowed down.”

“They should make drivers ride with us before they get their license. Let them see how they end up when they don’t get that lucky.”

“Right?” I wished Clive had gone on and made Jones my partner. He talked too much for my taste, but he followed directions. And he’d worked off the worst of his rookie bad habits.

“You should go easier on her,” he said.

I huffed. “Who, Reeves?”

“She was just being friendly. Getting to know you. You’ll be cooped up twelve hours together, five days a week. Got to talk about something to pass the time.”

I pressed my lips together. Jones wasn’t wrong. Time stretched long between calls sometimes, and you couldn’t just sit. But, even still…

“Not about me.”

Jones cocked a brow. “What’d you and Burke talk about?”

I laughed. “Mostly sports.” My old partner had been many things, but never chatty. I sighed as I noticed Jones frowning at me. “Look, I know I was harsh with her, but it had to be said. There’s got to be boundaries. We’re not on a date.”

“A date, huh? You saw it too?”

I groaned. “Saw what?”

“How cute she is. And it has been a while…”

I shoved him away from me. “Yeah, like you’d know. Go on, get lost. Get out of here.”

Jones smirked, flipped me off, and headed outside. Sophie came bouncing back, zipping her jacket. She was more than just cute, if I was honest. She had a face like a farm girl from a butter commercial, all round and fresh with pretty pink cheeks, and blue eyes to rival a clear August sky. She’d tied up her hair when she put on her sweater, but the way the light caught it still gave her a glow. Like a halo, almost. Like?—

“Okay, all ready!” She flashed me that smile again, full lips, perfect teeth, and I turned my back on her. Stupid damn Jones. She was my partner, no more, no less. My annoying new partner.

“All right. Come on, Reeves.”