Chapter 7
ALEX
DrunkenPoet: Are you close with your family?
IndexEcho: No.
_____________________
I stared at the laptop screen in disbelief.
Subject: Re: Timber’s Application for Exemption Permit
Mr. Marian,
You may pick up your open flame permit for the Slingshot Showdown at the firehouse on two conditions:
1. You will agree to an increased number of fire-safety inspections for the next six months as I bring my crew up-to-speed on new inspection techniques. Legacy needs a volunteer training guinea pig and you’re it, Marian.
2. You will not set shit on fire that’s not supposed to be set on fire.
Period. This includes, but is not limited to, napkin holders (again), grasses or underbrush of any kind (even if privately-owned), any part of your bar (including the walnut countertop you keep crying about), fancy cocktails (no matter how Instagrammable), or my patience.
This is not a negotiation. Take it or leave it, Firebug.
Judd Kincaid
Chief, Legacy Fire Department
My heart thundered. “He’s giving us the permit,” I said to no one in particular. In reality, that wasn’t what was causing my heart to stampede under my sternum.
Firebug.
It wasn’t the first time he’d called me that.
Somehow, it had seemed… almost affectionate.
Like an endearment. But I knew that was ridiculous.
The man saw me as an annoyance, a pest. And when I’d witnessed him leaning toward the beautiful blonde woman he was with last night, I’d gotten a firm answer to whether or not I might have sensed attraction from him.
He was straight.
I’d been asking around as casually as I could, and so far, no one had any evidence he was anything else. Of course, it wasn’t fair of me to assume a default of het, but it also wouldn’t be fair to allow myself to get my hopes up when so many sexy men were, in fact, into only women.
And why wouldn’t he be? The woman he was with last night was great. Warm smile, easy laughter, outdoorsy and fit.
Maybe I even had her to thank for his one-eighty on the permit. Perhaps all it took to soften the man was a good night in the sack.
A little growl vibrated my throat. My sister was probably right. I’d find any reason to avoid dating someone actually attainable. It was leading me toward wanting unavailable men.
Because I was still obsessed with a ghost.
“Did you say something?” Karim asked as he poured a bucket of ice into the well behind the bar. “Because either you’ve been mumbling lately or I need my ears checked.”
“Yeah, we got the permit to serve at the Slingshot Showdown. Tell Juni we’ll need to call the Sysco guy and update our order.”
He nodded and headed back to the kitchen while I opened the staffing schedule to try and cover both the Showdown and a busy Saturday here at the restaurant on late notice.
While I was grateful to have the permit, I wasn’t about to run the risk of seeing Kincaid in person while retrieving it from the station house. I waited until the lunch crowd slowed before begging Deena to go.
“Bro, for real? I still have a six-top sitting on the patio,” she said, sliding a receipt into the till drawer and stacking the empty leatherette folder on the stack above it.
“Fine, but after that, will you go? Please?”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Promise you won’t make me work the Showdown, and I’ll do it.”
I glared at her. We both knew she was my best server, and I’d never force her to do anything she didn’t want to do, but we also knew she’d be my first choice to handle an event like the Showdown. “You’ll do it anyway because you love me.”
“Only because love hurts, Alex,” she teased. “Fine. But if I’m working the Showdown, promise me Karim will be working the grill. He’s the only one who can handle the crowds without murdering people.”
It went unspoken that my head chef was a moody pain in the ass who didn’t handle change well.
“Do you think I have a death wish?” I whispered. “Karim and I will do the cooking. You and Tyler can be customer-facing.”
She grinned and fist-bumped me. “Perf. Should be done with the six-top in the next few minutes. I’ll grab the permit.”
I let out a breath as she bounced off to check on her last table again. If I could just stay away from the fire chief, maybe I could get past this ridiculous little crush on the guy.
Several hours later, Ella showed up for a drink after work with our cousin Hazel, who also happened to be her boss.
“Where’s Avery?” I asked Hazel, setting down a glass of the Chianti she liked and a beer for my sister.
“Working late at the gallery. I told her I’d grab her pickle pizza on my way out.”
I made a note to tell the kitchen, and then I pulled out a chair and joined them for a few minutes. “How are things going at work? Did the update roll out smoothly?”
My cousin’s tech company was her baby. At least, it had been up till now.
But she and her wife were expecting a human baby, which meant Untrace was getting ready to be demoted.
Hazel and Ella, along with the rest of the company’s employees, had been working hard on rolling out a big update this past spring, and it was finally over.
Hazel smiled. “For the most part. I’m just glad it’s done.
I have plans to take Avery down to the Red Lodge Inn tomorrow night for a nice dinner and overnight.
She has a prenatal massage booked the next morning before we head back.
” She eyed me. “What about you? Doing anything besides work these days? Anything fun?”
I shook my head. “Newp. Nothing fun at all. In fact, I think the last fun thing I did was come over and help you finish painting and set up the crib.”
“Alex, that was six weeks ago!”
Ella swallowed another sip of beer. “He thinks his job is fun,” she said, like she was making fun of me. Like I was infantile.
“It is fun,” I argued.
“What about dating?” Hazel asked.
I groaned. “Don’t start. You sound like my father.”
“Uncle Blue takes after Aunt Tilly,” Hazel said with a grin.
Ella nodded. “Truer words.”
Hazel met my eyes. “Your dad’s not wrong, though. He, of all people, understands the difference having someone in your corner makes.”
“I have plenty of people in my corner,” I said, gesturing at the two of them.
“There’s a cute guy at SERA named Monroe.” Ella bounced her eyebrows. “He’s a rescue pilot, and Tommy said he thought the guy was checking out your ass the night they all came to Timber.”
My face heated unexpectedly. “Which one was Monroe? What does he look like?”
“Tall, wavy brown hair pulled back in a short ponytail, kind of like Uncle Jude.”
Hazel crinkled her forehead. “Wait, I know him. Yeah. Super sweet guy. He bought one of Avery’s paintings last year. He’s been with Trace and SERA for a while. I’m surprised you haven’t met him before.”
Ella pinned me with a knowing look. “The Grape’s been working so hard, he hasn’t allowed himself to see anyone that way. I say that ends now. It’s time you went on a date. Started meeting guys and having a life outside of work.”
“I meet guys,” I said, ignoring her use of my childhood nickname. “I meet plenty of guys.”
Ella bit back a smile and nodded, pretending to be serious. “Right. What was the last guy’s name?”
“J… John.” I forced myself not to wince. “John… Jones…ie.” I’d added on the last bit when I’d realized how generic-sounding my made-up name was.
Hazel’s eyebrows shot up, and she huffed out a laugh. “Is that right? John Jonesie.”
I nodded, committing to the bit. “That’s right. He’s in… sales.”
Hazel sat forward and leaned her chin on her fist. “And where does John Jonesie live?”
“In, um… Montana.”
Ella tilted her head. “Convenient. Since you also live in… Montana. What does he sell, exactly?”
I glanced around the restaurant, catching sight of the new napkin caddy and remembering Kincaid’s comments about the fire. “Insurance.”
Hazel picked up her phone and texted someone. I assumed she was texting her wife until she glanced up at me. “Don’t worry, I asked Tilly for help setting you up. You know… in case things go pear-shaped with good ole John Jonesie.”
A hush came over the table as her horrible, ugly betrayal settled between us. “You’d better be bluffing,” I growled, imagining the shitstorm that would come from having our belligerent, nosy great-great-aunt foisted upon me and my nonexistent love life.
Hazel was the oldest of all of us grandkids, so she was pretty much the boss of everyone. Getting openly annoyed with her was walking a razor edge I’d never skated close to before.
“I’ll make you a deal, Alex,” she said, taking a final sip of her wine and standing up. “You let me set you up with Monroe, and I’ll tell Tilly to stand down.”
“Fine,” I said, remembering the only two men I had any interest in were completely unavailable to me. And I definitely wanted to get touched by another man in this century. “I’ll go on the date.”
Both women beamed at me.
And then turned and high-fived each other.
Unfortunately, late the next afternoon, before Hazel had a chance to set me up, she and Avery were in a horrible car accident during a sudden thunderstorm. I was in the middle of reviewing payroll when I got a call from Ella.
“Hazel and Avery’s vehicle flipped over,” she wailed. “Avery’s okay, but they can’t get Hazel out.”
Thankfully, she’d already called our cousin Tommy, an ER doc, and he was making his way from SERA out to the accident site.
“Where are you?” I asked, checking my pockets for my car keys and racing to the back in search of a raincoat. Blood roared through my ears as I imagined our strong, bossy cousin trapped and injured as the storm raged around her. “Do we know how bad her injuries are?”
We spent the rest of the evening communicating with Tommy, who was on the scene and carefully coordinating details between all the other family members, as we made our way to the ER in Billings to meet the ambulance.
Poor Avery was soaking wet and terrified, but Ella had thought to have me grab some clothes for her before leaving my place.
After they took Hazel back to surgery and Ella took Avery to the ladies’ room to change, I stood alone and scared in the lobby, unsure how to proceed. My body shook with fatigue and fear, and I wondered what the hell my Uncle Pete and Aunt Ginger would do if anything happened to Hazel.
My whole family, including Hazel’s twin, Chloe, was already on their way, or would be as soon as the weather cleared enough to allow the flight in.
“Hey.”
My head snapped up at the familiar rumble. Chief Kincaid stood there in his uniform, hair wet around the edges, where a few streaks of gray stood out against the dark strands, and his nose pink from the cold, wet night.
“You okay?” he asked softly. “Someone said Hazel is your cousin?”
I nodded, unable to say anything.
Kincaid looked around as if seeking someone. “You here alone? I know your cousin Tommy’s here somewhere.”
“Talking to the doctors, I think. My, um… my sister is with Hazel’s wife.”
Kincaid’s forehead creased for a second, and then he blew out a breath and pulled me tight against his chest, wrapping me up in a big bear hug. I was so surprised by the gesture, I froze for a beat before hugging him back and holding on as tightly as I could.
He smelled like rainwater and sweat, faded diesel fumes and noxious smoke, but underneath it all, there was the scent of something new and somehow comforting coming from the spot where my nose nestled at the base of his throat. The combination made me dizzy.
“She’ll be okay,” he said in a low voice. “Your cousin was amazing out there. Saved her life. We got to her as fast as we could, Alex. I promise. But the storm made it hard and—” He shuddered. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get her out quicker.”
I held him even tighter. “Thank you so much. I’m glad you were there.”
His big hands moved up and down my spine before one moved up into my hair as he cupped the back of my head. He pulled back to look at me. “I have to go, but will you please promise me to call if you need a ride home? I don’t want you on the road tired or upset.”
“No, I’m fine. I’ll be okay.”
“Alex… please. Just promise me.”
I looked up into his eyes, wondering how it was possible this man was two entirely different people. The ornery, by-the-book fire marshal and the kind and caring protector.
“I promise,” I said.
Tension crackled between us. I wondered what the protocol was for saying goodbye after such a charged moment, but before I could figure it out, Ella and Avery came up. Avery looked a little silly in my sweats and hoodie, but at least she was dry and warm.
I quickly pulled out of the fire chief’s arms as he stepped back. Kincaid nodded to my sister and Avery before letting them know Hazel was in good hands.
As I watched him walk back out into the stormy night, I wondered if he was heading to the site of another crash. Or maybe responding to fires caused by lightning. Either way, he was the one who needed to stay safe, not me.
And I hadn’t even thought to ask him for any promises.