Chapter 5 Mateo
CHAPTER FIVE
Mateo
“Maria, you can’t be calling me every time this cat goes up the tree.”
I cradled the ancient calico to my chest, wincing as she dug her claws through my shirt. Sweat dripped down my back as I climbed down the old oak, my boots smacking the dirt as I turned around and presented Frida to my cousin.
Frida hissed, baring her fangs at us like a little demon. At this point, I was pretty sure the cat had been alive longer than either of us.
“You know Abuela would kill me if this cat went missing,” Maria answered, prying the beast off me. “Frida is her pride and joy. And I swear, she tries to get out any time I open the door. It’s like she wants to die.”
I snorted. “So you put in a call to the fire department?”
Not that I could really complain. There was usually nothing going on in our small town. Avery’s hair catching fire on Wednesday was probably the most excitement I’d get all month, except that hadn’t been exciting at all. If anything, it’d been painful to watch. Everything happened so fast.
Then her comment about her dad . . .
I pushed those thoughts away. I couldn’t bring myself to think about him or that night. It still gave me nightmares. Being the first one to the Whynot house that day would haunt me for the rest of my life.
“Oh sorry, Mateo. Were you busy?” Maria’s voice snapped me back to the moment. “You think I’m climbing up that tree? I’ve got enough on my plate as it is.”
“All right, all right. Tranquilízate.” I wiped my forehead with my shirt and adjusted my sunglasses. “I gotta head back to the station. You know, to keep being a hero and all that.”
“Sure. Tell Austin I said hey when he inevitably brings you a snack because you two are bored.”
I snorted, but didn’t argue. Austin would be stopping by the station later to bring me dinner, but that was only because it was our routine during the week.
Coming from a large Mexican family, I was used to having loved ones around to share good meals with.
When I first moved to Whynot, I didn’t have anyone but Maria and our abuela.
Austin had become someone I enjoyed having around too, and it wasn’t long before we developed a habit.
Austin would finish up one of his miscellaneous tasks and come by to keep me company with carnitas, sweet tea, and small town gossip.
Or we’d eventually bitch about how we were going to grow old and die without being loved because there was no one to date in Whynot.
Our running joke was why not die alone?
Maria smirked as she held Frida close to her chest and headed back into the house.
“Te quiero!” I called.
“Yeah, yeah. Love you too.”
I shook my head at her as she stepped through the back door and shut it behind her.
I loved my family. Truly. Even though Maria drove me a little nuts sometimes, I was closer to her and our abuela than almost anyone else in our family.
While I missed everyone who lived in Lubbock and Odessa, it worked out that I loved those two the most—though that was a secret.
I planted my hands on my hips and craned my head back, glancing up at the sky. It was gonna be a hot one. It wasn’t even noon yet, but the air wavered like the inside of an oven.
My radio buzzed from inside the truck and I jogged back to it, leaning through the open front door to listen.
“Helllooooo, Mateo? You there?”
I sighed. Our dispatch wasn’t exactly the most professional dispatch out there. “Yep. What’s going on, Angie?”
“Someone has a flat tire outside of town over by the ‘Welcome to Whynot’ sign. Some sort of pretty sports car. Dumbass ran over a cactus.”
Oh boy. So an out of towner, then. I had a hunch who that might be, but then again, we were deep in summer and tourists were all over the place on weekends. “I’ll head over.”
“Also, I heard through the grapevine that Avery Whynot is going to teach another fire class . . .”
Of course she was. The Whynots were the most stubborn people I’d ever met in my life, and Avery was no different. “I’m sure she won’t, but I’ll check in.”
“Thanks, Mateo.”
I got in and started up my pickup truck.
As a firefighter in a town this size, I put out every kind of fire but the kind with flames.
Technically, I was the only fully trained and certified firefighter in town.
Everyone else was on a volunteer and as-needed basis.
I worked at the station Wednesday through Sunday, but otherwise stayed on call 24/7.
It wasn’t exactly what I’d envisioned for myself after leaving Lubbock. I’d imagined going on to being one of those hotshot firefighters that was constantly saving people in danger.
Instead, I ended up being the only firefighter in a town the size of a speck of dust.
But, I could say I was the hottest firefighter in Whynot.
That had to count for something, right?
Five minutes later, I made it to the sign just outside the town limits.
“What the hell?” I snorted as I pulled off the side of the road.
A silver corvette was parked in the tall yellow grass. Next to it was a massive cactus that was no longer upright.
Neither of those were what made my brows shoot up, though.
It was the sexy hockey player down on his knees.