Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Mateo
Sweat broke out across my forehead and back as I did my final rep, lifting my weights overhead to place them on the rack. The metal clinked as I groaned and melted onto the bench, staring at the ceiling.
I’d been working out for two hours, trying to chase the horny demons out of my system, but it wasn’t working. I sat up and snatched my water bottle off the floor, using the hem of my Whynot Fire Department shirt to swipe my forehead.
After last night with Levi, I slept like I was dead for five hours in his bed, woke up, and snuck out of his house with my mind all over the place. I got to the station around 5:00 a.m. to relieve David, one of our volunteer firefighters, and took over for the day.
With it being Monday, I was going to do hydrant checks, equipment checks, and then be on call for any emergencies.
Fingers crossed there weren’t any. My muscles burned as I stood up and stretched side to side, my thoughts bouncing all over the place.
From work to Avery, work to Levi, work to fucking the two of them until they were whimpering messes, work to how in the fuck had I ended up being the leader of a whole-ass station, work to how do I set up a three way date . . .
Basically, my mind was a hamster on a wheel and it wasn’t going to stop spinning all day, no matter how much I pushed my body physically.
The station was quiet as I left our dedicated gym area and headed to the kitchen. One of the guys had stocked it over the weekend, and there were some fresh bread loaves on the counter. Evie must have dropped off a couple for us.
The thing about having a fire department in a town this small was that it was mostly community organized.
The fact that I was able to do this and be paid for it was lucky in a way, but the town had pushed to keep me here.
Honestly, that was Austin’s doing. I knew he’d fought as hard as he could for that.
A lot of small towns were only run with volunteers, and Whynot wasn’t much different.
In total, we had fifteen volunteer firefighters, including Austin and Dallas, and then me.
I had the station alone for another hour or so, and then one of the guys would join me for about four hours while we did the equipment checks.
Which meant I had another hour to keep thinking about Levi and Avery.
What we needed was a date. A date without drawing attention from Dallas or Austin, because otherwise, there’d be hell to pay. There would be eventually when they found out, but I agreed with Avery on taking our time in secret.
I pulled out two pieces of bread and tossed them on a plate, making a turkey sandwich quickly. It wasn’t exactly breakfast food, but I didn’t care. I piled the turkey and cheese high, my stomach grumbling in anticipation.
Between the sex and two hours in the gym, I was tempted to eat two sandwiches. I took a bite and groaned, my eyes fluttering. Yep, I’d needed food.
I also needed to see Levi fuck Avery.
Dammit. I just couldn’t keep my mind off the two of them.
The biggest question in all of this was Levi. He was going to keep us at arm’s length, and I worried about that hurting Avery. But I also had to trust that if the two of them got involved together, they’d be able to handle themselves the same way Levi and I could.
I wanted to know more about him. I knew almost everything about Avery.
Over the last couple of years, we'd become close.
As close as you could become to someone without dating them.
Whenever she needed something, I was usually the first person she called after June or Evie.
Oftentimes, she called me before she called her brothers, which I'd always felt pretty damn proud of.
I wanted her to rely on me. I wanted her to always know that I would be there for her, no matter the time of day or night.
Could I ever get to that point with Levi? Could I ever be the one that he’d call if he needed something? There was a sharp little splinter in my heart when I thought about the fact that he'd be leaving so soon. I knew it was a bad idea to get involved with him, but I just couldn't stop myself.
There was something about him that pulled me in, something I just wanted so desperately.
I'd seen that same desire in Avery. She wanted him, the same way I wanted him too.
Now we just had to figure out where to go from here.
I polished off my plate, washed it in the sink and set it on the dish rack to dry. It took a couple minutes to clean up the kitchen, but once I had everything tidy, I headed straight out to the garage.
Whynot Fire Department blazed on the side of the crimson fire engine.
It wasn't the most pristine fire truck I’d ever seen, that was for damn sure.
I'd been pushing to get a new truck, but it was a matter of funding.
That was the other thing about small towns, money was always an issue.
It didn't matter that we had a festival that brought in thousands of people every year, or the fact that we were next to a national park that brought in visitors every summer.
I pressed the button on the garage opener and watched as the door slowly slid up, humming as it gave me a view of the street.
The air was still today, not a breeze to be felt.
It was going to be a scorcher. I was already covered in sweat, and didn't bat an eye as I crossed to our giant fan and turned it on.
I'd keep it going as I scrolled through my checklist.
Once a month, I checked all of the suits, every part of our fire truck, and all of the other equipment that we had on hand.
In a city, I would've been doing these checks much more often.
But, thankfully, a lot of the time this equipment didn't get much use.
That was a good thing, I reminded myself.
I didn't want there to be emergencies, but I also wanted to make sure I was always ready to go if there was one.
Last year, there'd been a fire at the old bank on Main Street. If it weren't for our fast response time, it might've taken a couple other buildings down with it. One of the managers had lit a candle in the office and forgotten all about it. It was always candles. I hated them.
I was into some very kinky things, but there were a couple kinks that were off the table for me because of what I’d seen in my line of work.
Wax play made me anxious because a good portion of the devastation I’d seen in my line of work had come from candles.
Whips, riding crops, and canes were also off the table because of a situation I’d had my first year as a firefighter.
We’d been called to a scene that I never let myself fully think about, but it had stuck with me nonetheless.
In Whynot, most of the emergencies I saw were people overheating. Occasionally there were fires or car accidents. A lot of the time, I was responding to calls from elderly people who’d fallen.
“Morning.”
I jumped and spun around, cursing under my breath as Dallas walked up to me wearing his navy blue volunteer shirt.
“What the fuck, Dallas. Don’t scare me like that,” I snapped, earning a wide grin from him.
The asshole raked his fingers through his dark hair and leaned against the truck. “Sorry. How’s it going? You look like you’ve been working hard.”
I looked down at myself. A line of sweat trailed down my chest and I realized I needed to change shirts. I probably reeked, too.
“Worked out for a while.” Dammit, did this mean Dallas was who I’d be working with today? I couldn’t think about Avery with him around. Or if I did, that had to be some sort of sin. I wasn’t even religious, but it just felt wrong. “Are you my volunteer today? On a Monday?”
He nodded. “Yep. I know it’s unusual, but I was asked to switch in our chat and didn’t have any work to do this morning, so I agreed to it.”
“Oh.”
Dallas narrowed his eyes on me. “I can see you’re thrilled. What’d I ever do to you?”
“I am thrilled,” I snorted. “Just unexpected, is all.”
“Uh-huh. How come you never bring me lunch like you do for Austin?”
“Hey,” I said, holding up my hands. “He brings me lunch. Don’t be jealous.”
He shrugged, but held his smile. “Just giving you shit. It’ll be good to catch up, though.”
“It will be. How has everything been going? How’s your mom?”
His gaze darkened and he sighed, pulling his gaze away. “Avery isn’t talking to her now. And family dinners won’t be happening anymore.”
All the alarm bells rang in my mind. Avery hadn’t texted me about it, and that . . .
Hurt? Maybe that wasn’t the right word.
I resisted the urge to pull my phone out and text her. “What happened?” I asked.
“Dinner was bad last night, man,” Dallas said. “We were trying to talk Mom into going to therapy, but she took it out on Avery. And this was all after her grilling Austin and I on having children. And also after her handing me a stack of framed photos of Dad for me to hang up in the stairwell.”
“Fuck,” I muttered, crossing my arms. I leaned back against the railing, frowning as I studied him. “That’s a lot. Are you okay? Is Avery okay?”
“I’m okay. Avery, I don’t know,” he said. “She told me she would be. June and Evie were there for her last night. Has she said anything to you yet?”
My spine stiffened slightly, but I reminded myself that Dallas and Austin knew Avery was close with me.
Just not how close we were now . . .
“Not yet,” I said. “I’ll check in on her, though.”
“Thanks. Yeah, at this point, I’m not sure what we’re supposed to do. Mom’s gotten worse. Not going out, not eating well, not keeping up with her friends. It’s been two years.”
I swallowed hard as silence fell between us. The day his dad had died had been one of the worst days of my life. I’d gotten the call that Mr. Whynot had fallen and was unresponsive. I’d never driven so fucking fast in my life.
I did everything I could to revive him. And I had him. For a moment, I had him.
And then I didn’t.
His death haunted me ever since. Not only because his children were my best friends, but because he’d always been kind to me. He’d made sure I’d felt at home in Whynot, just like he did for everyone here.
“Mateo,” Dallas said softly. “Every time I mention my dad, you get that look on your face as if it’s your fault what happened. And it’s not. He died early. It was a heart attack. None of us saw it coming.”
“It still feels like I failed,” I said grimly. “He’s the only person in Whynot that has ever died in my arms.”
“Good place to go,” he said. “You did everything you could.”
My eyes pricked with tears and I swallowed hard, turning my gaze to the concrete floor and picking something—literally anything else—to focus on. “Maybe I should stop by and talk to your mom. She’s always had a soft spot for me.”
“She sure fucking has,” Dallas snorted, breaking the tension. “Austin and I thought we should have brought you along last night, but Avery vetoed us. Maybe you can come this Sunday.”
I raised a brow. “I said she has a soft spot for me, but I’m not sure that means she’ll listen to me about therapy.”
“Well, she’s gotta do something. I’ve never heard Austin yell at her like that. Hell, I’ve never been that upset by something she’s said.”
“What did she even say?”
Dallas made a face, but then recounted last night’s conversation. By the time he finished, my worries about Avery had skyrocketed. “Fuck,” I muttered, shaking my head.
I pulled out my phone and shot Avery a text.
Are you okay? Dallas is at the station with me today and told me about dinner
Her response was quick.
Avery: I’m okay. I mean, I’m not, but I am. But June and Evie comforted me
The only reason I didn’t text you was because I knew you were with Levi and didn’t want to interrupt
. . . and how did that go???
Mateo: I’ll fill you in later. Promise
“What’d she say?” Dallas asked, creeping closer.
I shielded my phone from him before he saw what she’d said, my heart thumping in my chest. I became all too aware of the fact that I could have been caught just now. That Dallas could have looked through our texts and found out the truth.
Fuck.
I cleared my throat. “She said she’s okay. Well, that she isn’t, but she is.”
Dallas nodded. “Good. Thought that’d be the case. Well, I told her we can start our own family dinners. Maybe we should round up June and Evie too. Make it a group thing.”
“That sounds good to me,” I said. It actually sounded like a fucking disaster, given that Avery and I were sneaking around. And technically Levi and I were now too. “Could be good for all of us.”
“I’ll text our chat. It’s time we dusted it off,” he said.
I raised a brow at him. “You’re going to be the one to text? What happened to you being all quiet and broody? You’re never the one to organize shit like this.”
His cheeks reddened and he shrugged his shoulders, although it was a forced shrug. “Just think it would be good for everyone to spend time together, is all.”
Now, it was my turn to narrow my eyes on him. “Who are you wanting to spend time with, Whynot?”
“Everyone, of course.”
I wasn’t buying that. “Sure.”
He tipped his chin up. “How about you keep your secrets, and I’ll keep mine?”
Now, what in the actual fuck did he mean by that? I raised a brow, but decided not to push any further.
“Fine,” I said. “We got equipment checks and hydrant checks on our list today.”
“All right, boss,” he said. “Tell me where you want me.”