Chapter 10
Jason
“Hey, Jason. Over here.”
I enter the Riverside Café to find Layton and his best friend, Jenson, sitting at a back table and head in their direction. Dropping down beside them, I pick up a menu. “Hey, thanks for inviting me.” It’s been a few days since I was at the station last, and Dad seems so be doing well. This unexpected invite was a nice break from the grueling work on the tree farm.
“You kidding? Meatball subs are on special on Tuesdays,” Jenson explains. “Nowhere else you’d find this guy today.”
“They’re so fucking good.” Layton rubs his flat belly.
“The one you gave me at the station my first day? Sold.” Placing the menu down, I lean back in my chair, my mouth waters in anticipation.
“Layton said you’re from a small mountain town in North Carolina.”
“Well, I went to high school here. But I visited there with my parents years ago and fell in love with the place. It’s definitely God’s country. No resorts or fancy stuff. Just clean air, lots of trees and lakes, hunting and fishing. It’s a great community. You should come for a visit once you get staffing straight here.”
“You seeing anyone back there?” Layton asks.
“Nah. I’m pretty focused on my career. Keep it under wraps, but I’m applying for captain. The assistant Fire Chief is retiring, so I need to get back in six weeks to be available for training.”
“Wow. That’s amazing. You’ve moved up the ladder quickly,” Layton commends.
“Yeah. I don’t think I’d have the opportunity anywhere else. But I’ve kept all of my attention on the job. A relationship isn’t in the cards for me, anyway.”
Layton and Jenson look at each other, and I immediately know they’re aware of my sordid history. Unease starts to crawl up my spine, but neither pushes me to talk about it.
“I haven’t even been tempted beyond a girl that was a better match to my best friend, Trevor. He’s one of my firefighter brothers.” Thinking of Addison, I can’t help but mentally compare her physical attributes to Quinn’s. They’re both tall, dark-haired beauties with mesmerizing eyes. Both savvy businesswomen. Yet there’s one big difference.
Addison isn’t ten years younger than I am with a backstabbing brother.
We eat our sandwiches, shooting the shit with one another, and I have to admit it’s nice to have some friends in Magnolia Point after all. I didn’t know Layton growing up, but he’s good people.
“Hey, so I didn’t want to ask before. You seemed like you were dealing with enough, just keeping the department afloat. But what happened to cause the station to have such a bad reputation?”
Layton and Jenson look at each other, with notable distress on their faces. God, this has to be bad. “Well, it wasn’t just one thing. It was like being hit with a tropical depression, only to be struck by a hurricane before you’ve recovered.” Jenson sighs.
“You know how they say bad things come in threes?” Layton pushes his hand through his hair before leaning back in his chair. “First, one of the new temps the department hired to man the ambulance after the volunteers became scarce was a lot better at patient care than driving large vehicles. She’d passed the EVOC exam, allowing her to drive, but…”
Jenson starts to shake his head in embarrassment as Layton tells the story.
“She basically had to get money from the ATM, but instead of parking the ambulance, she drove through the drive through. Literally.”
“Noooo,” I abruptly respond, exaggerating the O. “One with an overhang?”
“Yep,” Jenson answers, popping the P.
“Tore the whole thing right off,” Layton adds flatly.
“Holy shit.” I can imagine in a town this size, that had to be the talk for some time. I try to put a positive spin on it. “But she was temporary staff hired from outside the department, right? That shouldn’t reflect on you as much as them.”
“All the town sees is a Magnolia Point ambulance, which responds from station 803,” Jenson replies.
“Didn’t help that the local news reporter who was trying to make a name for herself did a follow-up piece on how greedy fire departments were putting volunteer squads out of business. She tried to spin it that we’d rather have paid medics we can control versus talented volunteers,” Layton practically spits.
“Fuck.”
“Yeah, it gets better. About six months later, we respond to a call at Magnolia Point Resort where a socialite has activated 911 for a headache.”
Shifting in my seat, I find this odd. “Why was that so bad? We get those types of calls all the time.” It’s not uncommon to have to transport for pain relief or to rule out a stroke.
“Well, this chick had an agenda. I’m certain of it. She’d heard people get Botox injections for migraines and was incensed that we weren’t able to provide her with that in her hotel suite.”
“What happened? Did she complain?”
“Uh, yeah. To her 1.2 million followers on social media,” Layton barks.
“One of her cronies had been videotaping them on scene without their knowledge,” Jenson says. “I still think she wanted the Botox for cosmetic reasons and was mad we wouldn’t accommodate her request.”
“Jesus.” I slump back in my chair before remembering the adage about things coming in threes. “I’m almost afraid to ask…”
Again, my two lunch companions peer uncomfortably at one another.
“So, we were pushed into hiring the old Fire Chief’s son. He had a reputation for being a bad egg. He was young, reckless, liked to party. Nothing about it felt like a good idea. Hell, I honestly don’t even think he wanted to be a firefighter. He got forced into it by his dad.” Layton reaches for his water and takes a heavy gulp. My spine stiffens at the action, worried where this one’s going. “Once he was onboard, he was allowed to respond to calls from home on occasion, since he only lived a few miles away.”
“Uh oh.”
“Oh, you have no idea,” Jenson says before looking up to the ceiling.
“The station gets a call for a fire at the old Afton place. It’s been there, like over 100 years.” I wince, knowing where this is going. “Boy wonder is supposed to meet us at the station, not the address of the call. So, the crew waits. And waits. They finally go to his house to grab him on the way when he doesn’t answer his radio. Turns out numb nuts is distracted by the naked young girl in his bed.”
“Shit. Really?”
“Now, I personally don’t think anything would’ve saved that house. It was basically a tinder box one match short of a bonfire. But everyone blamed the loss on our station because of the delay in reaching it.”
I grimace, feeling Layton’s angst right along with him.
“Only thing worse, the young lady this douche canoe deflowered was the police chief’s seventeen-year-old daughter. We had to hear all about what the priorities of the fire department were on every news channel, in every glare from the public. We were all guilty by association.”
“Damn, Layton. I’m shocked you stayed. That would be a lot for anyone to have to deal with.”
“I know. We lost a lot of good people. But Magnolia Point is my home. It’s important to me. If we can actually manage to turn things around, it’d be the miracle I’ve been hoping for.”
We head out, and as we reach the door, I’m struck by the familiar scent of warm vanilla. I inwardly curse my body’s reaction to her as my pulse begins to quicken.
“Hey, Layton. I guess it is Tuesday.” Quinn giggles. Her eyes hold mine and that same spark swirling between us I’ve felt the last two times I saw her reemerges. There’s no denying it. Whether she’s trying to help the station or not, it’s unsettling. She’s the very last person I need to entertain thoughts about.
Layton greets, “Hey, Mr. Mayor.”
My eyes dart from Quinn to her father, Nigel Patterson. While he and my father have remained close friends over the years, I haven’t seen him since the fateful night of my rehearsal dinner all those years ago.
“Welcome back, Jason,” Nigel says. The phrase instantly irks me. That he’d be welcoming me back here.
Make no mistake, I’m only passing through.
Yet before I can come up with a reply, my gaze trails over Nigel’s shoulder to a face I could’ve done without seeing on this trip.
Or ever.
If only my icy stare could place a protective force field in place, so I wouldn’t have to interact with Quinn’s brother, my ex-best friend.
“Hey, Jase.”