Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Meyer
Y awning, I took my cup of coffee and piece of cake onto the stoop to watch the morning sunrise over the butte. I shivered in the cooler air, glad I’d put my hoodie on. In an hour it would be too warm to wear it, but I appreciated the drop in temperature of the fall mornings.
It was rare I had the chance to see a sunrise as I was usually either working or sleeping. Today was my first day in my new firehouse, and I was going in later. I appreciated the time just to relax before I started the day. Dex’s barbed comment about being in a small-town firehouse the previous day still niggled me. It wasn’t like I’d had the same thoughts. I had given up the promotion of my dreams in Chicago to return home. But the second I’d found out Mom was sick I hadn’t given it a second thought. There would always be another promotion, but there was only one of my mom. Losing my dad had taught me family came first. The heart attack that took him away from us had been out of the blue. The widowmaker, they called it. My mom told me there was no way Dad could’ve ever survived it. It wasn’t comforting, but he didn’t suffer.
I was still processing the previous evening if I was honest. It had been such a rollercoaster of an evening that I felt like I was still catching up now. I hadn’t slept most of the night. I’d given up about six and rolled out of bed to make a pot of coffee, tiptoeing into the kitchen so I didn’t disturb Mom.
As I watched the sun peek over the butte, I wondered what was going on in Dex’s head. He seemed determined to attack me at every opportunity. Not for the first time since I arrived back in Charming, I wondered what I’d done to upset him. I was going to find out what was causing the bug up his ass. He loved my mom. What had I done to deserve his ire?
I sipped at the hot coffee, appreciating the warmth as the caffeine burned through me, then nibbled on the cake. Breakfast of the gods, even if I would have to run ten miles to work it off later. I doubted I’d be doing as much exercise at work as I had in the city. It stood to reason it would be quieter here. I ate more cake. It was my first day, sue me.
I thought of Dex because, of course, my thoughts turned back to him and his muscled frame. He had muscles from manual labor, not grown in the gym. My mouth watered at the thought of running my hands over his solid frame. I sighed and drained the last of my coffee. Like I’d get a chance to do that. The one hot gay guy in this tiny town, and he hated my guts. The confusing thing was he expected me to know why, and I honestly had no clue.
The kitchen door opened behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see my mom standing there in fleecy pajamas with a flying saucer motif.
“Cake isn’t breakfast food,” she scolded.
I was about to hang my head when she produced two more slices behind her back and handed one to me with an impish grin.
“You were saying?” I took a large bite of cake.
Mom waved a hand. “It’s your first day.”
“You bought Devil’s food cake for my first day of high school.” I smiled at the memory.
“And your first game as captain and when you came home to tell us you’d gotten your first firehouse.”
I shook my head. ‘It all seems so long ago.”
“It seems like yesterday to me,” Mom admitted.
We ate our cake in companionable silence, then she brushed the crumbs from her fingers and looked at me. Uh-uh. I knew that look. I was in trouble for some reason. I hadn’t been up five minutes. Her next words confirmed my suspicions.
“What’s going on between you and Dex?”
Thank goodness I wasn’t actually eating, or I’d have ended up choking just like Dex had the night before. “Nothing,” I protested. And that was the truth. Nothing was going on between us as much as I wanted it to.
Mom fixed me with the stare that I’d gotten when I was five, and she caught me with my hand in the cookie jar. “Don’t you lie to me, Meyer Jones.”
“I’m not lying,” I protested. “Nothing is going on between us. I’ve been back two days, is all. You’re his friend, not me.”
“He’s been a good friend,” Mom agreed.
I pushed down the now familiar jealous feeling. I was going to have to get over it. “I’m glad you’ve had a friend, Mom. You needed it. But that doesn’t make him my friend. You saw him last night. Everything I said he bit my head off. He’s like a porcupine. All prickles. I should call him that.” I smirked at the idea of calling him Prickles. He’d hate it. I expected her to come back with a comment about me not being nice enough to him, but instead, she looked smugly satisfied for some reason.
“He’s not normally like that,” she said. “Everyone likes Dex.”
Of course they do. I clutched my cup tighter. I was getting mighty sick and tired of hearing about Saint Dex. I took a deep breath. I knew I was being ridiculous. I looked at my watch. “I’ve got to get ready, Mom. I don’t want to be late on my first day and upset Captain Brannigan.”
She gave me another ‘mom’ look, then nodded her head. “I hope it goes well. Your lunch is on the counter.”
“You made me lunch?” That was so typical of my mom.
“I did. It’s your first day. Don’t get used to it.’
I grinned at her. That was typical of her, too. “I won’t.” I leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “Thanks, Mom. You’re the best.”
She fluttered and preened under my attention. “Go on, get out of here. You don’t want to be late on your first day.”
I showered and changed, picked up my lunch from the countertop, and headed into the garage to collect my bike, relieved to see the tires had stayed pumped up overnight. Mom waved me goodbye from the stoop as she always had. At least this time, she didn’t tell me to ‘Be good,’ but I bet it was on the tip of her tongue.
I cycled to the end of the cul-de-sac to find a familiar chestnut mare waiting patiently. I looked up at Dex, wishing I could push his hat back and see his face properly. “Are you visiting with Mom?”
“Not today,” he said. “Lindy has Pilates at ten.”
I scowled. Once again. of course he’d know that.
Dex continued as if he didn’t see my scowl. “I was merely passing by.”
I narrowed my eyes. You couldn’t pass by the cul-de-sac. It wasn’t on the way to anywhere. But I didn’t call him out on it.
“I was exercising Junie and visiting the bakery. I saw you cycling toward me.” Dex squinted at me. “Are you late for your first shift?”
I shook my head. “I start later today. I ought to get moving, though.”
Had he waited for me deliberately? The thought warmed me. I didn’t want to make any assumptions, but the lack of hostilities was a welcome change.
“We’ll go with you. There’s a path at the back of the firehouse which leads back to my ranch.”
“Can you keep up?”
His eyes lit up at my question. “Is that a challenge?”
“Maybe.” I wrinkled my nose. “Maybe not today. Knowing me, I’ll do something stupid, fall off the bike, and break my leg. Mom would never let me forget it.”
His laughter pealed out in the morning air, and it was good to hear. I smiled at him, and he returned my smile, sending sparks of heat racing along my veins.
“Come on, we’ll get you safely to the firehouse.”
There was little traffic at this time in the morning, and Dex kept the horse at a steady trot as I cycled toward the Spanish-style two-story firehouse on the outskirts of the town. I was aware of the amused looks shooting our way from people walking along Main Street, but Dex seemed oblivious, or perhaps he didn’t care. I sighed. How long would this take to get back to my mom?
“Juniper doesn’t seem bothered by the bike,” I said right before we reached the firehouse.
“Nothing much bothers her,” Dex agreed. “Apart from snakes. She doesn’t like snakes.”
“Sensible girl.” I agreed, and the mare tossed her head as if she agreed with me.
We reached Charming Station and came to a halt. Suddenly, my mouth was dry as I stared up at the building.
“Does it bring back memories?” Dex murmured.
“I spent half my childhood here,” I said, remembering cycling here after middle school and my father’s loud booming laugh as he greeted me. He always looked so happy to see me. “More than half really. Mom said if she ever wanted to find me, she’d call the firehouse.”
Dex coughed. “Chief Brannigan.”
I blinked, distracted from my memories, to see the stocky, gruff chief emerge from the firehouse just as Dad used to.
“Dex,” he boomed. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“I’m on my way home,” Dex said, smiling at him. “Met your newbie on the way.”
Brannigan turned to me and held out his hand. “Good to see you, Meyer. It’s been too long.”
“Chief.” I shook his hand warmly, noting that he’d aged since I last saw him, his hair completely silver now. Uncle Gary, as I’d called him as a kid, had been in my life for as long as I could remember. He was my dad’s best friend from elementary school. “Good to see you too.”
“I’ll leave you to get on with your day.” Dex turned to me. “Do you want to come up after work to look at the cottage?”
“Yeah, sure.” I thought it was a dreadful idea, but I wasn’t going to say that now. I’m not sure why I was so opposed to the possibility of living next to Dex.
Brannigan looked between us, then burst out into a smile. “Are you thinking of renting the cottage on the ranch?”
“Lindy suggested it,” Dex said. And I noticed he didn’t say yes or no.
I wondered if Brannigan knew how much he smiled whenever my mom’s name was mentioned. It made me even more suspicious that there was something going on between them.
“That’s a good idea.” Brannigan gave an approving nod. “You don’t want the property empty for too long.”
“No, sir,” Dex agreed.
“I’ll cycle up after my shift,” I said, knowing I had no choice now. I could always say no when I saw it. There had to be somewhere else to rent in Charming.
He waved, clucked at the horse, and they disappeared around the side of the building. I watched him go, then turned to see Brannigan staring at me thoughtfully. I was determined not to blush. He did know I was gay, didn’t he? I wasn’t about to step back in the closet now. I’d come across enough homophobes at work in my time and fought my battles accordingly. I’d been lucky to have the backing of my captain back in Chicago. But Charming was a small town, not a large city, and I needed this job. The next words out of his mouth would determine whether I stayed at the firehouse or cycled home with my tail between my legs.
“Dex is a good man,” Brannigan said.
Were we back to Saint Dex again?
“Yes, sir,” I said.
“You treat him right.”
I stared at him. That was one short of asking me my intentions. But there was only one reply. “Yessir.”
He smiled and nodded. “I told Lindy to give you two time. You boys will settle down soon enough.”
Ground, swallow me whole. My mom had been talking to my new boss about me and Dex? It was like being back at high school again with my mom trying to sort out why I’d had a fight with my ex-best friend, Jake Cooper. He started it. I finished it. I never let asshole comments slide about being gay. He knew it. He’d just been showing off to his new girlfriend. We’d both gotten suspensions for the fight and were lucky we hadn’t been kicked out. Mom had tried to make the peace between us, but Dad had told her to leave me be. I’d lost a best friend but gained the respect of a number of boys in the school. It had been worth it.
“I’m keen to get started,” I suggested, anxious to move on from the subject of Dex.
To my relief, Brannigan turned and guided me to the firehouse. “Some of the guys are here to meet you.”
We were the only two full-time members of the team, the rest being made up of part-timers and volunteers, mainly rookies and older men. As the chief had told me when I first called him, it was hard to keep the experienced volunteers. They were like me, wanting to be full-time firefighters. They moved away to the larger towns and cities when vacancies became available. There was funding for training since wildfires were common enough around Charming, but not for additional staffing.
Brannigan had impressed me when he admitted he fought for every cent to train the men so they could get better jobs. Not many chiefs would have been happy to lose trained firefighters. He’d also told me training the volunteers would be my job from now on. He was getting too old to be running up and down ladders. I eyed my new chief. He looked fitter than most men his age. I didn’t believe him for a moment.
Ten pairs of eyes shot to me as I walked in. I was about to say hello when a huge dog bounded up to me. If I was going to put a breed on the dog…I studied it for a moment…Cane Corso, German shepherd, and part Shetland pony? I bent down and scratched the dog behind its ears. It was too hairy to determine the gender. It closed its eyes, and one back leg thumped in happiness.
“Who are you? Aren’t you handsome?” I crooned.
“He passes,” one of the men said dryly. He was a tall man with dark skin and large brown eyes, maybe late thirties.
I looked up from petting the dog. “Is this lovely…boy…a test?”
“Curly is the station mascot,” Brannigan said. “The last pick didn’t like dogs. He didn’t last.”
“I love dogs,” I said honestly, and the dog nudged me for more attention. “Who does he belong to?”
“Me,” the man who’d told me I passed said. “I’m José Garcia.”
I held out my hand. “Meyer Jones.”
His grip was firm but not crushing. Then the others came forward and I learned their names. I’d memorized the team before I arrived but now I could put faces to names. Garcia was an EMT, and his partner, Ray Pérez, was an EMR. Most of them seemed friendly and pleased to meet me. Two men hung back and were the last to introduce themselves. One of them needed no introduction. Skip White. His mom had spoken to me on my first day in town and my mom had shown me a photo of him and his family. He shook my hand warmly. The other man was a stranger to me, and his name was Caleb Wyatt. I placed him in his mid-twenties. He was civil enough but not friendly like Garcia and Pérez. He studied me with an intensity that made me uncomfortable.
The rest of the day passed much as I expected. Form filling, booking me on training courses, and in the afternoon, we conducted training exercises. I found Brannigan’s assessment of the crew was correct. They could do their jobs, but they didn’t have the fluidity I was used to, and it was my job to change that, as the chief had told me pointedly. It hadn’t escaped my notice that Brannigan had mentioned retirement more than once. The chief wanted the right man to hand over his firehouse to, and he wanted it to be me. I hoped his faith in me wouldn’t be misplaced.
By the time my shift was over, I was tired. It hadn’t been especially taxing, just different from what I was used to. Back in Chicago, I could do my job without thinking. It would take time to get back to that stage again. I contemplated going home and calling Dex, suggesting we meet another day. But the sooner I saw the cottage, the sooner I could say no.
And you want to meet him again.
I couldn’t deny it. I wanted to see my hot cowboy again. I said goodbye to the others and got on my bike, heading to the same path Dex had taken earlier in the day. The distance was farther than I expected and mainly uphill. By the time I spotted fencing, which signaled the start of the ranch, I was sweating profusely. I stopped for a drink, downing half the water in my bottle in one go.
“I didn’t know whether you’d follow through,” Dex drawled behind me.
Just his voice made me want to do all kinds of wicked things with him. I looked over my shoulder. “I always follow through, Chase.”
His cheeks went crimson. “Good to hear it.”
In my head, I punched the air. Meyer - 1: Dex - 0.