Chapter 2
Greyson
The ghosts of things that never happened
are worse than the ghosts of things that did.
~ L.M. Montgomery
“My crew, stick around for a minute, please,” Cody says from the head of the dining table.
Shift change is wrapping up. The scrape of chairs and shuffle of boots on the concrete floor almost overshadows our captain’s request. Our station’s not large, so fitting nine men around this table every morning feels a little like squeezing into a clown car.
We gather here for meals and meetings, and sometimes just hanging out when we’re not on a call.
I remain seated, my eyes roving over the empty recliners along the wall and then back toward the kitchen that takes up the back third of our main room.
The guys from the alternating shift clock out and Cody waits for the sound of their voices to diminish before saying, “I have a few more things to go over with all of you.”
Nine months ago, Cody took over as our captain.
Before that, he was one of the guys, riding in the officer's seat, running into fires alongside the rest of us. Now he’s settled into leadership and about to be married.
I glance around the table. We used to be a group of single men.
I’m the only guy left who’s still unattached.
My mind has been haunted ever since I picked up pizza last night for the guys. We were doing some community volunteer work on our afternoon off and Cody nominated me to pick up dinner.
What if he had sent someone else?
That man would have been the one at the Pizza Den instead of me.
They would have seen her—maybe not even noticed her.
I might not have discovered she was here, in Waterford.
Visiting? Moving? Passing through? How long is she here? Did she already leave?
It was her. Hallie.
That is, unless I dreamed her up. But I’d know her anywhere.
Even before our eyes met, I sensed something so familiar that when I glanced her way, seeing her was more of a confirmation than a surprise.
And then I felt her—in my gut, a clench of recognition so strong it felt like a physical punch.
She looks the same, only with far more life etched in her eyes.
Has she weathered storms or fulfilled dreams since that night we met?
She didn’t know me. That much is obvious.
I’ve changed, and not just on the inside.
Back then my hair was cropped short, my face half boy, half man, my body not nearly as strong.
I was naive. Up until that point, life hadn’t asked much of me.
I knew I was heading into the unknown. But I couldn’t have foreseen the trajectory or the cost.
“Greyson?”
“Yeah?”
“I asked if you’d mind checking to make sure the medic got restocked after they went out on the last call,” Cody says.
Across the table, Dustin grunts, and grunts again—like a caveman. “Ungh. Ooo ooo ungh.” He starts laughing at himself. “What’s the matter, Grey? Dinosaur got your tongue?”
I stare at Dustin without answering him. He cracks up even more. It’s so easy to entertain him, not that I’m remotely trying to be his source of comedic inspiration.
“Sorry,” I say, focusing on Cody. “Yes. That works.”
I don’t waste words. Why use twenty when four will get the job done?
My eyes remain trained on Cody despite Dustin’s continued antics across the table.
I need to wipe Hallie out of my mind. Maybe I did imagine her. It wouldn’t be the first time in nine years that her face seemed to appear in a crowd only to disappear when I took a second glance.
“Okay, okay,” Cody says. “Last item of business. We’re going to be welcoming a rookie. You know I’ve been combing applications and doing interviews. We’ve gone long enough without someone taking my spot.”
“Technically, the rookie will take my spot,” Dustin says. “Finally.”
“Doesn’t mean we can’t still prank you,” Patrick says with a teasing smile.
“That’s exactly what it means,” Dustin says. “Pranking is for the rookie. We prank the new guy.”
“Mm hmm,” I agree, even though I know we’ll definitely still be pranking Dustin. He just asks for it at times.
“Well,” Cody says with the authoritative tone he’s cultivated since he stepped up into his role as our captain. “The new hire will be here in a few hours and I want them to be treated with respect.”
“We always treat rookies with respect,” Patrick says.
“Yeah. That’s exactly how I remember it too,” Dustin says with a smirk.
Cody ignores our comments. “We also need to make some adjustments before this rookie arrives.”
“What kinds of adjustments?” Patrick asks.
“They’ll need their own room.” Cody looks at each of us with a seriousness that sparks my curiosity.
Why does he keep saying they?
Are there actually two rookies?
“Do they have allergies?” I ask sincerely, trying to ferret out what would make a rookie need their own bunk.
In a station as small as ours, we don’t have the luxury of single rooms. Only the captain gets his own space.
“Maybe they snore like a chainsaw,” Dustin suggests.
“In which case, you’d have your own bunk,” I say, not cracking a smile even though I know I’m being funny.
“I don’t snore,” Dustin insists.
“Only when you’re exhausted,” Patrick assures him.
“What? I snore?” Dustin is mortified.
“Men!” Cody raises his voice. As soon as all our eyes are back on him, he resumes his instructions in a measured tone. “Our new rookie starts today. Let’s get hustling and rearrange the bunks.”
Our responses overlap in a jumble of “Yes, sir!” “Copy that!” and “Got it, Cap.”
“That’s everything,” Cody says. “Dustin, move your bunk into where I used to sleep. Patrick, you’ll bunk with me on the nights I work a twenty-four hour shift.”
“You’re giving up your solo?” Dustin asks.
“We’re making accommodations,” Cody says. “We have limited space.”
Dustin’s baffled expression says everything we’re all not saying.
After we disperse, I check the medic truck. Everything’s in order. The last crew restocked as they should. Then I join my crew moving things out of the shared room Patrick and Dustin occupied.
Dustin and I will be bunking together. This new rookie better be worth his weight in gold.
We’re running equipment checks a few hours later with the doors to the bay rolled up.
The spring air still has a chill to it in the early mornings, but by midmorning, the sun breaks through.
A presence on the driveway captures my attention.
I lift my eyes from where I’m re-rolling a hose on the engine.
The woman walking up the sidewalk hesitates a beat and then steps forward. I see her frame from my vantage point before I see her face, but then she’s there, standing in the bay opening.
Hallie?
I shake my head, closing my eyes and opening them again.
She’s still standing there, looking at each one of us in turn. Her eyes land on me. A note of recognition in them, but not one that tells me she remembers our past. I’m the guy she saw picking up pizzas. That’s all.
“Hi?” She says, tentatively. Then she squares her shoulders just the slightest and repeats herself with more confidence. “Hi. I’m Hallie—the new rookie.”
“No kidding!” Dustin shouts. “You’re the rookie! A woman! A firewoman? That’s so ... Wow. Captain didn’t tell us about that part. The woman part. Meaning that you are one. We weren’t informed—or ready. Not that we aren’t ready. We are. We …”
Patrick steps in front of Dustin. “What he means to say is, welcome to Waterford Fire. Cody’s in the office. We cleared a room for you to bunk in. I’m Patrick. The blathering one is Dustin. And that man of few words over there is Greyson.”
I stand and walk slowly toward her, extending my hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“You too. I saw you … getting pizzas.”
“Yes. I remember.”
We stare at one another and then I drop her hand, slowly brushing mine down my uniform pants.
She’s a firefighter? I thought she was going to be a doctor.
And she’s here. In Waterford.
“I’ll show you to the office,” Patrick says, walking ahead of Hallie.
“I know where it is,” she tells him. “I came in for my interview a few weeks ago.”
“On a day we were all off?” Patrick asks.
“Yes. I think it must have been.”
I don’t hear the rest of their conversation, because Patrick holds the door to the office open and steps inside with her.
Dustin stares back at me. “What’s the matter, Grey? You look like you saw a ghost.”
I don’t answer him. Most questions resolve themselves without an outright answer. This one isn’t something I could answer anyway. Not without adding a whole lot of complication to the already complex situation.
“Don’t worry,” Dustin says. “We’ll all get used to working with a woman. It will just be an adjustment.”
“Yeah,” I say with a soft chuckle. “Like you got used to it when she walked into the bay?”
Dustin laughs. “What can I say? I was not expecting a woman. Cody pulled a fast one. You’ve got to admit it.”
“Yeah. He sure did.”
I stare in the direction of the office. How did this happen? And how am I going to work here now—with her on the crew?