14. Leo （Then）
Leo (Then)
It was nearing midnight on Halloween as Leo paced in front of the open bay doors of the fire station.
He watched as all of Autumn Ridge began shutting down.
Only the streetlights along Main and the orange glow from the park remained.
He couldn’t see O’Donnell’s from here, but he wondered what Lynne was doing right now.
Probably wiping down the counter while Ruby ushered everyone out.
Probably telling her dad to head up for bed and leave the rest to her.
For some reason, back when he was twenty-one, he thought he’d always spend his birthday at O’Donnell’s.
Even his twenty-fourth. But tonight was the first working birthday, and while it wasn’t all bad, it wasn’t O’Donnell’s.
No shots. No bad jukebox music. No glances from across the room.
The crew tried to make the most of it for him.
Dressed up in costumes, celebrated with cake and candles, signed a card.
They even gave him candy duty, which was normally something Chief Bob gave to the senior crew members while the rest stayed ready for action.
It wasn’t unheard of for an out-of-hand bonfire or open flame to keep them busy on Halloween.
Autumn Ridge had been eerily calm tonight, though.
Then he heard some footsteps behind him.
“Hey, kid,” Chief Bob said. “They’re gonna start a movie. Wanna join? No guarantees, but this is usually the part of the Halloween shift where it gets real quiet.”
Leo waved. “Sure. I’ll be up in a few. Just need a few more minutes out here.”
“Take your time, birthday boy. Just don’t be surprised if Tracey steals another chocolate bar out of your stash while you do.”
Leo grinned. “If by ‘Tracey’ you mean you again, chief, it’s okay. You can have another.”
“Thank God,” Bob huffed under his breath. “You know I’ve got a weakness for that shit. See you inside, kid.”
The Main Street clock chimed twelve times in the distance, and the full moon slipped behind a cluster of clouds. Leo felt an ache grow in his chest. Something he couldn’t put a name to.
Then his phone vibrated in his pocket. Another birthday message, like he’d been getting all day and night long. But this time, it was Lynne. She remembered.
Did you seriously ditch your own birthday? she asked.
The corner of Leo’s mouth pulled into a smile as he typed out Working at the station.
Unacceptable. She sent a frowning face. What are we gonna do with all these maraschino cherries?!
He let out a little huffing laugh. I guess you’ll have to save them for next year.
Lynne replied quickly with Gross.
Leo pivoted to join the crew for movie time, thinking that would be it.
But Lynne kept bringing his phone back to life every few minutes.
Asking if they’d been out for a bunch of calls and what else he’d done that night.
Complaining about glitter and the sticky floors. Sending a photo of her dad waving ‘hi.’
He realized he missed being there more than he thought.
When the movie ended and everyone went off to do their own thing, Leo noticed it was past 2 a.m. The awareness that she was still with Andrew hummed in the back of his brain.
Were they living together these days? Had Andrew been sleeping next to her the entire time they chatted?
He doubted it. But he also couldn’t help but enjoy this private thread with her, however fleeting.
Aren’t I keeping you up? he messaged reluctantly.
It took Lynne a while to reply, but when she did it was simply, In bed. Can’t sleep. It’s fine. And then, What time’s your shift end?
His breath stilled. Not until 7. Why?
Three dots appeared and disappeared several times on his phone screen as she typed. Want birthday breakfast instead this year? Minka’s? Right after your shift?
He grinned. You sure? I may be a zombie.
Lynne—We can be zombies together.
So they agreed to meet in front of Minka’s when he got off his shift, and that was all he could think about for the rest of the night.
At 7:05 a.m., Leo stumbled out of the station, exhausted, wild-eyed, hair a mess.
But a smile was plastered across his face.
Lynne showed up at Minka’s with pillow-creased cheeks, wearing a sweater that smelled faintly of spilled cider and cinnamon.
But the jolt her smile gave him was better than any coffee Minka’s could offer.
She handed him the jar of cherries as they walked inside, and he handed her a shiny new fire extinguisher to take back to O’Donnell’s.
He wasn’t sure if it was the chill in the air or his desperate need for sleep, but something about the way the light caught Lynne’s face and hair in the corner booth suddenly had his heart skipping.
He tried to keep his face neutral, his body still.
Just breakfast between friends his mind kept repeating.
But, honest to God, seeing Lynne like this, all soft and welcoming, was the only birthday gift he’d ever want again.
She ordered what was apparently her usual: veggie omelet, no mushrooms, a half order of extra-crispy hash browns. Coffee with cream—no sugar. She looked surprised, though, when he ordered his usual. Biscuits and gravy. Black coffee.
“Don’t judge. I swear it’s the best thing on the menu.”
When their plates came out, he stole a forkful of her hash browns and offered up a bite of biscuit and gravy as a consolation prize. She let him feed it to her and, begrudgingly, admitted it was amazing.
“Happy—what is it now?—26th?” She lifted her coffee mug to cheers his and they clanged together.
“Um, no,” he chuckled. “Only my 24th. I don’t know, Lynne. Should I take that as a compliment or an insult?”
She smiled over her mug’s edge. “I didn’t know it was possible for Leo March to be insulted.”
“Fair.”
“But you’ve always seemed older than your years.” She pointed a fork at him. “Just wait until your thirties,” she warned. “You start forgetting your own age. It’s no surprise I forgot your age, too.”
“That bad, huh?”
“It’s all downhill from there.”
“Well, you look amazing for, what … 35? 36?” He paused, catching her eye. “Oh, wait. Sorry. You can’t remember.”
Lynne narrowed her eyes and gave his shin a light kick under the table. “Careful, Leo. I know where you sleep.”
He licked his lips, trying not to remind her why she knew where he slept. Trying to also hold back a few quips that would’ve crossed the line.
Lynne sighed. “I’m only 31. But I’ll turn 32 on Christmas Eve.”
Leo’s jaw dropped. “Christmas Eve? How did I not know this?”
“I mean…” her face scrunched, “Mike and I dated for nearly four years, Leo. Maybe I’m not the only one with memory issues.”
“Damn. I walked right into that one.”
Lynne chuckled to herself.
“That’s interesting that we both have holiday birthdays, though,” he said. “Halloween and Christmas Eve.”
“Yeah, but no one ever tried to weasel out of giving you presents on Halloween. You don’t know the pain I’ve suffered.”
“Please. All that trauma just forged you into the kind of woman who’d fight a stranger over tip money. Don’t think I didn’t notice what you did to that guy dressed as a sailor last Halloween.”
Her eyes lit up, and they both cackled so loud that some of the breakfast crowd glanced over at them. One guy even glared.
“Shh shh shh,” Lynne hissed, trying not to spit out her coffee. “Don’t you know you’re not allowed to have fun at breakfast?”
Minka suddenly appeared beside their booth. “Care to share with the rest of the class?”
“Sorry, Minka,” Leo said, even though he wasn’t. He could use a breakfast like this every day. “We’ll keep it down.”
“Oh, please. Do whatever you want.” She lowered, yet somehow brightened, her voice. “As long as you tip extra. More coffee?”
She topped off both their mugs. But Leo noticed Lynne grew quiet and kept staring at something behind him.
“What’s up?”
“She’s on her phone.” Lynne sighed. “Minka. I bet she’s ratting on us to someone.”
He cleared his throat, thinking of Lynne’s boyfriend, thinking of what it must look like—the two of them showing up at the café just after 7 a.m. together and giggling in a booth. But by now everyone knew she and Andrew were together.
“That going to be a problem?” he asked.
“No, it’s just … annoying,” she confessed. “But whatever. That’s Autumn Ridge. Right? Up in everyone’s business.”
He chewed and swallowed then hesitantly asked, “So how is Andrew?”
Lynne shifted in her seat. “Busy. Always busy.” She forced a little shrug and rolled her mug between her palms. “We’re good. He’s fine.”
He heard the hitch under the words and, for once, he didn’t push. He took another bite of biscuit instead, searching for safer ground. But she chimed in before he had the chance.
“So tell me about your shifts. Like, how does that work?”
“Well, there are three crews—A, B, and C—and we rotate. Twenty-four hours on, then forty-eight hours off. I’m on B shift.” He took another sip of coffee. “I mean, we get PTO and stuff, but that’s the basic schedule.”
“So every three days you stumble out of the station looking like this?”
He huffed. “Tired, hungry, in need of coffee, but still looking fabulous? Yep.” She giggled. He hated how much he loved that sound. How he wanted to make her do it over and over again.
“If you could have anything for your birthday, what would it be?”
You, Lynne. A thousand times over.
“Just this.”
“You’re kidding.” She leaned back against the booth seat and crossed her arms. “Too simple.”
“It’s the perfect Autumn Ridge morning,” he said. “Delicious food. Good company.”
He watched her blue eyes dart to the window, where a gust of wind pushed red and orange leaves down the sidewalk. He wanted to extend his legs out under the table, touch her feet with his, see if she pulled back. But that kind of thinking wouldn’t get him anywhere. Not with Lynne.
“Want to do this again?” he asked softly.
“Breakfast?”
“Yeah. I mean, if someone happened to be sitting here with coffee at the end of my next shift, I’d definitely join them.”
“Oh? Someone?” She arched a brow.