Xander
With an irritated flick of my thumb, I scrolled through the email that had dropped into my inbox a week ago.
I had come back to it repeatedly over the past seven days, and no amount of time had cooled my anger.
My lawyer had done a great job of summarizing exactly what my wife, soon to be ex-wife, had changed from her side of the divorce.
The last one had been bad enough, and we’d been working our way through it, but her lawyer had messaged mine and there was a whole new mess to worry about.
According to Robert, telling her she was ‘batshit fucking insane’ was not the right call, and he wouldn’t be passing that message along. I didn’t agree, but then again, maybe if I’d held back more often in the past, I wouldn’t be as up the creek as I was.
“Nah,” I grunted, tossing my phone onto the desk with a thunk that reminded me that, sturdy case or not, that shit was why I’d needed to replace my phone three times in a year. “Bitch would still try to wring me dry and then keep twisting either way.”
Under the anger, I knew that wasn’t completely true.
She had once been the person I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with, back when she’d known how to make me laugh, and I’d known how to make her feel safe.
She was a bitch, there was no way around it, but I was a prick, so it wasn’t like I could pretend to be faultless.
Then again, I wasn’t trying to drain her bank account and steal all her belongings either, so I was somewhat justified.
A buzz interrupted my moody silence, and with a sigh, I turned to the intercom on the desk. I saw the light flash and punched it. “What?”
“Don’t give me attitude before I’ve even spoken to you today,” Cait told me wryly, and I bit back a sigh.
She was damn good at what she did, and that included keeping the idiots at the outpost in line when I wasn’t around, but she was also a handful.
“I don’t expect you to remember his name, but your new guy is here. ”
Colin Bradford was his name. He was thirty-one and had been working as an EMT and part-time volunteer firefighter for a few years.
His certifications, training, and experience, especially considering he’d started as a corpsman, were an impressive list, and I had snatched him up when the chance came my way.
From what I’d been told, he was single, had no pets, and wasn’t tied down by family or friends.
All in all, it made him a perfect candidate for long-term stays at the outpost, and I hoped he was slightly more intelligent than the idiots I’d been dealing with.
I didn’t mention that, though. “And?”
“And you should come and introduce yourself,” she finished, and I waited. “He’s fine. He seems to be unbothered by Jake, as far as I can tell.”
“God, don’t tell me they get along?” I asked with a wince.
The history between corpsmen and Marines was a long one, and it was always a roll of the dice what you were going to get when they were together.
I had sincerely hoped Colin was one of those corpsmen who had been a responsible member of his squad, rather than frequently going along with antics.
“He seems to have plenty of functioning brain cells if that’s your concern,” she told me in amusement. “Just…unfazed.”
“Thank fuck for that,” I muttered as I absently spun my phone in lazy circles on the desk.
“Met Reno too,” she said, and there was something in her voice that made me raise a brow. “Took that in stride, too.”
Now she had my attention. Reno was an idiot like the rest of them, but he only showed his idiocy when he was dragged along by one of the other morons. It wasn’t like him to do something noteworthy when left to his own devices. “Should I ask?”
“For the sake of your blood pressure, it’s best you don’t,” she said. “Which reminds me—”
“I took my meds,” I scowled at the intercom, looking at the untouched bottle of pills.
“I’m sure you did,” she said in a tone that said she absolutely did not believe me. “Just like I’m sure you’ve cut back on your caffeine intake.”
I glanced at the empty mug that had contained my fifth cup of coffee. “You’re not my mother; I already have one of those, thank you.”
“Barely,” she said, and I stared at the intercom.
“I…excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
“You…” I began, not sure why I was surprised. I had worked with Cait for years, and I knew that as sharp as her mind was, her tongue was even worse. “My mother has Alzheimer's, and you’re being a bitch about it?”
“And you’re being a dick simply because you breathe, such is life,” she said with a heavy sigh.
I opened my mouth before letting out a bark of laughter and flopping back in my seat. “Consider me properly chastised, alright?”
“Mmm, we’ll see if you’re that gracious the next time I need to give you a verbal slap upside the head,” she said wryly.
“So, good feelings for this one?”
“So far, but he and Jake came in looking like they’d been swallowed by a muddy creek and spat back out.
So I gave him the brief tour of the areas that would matter the most to him and sent him and Jake into the showers.
Figured I’d let him settle in and get to know the men before I threw more at him. And by more, I meant you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Dramatic.”
“I should remind you that you’re known for being a hard ass.
Not ‘harsh but fair’, not ‘rough around the edges but a heart of gold’, but a hard ass.
And I’ll also remind you that you’ve earned that reputation.
So I would say that treating you as something to be introduced to is perfectly reasonable. ”
Alright, maybe there was something to what she said, but I knew better than to agree with her. The only thing worse than Cait being told she was wrong was Cait being told she was right. The aura of smugness didn’t dissipate for days.
Before I could say anything, I heard her growl. “Excuse me, I hear Jake trying to talk Reno into something, and I… Jacob! I heard that! So help me God!”
The line clicked off, and I sighed, rubbing my face and debating whether I should back her up or let her handle it on her own.
Leaving her to deal with things alone was a good way to piss her off, but helping was a good way to piss me off.
The men at the outpost were all good, capable men.
I could trust them not just to do their jobs, but to bust their asses well beyond what was expected.
That was on the job, though; otherwise they were a pack of idiots who fought over a single brain cell. Some days it felt like they were fighting to have their turn with the brain cell, and other days it felt like they were doing everything they could to never have to use the brain cell again.
Sometimes I wondered if maybe it was time to take that offer of an office job.
I had the experience to be effective riding a desk, but the idea of sitting behind one for the rest of my working life had the same appeal as week-old roadkill at the height of summer.
I was too restless to be a desk jockey. That and I couldn’t imagine the trouble these jackasses would get into without someone around to keep them in line, or keep Cait sane because she needed someone who understood how irritating these fools could be.
I grabbed my phone and my shirt from the back of the chair.
The one-room cabin I used as personal housing and an office was warm from the fireplace; the sole source of heating.
I stretched the warm shirt over my shoulders, turning to make sure there were no stains before grabbing my boots.
I could have dressed a lot faster, but I was hoping to find that precious middle ground where I showed up to help if Cait needed it, but without being in the thick of things.
That might piss Cait off, but of the two women currently, if technically, in my life, if I pissed Cait off, she wouldn’t try to take me for what I was worth.
The thought of my soon to be ex-wife made me grimace again, and I wondered if my buddy from the Army ever worried that his husband might do something like that to him.
Then again, it didn’t matter if it was a straight or gay thing; the bastard had been happily married for years and I’m sure the thought had never entered his head.
Lucky asshole.
Snagging my coat, I wrapped it around me and threw up the hood before stepping out into the tumult that was the weather.
I grimaced as a wave of rain slapped me in the face without mercy, forcing me to bow my head and walk the familiar path.
The lighting was terrible, and the occasional flashes didn’t help other than glimpses, but I knew the path from my cabin to the main building’s rear entrance by heart.
Reaching the door, I opened it, closing it behind me and giving it a wiggle to make sure it stayed closed, though that wasn’t really necessary.
Unlike the normal door we used to enter and exit the outpost, this one didn’t come loose in storms. Grunting, I yanked my jacket off and hung it up while wiping my feet before going left toward the sound of Cait’s voice, not quite shouting, but not happy either.
Sighing, I figured that was my cue to provide support, only to stop when I heard running water.
I scowled when I saw the locker room door had been left open and steam rolled out, meaning someone was once again soaking up all the hot water.
Trevor was the most likely candidate because he was the one who’d forced me to bring back the limited shower time rule.
He was supposed to be out until later tonight, but maybe the storm had driven him back early from his perimeter inspection and the little shit thought he’d drain our water.