Chapter 7
Chapter
Seven
“Oh my God!” Shana said, her eyes lighting up. “You want to have sex with Marley Hartson?”
“Will you hush up?” Kate whispered, because Shana’s voice was loud enough to wake up a bunch of hibernating bears. “And I don’t want to do that.”
“You said he gave you tingles.” Shana took a sip of her coffee. They were sitting in the town square after eating brunch in the diner. This time, Shana had managed to score a booth and she was still gloating about it. Addy was playing with her friends on the bandstand, and Ethan was throwing a ball with a group of boys in the grass beyond.
And James was at the fire station. She was trying hard not to think about that. She’d wanted to drop him off but he’d insisted on walking over there first thing this morning. She hadn’t seen him running with the rest of the juniors and the volunteers around the square before she went into church, though. Marley had promised her that he would have to sit everything out and he was being true to his word.
“That’s not what I said,” Kate told her friend, shaking her head. “I said maybe I’m not so dead inside after all.”
“Because he gave you quivers.” Shana wouldn’t be deflected. “You should definitely let him know you’re interested.”
“I’m not interested,” Kate told her. “Not like that. I’ve been thinking about it, and I know exactly what happened.”
Shana’s smile widened. “Oh, this is going to be good. Tell me.”
Kate rolled her eyes because she knew she shouldn’t have said anything. But Shana had this way of getting secrets out of you. The CIA should recruit her. She’d be the best kind of torture device.
“You said yourself that maybe it’s time to start thinking about the future,” Kate said. “Maybe my body is telling me that I should try new things out.”
“Like new guys?”
Kate sighed. Mostly because she hadn’t slept for the past two nights. Not just because of James and worrying about him. But also worrying about herself.
It felt strange.
“Maybe. But not Marley Hartson. That was just me reacting to him being there. Any guy holding my hand would have caused the same reaction.”
“Seriously? That’s what you think?”
“That’s what I know.” Kate nodded. “I wouldn’t date him even if he wanted to, which he doesn’t. Not after everything…” Her eyes caught Shana’s. “And I don’t want to date a firefighter, that’s for sure.”
“Paul didn’t die because he was a firefighter,” Shana said softly. “It was a freak of nature.”
Kate took a mouthful of coffee. Yes, thinking about that still hurt. But not as much as it used to.
Maybe life was moving on.
“I know. But now that I’ve experienced loss, I’d like to avoid going through it again. And dating a firefighter isn’t a great plan.” She caught Shana’s eye. “What if it got serious? And Addy, Ethan, and James got attached? What if they lost somebody else? I couldn’t do that to them.”
“What are you gonna do, put every guy through a physical before you date them?” Shana asked, her brows knitting. “Hell, Paul had lots of clear physicals but then…” she trailed off. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to bring up bad memories.”
“You’re not. It’s okay. And you’re right, I can’t screen for everything. And Paul having an aneurism was nothing any of us could have foreseen.”
That was one of her first questions after they lost him. How could nobody have known about the aneurism growing in his brain? The doctors said it had to have been there for years. And when it burst…
God, she needed another coffee.
“But anybody with a dangerous occupation is out,” Kate said firmly. “At least I can control that.”
“Maybe you should only go for guys that never leave the house. Never drive a car. Or cross the road,” Shana said. “That’ll lower the possibility of losing them even more.”
“Stop it.” Kate shook her head, smiling. “I’m trying. I thought you’d be glad about this.”
“I am. Kind of.” Shana pulled out her phone. “And I feel like this is the right time to tell you that I’ve made you a dating profile.”
“What?” Kate blinked. “Why? Where?”
“On an app. Don’t worry, I gave you a fake name. I was just curious to see what the response would be like.”
“Show me.” Kate held out her hand. “I can’t believe you did this.” She should be angry with her friend. But Shana didn’t have a mean bone in her body. She was kind, caring, and she worried about Kate a lot.
“I was just testing the waters for you. Because you weren’t going to try this by yourself. Remember what you said about there being nobody you’d date around here? Well, I set the area to Maple Cross and beyond. And honey, the waters are good. There are some nice guys there.”
“You haven’t talked to them, have you?”
Shana grinned. “No, of course not. That’s the beauty of this app. The woman has to make the first approach to anybody she matches with. That way you get to keep the control.” Her voice turned serious. “And I know you need that. I get it, I do.”
She passed Kate the phone and she took it, looking at the profile Shana had made for her.
Amy, 35.
Shana had used Kate’s middle name. And the photo was one she’d taken last year, when they’d gone up the mountains to the lake in Winterville. She was wearing a pair of shorts and a tank, her hair whipping around her face. She was laughing – you couldn’t see at what, but Kate could remember.
James was throwing Addy and Ethan into the water and they were squealing with excitement. She could remember thinking it was the first time she’d seen them truly happy after losing their dad.
“You looked beautiful in that one,” Shana said softly. “Annoyingly so. You got so many more hits than me.”
“Did you add that I have kids?” Kate asked, scrolling down. And yeah, there it was. Three children.
And still she got matches? She was surprised. “The men over in Maple Cross must be desperate,” she said.
“Shut up. You’re a catch.”
“Sure. With one kid fast becoming a juvenile delinquent, one who refuses to wear anything but his dead dad’s t-shirt to bed, and the other who wants me to take a photo of her looking pretty in her funeral dress,” Kate said, deadpan. “A real catch.”
“Marley seems to think so,” Shana pointed out softly. And Kate felt her pulse increase.
“He just sees a buddy’s wife in trouble. And the last thing I need is a knight in shining firefighter uniform.” Kate passed the phone back to her right as Addy ran up to them, dirt smeared on the knees of her dress.
“Mommy, Sammie’s cat had kittens. Can we have one?” Addy asked, breathless from running from the bandstand.
Kate’s gaze met Shana’s. Her friend couldn’t disguise her mirth.
“No honey, we can’t. We don’t have time to have a kitten.”
Addy let out a sigh. “Thank goodness. I hate those things.” Then she ran off again, leaving Kate and Shana shaking their heads.
“See?” Kate said. “My life is chaos. I’m nobody’s catch.”
“Can I have a word?” Chief Riley asked as Marley passed his office. It was Wednesday evening. He’d come in to pick up a pair of running shoes he’d left in his locker, because his other ones got soaked running in the rain yesterday.
“Now? Sure.” Marley stepped into the Chief’s office. Even after two years it was strange being in here and not seeing Paul sitting behind the desk. He didn’t like it much, truth be told. A reminder that his friend was gone. That he wasn’t coming back.
“Take a seat.” The chief pointed at the chair on the other side of the desk. “I just wanted to talk to you about the Junior Firefighters.
Chief Riley had joined the firehouse a month after Paul’s death, and was the only salaried employee in the station. He was a lifelong firefighter, had worked through the ranks to become a captain in Charleston, the state capital, before coming to Hartson’s Creek. He was now a couple of years away from retirement. He was a hard man to get to know. He kept to himself, completely unlike Paul. And Marley didn’t always see eye to eye with the man, even though he tried to respect him.
It was almost six. Marley had planned on eating some dinner as soon as he got home, then giving it an hour to settle before he headed off on his run. He hoped this wouldn’t take long.
“Is there a problem with the juniors?” Marley asked.
Chief Riley lifted a brow. “I saw that James Connelly has officially joined. Do you think that’s a good idea?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?” Marley asked. And yeah, there was some defensiveness in his voice, because the juniors had always been his department. He ran it well. Had gotten commendations for it. And Paul had always let him manage it and handle it his own way.
“Because the kid could cause us problems,” the chief said, his voice low. “I heard he was involved in that incident over in the fields last week. Unstable firefighters – whether they’re juniors or not – aren’t what we need. I think you know that.”
“James isn’t unstable. He’s had a couple of rough years. We all want him here. For his dad.”
The chief blew out a mouthful of air. “Paul isn’t here anymore,” he said, as though Marley didn’t feel his absence acutely every time he walked into the station. “And yeah, maybe before he died his kid was different. But now? I don’t want him putting any of my men in danger.”
“He won’t.” Marley’s voice was tight. “I’m sure of it.”
“Are you? Because I’m not.” The chief shook his head. “Our resources are tight. We don’t have time to babysit a kid who can’t keep his urges under control.”
Annoyance rushed through him, but somehow he managed to keep it under control, thanks to years of being trained by Paul to manage his emotions. And yeah, he owed his dead boss. More than that, he’d made him a promise.
He intended to keep it. Whether the chief liked it or not.
“He’ll be fine,” Marley said firmly. “And I’m not babysitting him. I’m mentoring him. You saw him on Sunday. He did everything he was told to do in training. He’s already agreed to the litter cleanup after the fundraiser next Friday. Give the kid a chance to prove himself, that’s all I ask.”
For a moment the chief said nothing. Just stared at Marley, who kept his expression cool.
And then he let out a long sigh. “Okay. But if he messes up once, he’s out, understood?”
“Understood.” Marley nodded. “But he won’t. I’ll make sure of that.”
Kate was waiting for him when he ran past their house that evening. Sure, she was trying to hide it, acting like she was weeding the front yard, but the way she stood and walked over as soon as she saw him, coupled with the look of determination on her face made it a little too obvious.
He slowed down to a halt, all too aware of the sweat running off him. After the rain of the past few days the sun had come out with a passion. And even though it was setting now, the heat lingered like an unwanted lover, curling around his body and clinging on tight.
He lifted his hand to wipe his brow, watching her as she walked over. She was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, her hair pulled into a messy ponytail that made her look younger than she was. He remembered how thin she’d gotten in the months after Paul died. She’d put a little of that weight back on, and it looked good on her.
She lifted a hand to pat her hair back into place. He noticed she wasn’t wearing gardening gloves. Nor were her hands covered in dirt. Interesting .
“Hi,” she said softly.
“Hi.”
“You want some water?”
A smile pulled at his lips. “I’m good. Is everything okay here? Seen any more snakes?”
“No. We’re good. I just wanted to talk to you…” She glanced back at the house as though to make sure none of her kids were there. “About James.”
“Sure.” Marley nodded, all too aware he’d had more conversations about a kid that wasn’t his today than anything else. “What’s up?”
“He said the Junior Firefighters are supposed to be volunteering at Chairs on Friday night.”
“Yeah, that’s right. The band is doing a fundraising set. Playing some music. There’s always clean up afterward and we’ve asked the juniors to be part of it.”
Her eyes met his. Up close they looked like corn, just before it turned. Green with some yellow. Pretty.
“He’s still grounded.”
“I know. And it’s up to you, but I can guarantee that the clean-up isn’t the fun job you might think it is.” Marley gave her a half smile. “I’ll even make sure he doesn’t have any fun. And at least you’ll know where he is.”
“I guess…” She didn’t look certain. And he felt bad, because he was trying to help, not cause her more problems. God knew she probably had enough of them already.
“I’ll even drop him home myself if you’re worried about him getting back,” Marley told her.
“I can bring him home,” she said quickly.
“Are you coming to the gig?” he asked. It was strange how much he wanted her to say yes.
“I don’t know.” She offered him a small smile. “I’m not the biggest fan of Chairs .”
“You should come,” he told her. “You’ll have a good time.”
“Will I?” she murmured. And he wasn’t sure if she was talking to him or herself.
“Yes.”
Her eyes met his again and he felt it somewhere inside him. She was a beautiful woman.
But she was also Paul’s widow. He was just trying to look out for her and the kids, that was all.
Her chest lifted as she inhaled slowly, her brows pulling tight as she thought it over. “I can’t remember the last time I heard you play. Probably about seven years ago.”
“We’ve only gotten worse,” he told her and she laughed, the sound like nectar to his ears.
“Didn’t you almost get picked up by a record company?” she asked him.
“Kind of. But that’s an old story.” He smiled at her. “So are you coming?”
She didn’t say anything for a moment. Just looked at him, the setting sun lending her face an orange hue. In the distance, he could hear the rumble of a car, and – closer – the sound of a single bird warbling from the sugar maple tree at the edge of her yard.
“Yeah, I think maybe I’ll come watch,” she said. “Bring Addy and Ethan. Make an evening of it. Catch up on the local gossip.” She widened her eyes and it made him grin.
“Good.” He nodded. “I’ll see you there then.”
“Yeah, you will.”
It sounded like a promise. A promise that hit him straight in the solar plexus. And when he nodded his head in goodbye and set off on his run back home, the smile lingered on his face.