CHAPTER SIXTEEN
C hief Warren drove out of town to a small diner on the side of a country road. It was the type of establishment you’d expect to find in a country western song, or in this case, middle of nowhere Georgia. It looked like an Advil capsule if it was covered in tin and rested on the side of a winding road. The sign boasted the best pie in Georgia, which was all Trevor needed to see. Their drive lasted less than twenty minutes, most of it filled with crippling silence.
Trevor pulled on a loose thread of his uniform shirt, eager for a distraction from the moment. In all his time working with Chief, he’d never seen him this on edge. They pulled into the diner’s parking lot and Chief cut the engine.
Swiveling in his seat, Paul reached behind him for a pair of T-shirts, tossing one at Trevor. “Put this on over your shirt. I know I sound paranoid, but I don’t want people seeing a bunch of Pinegrove’s finest.”
Trevor raised an eyebrow but did as he was told. Placing his hand on the door latch, Trevor was ready to get out of the stifling car, but Chief stopped his progress with a hand on the arm. “Wait a second. The rest of our party isn’t here.”
“Okay, now you’re sounding like a conspiracy theorist in a John Grisham novel.” Trevor fought an eye roll as he shut the door and sat back in his seat.
“Before we get to all that, I need to say my peace on another matter.” Paul cleared his throat, seemingly as anxious as Trevor.
“I’ve spoken to Momma and apologized this morning. You can spare me the fatherly routine, Chief.” Trevor crossed his arms over his chest, keeping his eyes focused outside at the diner.
Paul scratched his neck and muttered something about the road to hell being paved with good intentions. “I need you to understand something, son,” he started, licking his lips and slowing his breath.
It wasn’t that Trevor hadn’t seen the chief upset before. Heck, he was nearly as broken up as Jessie, Daisy, and Trevor were at the funeral. Yet there was something about how Chief was in this moment, frown lines etched into his skin, eyes so tired it was amazing he was awake enough to drive. Whatever he was about to say was going to be heavy, and Trevor wasn’t sure he was ready for that type of revelation.
Trevor held up a hand and sighed. “Please, Chief. If you’re about to say anything about my mother, I beg you to stop.”
“Call me Paul, damn it. Right now, we’re two men having a conversation.” He ran a hand through his hair and muttered, “Or we would be if I found my words.”
“We really don’t need to do this whole routine, Paul. I trust you’ll treat my mother right.”
“I love your mother,” Paul blurted out, eyes wide. He seemed as shocked by his admission as Trevor.
“You what?” Trevor had not expected this. He wasn’t sure what he thought Paul would say, but confessing love for his mother was not one of them.
“I am in love with Daisy, have been for quite some time.” He shook his head when Trevor’s face fell. “I’m not saying I ever did or said anything while Nick was with us, because that’s not the man I am. But I need you to know that I’ve cared for Daisy since we were in high school, and those feelings shifted the more time we’ve spent together recently.”
Trevor waited for a feeling of revulsion to wash over him, but instead, he was relieved. Paul wasn’t looking for something casual with his momma. Deflating in his seat, Trevor sighed. "I’m actually relieved to hear you say that.”
“You think I’d try to play fast and loose with your Momma?”
Trevor barked out a laugh. “Yeah, actually. I kind of did. It was like you were trying to push me out of the station, and then when you and Momma kept the secret of your relationship, it all felt so sordid.”
“First of all, son, I’ve never wanted to transfer you to another station. I only wanted to show you there were other options for promotion while I figured out what to do with Hastings. He was never the captain I wanted on my force, but I’ve been trying to keep the peace.” Rubbing at the back of his neck, he groaned. “Which, clearly, I was doing a terrible job.”
“So, you weren’t trying to get rid of me?”
“Not at all. You’re a damn good fireman, Trevor. Your instincts and teamwork cannot be beat, and I only want you to shine.”
The news washed over Trevor, taking the wind from his sails as he caught his breath. His boss was not trying to oust him, but rather help him. “I feel like a damn fool.” Trevor huffed. “I thought after Hastings was promoted, that was it for me. It was hose duty for the rest of my career.”
“Your career is far from over, and after this little lunch meeting, I’m hoping to make some changes.”
Out the rear window, Javi’s car approached and parked beside them. Smithy stepped out first, a ballcap pulled low over his face, hiding his black curls. He wore jeans and a flannel with clunky work boots, despite the sweltering summer heat. Javi emerged dressed for the gym in basketball shorts and a tank top. His hair was hidden under a beany.
“Why are you two dressed like lame versions of yourselves?” Trevor trash-talked, stepping into the parking lot.
“Didn’t Chief tell you? We’re incognito.” Javi smirked.
Chief rolled his eyes and joined them, striding ahead to the diner’s entrance. “I meant you didn’t need to wear your uniforms, goofballs.”
“Oh, well, now I look like a lumberjack in Witness Protection.” Smithy tugged on his flannel and groaned.
“Who is also a Braves fan,” Javi teased, flicking the hat off his head.
When they stepped inside, a cute hostess with a shock of red hair greeted them. “Hi, y’all. Welcome to Bucky’s. Table for four?”
“Yes, please, darlin’.” Javi stepped forward, leaning against the hostess podium, his grin on full display. “Maybe after my buddies and I have lunch, you could give me your number for dessert.” He winked, and Trevor made a gagging noise.
“Oh, well,” the poor girl stammered as Chief shoved Javi back.
“I apologize for him, ma’am. Our boy here is part of a social experiment to see if he’s fit to be out among real humans,” Smithy said, putting Javi in a headlock.
“Unfortunately, he failed the test and will go back into his cell.” Trevor added a head noogie while Javi was trapped in Smithy’s hold. Chief fought a smile the whole walk to their table.
Malcolm dropped Javi into a chair and chuckled. “You need to work on your game, man. She was clearly not interested.”
“Pfft, come on. I saw how she smiled at me.”
Trevor opened his menu, keeping his gaze on the delicious options. “It’s called customer service, idiot.”
“I think her eyes were offering more than ...”
Chief reached across the table and swatted Javi on the back of the head. “And I think we’re done, boys.” He looked back at Javi. “I thought you were dating that girl from The Pecan Pit?”
Javi shrugged. “Julia and I broke up.”
Smithy was incredulous. “You told us last night you were seeing each other.”
“That was true, then. We broke up this morning.”
Chief muttered something Trevor couldn’t hear but rallied quickly. “As much fun as it is discussing your extracurriculars, Ortiz, let’s order and get down to business. We only have an hour, and I’m sure the Forestry Service needs Smithy back on the job.”
Trevor and Javi burst out laughing, but poor Smithy only slid further down in his seat. “Thank God I didn’t borrow my uncle’s construction uniform.”
Dabbing away a tear, Javi jibed, “But then you’d be eligible to join the Village People.”
Their waitress arrived and took their orders, delivering a round of sweet teas before they could ask.
“I want to start by saying,” Paul said, slurping from his glass. “You three are my top guys. I trust y’all won’t share what I’m going to say, but I need your advice. Usually I take staffing concerns to the city council, but since Hastings is practically married into Pinegrove politics, I’m coming to you.” He turned briefly to Trevor, and added, “Sorry.”
Trevor held his hands up in surrender. “I’m over it, Chief. Hastings and Virginia can ride out into the sunset for all I care.”
“That’s actually my point. I need help documenting Hastings’s slips.” He focused on Smithy. “Thank you for telling me about the zoning reports.” Gesturing to Javi, he said, “And I wouldn’t have known about the budget errors if you hadn’t caught them. The point I’m getting at is, I want to document everything and start counseling sessions with Hastings. If he isn’t cut out to be captain, I need to confirm it sooner rather than later. This station deserves real leadership, not someone who teases and taunts his team. I curse the day the mayor expanded the fireworks festival.”
Trevor’s ears perked at that. “What do you mean?”
Scrubbing a hand over his mustache, Paul sighed. “When the mayor decided to grow all of Pinegrove’s festivals, he put more stress on the council with the ‘less exciting,’”—he paused his explanation for air quotes—“tasks like personnel. When Hastings and Virginia started dating and the promotion came up, I think LaPlante saw a way to get his future son-in-law a cushy job. He wasn’t thinking about how Hastings would actually have to work harder, would have to help lead a fire station.”
This was news to Trevor. While he’d assumed exactly what Paul described, he didn’t realize how much he needed confirmation on that until now. The stall in his career still stung, but he could see beyond his own frustrations to the forces weighing Paul down.
Before any of the men could reply, the waitress returned with the perfect distraction—an array of greasy food. “Here y’all go,” the waitress said, balancing four plates on her arms. “Who has the patty melt?”
Discussions of Hastings and his lackluster performance ceased as the men focused on their meals. “Guys, this place is amazing. When Chief said we needed to get out of dodge for lunch, I knew we had to come here.”
Smithy sipped from his sweet tea. “I didn’t know you were such a foodie, Ortiz.”
Javi preened, spreading his hand over his chest. “Smithy, I am the foodie. When I was dating that chick from Ohio, she took me to this little diner in this random town.” Lowering his voice, he mumbled, “The menu was unbelievable. I mean, the shit they did to ...”
Chief shook his head. “Keep it PG, Ortiz. I still have half a tuna melt left.”
Scoffing, Javi shoved a fistful of fries in his mouth. “Get your mind out of the gutter, Chief. I was talking about the food. It was this diner in Buckeye Falls, Ohio. You’re in the middle of nowhere, but that menu felt like something out of Atlanta or New York.”
“Wow, Javi. I didn’t realize your dating territory stretched up into the Midwest,” Trevor teased, balling up a napkin and throwing it at his head. “We’ll need to alert the other single men, so they don’t encroach on your turf.”
Javi muttered something in Spanish, giving a death glare to Smithy. For his part, Smithy covered his smirk with his patty melt. “He said it, man, not me.”
Javi batted away the napkin. “Yeah, but you didn’t come to my defense.”
“Defense? You literally hit on the hostess as soon as we arrived. And you keep calling dibs on Trevor’s girl. And do I need to remind you of Julia and ...?”
Chief Warren held up his hands and chuckled. “All right, gentlemen. We’re not going to slut shame anyone today.”
Javi was offended, jaw on the table. “Chief, I never refer to my woman as anything other than goddesses.”
“I don’t think he was referring to your women, dummy.” This time, Trevor threw a sugar packet, hitting Javi square in the forehead. Smithy couldn’t contain his laughter.
Trevor’s face hurt from smiling by the time their waitress returned with dessert menus. Despite all four men being stuffed to the gills, everyone ordered a slice of pie. The ease in their conversation, the rapport they all shared, was tangible outside the station. In a matter of months, Hastings had cast a shadow over a place these men held dear.
“Thanks for coming out, y’all. I appreciate your honesty, and I’ll keep you posted on what I need. You’re damn good firemen.”
Chief paid their bill and led them outside to the parking lot. The sun hung heavy overhead, casting short shadows as they strode to their cars. Just as Trevor put his hand on the door handle, all four of their cell phones squawked to life.
“Five alarm in progress at the corner of 5th and ...” dispatch said through the walkie in Chief’s car.
“You heard that, fellas?” he asked, snagging Javi’s eye.
“Sure did, sir. We’ll meet you at the station, should be able to get to that side of town in less than twenty minutes.”
Trevor yanked off the extra T-shirt and buckled up, ready when Chief turned on the lights and sped down the road. Fumbling in his pocket, he yanked out his cell phone to text Whitney. He hated the idea of keeping her waiting tonight, and he really didn’t want her to worry. Most of all, he wanted to let her know he was thinking about her; thinking about how lucky he was that she’d given him a second chance.
Pressing his finger to the Power button, the screen remained dark. “Damn,” he muttered, opening the center console to look for a charger. “You got an Android charger, Paul?” Trevor caught the smile forming on his boss’s face at the mention of his name, and warmth bloomed in his chest.
“Sorry, son. I’ve got an iPhone.”
Trevor tucked his phone back, already sliding into work mode. “No worries.”
When Paul pulled up to the station, Trevor jumped into his bunker gear in record time, Javi and Smithy hot on his heels. As they sped toward the scene, Trevor swallowed past the lump in his throat. While he usually was laser focused when they were en route to a fire, something about today felt different. Telling himself if was just indigestion from lunch, he said a prayer that everyone made it out in one piece.