Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Mac
“ H ey, Capt.” Nate’s voice came through the phone just as happy and chipper as ever early Sunday morning. Before I could even say a hello, he barged on. “Listen, I know it’s short notice, but we’re doing an impromptu cookout today. A little going away party for Cal since tomorrow is his last shift. My house around four.”
Even though I’d rather hang with my girls at home on a Sunday afternoon, I couldn’t really say no when we were paying respects to a brother.
“Oh, and make sure Chief Hawkins and Rosie know they’re invited too.”
I made a noise low in my throat, and once again, Nate continued, “Thanks, Capt. See you then.”
“Who was that?” Rosie called from behind her phone.
“Nate. They’re having a cookout this afternoon.”
Rosie’s eyes lit up. “Oh, cool! Can we go?”
My girl. Always ready to go and do .
I glanced over at Olivia lounging at the opposite end of the couch, book in hand. “Yeah, we need to.”
Olivia glanced up. “Do we go in separate cars?”
As much as that sounded like it should be the smart thing to do, I was done with the games. “Nah. We go together.”
“Oh my gosh, that dog is the cutest,” Rosie exclaimed as we rounded the corner of Nate’s house. The cookout was in full swing by the time we arrived—the grill smoking on the deck, and all of my guys milling around, no doubt talking shit. Their women were setting chairs up around a fire pit in the yard. Country music blared over hidden speakers.
“This feels a little like middle school,” Olivia quipped. “Guys on one side and girls on the other.”
I snorted. “It’ll be like this until the sun goes down and the couples start their dancing. That’s when I usually head out.”
“You don’t like dancing anymore? I seem to remember a time…” She winked at me.
“I do. I didn’t like being the fifth wheel when everyone else had a partner.”
“Hey, Mac! Hey, Chief!” Jordan bounded across the yard. “Hey, girlie, I like your shirt,” she complimented Rosie, pointing out their matching Swiftie tees.
“Oh. Em. Gee! I love Taylor. I haven’t seen her live in concert since we couldn’t get tickets. But I really want to.”
Olivia nodded toward the guys. “Should we go say hello?”
I grunted a response and followed her up the stairs.
“Hey, Chief. Want a beer?” Nate greeted, offering her a cold longneck.
“You guys know how to pull it together on short notice, don’t you?”
“Eh, it’s mostly Jordan. She’s pretty much always down for a cookout and can pull it together in a flash. Some of the other guys are inside.”
Conversation grew stilted and tense for a few minutes. My guys were never this quiet or awkward. It was like they couldn’t relax around Olivia. She must’ve felt it, too, because she gave them a polite smile, not quite ice-princess level, but not her usual easy grin either. At the opposite corner of the deck, Cal sat gazing out over the backyard. A couple of guys from Station Three were chatting nearby.
“I’m just gonna…” She tipped her beer toward Cal and then grabbed a second beer from the cooler before making her way over.
“You guys still pissed he’s going to the county?” I broke the silence.
“Maybe a little,” Thoren said. “But I can respect why he needed to.”
“Then don’t you think it’s kinda a dick move to leave him sitting alone at his own going away party?” Sometimes these guys could be so clueless. Regardless, they broke up and joined Olivia and Cal mid-conversation. I took a second to appreciate how my woman was giving her full attention to one of her soon-to-be former firefighters, giving him her ear and treating him like he still mattered.
“…that’s understandable.”
“I don’t want to leave. Things have been much better since you’ve been on board, Chief. But their starting pay is nearly ten grand more than what I make now, plus the overtime… I can’t turn it down.”
“You don’t owe me an explanation. I’d never hold you back from an opportunity. And if things don’t work out, hopefully, we’ll still have a place for you. It’ll be hard to replace someone with your skill and experience. But if you don’t mind, I’d like to use you as an example for some much-needed changes in our department.”
“What are you thinking, Chief?” Nate piped up.
Olivia turned to face him. “We’ve got to make some changes before we lose more personnel. Better pay, updated equipment, and renovations to our other two stations. The list is endless.”
Thoren snorted. “That’s a helluva lot more than the last two chiefs did. You sure the council will go for it?”
Olivia smirked. “Probably not. But I’ve got to try.”
The conversation expanded from there, and I stood back and watched while my woman essentially wooed the entire lot of them. I’d become burned out, dissatisfied in my role. It was painfully clear that the people in this conversation were invested in making a change for the better. I wanted to be a part of that. A part of something bigger. To leave something better than I found it.
Before Olivia, I’d been content to just do my job, bide my time. But what would it be like if I were in a role that could make a difference for the department?
“Are y’all done solving all the world’s problems up there?” Kylie called from the yard. “We’re ready to eat!”
Jordan gave out instructions for the food line, while Nate finished pulling burgers off the grill. Everyone ate and mingled for a short while, but most left soon after, including Cal, who cited needing to get home to help his sister with her baby as his reason for leaving early.
Eventually, it was just my crew left. Thoren set the fire in the pit ablaze. And Kylie changed the music, which immediately led to Mike and Leah slow dancing. I shot a knowing glance at Olivia, reminding her that I’d predicted this would happen.
“Awe, they’re so sweet,” Rosie cooed, bestowing her favorite compliment on the smitten couple.
“They’re nauseating is what they are,” Kylie supplied.
Thoren wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple. “You know you’re secretly jealous that I haven’t swept you out for a spin. Although, I’d rather steal you away behind Pearl.”
All the hairs on my neck rose, but Kylie stepped in just in time, muttering, “Watch it, T-bird. We’ve got little ears tonight.”
“Who’s Pearl?” Rosie asked, hopefully missing the innuendo.
Jordan joined the group. “Oh, Pearl’s my camper van.”
Rosie’s face lit up. “Mom and I love to camp!”
Jordan’s eyes darted between Rosie and Olivia excitedly. “We should totally take Pearl out for a girls’ weekend.”
“We could take Gracie and Buster somewhere they could swim!” Rosie, easily caught up in Jordan’s excitement, began speaking in exclamation points. “We could take our bikes! That would be the best! Mom, please say yes!”
Olivia laughed. A full, real laugh. One that I was intimately familiar with, but my friends were finally seeing her the way I saw her.
“It does sound like fun.”
“Awesome,” Rosie cried, practically jumping into the arms of her new bestie Jordan. If I could do something so simple as take my daughter camping and make her this happy, I’d do it every weekend. As it was, I was immensely grateful that this friends group that had always included me in their parties now seemed to also be opening their arms to my daughter and my woman .
Nate stepped up beside me and gave me a shoulder bump. “She’s a cute kid, Capt.”
“Told you before to call me Mac.”
“I know, sorry. But you’ll always be Capt to me. Just like she’ll always be Chief to me,” he replied, nodding toward Olivia. “It’s just a sign of respect. Not trying to make a big deal out of it.”
I made a low noise in my throat. I could see his point.
“Anyway, I’m glad you guys came out. It’s been fun. And heads up, Jordan will have that girls’ trip planned before you know it. So if you aren’t okay with it, now’s the time to speak up.”
I side-eyed him. “I think Olivia and Rosie can handle themselves.”
“And if the girls go camping, maybe you’ll see fit to invite all the guys to this lake house that you constantly talk about, but yet we’ve never seen.”
“I’ve invited you.”
“No, Capt. You’ve told us all about the renovations you’ve made, but you’ve never asked us to come help you, never called on us, even when we offered.”
“What are y’all scheming over here.” Thoren stepped to the other side of me.
“Eh, I was just telling Capt that if the girls go camping, the guys can head to the lake house.”
Thoren’s eyebrows shot up. “Hell yeah, I’ve been waiting on an invite for years.”
For the first time in forever, I felt truly chastised. We were tight at work. Our jobs demanded trust and being able to work together. But I didn’t realize that these men might actually consider me a friend outside of work, outside of being their boss. The realization was sobering.
Before I could respond, the women rejoined us, including Kylie, and the conversation shifted yet again. So much in my life was changing, and so much would continue to change before it was over with. And suddenly, my eyes were open to all I would miss when I did leave the department.
Olivia slid in next to me, our arms barely brushing, and I envied the casual ease with which these men could drape an arm around their women—Nate with Jordan—or press a kiss to their hair—Thoren with Kylie. Her pinky brushed mine, and I latched on to it with mine like a lifeline.
Friends.
Found family.
Laughter and love and fun.
I could see the life I wanted laid out before me, but what would I have to sacrifice to get it?