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He puts Jackie down and turns to me. “Blaze, I know it probably looked bad on the news, but trust me, I was never in danger. I’m dirty, sweaty, and exhausted, but I’m fine.” The corner of his mouth turns up. “I do kind of like that you were so worried, though.”
“You should still have the building,” I take his hands in mine. “I want what’s best for you. And for all your men. Jeremy, I can’t stand the idea of you not being as safe as possible out there.”
His grin gets bigger. “So after all that time arguing over who gets the building, now we’re going to argue over who doesn’t get it?”
I stamp my foot. “I’m serious, Jeremy!”
“Don’t you worry. I’m going to get that new dorm for my guys, and I’m going to hire the best people available. But we don’t need to take the Addison. We’ll raise the funds, and we’ll buy that empty lot and build an extension to the current building. Might even be better that way. We can customize it to exactly our needs.”
There’s a long pause. “Are you sure? You’re not just doing this to make me happy?”
“I’m sure. The library and the fire station are both important. I think we’ll have an easier time raising the money, and I’d definitely rather see you get the Addison than Scarlett. And it makes you happy in the process, that’s good too.”
“You’re incredible.”
I throw my arms around him again. He does smell sort of like a sweaty barbeque, but I don’t care. Underneath the smoke and sweat, he smells like Jeremy. He’s alive, and he’s amazing, and I’m crazy about him.
“I think I’m ready for that nap now,” I whisper in his ear.
He pulls me tight against him. “Me, too,” he whispers back. “But shower first.”
29
JEREMY
“Seems like it’s just one festivity after another around here.”
It’s Saturday evening and the town is filled with tourists here for the Welkin’s Ridge UFO Festival. The streets are full of Darth Vaders, Mr. Spocks, Dr. Whos, Gamoras, Sailor Moons, and other sci-fi characters, along with plenty of generic aliens and a fair number of people who are playing fast and loose with the theme. On the short walk from the fire station to the library, I spotted a Morticia Addams, a Spiderman, and a scantily-clad Lara Croft.
Blaze laughs as she locks the library door. “I guess it has been a pretty festive summer. No more weddings for a while, though. After this, we’re in for a long, boring winter. Except for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s, of course.”
“Oh, I’m looking forward to winter. You know, on account of the world’s best hot chocolate,” I remind her.
Blaze licks her lips seductively as she tucks her hand through my arm. “Mmm, you’re going to love it… So thick, so creamy, so sweet…”
I know she’s teasing, but the words conjure up an image of me licking whipped cream off her. “You sure you don’t want to go home first?” I arch a suggestive eyebrow at her. “Anthony’s not even going to be on stage for another couple of hours.”
“Don’t think I’m not tempted, but the Cantina’s going to be mobbed, and I want to be sure we get a seat. Come on.” She gives my arm a gentle tug.
Together, we walk down the short flight of steps to the sidewalk, where Blaze pulls a stylish pair of sunglasses out of her purse and puts them on as we turn into the sun. Tonight, she’s wearing a headband with googly alien eyes on springs and a t-shirt with a picture of Baby Yoda carrying a book and a caption that says READ.
It’s an adorable contrast from her normal look. She still looks polished, with her styled hair and polished fingernails, but even beside the t-shirt and googly eyes, there’s a softness to her, a vulnerability that wasn’t there a couple of months ago. It’s like she’s finally relaxed into being her whole self.
“Well, after the concert, I’m thinking you and I have a date with some whipped cream,” I tell her in a low voice.
She blinks innocently at me. “But after the concert, we’re doing the Mayor’s UFO hike.”
“Hmm. Maybe we could sneak away and enjoy the scent of pine needles?”
“What, and miss the UFOs?”
I sigh with mock regret. “Fine. Guess I’ll have to buy whipped cream on the way home, then.”
“I’ll hold you to it,” she agrees with a smile.
We walk down the street hand in hand, neither of us in the least bit concerned that anyone will know we’re together.
I’m starting to look for ways to raise the money we need to build our annex in the back lot. Walden hasn’t returned my calls to talk about how much support we can hope for from the town, but YufoFest is a huge money-maker for the town, so he’s probably been busy organizing it. We’ve got the council meeting next week to decide who gets the Addison. With any luck, it will be Blaze, and she can forget about looking for a new job somewhere else.
