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“Great. We found her a nice little apartment in the city close to where she works, and she seems really happy.”
“That’s good to hear. I know you’re always worried about her.”
“Yeah, I think she might finally be able to stand on her own two feet without needing me. It’s a weight off my shoulders, to say the least. Not that I’d ever tell her that.”
“Is this news the reason for the happy puppy look you’ve been sporting recently, or is it a certain computer nerd who looked at you like you hung the moon?” Brody teases.
“He did not look at me like that.” I scoff.
“Yes, he did. We all saw it when we were at Donna’s after the fundraiser.”
“We were all rip-roaring drunk. You must’ve been seeing things.”
“No, you were drunk off your ass. The rest of us were just normal drunk.”
“He looked at me like that? Even then?” The thought makes me giddy.
“Mm-hmm. That’s what I thought.”
“What?”
Brody laughs. “The look on your face says it all. I’m glad you found a good guy, Sam. You deserve to have someone in your corner.”
“I have you,” I point out.
“Sure, but there’s a difference between a best friend and a partner.”
I tilt my head. “True. He’s a great guy.”
“Good. He better be.”
“What about you? I haven’t seen you talking to anyone recently.”
Brody pushes our cart toward the checkout counter. We stay out of the way of other shoppers until the rest of the guys meet up with us.
“Nah. I’m kind of done with the dating scene. All the women here I either went to high school with or have already dated.”
“Downside to living in a small town,” I commiserate.
“Tell me about it.”
Charlie and Daniel meet up with us at the front of the store, and I catch Brody staring at Charlie a little too long than would be normal. I raise my eyebrow at him, and he shakes his head. Huh. Does that mean he doesn’t want me to ask or that they haven’t dated? It could be both, I guess. I’ll be asking him later whether he wants me to or not.
The rest of the crew comes up to the front of the store right afterward, and we manage to get checked out and back to the house before a call comes in.
Another house fire across town has us jumping into our gear. I fucking love my job most days. The adrenaline that pumps through my system when the alarm sounds is like nothing else. Not to mention the physicality of fighting a fire. It’s addicting.
I’m also not stupid enough to miss the connection between taking care of my mom and becoming a first responder for other people in need. I have to do what I can to ease anyone’s suffering.
“Fuck,” Brody whispers as we pull up to the scene. Most of the first floor is engulfed in flames. This is a bad one. I hope no one is inside.
We jump out of the truck, each of us focusing on our jobs to prepare for this fire.
“Neighbors called this one in,” Chief James says. “Family of three. Bedrooms are upstairs, and it’s unconfirmed if they are in residence.”
Tucker’s commanding voice takes over. “All right, Charlie and Sam, you’re up for search and rescue. Brody, get them upstairs with the ladder. Make it quick. I’ve got a bad feeling about this one.”
We fall in, Brody jumping on the ladder while Charlie and I don our gear to go into the house. Once the ladder is in place, we’re breaking the window open into what I’m betting is a guest bedroom. The smoke is intense with the door open.
