EJ really was the bestest of friends.
“We just kissed,” Hudson admitted.
“That must have been one hell of a kiss,” EJ said.
“It was,” Hudson replied. “So good.”
“I’m happy for you!” EJ squeezed his neck. “You deserve a good man.”
“How do you know he’s a good man?” Hudson asked. He was certain but it was important for Hudson to hear what his friend had to say. Sometimes Hudson led with his heart and ended up regretting it.
“Because your brother wouldn’t let you settle for anything else,” EJ responded.
That was true. Carter had asked way too many invasive questions when Hudson had gotten home the night before. It had almost been enough to kill the erection that Hudson had been sporting all night. Until Bastian had sent Hudson a good night text with him lying in bed, revealing all those sexy tattoos on his chest. “I really like him,” Hudson confessed.
“Then he better take proper care of you,” EJ said. “I’ll kick his ass if he steps out of line.”
“You’re like five foot five and a hundred and twenty pounds soaking wet.” Hudson rolled his eyes. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m five foot seven, thank you very much.” EJ scowled. “And I might be tiny but I’m also mighty.”
“That is a ridiculous rhyme.”
EJ pushed him. Hudson began to grab him, but the fire bell rang through the station.
“Another fire?” EJ jumped to his feet. “Not good.”
Hudson scrambled up and they raced inside as the rest of the crew raced around to get ready.
Neatly lined up on hooks was the crew’s turnout gear that served to protect them from the fire they would be battling.
Announcements rang out as Hudson jumped into the passenger seat of the fire engine.
From the parking lot they shared with the police department, marked patrol vehicles were already speeding out.
“Let’s go!” Captain Devlin shouted as he dropped into the seat behind Hudson.
Phil was already pulling out of the garage before the last door was securely closed.
If the fire was in town, it wouldn’t take long to reach their destination, but their department was responsible for a large sector which included the state park. Even with the massive amount of land and property that they had to cover, there were very few fires in the area. In fact, Hudson had fought more fires in the last two weeks than he had the entire time he’d been with the department.
It was weird and concerned him as the last two fires had been determined to be arson.
Was there an arsonist running around that no one knew about?
Not that he’d heard any rumors throughout the department for concern but Hudson had brought up the fires when he’d had lunch with the mayor. Luckily, the fires had been contained to property loss, and no one had been injured. Yet. That was the problem with fires—they were unpredictable. If these weren’t accidents, as he suspected, Hudson hoped someone was going to find who was starting the fires.
Pulling out his phone, Hudson sent Bastian a quick text that they were headed out and he would check in later. With their relationship being so new, Hudson didn’t want any miscommunications. He hated miscommunications.
Once he sent Bastian the message, Hudson silenced his phone. Normally he would text his brother, but Hudson had already seen Carter in one of the patrol units leading the way to the scene.
He bounced his knee the entire way to the fire.
Adrenaline coursed through him.
Hudson loved being a firefighter. Not because he was obsessed with fires or anything like that. He wanted to help people. Being a first responder just settled something in his soul. Carter had already graduated from the police academy and had been on patrol by the time Hudson was trying to figure out what he had wanted to do in his life.
Following in his brother's footsteps had been an option. Hudson just hadn’t felt the calling for police work though. And with his height and body structure, becoming a firefighter just made sense. Finding out that he was actually good at it was even better. Now Hudson couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
