Page 14 of Hearts & Embers

His smile widened slightly.

"It's nice to meet you."

"You too," Elyssa replied.

For a moment the conversation settled into the brief awkwardness that often accompanied introductions between strangers before Elyssa looked toward me.

"So this is the firefighter?"

I closed my eyes.

"Elyssa."

"What? That's literally who he is."

A smile appeared briefly on Jasper's face.

"She's not wrong."

"No, but she's enjoying this far too much."

"True," Elyssa laughed.

She gestured toward the empty chair at our table.

"You're welcome to sit down for a few minutes if you're not in a hurry."

Jasper glanced toward the counter where customers continued collecting orders before looking back at us.

"You sure?"

"Absolutely," I replied. "Unless you've got somewhere else to be."

"Not immediately."

He pulled out the chair and sat down.

Unfortunately, that only seemed to encourage Elyssa but eventually the conversation moved on and continued for several more minutes. Firehouse 99 was mentioned and Elyssa contributed several observations I strongly suspected were designed specifically to make me uncomfortable. Through it all, however, I found myself paying attention to details entirely unrelated to the accident.

Jasper listened more than he spoke. His sense of humor was quieter than Elyssa's but surprisingly effective. Most importantly, he never seemed in a hurry to dominate a conversation. Instead, he appeared content allowing discussions to develop naturally.

When his coffee order was called, Jasper stood.

"I should probably let you two get back to your afternoon."

The statement made perfect sense but for reasons I preferred not to examine too closely, disappointment followed anyway.

"It was nice seeing you again," I assured him.

His smile returned as he answered, "It was nice seeing you too."

After another brief exchange, he collected his coffee and headed toward the exit. I watched him leave, and the moment the door closed behind him, Elyssa turned toward me with an expression I recognized immediately.

"No."

"I haven't said anything."

"You were about to."