Page 30 of Knot What I Expected

“Is he arguing with the Wolf again?”

“He’s losing too,” Justin says.

“Both of you can eat shit and die.”

I finish the hose inspection just to prove I fucking can, coil the damn thing, and carry it over to the storage rack.

For the next hour, we work. And work helps.

Usually.

We clean Pulaskis and scrape the dried dirt from the heads. Check packs. Refill drinking-water jugs. Inspect nozzles, couplings, and hose clamps. Restock first-aid supplies. Wreck goes through the engine while Justin updates reports from our last call.

Routine.

Maintenance.

The boring shit nobody thinks about when they picture wildfire crews.

But boring keeps you alive.

Equipment failure on a mountain can get somebody killed. And for a while, focusing on the work quiets Monster.

By sunset, the station is clean, gear is packed, and everything is ready for the next call.

I need out.

A drink.

Noise.

Maybe a woman whose scent doesn't make my Wolf lose his fucking mind.

Yeah. That sounds like a plan.

Dick’s Watering Hole waits down in Ember Hollow.

The name is still fucking disgusting, but the whiskey is decent, and sometimes a male needs to get off the mountain before he starts chewing on his coworkers. It’s the same bar Wreck had been headed toward the night he found Gia in the fire.

I shower.

Jeans.

Black T-shirt.

Boots.

Done.

No reason to think too hard about it.

Especially no reason to think about whether Gabriella likes blond hair. Or tattoos. Or⁠—

“Motherfucker.”

Gabby.

“No.”