Page 24 of Hot Under the Collar

And lately, whenever he brushed up against that edge of danger, it was Lynne’s face that flashed through his mind.

Chief Bob’s voice floated up from the ladder. “You got it?”

“Yeah,” Leo called back down. “Kill the breaker to this room, and I’ll put it out. Then we can tag the panel for inspections.”

Turns out it was an overloaded extension cord and one very embarrassed teenager, who’d DIYed a gaming nook by plugging half of his setup into a single power strip then threading extension cords end-to-end through a closet ceiling into the attic space. The family huddled on the sidewalk, barefoot and shaken but safe. The mom kept thanking them like they’d dragged her kids out of a fire instead of a bad decision.

Sometimes you just couldn’t make this stuff up.

Leo climbed back into the engine, helmet thunking against the seat. By the time they rolled hose and cleared the scene, the morning sun had started bleeding pink across the horizon.

So he headed straight for the showers and his apartment at close of shift. Mike had been texting him off and on yesterday, too, asking where things were and telling him he’d be at Minka’s for breakfast if Leo wanted to join. So he was surprised to find Mike still sitting wide awake in his living room when he arrived. He didn’t have time to question why, though.

“Looks like you’re going to get the place to yourself for a bit,” he said as he threw some sweats into his duffle. “Lynne needs a major assist with the litter. I’m going to be there a few nights.”

Mike raised an eyebrow, and Leo could tell there was some cocky comment about to spill out of his mouth. Are you sure you’re not together? Did I interrupt something between you two? But Mike caught himself.

“What happened?”

“I’m not sure yet,” Leo replied. “She said she’ll show me when I get there.”

“Okay.” Mike squirmed in his seat, uncomfortable. “Want me to grab something for you at Minka’s? I can drop it off when I’m done. Least I can do for you letting me stay a while.”

Leo’s stomach grumbled in reply. “Biscuits and gravy. Don’t judge. It’s the best thing on the menu, and I will die on that hill.”

Mike lifted his hands. “No judgment here, man.”

“I just figured, with the military and all, you were going to give me a lecture on how I ate.”

Mike snickered. “Yeah, I noticed what you left for me in the cabinets. Why do you think I’m heading out to breakfast this morning?”

“What? Oh, man.” Leo had to laugh at himself. “I’d just assumed.”

“No worries. But we were blessed with the March metabolism for a reason—to exploit it. I just wish there’d been more cold pizza in your fridge.” He stood and grabbed the spare key. “Better get going.”

“Oh, hey.” Leo cleared his throat, trying to sound nonchalant. “Could you grab a to-go of Lynne’s usual, too? Minka knows it. I can pay you back.”

Mike shot him a glance that nearly confirmed he thought this kitten emergency might be a ruse. “Sure, man. Whatever. You two, uh, want coffees, too?”

“Yeah, I take mine black. She takes hers cream only.” Leo regretted it the minute the words left his mouth. “Don’t look at me like that, Mike. There’s nothing going on between me and Lynne.” But he knew exactly what it sounded like. And he hated that Mike probably did, too.

Mike glanced down, his lip pulling at one corner, amused that it took so little to ruffle Leo’s feathers. “This is me. Saying nothing.”

With that, he turned and left for breakfast.

When Leo arrived at Lynne’s place, the door was already unlocked, and she was frantically moving around the kitchen with bottles.

“Oh, thank God,” she sighed. “Come here. You’re about to get a crash course in bottle-feeding kittens.”

As she showed him what she was doing with the warm water bath, how to take weights, and walked him through the steps, she explained what happened the previous night—Mama’s weird behavior, Nina’s visit, how she’d been doing this every two hours by herself since yesterday. But Leo noticed Lynne’s usual even tone and quick wit were gone, replaced by short, efficient sentences, as if she was saving the energy for bigger tasks. She didn’t fully close a cabinet door and nearly slammed her head into it. She set down food for Fred after they were done with the kittens, only to turn and explain to him how she needed to get Fred some food next. Then she apologized, realizing she had, in fact, already fed Fred and Mama.

“Lynne,” he finally said, “you need a break. We’ve got two or three hours until the next weigh-in. Why don’t you go grab a nap?”

She shook her head and tried to list out everything else she needed to do between now and then. But all Leo heard were things that could wait or loose ends that didn’t need tying up at this exact moment. “And you just got off a shift,” she added. “You were up all night, too.”

“So let’s both take a nap. I’ll grab the couch here with Fred.”

“Okay,” she said hesitantly. “Okay. But no heroics if you wake up before I do.”