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“Really? Because I don’t mind.”
“I know you don’t, but your shift is over. You should get home to that gorgeous wife of yours.”
“You’re sure?”
I nod. “Absolutely. And don’t worry about your gear; I’ll finish it up for you.”
“Thank you, Trevor. I’ll owe you one.”
No, thank you. “Anytime, Big D.”
I watch him leave, and then I walk over to Todd. “I’m your wingman today. What do you need me to do?”
He tosses a clipboard on the front seat of the truck. “What happened to Darius?”
“I told him to head home. No sense in him going on his day off when there’s a dozen others here to do the job.”
“Sounds good to me. I don’t care who goes, just as long as I’m not alone. Those kids can get a little rambunctious.” He shuts the truck door. “I told the principal we’d come after first period, so we’ll leave here at nine. We’re doing first grade first, and then second grade.”
“Sounds good.” I look at the clock. One hour to kill.
And it’s the slowest hour in the history of hours. All I do is think about Claire and her beautiful smile and bright green eyes, which are on full display when we finally go and she sees me pull up in the fire truck.
The kids are all lined up on the sidewalk, squirming around, faces full of smiles as they prepare to learn about being firefighters. But nothing compares to the look on Claire’s face. The clouds that were in her eyes two nights ago are gone, and I’d like to think I had a little something to do with that.
“Hey, Red.” I give her my best smile, and with one hand on her elbow, I lean in and kiss her cheek.
She squeaks, her eyes darting toward the kids on the sidewalk, but they’re paying no attention. She looks back at me, her smile growing by the second. “What are you doing here? Where’s Darius?”
“Don’t pretend you aren’t happy to see me.”
“Cocky much?”
“Admit it. You’ve been thinking about me just as much as I’ve been thinking about you.”
“Have you thought about what I said before you left?”
“Among other things.”
She tilts her head. “What other things?”
“The kiss you gave me. I’ve been thinking about that a lot.”
Claire’s cheeks turn pink.
“Are you ready, Trevor?” Todd asks.
“Yeah, I’ll be right there.” I return my gaze to Claire. “Have you thought about the kiss, Claire?”
“Come on, bro,” Todd hollers. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
With a mischievous grin, Claire places her hands on my chest and slowly pushes me away. “You better get to work, Mr. Allen. You’ve got a group of kids waiting on you.”
“You’re evil,” I whisper, joining Todd on the sidewalk.
We spend the next hour talking to the kids about the fire truck, showing them how to explore and see what each thing does. The kids get the chance to climb inside, and we let them turn on the sirens and lights, and it’s a lot more fun than I thought it would be.
