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CHAPTERTHREE
Hayden
“Didyou have fun driving around this afternoon?” he asks as he prepares to take the first bite of his burger.
“Yeah.” I pop a fry in my mouth. “Got stuck up on the pass, though,” I admit. “Had a flat tire and almost didn’t get it off because of some tight lug nuts.”
“Oh yeah? Might be time to put a pressure wrench in your car.” He looks as if he’s already making a note to do just that. It wouldn’t surprise me. Dad has always been the type of guy to fix whatever he sees may be broken. “How’d you get it done?”
“Nice person stopped and helped.”
I purposely keep it vague. The last thing he needs to know is it was one of his firemen and, from what I can tell, his rookie. Plus, in most situations, I can take care of myself. This one was a matter of strength.
“I would ask if you were safe, but I know better than that. If you didn’t feel safe, you wouldn’t have allowed them to help.”
“Well, thank God you know that about me by now,” I scoff. “I’m a grownup,” I remind him.
“I know all too well. Sometimes I still see you and your sister as the two little girls who ran down the stairs ready for school in the morning.”
A snort works its way past my lips. “I wouldn’t say we ran down the stairs. More like we grudgingly stumbled.”
He laughs before taking a drink of his beer. “Yeah, you’re right. Neither one of you were ever happy about having to go to school.”
In hindsight, that’s funny because we both went away for college and completed a four-year degree. I came back, but Hailey didn’t. She’s enjoying her life in Nashville. “So, tell me about your station. Since I’m back in town, I’d like to get to know what’s going on with you and your guys.”
A look of pride crosses his face. “The best group I’ve had in a long time. It’s hard to find the right balance, but I think we’ve managed to do it.”
“How are they?”
Like a proud papa, his chest puffs. He puts down his burger, wiping his fingers on the napkin in front of him. “They’re something else. Danny, he’s my rookie. He’s got a lot of pressure on him. His daddy owns a lawn care business and Danny helps out all the time. With the extra training he’s expected to have in his first year, I’m worried he’s going to either get burnt out or miss something he should easily see. I’m keeping an eye on him.”
“Is he young?” I’m trying to figure out if this is the man who stopped to help me today.
“Same age, maybe a year older than you.”
Definitely the same guy. “That’s a lot of responsibility.”
“He seems to handle it well. Then there’s Cameron. He’s a single dad and I feel a certain kinship with him, even though I shouldn’t admit it.”
“As you should. You’ve both been through the same thing. I’m sure you can sympathize.”
“Sometimes too much.” He takes a long drink of his beer. “Gauge is kind of a pet project. He was injured on the job last year. He’s been riding a desk ever since and has lost something in his eyes.” Dad shakes his head.
“How was he injured? Is he the one who got burnt in the house fire?”
“Mmmhmm,” Dad confirms. “It was a hard situation all the way around. Some of the guys still don’t know how to approach him and I think he’s not sure how to be one of them anymore. It’s a situation I wouldn’t wish on any firehouse.”
“What about the guy you’re grooming to take your place?” I grin over at him. Not many know he’s looking to retire, but his twenty-five years will be up in a few months and I know he’s been on the lookout for the right candidate.
“Brian,” he grins. “That kid is a lit match. He’s going to turn the service upside down, but it’s what they need. He’ll have a lot of people to prove himself to, but I have no doubt he’ll do it.”
“That’s high praise coming from you.”
“I don’t give it lightly, so you know it’s good.”
Wracking my brain, I know there’s someone he hasn’t filled me in on. It hits me suddenly. “What about Chance? We graduated together and I was keeping up with him on Facebook, but then he stopped posting.”
A darkness clouds his face. “Chance’s wife up and left him one day. He came home from shift and she was gone.”
