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“But that’s not the worst of it all. I’ve had people with fires on their land that call us rather than the department. Because your boys are—and I’m trying to think of a better way of saying that to you, and I can’t—not good.”
“Not good is an understatement,” Deacon said. “They’re terrible. Have been since we moved out here and started the company. Something has to change, or else this town might face a real disaster.”
“I understand your concerns,” I said. “And I’m working my best to address them already. I’ve been working on an overhaul of staff and instituted a number of staff readiness responsibilities. I think if you’re willing to give us a couple of weeks, you will see a dramatic improvement.”
“I’m sure,” Everett said. “But our bigger issue is the jobs we go on. Our business can only grow so much because we’re hamstrung by an inability to ensure safety. We need help from the town. We’re willing to donate a lot of our time and maybe even to buy equipment and vehicles if we can get some help on a regular basis.”
“I promise, I will make sure I help you guys out,” I said. “If you help me lobby the mayor for some more funding, I will do everything I can to make sure you guys are taken care of with whatever expansions and improvements you need for safety.”
The two of them shared a glance and shrugged.
“Whatever you need, you can have it.”
13
SOFIA
Waking up laughing wasn’t something I was expecting, but damn if it didn’t feel good.
The dream faded almost as soon as consciousness came, but I knew it was sexy, silly, and fun, and it starred Kieran. I didn’t need to remember much more than that. The fact that I was giggling to myself when my eyes opened told me everything else I needed to know.
I had at the very least, a massive crush on a guy who apparently had one back.
Feeling like a teenager again was exhilarating and adding in the ability to have my own private space with my superhot fireman where we could get naked and do whatever we wanted added an extra layer to it all. I had never felt that way with my ex, not after we first started dating. It was always more of a matter of expectation. We followed each step of a relationship like a playbook, all the way until engagement, where everything stalled out.
Good thing it did. The divorce would have been messy, and I might not have been here, now, available to meet Kieran and impulsive enough to make a move on him. Which I still couldn’t believe I’d done.
I got up and hopped in a quick shower, relenting to getting clean and losing his scent as I used exfoliating soaps and special shampoo that might as well have had emblazoned on its side, “for stupidly thick Italian curls.” It felt good to stand under the hot water, though, and it woke me up a bit, getting me focused for the day ahead. Dinner service was likely to be a bear.
Still on a completely different planet than everyone else, I sauntered over to the restaurant and walked in the front door rather than the back. I didn’t want to see Leo first. That was my only requirement. Leo could bring my mood down if it wasn’t tempered first, and I’d much rather see my sisters than him.
Sure enough, Camilla was working as hostess and cheerfully waved when I came in. I responded with a jaunty one of my own and watched as her tiny, adorable face scrunched up with confusion. It was like I could read her thoughts. Since when was Sofia so happy to come in mid-service?
It was fair. Normally, I hated coming in mid-service. I’d much rather come in before everything got going so I could be in the kitchen alone and do prep work. But today, I was good with anything, and it showed. Not even an evening of working the bar would get me down.
I breezed through the restaurant and entered the kitchen, placing my knife bag on the prep table and moving to the back where the private restroom was for staff. I left the door open while I tied my hair in a tight bun on top of my head. I didn’t even realize I was humming until Papa’s throat clearing seemed to cut me off.
“Oh,” I said, happy enough to forget my anger with him over the cook-off. “Sorry, was I making too much noise?”
Papa reached up and turned the dial down on the ancient speaker that played his opera CDs while he worked and continued staring at me with an expression I usually only ever saw when the meat deliveries showed up and he was trying to decide if he was getting screwed or not.
