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I grabbed the checklist off the wall and started checking off the boxes for things I could already see. While Bryce and Matteo took off their turnout gear, I finished the quick inspection of the engine and handed the list to Bryce to sign off on.
It would be tempting to leave them to take care of their own inspection, but we were a team. The sooner the work was done, the sooner we could all sit down and eat.
“Did the owner show up?” I asked.
Bryce shook his head. “Nah. Apparently, it’s owned by some big farm corporation out of Chicago. They didn’t seem too concerned.”
I shook my head. “Don’t like that. No local oversight on property like that? You’re just asking for trouble.”
He shrugged. “Preaching to the choir. Come on, let’s eat.”
While we ate and debriefed the call, asking hypothetical “what if” questions, the door to the station chimed, letting us know someone had let themselves in.
“Hello? Boys?”
Bryce and I locked eyes. Uh-oh. That was Gladys.
There was no escape though. The short, round woman poked her head around the corner of the kitchen.
“Oh, I thought I saw the truck come back. Is everything okay?”
Bryce pressed his lips into a semblance of a smile. Gladys always wanted to know what was happening. “Everything is fine, Gladys. Can we help you?”
She waved a hand. “Oh, you know me. I just worry about you young men. So brave out there, serving our community. My daughter Trina was just telling me how much she admires you.”
I hid my laughter behind my soda. Gladys’ daughter couldn’t care less about us. Despite her mother’s ridiculous matchmaking attempts, Trina was a perfectly normal young woman who was far more interested in forging a broadsword for the next renaissance faire than she was in dating anyone at the station.
But Gladys was persistent. For years, she’d had her eyes on Bryce. I couldn’t help but wonder who she would choose as her next target.
“Jake! When is Chief Bergman going to wisen up and make you a captain?”
Oh dear. Apparently, the next target had been acquired.
“You’re very kind, Gladys, but I don’t have any aspirations to be a captain right now. We’ve got three wonderful ones. Have you met Kyle Parker?” Internally, I was pleading for her to take the bait. Nathan Wells on B shift was already married, but I’d willingly throw Kyle under the bus if it meant Gladys would leave me alone.
“You know, I think I have. I just can’t help but think that every good captain needs a good woman to come home to, you know? And you’ve been alone for so very long.”
I choked on my pizza. If only she knew how untrue that was.
“I’m very sorry, Gladys, but we do have some work to take care of… if there’s nothing else?” Bryce’s leading question made it obvious, even to the usually oblivious Gladys, that it was time to leave.
“Oh, all right. You don’t have to be rude about it.”
I rolled my eyes at her dramatic interpretation of the situation. I wasn’t sure Bryce was capable of being rude, especially not to an older woman, no matter how outrageous her meddling was.
“Here, let me walk you out,” he offered, flashing me a look that said I owed him one.
When Bryce came back, Captain Wells was there with him. I gave him a look. “What’s up, Wells. Isn’t it your day off? Is there a training scheduled that we forgot about?”
He shook his head. “No, nothing like that. I just needed to get out of the house a bit.”
I didn’t quite know what to make of that. “Everything okay?”
He sighed deeply and grabbed a slice of pizza.
“Sure, help yourself,” I said sarcastically. He didn’t seem to notice.
Wells looked around. “Is the chief around?”
