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“Remind me how you ended up with Humpty,” Janet prompted.
“Wes convinced me to adopt him,” I explained, referring to a friend from work. Like me, Wes was a hotshot firefighter. He also helped his mother with a local animal rescue program.
“Wes is a convincing guy,” Janet agreed with a grin.
“They’re never short on cats at the rescue program,” Farrah chimed in as she tapped on a keyboard. “That’ll be fifty dollars.”
“Well worth it.” I slipped my wallet out of my pocket and handed over a credit card.
“I’ll pay extra,” Janet chimed in. “Can it go toward the vet care you provide for the rescue program?”
“Absolutely,” Farrah said.
“You can charge me double, then,” I offered. “Honestly, though, you should probably be charging more for that.”
Farrah shrugged as she swiped my credit card and handed it back. “We try to keep our fees affordable, and that’s pretty standard.”
“Cooper is a firefighter. He must know Jonah,” Janet said to Farrah.
Farrah’s pretty green eyes lifted to mine. “Oh! Jonah is married to Alice, if you didn’t know.”
“Ah, no wonder she looks familiar. I think I met her for like a minute at Wildlands last month. We were getting together after work, and Jonah left early.”
“There’s no shortage of firefighters in this town, so you’ll have lots of friends,” Farrah offered. “Let’s get Humpty scheduled for that annual exam.”
A few minutes later, we had an appointment confirmed. I fought the urge to linger, but Farrah was already focused on Janet’s cat.
“Good to meet you, Farrah. I’m sure I’ll see you soon,” I offered with a glance at Janet.
As I drove away, I told myself not to make a move on Farrah. She was clearly friends with people I knew. I didn’t need any complications in my life. My crazy reaction to her could be chalked up to nothing more than the fact that shedidstrike a resemblance to my high school crush. Maybe it was odd that I had the hots for Farrah Fawcett when I was growing up, but it all started when my mom used to watchCharlie’s Angels. She said it was her comfort show. Seriously.
As a fourteen-year-old boy, Farrah Fawcett was the most beautiful woman in the universe to me. Her image had been cemented as a fantasy for me then.
Fantasy was all the real-life Farrah I’d just encountered could ever be. I’d done the whole love and romance thing once, and that had been enough. It had blown up in my face when my fiancée fucked one of my good friends.
ChapterThree
COOPER
Just as I was starting my truck to drive home and drop Humpty off, the emergency ringer sounded on my phone. A few minutes later, I had confirmed our hotshot crew had a call to fly out to a fire within a half hour.
I had time to zip by the station before we were scheduled to leave, but I didn’t have time to find someone to take care of Humpty.
That had been my primary concern when Wes persuaded me to adopt him. I had just moved into a new apartment after the short-term rental I’d been staying in was no longer available. I hadn’t found someone to take care of him when I was out in the field yet.
Maybe three minutes later, I jogged into the Willow Brook Fire & Rescue Station. Maisie Steele glanced up, her brown curls bouncing around her shoulders when she turned to look at me. “Why are you coming in through the front?” As the main dispatcher for Willow Brook Fire & Rescue, Maisie handled the reception area. She was also married to a crew superintendent for a different hotshot crew here in Willow Brook, Alaska.
“I got the call we’re scheduled to leave, but I’m just checking to see how much time I have before the helicopter will be here. I was just leaving a vet appointment with my cat, Humpty, the one I adopted from the rescue program,” I explained.
“They’re actually already here,” she replied.
“Fuck.” I pressed my tongue into my cheek, considering my options.
Before I could say anything more, Maisie interjected, “Don’t worry about it. I can take Humpty to your place. Did you have someone who checked on him before?”
Shaking my head, I replied, “I just moved. At the place I was staying short-term, my neighbor downstairs checked on him for me.”
Maisie waved a hand dismissively. “Go park in the back and bring him in to me. I’ll find somebody. If anything, I can handle it.”
