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“Right. Sorry. I blocked that out a little.”
“No worries. Nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“Maybe for you,” I said. “You weren’t caught in the Put Out Lot acting like a teenager.”
Andy laughed, but I could tell he wasn’t holding it against me.
“Andy, I thought you were a cop. What are you doing here? I thought this was a fire department thing,” I wondered.
“It’s technically a training session,” he said.
“Still.”
“The scenery is nice. And it’s good to be outside.”
Suddenly another guy joined us. His Blue Creek FD T-shirt looked official and I got the impression that he was in charge here. Andy straightened up and his cheeks got a little pink. I smirked. Scenery, my ass.
“Who’s that?” I asked.
“Asher Lake,” he answered.
“He’s cute.”
Andy groaned. “Ugh. Was I being super obvious?”
I shrugged.
“I don’t know what it is about Asher Lake that makes me so crazy,” he whispered. “I mean, I’m running around a park on my day off at the ass crack of dawn.”
“It’s eight thirty.”
Andy glared at me and I put my hands up in mock defense.
“I’m just saying. I’m a cop, for fuck’s sake. Ex-Navy, too. I should be able to keep it together better than this,” he added, sounding almost a little mad at himself.
“Andy, man, I…”
“Fuck, you think I’m pathetic now too.”
“No,” I assured him. “I really, really don’t.”
Andy shook his head and I decided to be merciful and change the subject.
“I didn’t know you were Navy,” I told him.
“Yeah. I went in right after high school and got back to Blue Creek about three years ago. Asher is too, by the way.”
“Wow.”
“There’s a lot of vets around here in Blue Creek and in Harbor Bluffs,” he informed me. “There’s a VFW over there, and we’ve got a pretty good support network. You should check it out sometime.”
“I might. Thanks.”
“Yeah. If you’re staying in town for Steph and Maya’s wedding and all, it’s worth finding a community.”
I nodded. “I’m not totally sure I’m staying.”
“Oh? Where else would you go?”
