Page 75 of Controlled Burn

Rabbit: I meant the puppy. I wish my apartment allowed larger dogs. I would totally get one.

Me: Yeah, they’re some real cuties here today. I think a lot of them are going to get adopted, though.

Rabbit: Good. I’m glad, and I got what I really wanted. That picture is HOT.

Me: It’s not like you haven’t seen me in uniform before.

Rabbit: Yeah, but when you add in the puppy, it’s almost too much. Like, if I had ovaries, they’d be exploding right now.

Me: LOL

Rabbit: Seriously, you know they sell those calendars with the sexy shirtless firefighters on them. Well, forget that! I want one with puppies!

Me: Rabbit, I think you just gave me an idea. I need to go. I’ll see you in the morning.

I put my phone away and walked over near the truck where Samuel was standing, holding the leash of a big black lab mix.

“Hey, Chief.”

“Hey, Brooks, what’s up?”

“I have an idea. What if we did a firefighter calendar—”

“Those are so overdone, don’t you think?”

“I didn’t mean one of the typical shirtless firefighter calendars. I mean one for the shelter. We could do a couple of firefighters each month holding puppies. All we would have to do is show up on the right day to take the photos, and they could handle all the rest. It would give them a good fundraiser, and it would look good for the station.”

“You know, that’s a great idea. That’s exactly the kind of thing that made me think you’d be a good fit for that Community Relations position. Have you given it any more thought?

“I have, but I can’t imagine not actively being a firefighter. It sounds like a great job, but I think I’ll pass.”

He grinned at me. “I didn’t want to hold you back, so I wanted to leave it completely up to you, but I won’t lie to you. I’m glad you’re staying put.”

The next morning, before I got off shift, Nash called to let me know that they’d had an emergency call about some horses a few hours away, and in his new role on the ranch, he had to stay and coordinate their pickup, so we made plans for him and Spencer to come the next weekend instead. I let Caleb know our plans had changed and suggested I take him out for breakfast instead, and then we could spend the day shopping and doing his meal prep like normal since he hadn’t done it the day before.

As soon as the shift was over, I swung by his place and picked him up. We went to The Early Bird Cafe, which was a small, locally owned breakfast place that only served breakfast five days a week, but it added brunch on the weekend.

It was busier than usual because it was a Sunday, and the pre-church crowd was there, but we didn’t have to wait long for a table.

The hostess led us over and handed us both menus.

“Do you boys know what you want to drink?”

“Coffee, please,” Caleb said. “With lots of cream.”

“Coffee for me, as well, please, Chloe,” I said.

She nodded and left us, and Caleb picked up the menu and studied it. “I haven’t been here since I was a kid,” he said. “I’d forgotten all about the place. I’m surprised they’re still open.”

“Yeah, I’m not sure how long they’ve been around, but I remember coming here as a kid, as well. They’re kind of an institution around here.”

“Well, I think I’ll get the Spanish omelet. That sounds really good.” He put his menu down and looked at me. “I really hate that your brother had to cancel. I was looking forward to seeing him. I remember him from when we were kids, but we weren’t really friends or anything.”

“Yeah, he was all about sports and rodeo back then. I can’t really see y’all hanging out much.”

“Right. Even back then, I was all about books. Sports, on the other hand…” He gave an exaggerated shiver. “Totally not my thing. Like why on earth would I want to stand out there and let some guy run me over trying to get to a ball? And horses and bulls, goodness no, that was way too dangerous.”

“I can totally see that. But I think you two will get along great now, and I really think you and Spencer will hit it off. Y’all are a lot alike in some ways. Unfortunately, in Nash’s job, the horses have to take priority.”

---