Page 80 of Anchor Point

“Hey, Mac! Hey, Chief!” Jordan bounded across the yard. “Hey, girlie, I like your shirt,” she complimented Rosie, pointing out their matching Swiftie tees.

“Oh. Em. Gee! I love Taylor. I haven’t seen her live in concert since we couldn’t get tickets. But I really want to.”

Olivia nodded toward the guys. “Should we go say hello?”

I grunted a response and followed her up the stairs.

“Hey, Chief. Want a beer?” Nate greeted, offering her a cold longneck.

“You guys know how to pull it together on short notice, don’t you?”

“Eh, it’s mostly Jordan. She’s pretty much always down for a cookout and can pull it together in a flash. Some of the other guys are inside.”

Conversation grew stilted and tense for a few minutes. My guys were never this quiet or awkward. It was like they couldn’t relax around Olivia. She must’ve felt it, too, because she gave them a polite smile, not quite ice-princess level, but not her usual easy grin either. At the opposite corner of the deck, Cal sat gazing out over the backyard. A couple of guys from Station Three were chatting nearby.

“I’m just gonna…” She tipped her beer toward Cal and then grabbed a second beer from the cooler before making her way over.

“You guys still pissed he’s going to the county?” I broke the silence.

“Maybe a little,” Thoren said. “But I can respect why he needed to.”

“Then don’t you think it’s kinda a dick move to leave him sitting alone at his own going away party?” Sometimes these guys could be so clueless. Regardless, they broke up and joined Olivia and Cal mid-conversation. I took a second to appreciate how my woman was giving her full attention to one of her soon-to-be former firefighters, giving him her ear and treating him like he still mattered.

“…that’s understandable.”

“I don’t want to leave. Things have been much better since you’ve been on board, Chief. But their starting pay is nearly ten grand more than what I make now, plus the overtime… I can’t turn it down.”

“You don’t owe me an explanation. I’d never hold you back from an opportunity. And if things don’t work out, hopefully, we’ll still have a place for you. It’ll be hard to replace someone with your skill and experience. But if you don’t mind, I’d like to use you as an example for some much-needed changes in our department.”

“What are you thinking, Chief?” Nate piped up.

Olivia turned to face him. “We’ve got to make some changes before we lose more personnel. Better pay, updated equipment, and renovations to our other two stations. The list is endless.”

Thoren snorted. “That’s a helluva lot more than the last two chiefs did. You sure the council will go for it?”

Olivia smirked. “Probably not. But I’ve got to try.”

The conversation expanded from there, and I stood back and watched while my woman essentially wooed the entire lot of them. I’d become burned out, dissatisfied in my role. It was painfully clear that the people in this conversation were invested in making a change for the better. I wanted to be a part of that. A part of something bigger. To leave something better than I found it.

Before Olivia, I’d been content to just do my job, bide my time. But what would it be like if I were in a role that could make a difference for the department?

“Are y’all done solving all the world’s problems up there?” Kylie called from the yard. “We’re ready to eat!”

Jordan gave out instructions for the food line, while Nate finished pulling burgers off the grill. Everyone ate and mingled for a short while, but most left soon after, including Cal, who cited needing to get home to help his sister with her baby as his reason for leaving early.

Eventually, it was just my crew left. Thoren set the fire in the pit ablaze. And Kylie changed the music, which immediately led to Mike and Leah slow dancing. I shot a knowing glance at Olivia, reminding her that I’d predicted this would happen.

“Awe, they’re so sweet,” Rosie cooed, bestowing her favorite compliment on the smitten couple.

“They’re nauseating is what they are,” Kylie supplied.

Thoren wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple. “You know you’re secretly jealous that I haven’t swept you out for a spin. Although, I’d rather steal you away behind Pearl.”

All the hairs on my neck rose, but Kylie stepped in just in time, muttering, “Watch it, T-bird. We’ve got little ears tonight.”

“Who’s Pearl?” Rosie asked, hopefully missing the innuendo.

Jordan joined the group. “Oh, Pearl’s my camper van.”

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