Page 44 of Silver Fox Firefighters Next Door

She strode into the living room and studied us. “Well, it seems like I got here a little too late. You three have already shit the bed, haven’t you?”

I raised my eyebrows. “Excuse me?”

“Our sweet little Eve came to me earlier and asked me if I could set up a battle between the four of you. She’d seen through my matchmaking antics and wanted me to work my magic. Judging by the looks on your faces, though, you’ve already fucked it up somehow.” She dusted off a corner of the coffee table and perched on it. “You boys are smart. You know that Harmony Valley didn’t really need your services. Not that having you in town hasn’t been amazing. With the military training center we have all the help we need, though. Yet, you ended up here. Next door to the sheriff’s recently heartbroken granddaughter. Why do you think that is?”

Tate frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“Sheriff Hank saw you boys online and hoped that one or three of you would be a perfect fit for his Evie. He started this whole matchmaking business. I just did it better, because I’m a woman. I didn’t want to step on his toes, though, so I’ve sat back and let you three and Evie come together naturally. The lube was a happy coincidence, believe it or not. You’re fucking up, though. The look on Eve’s face today was heartbreaking. She cares about you three. Why are you making her sad?”

I leaned forward and rested my elbows on my knees. I should’ve been more horrified than I was. Living in Harmony Valley for the time we had didn’t leave much room for surprise, though. Everyone was nuts.

“Sheriff Hank set us up?” Aiden shook his head. “No way.”

“Get it through your skulls. He did. He read all about you boys and your mission and he thought it worked. He thinks a lot of you. Although, he won’t if he knows you hurt his grandbaby. He even moved out to try to and quicken the progress with you four. If he finds out he left his recliner just for you three to screw everything up, he’ll kick your asses.”

“As invasive as it is that he set up Eve, it was also short-sighted. We don’t stay in one place for long.” Tate’s patience was wearing thin.

“Yeah, yeah, because of the PTSD. He did his research. He knows all about you. He’s old and crotchety but he’s a damn good Sheriff. When he’s not losing his mind…”

“Great. He went through all the trouble to do this, but it doesn’t matter. We’re leaving.” Tate stood up and crossed his arms. “Eve is fine without us. Maybe without you meddlers, too. She’s going to find the right person for her. She’s amazing. She doesn’t need us. Or you.”

“Sit down, Tate.” Margaret’s voice was stern enough Tate listened. “I want you three to sit down tonight and think long and hard about what I’m going to say to you next. You show up for a battle tomorrow, understanding it means you’re staying here and staying here for Eve, or you leave. Before the sun sets tomorrow. If you’re going to hurt Eve, you’re not welcome here.”

“We were going to leave anyway.” I shook my head. “We—”

“Are you three really this dumb?” The older woman groaned and stood up. “You’re sitting here, pouting like a bunch of babies. You’re so set in your ways and ideas you’re going to shoot yourself in the foot here. I saw you kiss Evie yesterday, Aiden. And I saw your face after she left. Love comes in many different shapes and sizes but it somehow always leaves the same look on a man’s face when he’s figuring it out.”

Love. My chest tightened.

“Yeah, kind of like that one.” Margaret pointed at me and laughed. “If you’re smart, you’ll show up at the battle tomorrow. Eve is special. Having the love of a woman like her could do a whole lot more for your spirits than traveling ever could. Just saying.”

She left us sitting in silence. Long after she was gone, the silence stretched on. We were each lost in our own thoughts. I was replaying her words over and over again, trying to work out the meaning of each and every one.

Aiden blew out a shaky breath finally. “We have to try.”

Tate surprised me when he scrubbed his hands over his face and nodded. “Seems like Sheriff Hank went to a lot of trouble setting this up for us to just quit and walk away without trying. Really trying.”

I made a shocked sound. “What? Just that fast, you’re ready to change everything we’ve built?”

“You’re not?” He shot back at me.

“I didn’t say that.” I stood up. “You’ve been so sure of the plan, though. If you’re not sure of it, we’re not fucking going anywhere. I was sticking to it because of you.”

“I was only doing it because that’s what’s always worked for us. I thought it was for the best. But…maybe we should try this. If Sheriff Hank set this whole thing in motion and trusts us with his only granddaughter, maybe we can do it.” Tate was talking faster with every word. “If we try it and it doesn’t work, at least we tried. If we have to move again, if Eve doesn’t fucking hate us, maybe she could come with us.”

“That would’ve been a great idea for you to have had a couple of hours ago.” Aiden was rightfully pissed. “You know, before we hurt her and sent her home crying.”

“We need to think this through. This changes everything. I don’t want to hurt Eve so we need to be sure before we try this.” Tate narrowed his gaze on Aiden. “And it would’ve been a great idea for us to have had hours ago. You didn’t come up with it, either.”

“This is a big deal. It’ll change our entire business. As much as I want to run over there and tell Eve we’re sure about staying here for her, we need to think this through completely.” I sank back onto the couch and swallowed. “We have to be sure. About everything. Our business has been our savior, but it’s also how we make a living. It’s not just as simple as whether or not we want Eve.”

“Are you trying to talk us out of it?” Aiden looked like he was ready to start throwing punches.

“No. I…I fucking want this. I want to try, for Eve. For us, too. It’s been a long time since we stayed in one place. Maybe it’ll be different for us now. And if it’s not, maybe we try therapy again. Or find jobs where we just hammer shit all day long. I don’t know.”

“Talking about her marrying and having kids with someone else has made me want to rip my hair out and murder every man around. It gives me the same anxiety I had before, like the world is going to end right on top of me at any moment.” Rubbing his chest, Aiden held my gaze and then Tate’s. “I don’t want her marrying someone else. I don’t want another man touching her. I don’t know about what Margaret said. I’ve never been in love or loved anyone to know if that’s what I feel. It just feels like not staying for her would be the end of me.”

Tate’s lips tipped up in the corners. “Well. We’ve been pretty stupid.”

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