Page 51 of Silver Fox Firefighters Next Door

“No, because you said so much when you were with her. I’m guessing you talked a lot about leaving. I barely had two conversations with you before all this and even in those two conversations, I heard you idiots talking about your next project.” She pulled the soap from Tate and held it away from us. “Fix it. Put your brains together and think about how to convince her you’re serious. You shit the bed. Now you have to change the sheets. Until you do, there’s no sniffing the merchandise.”

I pulled out my wallet but saw from her face that she wasn’t kidding. “You’re supposed to sell to people who want to buy. Isn’t that the point of owning a store?”

“You would think so.” She smirked. “Now, go away. I’m a very busy woman and I can’t be expected to do everything for the men in this town. Did you hear? I’m the new Mayor of this place.”

Tate motioned around the store. “Of this place?”

“Careful, Tater Tot. As Mayor, I might just kick you out of my town. It’s a great day to start abusing my power.”

“Tater Tot?” He growled. “Eve better understand how much we want her if we’re willing to put down roots in this crazy place.”

Aiden slid a twenty over the counter before walking over and grabbing one of the soaps that smelled like Eve. “Call the cops. I don’t care. I’m taking this.”

Margaret’s face cracked into a bright smile. “Interesting you just want the cops. Do you know who just started work this morning as a Deputy? With the Sheriff retiring and all.”

My stomach knotted. “You better not say who I think you’re going to say.”

“Our dear Evie. She’s on patrol right now.”

“Who’s shitty ass idea was that?” Tate exploded. “She’s not a cop!”

Margaret shrugged but her smile told me everything I needed to know. It was more scheming. I didn’t know by whom, but it was scheming. “The cute t-shirt I saw her in this morning says otherwise.”

I shot one last dirty look her way before rushing out of there. I didn’t need to look back to know Aiden and Tate were right behind me. I was in the truck with it started and in gear before either of them could get their doors shut. “This fucking town.”

“I’m throwing out the waiting for Eve to calm down plan. It was a stupid fucking plan. Brute force seems to be the better option.” Tate leaned forward in the passenger seat, looking back and forth for any sign of Eve acting like a cop. “Go to the sheriff’s department. I don’t have the patience to just drive around looking for her.”

“If they gave her a gun, I’m kicking someone’s ass.” Aiden growled. “She edits novels, for fuck’s sake. Not that that’s not impressive, but it’s a far cry from being a cop!”

I sped towards the Sheriff’s Department on the edge of town. “It’s got to be some serious karma that the town we decide to make home is so batshit crazy. If Eve ever decides she’d like to move, heads are going to spin with how fast I drive us out of this place. It’s certifiable. They just picked a random woman with no experience to be a Deputy?”

“We’re going to have a long talk with her, too. Why the hell did she agree to do it?” Tate was barely holding himself together. “We’ve existed in the gray for too long. She’s going to find out really quickly that having us as her men is a lot more involved than having us as the neighbors she slept with.”

“She’s going to get so sick of us she’ll wish we’d leave for a while, but we’re just going to be there, watching over her to make sure she doesn’t get herself in a situation like this one again. We’re always going to be there, keeping her safe.” Aiden hesitated and then reached forward to squeeze both of our shoulders. “We’re going to be overbearing boyfriends together. I never thought I’d hear myself say those words, and with such eagerness, too. She’s ruined us.”

“Damn right. There’s no going back to how things were. She broke us and she’s got to keep us now.” Tate crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m hearing just how we sound and I think we should talk about what we’re going to say to Eve before we say it. We don’t want to scare her away.”

I nodded quickly. “Yep. I heard it, too. It couldn’t be more obvious we’ve never done this before. That’s not cute.”

“I’m not trying to look cute. I’m trying to get Eve back.” Aiden sighed. “But I heard it, too. We’ll workshop some ideas.”

“On our way to get her away from the idea of being a cop.” I scowled as the station came into view. “It’s ass-kicking time.”

“God. We’re fucking losers. It’s ass-kicking time? Why does Eve want us?” Tate shook his head. “It’s like we committed to living in one place and immediately lost all trace of smoothness.”

I parked the truck and looked at my best friends. “I still ride a motorcycle. I’m always going to be a little smooth.”

“Sure, Mr. It’s Ass Kicking Time.” Aiden opened his door and tossed me a smirk. You’ll always be cool to me, old man.”

“I hate you.”

CHAPTER 42

Tate

The moment we walked into the station, I saw Sheriff Hank sitting behind a desk with his feet propped up. He popped up like he was a man forty years younger when he saw us.

Clearing his throat and dusting donut crumbs off of his chest, he walked over to us while adjusting his clothes into something more presentable. “Hello, boys. What brings you around?”

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