Page 43 of The Firefighter's Fate

“Hello, Spencer.”

My brother doesn’t act shocked to see me - that’s not his way. Instead, he takes out his earphones and stops his run, walking up to me by my pickup truck. He’s breathing heavily, but he’s not winded or spent. He makes running seem effortless.

“Connor. Hello. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

I nod at the fire station across the street.

“This is my work,” I explain with a healthy dose of sarcasm. “This is where I usually park.”

My brother smiles, glancing over at the station, then at my pickup truck, and then back to me.

“So it is your place. My bad. I should’ve guessed. It’s been a long time, how are you?”

It has been a long time.

Cutting off Father has meant cutting off my brothers, and that is something I very much regret. I hold no pain against my siblings. I like them. I like Spencer.

“Good,” I reply. “And how are you, brother?”

Spencer knows me well enough that a single-word answer like that is enough for a full monologue of my feelings explained. He knows I’m a man of few words.

“Still teaching,” my brother replies. “Still learning. Still trying to survive in this crazy world despite everything it dares throw at us.”

“And how’s Olivia?” I ask him.

I like the girl. She’s been good for my brother. I can see true love exists between them. Spencer has become a better man due to their union.

“She’s better than ever,” Spencer says. “I honestly thought I wouldn’t find love again, but here I stand. To tell you the truth, it’s kind of disgusting to me how much in love I am.”

“Must be nice.”

“You should try it sometime, Connor. Find a girl.”

I nearly snort in abject derision at his comment.

“What? Fall in love? You must be joking.”

“I’m sure you can make a woman feel good,” Spencer says with open sincerity in his voice.

“There’s no one out there for me,” I reply. “I have no room in my life for a girl to come and rearrange everything.”

“That’s nonsense, and you know it,” Spencer remarks. “You may be a strong, independent alpha, Connor, but I know you have a softness hiding there. Somewhere. You have space for a woman. She’s just going to be hard to find, and presumably harder to tame.”

I growl and look away. It’s starting to get dark. I don’t want to make eye contact with my brother.

I know he’s speaking the truth.

“Sure.”

Spencer doesn’t seem like he wants to run home. It seems like he wants to say something else to me.

There’s something on his mind...

“You know you’ve created a little stir?” he asks me quietly. “People are talking in this town. Word has got back to me about something brewing around you.”

Fuck.

I very much do not want to be the center of any rumor. Especially not one springing up in this small town.

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