Page 6 of When We Dare

Graham came walking into the waiting area. “He’s joining our crew. How do you two know each other?”

I didn’t hide my past, but I didn’t broadcast it either. Things had been rough when I was younger, and I’d ended up with a juvenile criminal record. Parker and I had met in detention. I’d walked the straight and narrow ever since.

I could see the questions in Parker’s eyes, and I had my own for him. Glancing to Graham, I replied, “We knew each other back in high school. We were both raising some hell then.”

Parker held his hands up. “I’m winning at living the most boring life since then,” he said dryly.

“Same.” I held my palm up to slap him a high-five.

Maybe plenty of people got in trouble in high school, but not all of them got nailed for dealing drugs with their dad like me. Parker ended up in detention for the same reason. We’d bonded pretty tight for those months and had stayed in touch sporadically since.

“Good to see you, man. I’m glad you’re going to be on the crew.” I meant it. Parker was solid. Maybe it was strange if you’d never done any time in detention, but you saw people’s truecolors there. When everything was stripped away, maybe the only thing you had was finding your dignity and being honest.

Maisie was all business, fetching some paperwork and handing it over to Parker before she took a dispatch call. The group filtered apart, and I walked into the back with Parker and Graham.

“It’s really good to see you,” I said when we stopped in the locker area.

“You too.” Parker’s brown eyes crinkled at the corners with his smile. “I wasn’t expecting to see you, but I’m damn glad you’re here.”

“We’ve got plenty to catch up on,” I replied with a chuckle. “Aside from work, what brings you to Willow Brook?”

“That’s it. I’ve heard good things about Willow Brook, so I jumped on it when I saw they were moving a crew here.”

“Good move. It’s a great area. I was about to go work out.” I thumbed over my shoulder toward the workout area in the back.

Parker was putting his gear in the locker Graham had directed him to. “Carry on, man. I’ve gotta take care of this paperwork.”

I clapped him on the shoulder before leaving the locker room. I lifted weights and settled in for some time on the elliptical. My mind spun back to my days with Parker. My dad wasn’t the most stable guy. He’d made his money running drugs from Seattle up to Alaska and he’d roped me into it. I was too young to know better. When I got in trouble, I’d lucked out with a good public defender. He’d whittled my sealed record down to a few misdemeanors. I wasn’t ashamed of my past. I still felt like a dumbass sometimes. I had turned thirty this year and it had been almost fifteen years since I walked out of detention. After that, I’d scrambled to stay out of trouble. I loved my dad, but he’d stayed busy doing dumb shit until the last few years. I had no memories of my mother. All I knew was she didn’t stickaround. I was doing all right and counted my blessings every day.

After I finished working out, we went out on a training exercise. On the drive home, I ordered a pizza for delivery. I’d scored a nice rental through a fellow firefighter, Russell. He had a duplex with a shared kitchen on a pretty lake. So far, the upstairs part of the duplex had stayed empty, although Russell had told me the other day that someone would be moving in soon.

Not long after I got home, I jogged up the stairs when the doorbell rang, assuming it was my pizza delivery. But when I answered, my mouth dropped open.

“Stella?”

Chapter Five

STELLA

“Hudson? Um, what are you doing here?” I sputtered.

“I live here in the unit downstairs. I thought you were the pizza delivery guy,” he replied.

I stared up at Hudson, my hormones spinning cartwheels inside, while my pulse bolted as if it was trying to win a race.

“What are you doing here?” he asked while I remained speechless.

“Um, I guess I’m your neighbor now, or about to be. Phoebe told me about this rental. Upstairs, I think?” My voice sounded squeaky and I hated it. I cleared my throat. “I guess Russell and Paisley own this place, and…” I pointed up to the sky for some reason.

“They do.”

I stood there, uncertain what else to say. “Have you seen it yet?” Hudson finally asked.

“Paisley texted me some photos. I know her and so I just went for it.” I cleared my throat again. “Will it be okay if I’m your neighbor?”

Hudson’s eyes widened. “Of course. It’s a duplex, but there’s a shared kitchen. I think it was originally built to be a vacation rental.”

The sound of tires on gravel came from behind. I spun around, relieved at the distraction. The delivery guy jogged out and handed Hudson the pizza. A moment later, after Hudson paid him and waved him off, he opened the door wider. “Come on in. Nobody else has been here since I’ve been living here. I haven’t been in town that long. Maybe about six months. You can go on upstairs. I actually haven’t been up there at all.

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