Page 6 of Memories with Fire

I get the impression that the mouth and the muscle have just sat down on either side of me, and the grilling is about to commence.

Liam raps his knuckles on the table. “How’s your first shift going?”

“Slow,” I drawl with a casual roll of my eyes.

Lifting the mug to my lips, I take a sip of the piping hot coffee and nearly spit it out again. The shit is loaded with salt. Somehow, I manage not to spit it all over myself, the binder, or the table. Instead, I swallow it down with little more than a bit of a cough. They’re testing me. I can handle that. I expected it. I may not have predicted salt in my coffee, but I anticipated some good-natured pranks since I’m the new kid on the block.

Taking the packets of sugar, I rip them open and casually dump them into the coffee, stirring it with the hope it’ll make the stuff taste better.

“Brody here makes a mean cup of coffee, doesn’t he?” Liam asks with a smirk.

Right, that’s it. The giant is Brody.

Lifting the mug, I give a nod and tip the cup to them before taking as big a gulp as the hot liquid will allow. Less salt and more sugar doesn’t help much, and it takes everything in me to drink it like a champ. This is not like one of those sweet and salty granola bars I like.

“Fantastic,” I respond, desperately trying not to choke on the words. “You should open a coffee shop and call it Salty Brews. It’ll be a hit.”

Brody snickers, and I feel a sense of triumph. Maybe it won’t be so hard to win these guys over. Even Liam gives a slight chuckle before he coughs and crosses his arms over the back of his seat. Leaning forward a bit, he looks at me intently.

There it is. The inquisition is about to start.

To my surprise, he taps the binder in front of me. “How’s this going?”

Needing this interrogation over sooner rather than later so I can get back to focusing, I decide to nudge him in that direction. “The opposite of how I like my women.” When they both just stare at me, I smirk. “Dry.”

Brody shifts his weight forward, a move that’s meant to be threatening. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see the snarl on Liam’s face. I’ve struck pay dirt with my comment. I’m sure they’re both thinking about Hailey, and neither of them likes it.

That’s the thing about a firehouse. The good ones are like family. Within five minutes of my original meeting with my new lieutenant, and Captain Bernard, I could tell this was one of those. It was confirmed when I started shift this morning. The way these two are reacting now tells me the same. They’re protective of their own, and I’m not one of them. Nor am I doing myself any favors toward becoming one.

Liam’s lip is curled in a snarl, though his tone belies his expression. “You know Hailey.”

This guy is like an easy lay, giving me exactly what I want without making me work for it. I take another sip of the coffee, now used to the salty taste, and casually shrug my shoulder. “That what she told you?”

His eyes narrow at me. “I’m not talking to her; I’m talking to you.”

Which means he hasn’t spoken to her, or she told him to go to hell. “Maybe you should ask her.”

“And maybe we should just leave her out of this, and you can tell us whether we need to kick your ass,” Liam says, making a show of cracking his knuckles. “I saw the look on her face. She didn’t look happy to see you.”

There was nothing but shock on that pretty face of hers. I know that for a fact because I didn’t take my eyes off her until she was out of this very room. It’s not like it was a warm and fuzzy reunion, but Liam is putting the bait out there for me to take, trying to gain information. I’m a smart guy. I can read this play from miles away.

Besides, why should I bother telling them anything? It’s not like either of them will believe me. No one ever does.

“Look,bro,” I say, placing emphasis on the word ‘bro’ because Liam seems like the type to hate that coming from a guy he doesn’t know in this situation. I’m rewarded when his jaw grinds together. “You want to know something about Hailey, you need to ask her. If she doesn’t offer anything then there’s nothing to know."

Pushing back from the table, I stand, closing the binder. Taking it, and the salty coffee, I nod at them both. “Good chat, fellas. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some dry material to finish. Thanks for the coffee. I’ll be sure to return the favor in due time.”

“This discussion isn’t over,” Liam says as I walk towards the door.

The only response I give him is lifting my cup above my shoulder in acknowledgement. If the discussion was over, this wouldn’t be the place I think it is. But I should probably tread carefully because I have zero doubt that the two of them will be watching me like a hawk, especially when Hailey is in the vicinity.

“Should” might be a big ask, though. It doesn’t seem like anything that “should” have happened today has happened.

Minus the coffee.

After the meeting this morning, it’s obvious Hailey and I know each other. Two people who have never met don’t say each other’s names before any introduction. But if either of those fools thinks I’m going to be the one spilling our history, they’re dumber than they look. I’m not the type to kiss and tell under normal circumstances, there’s no chance I’m telling two strangers what happened between Hailey and me.

It’s also been ten years. Ten long years.

---