Page 29 of Return to Us
“He’s Chief’s son, damn right I am. Where are the other rookies? We can fuck with them.”
When Jack and I came up through the ranks, it was a lot worse. We were basically the entire truck’s bitches, but it was how we were brought into the fold. A truck is a family. It’s where we put our lives on the line for strangers, but we would die for each other.
“Not anything too bad.”
“Of course not, but I do need my gear cleaned.”
I do another radio check, something that helps me, once again, check that my guys are all accounted for.
Once the last one confirms, we start to break down. We work as a unit, and get it done quickly and correctly. It’s something I love about it. We do it right from start to finish because, if we got another call right now, we need to be ready. Everything is about teamwork and preparation. The hoses go in the same spots each time, I can reach out blindly for an axe and know it will be there.
We don’t take chances. We don’t ever risk someone’s life by being lazy.
It’s just hitting five in the morning when Jack and I climb into the back of the truck to head back to the station, and I’m freaking beat.
“Where is Melia?” Jack asks.
“Stella’s.”
“I thought maybe she was somewhere else.”
“Where the hell would she be? After my mother takes her pills, she wouldn’t wake up if the house was crumbling.”
He grins. “Maybe Jessica?”
He’s such an asshole. “There is nothing going on with Jessica.”
“Okay, if you say so.”
I huff, frustrated because, if he’s saying this to me, then someone is saying it to him. This town loves a good scandal, but they live for a happy ending. Not that there’s going to be one because we’re nothing.
“She needed help, Jack. I wasn’t going to leave her stranded.”
“For half the day?”
“Half the—” I take a deep breath. “It wasn’t half the day, it was a few hours, and what would you have done?”
His shoulders lift and then fall. “Slept with her.”
“I didn’t do that. She was in pain, so I helped her.”
“Listen, I’m not judging you, but if I’m hearing about it, then I’d bet my ass your father will.”
“Fuck him.”
“I’d rather not.”
We both laugh. “I don’t give a shit what he says. When he’s done fucking his mistress, then he can give me all the shit he wants. Since we both know that’s not going to happen, it really isn’t my problem what he thinks. Jessica and I started dating eighteen years ago, and there’s nothing going on now.”
“Okay, I’ll drop it.”
“Thank you.”
“Jennie’s?” Jack asks.
“Like there was any doubt?”
We ride over and grab a booth. Jennie gets to our table. “I heard that was quite a fire today. Glad to see you both here.”
