Page 43 of Hot Knot Summer
“And Atlas?” I ask, surprised by how much I want to know.
“Atlas is...” she pauses, considering. “Complicated. Too responsible for his own good. He takes care of everyone except himself.”
“They all sound kind of... damaged,” I observe, wringing out my mop.
“Aren’t we all?” Claire points out. “But yeah, they’ve got their issues. River had some family stuff, never talks about it, but apparently, it was bad. Levi lost his parents in a fire when he was a teenager. And Atlas was abandoned young, lived on the streets for a while before the old fire chief took him in.”
I remember what Atlas told me bits about his past. Despite my determination to keep my distance, my heart aches a little at the thought of them struggling.
“Anyway,” Claire continues. “They’re good guys. Great firefighters. Just not exactly relationship material. They never can hold on to anyone for long.”
“Maybe they don’t want to,” I suggest, uncomfortably aware that I’m defending men I barely know.
“Could be.”
There’s something in her tone that makes me wonder if she’s speaking from personal experience. Whether she tried to get close to one of them, or all of them, and was rebuffed.
“So, what about you?” she asks, clearly wanting to change the subject. “Staying with us long?”
“I don’t know,” I admit. “Until they work out howthe cabin I was in got torched and, hopefully, not implicate me, I guess. Or until I find somewhere else.”
“Well, the station’s not bad as temporary housing goes,” she says, sweeping the last of the suds into a drain. “Just... be careful, okay? Alphas have this way of making you feel special, as if you’re the only one who understands them, but at the end of the day, they always choose each other.”
Her words settle uncomfortably in my stomach. Of course it was too good to be true—the immediate connection I felt, the way they all seemed so attentive, so interested. It wasn’t special. It was just what they did.
“Thanks for the warning,” I say, gathering up our cleaning supplies. “And for helping with this mess.”
“Anytime,” she says easily. “Us girls have to stick together in this testosterone-fueled environment.”
We finish the cleanup in silence, but my mind is racing. I can’t deny the pull I feel toward all three of them, but Claire’s words have planted a seed of doubt. Were they just being nice because they felt responsible for me? Was River’s flirting just his default setting, not specific to me at all?
And more importantly, why do I care so much after less than a day?
By the time the guys return from their call, I’ve managed to dry my clothes and am now back in my summer dress. I’ve also decided to be polite but distant, to not give in to whatever this bizarre attraction is. I have enough complications in my life without adding three Alphas to the mix.
Then they walk through the door, all broad shoulders and easy confidence.
I can’t stop staring at them.
“Dinner’s ready!” Hendricks calls. The volunteer’s been cooking up a storm for the past hour. The dining area is set up with a large round table, surprisingly cozy for a fire station. The smell of chili con carne fills the air, along with rice and tortilla chips.
I take a seat, determined to keep my composure. River immediately heads toward me, but Levi slides into the chair beside me first, his gaze meeting mine briefly before he focuses on serving food. Another volunteer is on my other side.
“Hungry?” Levi asks, ladling a generous portion of chili into a bowl.
“Starving,” I admit. Stress always increases my appetite, and between the house fire, the move to the station, and my confusing reactions to these men, I’ve been nothing but stressed.
He hands me the bowl along with a smaller plate of tortilla chips and nudges the rice toward me, too. I help myself, then sprinkle it all with cheese.
“Hendricks makes the best chili in three counties. Not too spicy, butflavorful.”
“Thanks,” I say, surprised by his thoughtfulness. Levi has been the quietest of the three, more reserved than the overtly protective Atlas or the flirtatious River, but there’s something about Levi’s calm presence that puts me at ease.
“How was the power outage situation?” I ask, taking a mouthful of the chili. It’s delicious—rich, savory, and with just enough heat to warm without overwhelming.
“Resolved,” Levi replies. “Though River nearly caused a second incident by antagonizing an irate driver.”
“I did not,” River protests from across the table. “I simply suggested, very politely, that perhaps running over emergency personnel was not the best way to expedite her journey.”
