Page 81 of A Spot of Trouble
He loved his dog, and he was happy to have Cinder back. The trouble wasn’t with his Dalmatian—it was with Sam himself. He’d gotten a taste of how it felt to be alive again, and he couldn’t go back to be being closed off and isolated. If Violet ever gave him another chance—which was looking increasingly doubtful since she hadn’t spoken a word to him since they’d confronted Mavis, Ethel, and Opal at the retirement center—he wanted to be worthy of her this time around. He knew that wanting him to trust her was asking a lot, and he needed to show himself, and Violet, that he was willing to do the same. He was willing to risk everything to build the kind of life he wanted. A life rich with feeling and possibility.
“What is it, Nash?” Chief Murray folded his hands on the surface of his desk as Sam took a seat in the only available chair in the room.
“I’ve gotten an offer to go back to my old department in Chicago,” Sam said.
Murray frowned. “I see.”
Sam shifted in his seat. “It’s for a fire marshal position, much like what I’m doing here.”
“Well, this is a surprise,” Murray said. “I’m sure the pay is a lot more than what we can offer here in our small beach town, and I know the softball season hasn’t gone quite as well as we’d hoped…”
Sam fought back an eyeroll. His boss thought this conversation was about softball. Wasn’t everything in Turtle Beach?
“We can still pull out a win tomorrow, son. It’s the championship game, and you’re our big champ.” Murray nodded, and the crinkles in the corners of his eyes seemed to grow deeper until a rare smile came to his face. “But win or lose, we’d hate to see you go. You’re a good fire marshal, Nash, and you’re an even better man. You’ve been an asset to the department. I hope you’ll consider staying on here at the TBFD.”
The unexpected kindness caught Sam off guard. If he’d been on the fence, it might have even persuaded him to stay. But Sam had already made up his mind. He knew what he wanted. “Actually, I was hoping you’d be willing to transfer me to the regular department.”
Murray blinked. “You want to fight fires?”
“Yes, sir. I do,” Sam said. “I’ll be happy to continue to do inspections and presentations as needed, but I’m ready to get back to what I do best.”
He’d been hiding in an office, thinking four flimsy walls could separate him from the rest of his new firefighting family. How stupid could he have been? Above all else, a fire department was a brotherhood. The word was right there on the TBFD crest that Sam wore on his shirt, directly over his heart, every single day.
Fire. Service. Brotherhood.
You couldn’t have one without all three. Sam hadn’t just fallen in love with Violet. He’d fallen in love with his new home, and he was ready to start a new life here. He still hoped to do so with Violet by his side—somehow, someway—but if that never came to pass, Sam knew he wasn’t alone. He had Cinder. He had Griff, Murray, and the rest of the guys at the station. He had those nutty octogenarians at the senior center. And he knew if the time ever came to put his life on the line for any of them, he’d do it in a heartbeat. No questions asked.
Murray stood and offered Sam his hand. “That’s the best news I’ve heard in a long time. Of course we’d love to have you as a firefighter.”
“We have a deal, then?” Sam asked.
Murray nodded, pumping Sam’s hand up and down as his grin spread from ear to ear. “Welcome to the family.”
***
“Thank goodness this is the last game of the season,” Violet said as she piped more spots onto her final batch of Dalmatian cupcakes. The cupcake truck was crammed full. She couldn’t fit another baked good inside Sweetness on Wheels if she tried. “I don’t even care who wins. I’m just ready for the tournament to be over, for once and for all.”
“Yes, you mentioned that already.” Opal peered at her through the order window.
Beside her, Ethel nodded. “Several times.”
“Well, that’s because it’s true.” Violet put the pastry bag down and wiped her hands on the front of her ruffled apron.
“If you say so,” Opal muttered.
“Oh, please.” Mavis inched her walker as close to the cupcake truck as she could get it and stared daggers at Violet through the open window. “How long are you going to go on like this?”
“Like what?” Violet said blandly.
Bland was her default mood now. Sometimes it took some effort to rein in her actual personality and do her best to pretend she was an even-keeled, responsible person who thought before she spoke and didn’t stand out in a crowd. The good news was that she was getting used to it. The bad news…
Well, the bad news was that the reason she’d grown accustomed to being as beige as she could possibly be was because she mostly felt beige inside now. The piercing heartbreak she’d felt when she’d forced herself to walk away from Sam had settled so deep into her bones that she’d been forced to train herself to feel absolutely nothing instead. No joy meant no pain. No happiness meant no sadness. No love meant no loss.
That’s what she wanted to believe, anyway. Every time she’d just about convinced herself it was true, Sprinkles would bolt away from her at the dog beach and romp through the waves as if she had springs in her feet. The wonder and sheer delight on her Dalmatian’s sweet spotted face as she played in the surf never failed to hit Violet right in the feels. She still had a heart. And no matter how hard she fought, that heart still beat for Sam Nash.
“Like this.” Mavis gestured in Violet’s general vicinity. “You’re like a ghost of your former self. This is no way for you to live, Violet. It’s like you’re disappearing before our very eyes.”
“We know you feel like giving up on love, dear. But it’s like you’ve given up on life,” Opal said.
