Page 36 of Only Ever You
Unbothered, Casey shrugged, while Maisie laughed softly. “We only get updates at dispatch when they’re on the way back or if something happens. For the most part, they’re completely out of range. Otherwise, I don’t get much information.”
Holly arrived with Lucy. They snagged two empty chairs from a nearby table. Holly glanced around once she was seated. “Holy wow. Busy tonight.”
After the collective round of greetings, Maisie gestured toward Holly. “She might be the first to get information aside from me.”
“About what?” Holly asked.
“Luna has a crush on Parker and was wondering if I got updates when the hotshots are out at fires,” Maisie explained nonchalantly.
Holly’s blond ponytail swung as she turned to look toward me. “Nate’s one of the pilots. You’ve met him, right?”
“I met him at Firehouse Cafe.”
“Oh, that’s right. He loves your donuts, by the way,” she added.
I felt a little flush of pride at that. It didn’t matter how many times people told me they loved my donuts, I loved hearing it. “Thank you. I was just curious about whether anyone knew anything when the firefighters are out in the field.”
“I would know when Nate’s scheduled for travel for the firefighters, or if he’s out working the fire from the air, dropping flame retardant and monitoring. If there’s an emergency, and he gets called out early, obviously I’ll find out,” Holly explained.
I felt Madison’s gaze on me and glanced over. “Welcome to loving a hotshot firefighter,” she said softly. “You learn to live with the worry.”
My heart gave a tricky twist in my chest as I glanced around the table. I knew all of these women, some better than others. Most of them loved firefighters. I let out a sharp sigh. “Well, that sucks,” I said flatly.
“Yeah, it kinda does,” Lucy chimed in. “You get used to it.”
“And when they come home, you can have awesome coming-home sex,” Tiffany quipped, and my cheeks burned up all over again.
“How is it going with Parker?” Tish asked.
I paused, considering our last night together. “Good, but—” I took a breath. “I don’t know where it’s going to go.”
Stella looked over at me, her eyes warm. “Hudson thinks Parker’s in love with you.”
I’d just taken a sip of my water and choked on it, coughing hard enough that Madison helpfully patted me on the back. When I recovered, I looked over at Stella. “What?”
Stella bit her lip to keep from laughing. “That’s what Hudson told me. He and Parker are good friends.”
“Well, what do you think?” Casey pressed her. “Parker is your brother.”
Stella shrugged. “He’s my half-brother, but I didn’t know that until over a year ago. I haven’t known him long enough to guess if he’s in love with Luna, and he hasn’t talked to me about it. He also hasn’t talked to Hudson about it. It’s just what Hudson thinks.”
“How did you and Parker connect?” I asked.
“Oh, my mom did this DNA thing, and Parker did too because he suspected he might have siblings through our dad. When my mom and our dad were together the first time, our dad didn’t know about Parker because Parker’s mom never told him she was pregnant and moved away.” Stella’s curls swung when she shook her head. “It’s complicated. The best summary is young adults being stupid, not using birth control, and having kids.”
“Well, okay,” I replied with a chuckle.
“Hudson said it’s just a gut feeling about Parker loving you,” she added.
“Oh.” I was trying to contain the burst of joy at that possibility.
“How do you feel about Parker?” Madison asked.
My eyes arced around the big table filled with my friends, some new, some old. Even though part of me felt a little uncomfortable, this was what I had always craved. To have friends. I took a quick breath. “I don’t know. I’m not ready to say the word love because that seems really big, but I guess it feels serious.”
“How much do you miss him?” Tiffany asked.
“More than I’d like,” I said flatly.
