Page 80 of Rookie (Bradford Station)

CHAPTERTHIRTY-FOUR

Hayden

“At least wedon’t have to wear masks anymore,” Natalie says from where she stands next to me.

“Agreed, but the smell, it just lingers.”

The remnants of the ridge fire have finally stopped smoldering. After a week and a half, we no longer have to worry about it reigniting. But Bradford? It needs a lot of cleanup. More than I imagined.

It’s beyond overwhelming, but we came together to stay alive during the fire. I have to believe we can come together to clean up as well.

“Hopefully, we can get the smell out as soon as we can start clearing a lot of the debris.” I go over to the firetruck at the curb. They’re set up in different sections of the city to help facilitate the clean up. The man standing with his back to me is one I’d recognize anywhere. Reaching out, I tap him on his broad shoulder. “Can I get a couple trash bags?”

Danny turns around, a huge smile on his face. “You can get whatever you want, beautiful.”

“Stop.” I grin up at him. “You’re ruining me for anyone besides you.”

“Then I’m doing my job.” He leans against the fire truck. “Cause I don’t want you feeling like you have to go somewhere else to get this type of sweetness. But to answer your question, yes, I can get you a few trash bags. Do you want some gloves and masks too?”

“Yeah, Natalie and I are going to start on Mountainside BBQ today. They’re using their food truck to serve crews and volunteers while also cleaning up their business. I wanna be there to help if I can. There aren’t a lot of people in the area, but it holds a special place in my heart.”

“Our first date.” He leans in, kissing me softly, slowly, thoroughly.

A round of whistles go up around us. We break apart. I reach over to clean the gloss off his lips. “You’re right.” I bring my lip between my teeth before confirming. “Our first date. I wanna get it back open. It hurts my heart to see it sitting there not being used. Because they’ve been so nice to us on our subsequent date nights, I’d like to try and help them get back open.”

“There’s no truck up there. Let me tell your dad and get you a crew to follow you. That way, if they’re needed, you don’t have to wait for one.”

“We can do this,” I assure him.

“Oh babe, I know you can. But you don’t have to do it on your own. Let us help, it’s what we’re here for.”

“You sound like my dad.”

He laughs. “There’s a lot worse men I could be compared to and, if you refuse the help, I’ll get him involved. You know he won’t bat an eye at you getting smart with him.”

“You don’t seem to bat one when I get saucy with you.” I grab hold of his shirt with my fingers.

“Haydennnn…” he sing-songs. “Don’t start with this right now, especially not right here. I have work to do.”

“Oh, okay,” I sigh. “I’ll see ya later on tonight?”

“Yeah, we’ll catch up after this day is done. If you wanna go ahead up the mountain, I’ll get a crew to meet y’all up there. Be careful.” He kisses me quickly before jogging back over to where his team is working.

Natalie groans. “You two are so sickeningly sweet.” Her gaze wanders over to where Cameron stands, observing his men.

“He still doesn’t know, huh?”

“What?” She plays dumb.

“Any fool with two eyes can see you’re into him. I can’t believe he hasn’t noticed yet.”

She sighs. “He hasn’t noticed because he’s not looking for anything. After what happened with his ex-wife, he’s been closed off like a fuckin’ vault. I could probably be half naked in front of him and he wouldn’t notice.”

Natalie is a smoke show. “Oh trust me, I’m sure he’d notice.”

Her lips purse. “I’ve thrown myself at him more times than I care to count. It’s as if he’s either immune or he’s just not interested.”

“He’s been through a lot.” Although I don’t know what everything is, I have to imagine being a single father has been difficult for him. “Maybe he doesn’t know how to look at you as anything other than his best friend’s sister.”

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