Page 59 of The Only One

“Right. Sorry. I blocked that out a little.”

“No worries. Nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“Maybe for you,” I said. “You weren’t caught in the Put Out Lot acting like a teenager.”

Andy laughed, but I could tell he wasn’t holding it against me.

“Andy, I thought you were a cop. What are you doing here? I thought this was a fire department thing,” I wondered.

“It’s technically a training session,” he said.

“Still.”

“The scenery is nice. And it’s good to be outside.”

Suddenly another guy joined us. His Blue Creek FD T-shirt looked official and I got the impression that he was in charge here. Andy straightened up and his cheeks got a little pink. I smirked. Scenery, my ass.

“Who’s that?” I asked.

“Asher Lake,” he answered.

“He’s cute.”

Andy groaned. “Ugh. Was I being super obvious?”

I shrugged.

“I don’t know what it is about Asher Lake that makes me so crazy,” he whispered. “I mean, I’m running around a park on my day off at the ass crack of dawn.”

“It’s eight thirty.”

Andy glared at me and I put my hands up in mock defense.

“I’m just saying. I’m a cop, for fuck’s sake. Ex-Navy, too. I should be able to keep it together better than this,” he added, sounding almost a little mad at himself.

“Andy, man, I…”

“Fuck, you think I’m pathetic now too.”

“No,” I assured him. “I really, really don’t.”

Andy shook his head and I decided to be merciful and change the subject.

“I didn’t know you were Navy,” I told him.

“Yeah. I went in right after high school and got back to Blue Creek about three years ago. Asher is too, by the way.”

“Wow.”

“There’s a lot of vets around here in Blue Creek and in Harbor Bluffs,” he informed me. “There’s a VFW over there, and we’ve got a pretty good support network. You should check it out sometime.”

“I might. Thanks.”

“Yeah. If you’re staying in town for Steph and Maya’s wedding and all, it’s worth finding a community.”

I nodded. “I’m not totally sure I’m staying.”

“Oh? Where else would you go?”

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