Page 31 of Dreams and Reptiles

“You figure out what you guys need first,” Kendall said. Then he looked up and away from the screen and put himself on mute.

“Ooo, must be important fire boy business,” I said.

Then I sent Kimo a private message in the Zoom chat with my number and asked him to call me when he had a chance. I had an idea that I wanted to surprise Kendall with, regardless of what was decided about the fence.

Kimo grinned and gave me a hang-loose sign just as Kendall came back.

“I gotta wrap up here. Captain’s back. Kimo, let’s talk tomorrow. Francis…” He gave me a stern look, and was it wrong that it was kinda hot? Probably it was the uniform, but heavens to Betty White, I was way more turned on than I should have been, especially after how much I’d freaked out the night before.

“Yes, sir?”

He laughed in a deep “you’re in so much trouble” tone at my response.

“I’ll be there soon.”

My heart absolutely stuttered in my chest.

We all signed off the Zoom call, and I sucked in much-needed air.

Was I in trouble? Was he upset? Had I overstepped?

I had to hope that when he arrived, we would continue our negotiations. They might get heated, so I had to be prepared. I may have initiated a hostile takeover in his eyes, and I didn’t want that. I wanted to make a deal that benefited us both equally, and I wanted to help his friend, because that was the business I was in now. Making dreams come true.

I just hoped that would be true for me, too.

CHAPTER

EIGHT

Kendall

The drive home took fifteen minutes on a good day. However, tonight, there was a herd of deer crossing the road and taking their damn sweet time, followed by a bunch of wild turkeys—I’d have to look up what they are called—with three males all puffed up, trying to get it on with the females, and all of this was followed by a loose resident from the alpaca farm, and I spent twenty minutes helping Mickey get the poor guy out of the road.

By the time I pulled up to Francis’s house, it had been nearly an hour since we’d signed off the call. Captain Ortiz had asked me to fill in while he went with the chief to a community meeting that included the Foggy Basin police chief, CHP, and the county sheriff, so they could plan the next joint training exercise. Between preparing for earthquakes, wildfires, and other potential threats, it was important to collaborate. I’d done it in Florida for hurricane preparations many times.

I climbed out of my truck and took the steps up to Francis’s front door two at a time. I was about to knock when he pulled the door open.

“I’m sorry,” he said, his eyes wide.

I gave him a puzzled look. “I thought I was supposed to be sorry?”

He gestured for me to come in for a hug and buried his face in my shoulder.

“What’s wrong, Francis?”

He pulled back. “I messed up on the call with Kimo. I spoke without consulting you, and then when you didn’t show up, I thought maybe you were upset and not coming at all, and what is all over your sleeve?”

I looked down and groaned. “That has to be alpaca spit. I got hung up helping Mickey wrangle a runaway named King Louie across the highway. I didn’t want to be so late.”

“Well, come in, and let me feed you,” he said, taking me by the hand. Then he stopped and turned with a shy smile. “But first, what do you think?” He gestured at the wall in the passageway that led to the kitchen beyond.

I gasped.

“Francis,” I breathed. “You did all this?” I couldn’t decide whether to step back and take it in or step closer and view the intricate details of the mural he’d apparently finished. So I did both. It was a gorgeous landscape, with fields of poppies and lavender and rolling green hills. Where the sky met the hills, he’d stenciled in a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson.

“‘Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true.’” I turned and appraised him. His expression was, well… dreamy, as if he’d painted the words and now intended to live them. “This really is a mission for you.”

“It is. I don’t regret my life in the Before Times, but now I want more. I decided not to ignore the hopeful, artistic side of myself anymore. I fully comprehend that the change in my circumstances have made things possible for me that aren’t for most people. That’s why it’s so important to me to help other people live out their passions. So often we put work, family, and obligations first, which, of course we do, but we never prioritize ourselves and the things we want. I want to make space for people to do that, even if it’s just for a little while.”