Page 4 of The Firefighter’s Forever

“That a surprise?”

“A little.”

I huff out a laugh. “Mean as ever.”

“It wasn’t mean. It was honest.”

“Mean and honest aren’t mutually exclusive, Harmony.”

Her smile comes quick, and my chest eases at the sight of it. I step back from the door, giving her room as she steps out. Her heel catches on the edge of the top step of the porch, and my hand automatically goes to her elbow.

She looks up.

I let go slowly.

“Careful,” I say.

“I had it.”

“I know.”

Her eyes narrow, but there’s a smile tucked at the corner of her mouth. “Do you?”

“Sure. I just had it too.”

That earns me a quiet laugh, and I hold on to the sound longer than I should. The drive to the restaurant is short because everything in town is short, but I take the quieter streets anyway. It gives me a few more minutes with her in the cab of my truck, a few more minutes of pretending my body doesn’t know exactly where she is in the seat beside me.

She glances out the window as we pass the hardware store. “I forgot how small everything feels here.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

“I meant it in a good way. I think.”

“You still figuring that out?”

“Yeah.” Her fingers smooth over the strap of her purse. “Some days I feel relieved. Some days I feel completely insane.”

“Quitting a job you hated isn’t insane.”

“You make that sound like a fact.”

“Because it’s true.”

Her gaze stays on me for a beat, amused. “You always this sure about everything?”

“No.”

“What aren’t you sure about?”

I pull into a spot outside the restaurant and cut the engine, buying myself a second before I answer. “Plenty of things.”

“That was vague.”

“It was.”

She laughs, and I get out before I say something too honest. I walk around the front of the truck to open her door, then offer my hand because the curb is uneven and because touching her, even briefly, is already turning into a bad habit. Her hand settles against mine, warm and trusting inside my grip, and I hold on longer than the curb requires before I let her go.

Inside, the restaurant is half full, busy enough for noise but not so packed that anyone will bother us. I asked for a booth in the back when I called earlier, and the hostess leads us there while making cheerful smalltalk. Harmony slides in first, and I take the seat across from her instead of beside her because I’m trying to behave.