Page 54 of Rising Heat

That I’ve spent more time thinking about her in the last twelve hours than I’ve spent thinking about most women in the last twelve months.

There can’t be a move.

And if I’m being honest, that’s starting to piss me off.

Tyler holds my gaze for another second then just nods.

Trick wanders over, towel slung over one shoulder, looking between me and Tyler.

“So you fixed her pipes…and you bought her food.”

“I brought her chowder—” Ty says.

“You guys usually don’t buy women anything until after you’ve slept with them,” Trick says. “And even then it’s usually just an Uber.”

The bay erupts.

“That’s not—” Tyler starts.

“That’s exactly what that is,” Coop says, folding in half.

“That chowder was a neighborly gesture.”

“Wicked domestic,” Coop wheezes.

I drag a hand down my face.

“This is pathetic.”

“This is the best shift we’ve had in months.”

Marco pushes off of the engine.

“You checked the same compartment twice.”

The laughter dies immediately.

“You never miss anything,” he continues.

He’s right—I don’t usually miss things. Not on calls or at the station or in my own home. It’s part of the job. You learn to notice details before they become problems, learn to trust the part of your brain that catches what everybody else walks past.

Apparently that now includes Darcy Reed.

Women have never been complicated before. Tyler and I worked that out years ago—honest, straightforward, no mixed signals, no bullshit. The Vegas weekend, the Newport wedding, the MGH physician’s assistant who’d shown up at shift change with three coffees and a grin—all of it simple. Clean. The line always held because nothing ever gave me much reason to step over it.

Darcy Reed is starting to feel like a reason.

I’m choosing to believe that’s because she lives in my building. The alternative is significantly less convenient.

The fact that she looked at me like she wanted me too is not relevant information.

The tones drop and I thank Christ I don’t have to continue this conversation. Every head snaps toward the speakers while Dispatch crackles overhead.

Engine 37, Ladder 26 — structure fire, Huntington and Parker. Multiple callers. Smoke showing from the third floor. Possible entrapment.

Coop’s already moving. Trick is gone before dispatch finishes repeating the address. Marco heads for Rescue without breaking stride.

Tyler grabs his turnout coat and glances my way once.