Page 60 of Combust (Everyday Heroes 2)
“An appointment?” Jett and I both ask in unison. I don’t recall having any appointment with Grady. And he’s dressed and ready for work. What’s he up to now? And why is it I want to burst out laughing at his audacity to get one final dig in on Jett?
“Yep.” Grady’s grin could light up a room. “Time to say goodbye, Kroger.”
“Our appointment is at the fire station?” I ask when he parks his truck beside the building.
“Yep.”
“All you had to do was ask me to come with you.”
“And miss out on the satisfaction of messing with that fucker? No way,” he says with a grin.
“Enjoying playing the game a little too much?”
“Of course I am. I’ve got the girl, don’t I?” He hops out of the truck without another word and slams the door shut.
His words surprise me so much it takes me a few seconds to realize he probably didn’t mean them how I took them. I need to get a grip. On my heart, my thoughts, and my libido.
As we walk up the pathway, I stare at the brick building for a moment, so many memories rushing back. A stark reminder of the disdain I’ve been conditioned to have for this profession and all the baggage that comes with it. I’m reminded of how I used to get so excited when my mom took Damon and me to the station to pick our dad up from a three-day shift because we’d missed him so much. The car ride would be a flurry of cut-off sentences as we tried to fill him in on everything he’d missed.
Then goosebumps prickle my skin as I remember how fiercely we’d avoid that very same firehouse after he left us. How we’d drive the long way around the block so we didn’t have to pass the one thing my dad loved more than us. His job. His fire family. The attention from other women his uniform brought him.
“You okay?” Grady asks, pulling me from the memories and back to reality.
“Yeah. I’m fine. Ready to show me your fire pole, Malone?”
“I already pet your kitty, so I guess my pole is the next best place to start.”
“You’re sick.” I laugh.
“And you love it.”
Yes, I do. And that may be a problem.
“So that’s everything.” He shrugs as he enters the bay where two engines wait in limbo. There’s a smile on his face and an ease to him I haven’t seen before.
“You really love what you do, don’t you?”
There’s a brief flash of something in his eyes that passes before I can catch it, but he nods. “It’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted to be.” He says it with such conviction that I believe it. “A wise person once told me, it isn’t something you do, it’s something you are.”
I smile. “Whoever said that must be brilliant.” I reach for his arm on reflex and then pull back, uncertain of his status with the guys here and how my being here might reflect on him.
“And pretty.” Sigh. And now he turns on the charm. “The other day, you took the time to show me what you do. I thought I’d show you what I do before my shift starts.”
“Thank you.” The gesture touches me unexpectedly. Maybe it’s the fact he cares. Maybe it’s just because it’s the first time I’ve stepped into a station since my dad left, and it hasn’t been as traumatic as I expected. Actually, it’s been quite the opposite.
“Hey, Malone? You ready to pose for the camera, pretty boy?” a voice calls out from the other side of the bay, and Grady’s demeanor changes so swiftly it’s as if someone flipped a switch.
“I told you, Veego. I’m not doing it. Get off my case, will ya?”
“We can’t do it without you, man. Then why is she—oh, sorry. You’re not Marcy,” Veego says when I turn to face him as he walks into view and does a double take.
“Not Marcy,” I say with a chuckle, although I’m suddenly wondering who Marcy is and why she would be with Grady.
“She’s a photographer,” Grady mutters under his breath as if he already knew where my thoughts went.
Veego bears down on us. He’s short and broad and has a smile that would light up a room. “Sorry, Grady. I didn’t realize you had company.”
“Dylan McCoy.” I reach my hand out and shake his while he stares at me for a beat longer than normal.
