Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 73794 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73794 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
The truly smart thing would have been to say I wouldn’t and to break things off right then and there. The chances of our being discovered by people we worked with would only increase as time passed, yet all I could do was nod.
“I’ll text you later.”
“I’ll be up.”
I refused, utterly refused, to examine why Caleb’s simple reply made my whole body relax and my mind calm.
Chapter Seventeen
Caleb
“Big plans?” Sean caught up to me as we exited the fire station into a steamy summer evening. The late summer heat wave continued to march along, exactly like my super-secret fling with Tony. The one Sean absolutely couldn’t know about.
“Nope.” I hated the way my pulse galloped like a spooked pony. Every interaction these days with Sean and other supervisors felt like walking on floss stretched over the Grand Canyon. What did Sean know or suspect? Or was he simply being a decent captain and friend, and I was the one being paranoid? I had absolutely no clue, so I worked to keep my voice bright and easy. “I have to meet Scotty to sell more tickets for the football fundraiser.”
Right on cue, my phone buzzed in my pocket. No way on earth was I pulling it out right then. Chances were good that it was Scotty confirming our meeting spot downtown, but I also had a lengthy text thread going with Tony. Late-night conversations, after-work meetup arrangements, random memes, and snarky comments and complaints, none of which Sean needed to get a whiff of.
“How’s the fundraiser planning going?” Sean’s voice was friendly and chatty, yet I stared longingly at my truck a few feet away. “I’m looking forward to attending, and somehow, Tony twisted my arm into agreeing to play in the charity game.”
I flexed my feet inside my shoes and lightly shook my hands. I couldn’t afford to tense up at every mention of Tony’s name. “He can be rather convincing.”
“Yep. He’s good at getting his way.” Sean’s tone was that of a longtime friend, and his comment absolutely should not have inspired visions of all the ways Tony and I had of talking the other into fast meetups, quick sexts, and other naughty shenanigans. “Tony seems to be fitting in well here though.” Sean’s gaze turned more critical, increasing my desire to squirm away. “You think he’ll do okay at the academy? He’s seemed sort of…subdued since you guys rescued that hiker.”
Oh lord. The only thing worse than Sean catching wind of anything brewing between Tony and me would be Sean questioning Tony’s suitability for first-responder work. And even if I shared some of those concerns and continued to advocate for Tony trying a counselor or veteran’s support group, no way could I share those confidential conversations with Sean.
Tony and I were finally at a point where he was opening up more about the horrors of past deployments, the hiking rescue having changed something between us, an increase in trust that made such talking possible. I couldn’t jeopardize that either.
“He’ll do fine.” I made my voice firm. “Diesel lived, which is great, and I know Tony’s mentioned hearing that he’s out of ICU at last. That’s gotta be a morale boost. I bet Tony passes the exams with flying colors. He’s certainly got the fitness part down pat.”
“And you’re saying that as his mentor, someone who has worked with other rookies, right? Nothing clouding your judgment that you’d like to talk to me about? I hear you and he are…friendly these days.”
And there it was, a sharp little prick to my bubble of happiness, a swift reminder that everything could change in an instant. Also, it didn’t matter how easygoing Sean was. He was still my acting captain, and I couldn’t afford to let my guard down for an instant.
“Nope,” I lied with a smile. “My judgment is fine. Sure, Tony and I went for that hike and are working together on the fundraiser. But last I checked, off-the-clock friendship wasn’t an issue. You and he jog all the time and eat together several nights a week.”
“True. But, Caleb—” Sean started what was likely to be a lengthy warning about crushes and anything more than friendship, but blessedly, his phone rang loudly with a revving engine ring tone. “Crap. I better take this. It’s Declan, my kid. But we’ll talk more soon.”
That sounded ominous, but I kept my smile all the way to my truck, lest he see me sweat these rumors or whatever he was hearing. Crap. Crap. Crap. We had to be more careful. My hand lingered on my phone as I plugged it into the truck’s charging port. I should text Tony to tell him exactly that, but I wasn’t ready for him to end everything. I’d simply have to be more cautious for us both.
Once downtown, I met up with Scotty, who was in a typical grumpy mood. “Why did I agree to talk to some dumb businesses I’ve never heard of?”