I glanced at Walker who was busy on the phone. “I rode here with the sheriff, so I’m not sure yet.”
The chief looked between the sheriff and me. “You came with Seth?”
The sound of Walker’s first name out of the chief’s mouth burned my gut a little. “Yeah. I was at his house when the call came in. He asked me to come along; thought you could use the extra hands.”
“Smart man.”
“Mm.”
We stood awkwardly for a moment as if waiting for Walker to get off the phone. I wasn’t sure why things had turned weird all of a sudden.
“Did you call your station chief in Dallas yet?” Chief Paige asked.
“Yes, sir.”
“Please call me Evan or Chief, Otto,” he said with a smile. “I know it’s hard, but we’re both grown men now, and you calling me sir just feels weird.”
“You’re my boss,” I reminded him. “And don’t forget my eight years in the navy. Some of that shit’s hard to forget.”
He laughed and reached out to squeeze my shoulder. “Good point. It’ll take time, but I’ll keep reminding you.”
I looked at him before deliberately answering, “Yes, sir.”
The smile on his face was a nice change from the stressed-out, pinched focus while he’d been trying to save the teenager trapped in the car. We’d both needed the moment of lightness, but when our laughter caught Walker’s attention, I regretted it.
He glared at us before going back to his call.
“Uh-oh. We’d better get on out of here. Why don’t you let me take you back home since he has to go inform one of the families and then head to the hospital?”
“Um, yeah, sure. Okay,” I mumbled. “Let me just tell him he’s off the hook.”
I walked over to wait next to Walker while he finished up the call. The minute his finger pressed the end button, he turned and hissed at me. “That was one of the kids’ parents, Wilde. You really want them to hear laughing in the background of an accident where their kid almost died?”
My stomach twisted at his tone. “Of course not,” I said in a low voice. “You know me better than that. You also know how humor works with first responders, Walker. We didn’t know you were on with a family, and I doubt they could have heard us from that far away.”
He blew out a breath and ran his fingers through his hair. I realized he wasn’t in uniform and didn’t have his usual hat on.
“I’m sorry, Otto,” he said. “I just… I can’t imagine how they’re feeling right now. What if that had been Tish? Or your brother Cal? Or Sassy? God.”
I reached out and held onto his arm. “It wasn’t. And those kids are going to be okay. Everything worked the way it was supposed to. You have a really fine team here, Sheriff.”
His eyes pierced me for several beats and there was a world of need in them. “I have to go.”
“I know,” I said. “Chief Paige is going to drop me off at the ranch.”
“I’m sorry,” he said again. “I have to go tell one of the sets of—”
“Stop. I understand. Be safe and call me tomorrow, okay?”
“Otto…” His eyes were like a set of teeth gnashing against my heart. They were fucking pools of need so deep I thought I might drown.
“Be strong,” I said in a rough voice, not quite sure which one of us I was talking to.
I turned and joined the crew on the fire truck for the ride back to the station. Once there, the chief and I helped the crew clean up and put gear away before making our way out to his personal FD vehicle to make our way back to the ranch.
“I heard the sheriff and his wife are getting a divorce,” the chief began.
“Mm-hm,” I said, looking out the window into the late spring night.
“And apparently their daughter is really his niece?”
“Mm-hm.”
“Hm.”
More silence.
“Is he gay?”
I turned to face the chief.
“Why do you ask?”
He shrugged and grinned. “He’s a good-looking man.”
I might have grunted a little. Or growled.
The booming laugh cut through the vehicle. “Relax, Wilde. I was teasing you. I was curious if I might ask Jolie out.”
I turned and gaped at him. “You’re straight?”
More laughter. “I’m bi. And before you ask, yes, I do think the sheriff is a hot piece of ass. But I also think maybe he’s got a little tunnel vision right about now. Am I right?”
“Please ask Jolie out,” I said in a rush, ignoring his question. “Jesus, please.”
“Consider it done.”
“Maybe don’t tell her you’re bi right away though. She’s not all that happy with gay guys these days,” I suggested.
He chuckled some more. “I can see why. Did she know he was gay when she married him?”
“You’d have to ask him,” I said. I hadn’t even heard all the details from him yet, so the truth was, I wasn’t sure what she knew.