MEADOW
I checkmyself out in the full-length mirror hanging on the back of the locker room door, a sense of pride swelling within me. I finally completed all of my training and got accepted into the Scarlet Springs Fire Department. I’ve got my own uniform and gear, complete with a name tag.
Tate.
That’s all it says, just a last name, but I’m all right with that. All the firefighters—the guys—
call each other by their last names. It reminds me of back when I was on the volleyball team in high school. There’s something that feelscoolabout people using my surname as my nickname.
Maybe that sounds dorky, but that’s how I feel about it.
I step out into the main building to a bunch of hooting and hollering. The guys aren’t always the most mature bunch, but they’ve become like a second family and they’ll always have my back. That’s what really matters in this line of work. The trust factor has to be high, even if sometimes I’m known for having less trust than I need.
“Looking pretty tasty in that uniform, Tate!”
“Oh, whatever, Andrews,” I groan. “Isn’t your shift over by now?”
“Just didn’t wanna miss seeing you in uniform on your first day as an official member of the team.” He holds his hand up and I give him a hard high five. He’s giving me an authentic sentiment but doesn’t mean that I have to agree with the way he’s saying it.
“Thanks, Andrews,” I say with a little attitude, but when it comes to being the only woman on the team, I have to keep a little bit of my sass. It matches my ass, big and in your face. And I don’t apologize for either. If people see me up top they’d never think I have junk in my trunk, but it’s a packed suitcase…jam packed.
The emergency sirens start up and we all snap to attention.
“What’s going on?” I ask Jenkins, one of our senior firemen. Bradley Jenkins has been on the team for several years now. Despite being under forty, he’s due to retire pretty soon. Firefighting can reign hell on your mind and body over the years. Not only are firefighters three times more likely to die on the job and we die earlier than the general population. It’s not small talk that we bring up over meals. We know the hazards.
And we do it anyway.
For many of us, it’s in our DNA.
“We’ve got an emergency call up on the trails, on Scarlet Springs mountainside. Someone hiking up there had their dog slip down a cliffside and they need us to get it out.”
“Wow, sounds like a banging time. You kids have fun with that,” Andrews finger guns at us, waving as he takes off toward the locker room. He’s a frat boy at heart, but he’s one of the best on the team. When he needs to be there, he’ll be there for you.
Jenkins turns to me. “Well, cookie—I’m mean rookie,” he chuckles at his little slip, “now is your time to shine. How about you and me go check it out together?”
I force a smile. I’m happy no one’s hurt and it’s not a serious call, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t silently disappointed that there’s no fire. Fighting fires is what I spent months training to do, not saving someone’s dog stuck in the woods. Don’t get me wrong. I love everything furry and fuzzy, but this is a step above cat stuck in a tree.
“Sounds good. Let’s go.”
We hop into the truck and throw our sirens on, barreling down the highway towards the bottom of the mountain where the hiking trails start. It might not be the kind of action I was hoping for, but it is going to be a good workout.
“Hey, don’t let the guys bug you too much about being new, okay? You know how they are. They like to tease and taunt and be jackasses, but it’s all in good fun.”
“That’s funny, Jenkins. You’re the one who’s calling mecookie.”
He grins, sneaking in a side-eye glance at me whilst still focusing on the road. “Yeah, but if any of the other guys call you that, I’ll set ‘em straight real quick, just you watch. You’remyrookie and one cute cookie.”
I try to ignore the butterflies in my stomach when he declares I’mhisanything. I would never make the moves on Jenkins, we work together and it’d be completely unprofessional.
But I can’t say I’ve never fantasized about him in my off time. He’s been the one behind my eyes when I’m having some private time.
I know can’t…but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to…