Thick eyebrows practically cover his eyes, so much that I can barely make out his expression. He seems to have a permanent sunburn on his forehead, and though he is older, his arms are thick and strong from a lifetime of work.
“Hi there. You must be, um, the chief,” I murmur hurriedly, rushing forward to shake his hand. “I heard you were in Florida. I can see you got a bit of a tan.”
“Just for a few days,” he answers brusquely. “I was checking things out. I got back this morning.”
Though he seems a little stunned to see me, he shakes my hand politely and even gives me a small, awkward bow.
Nobody says anything as they shuffle around the table. I catch Trigger’s eye, but he looks down shyly. Stephan gives me a smile and then goes to the cupboard for a coffee cup. Even Pete is turned away from me, his head tipped toward Bubba’s as though they are in conference.
“I didn’t know what you liked,” I announce, clearing my throat, “so I made what I could easily find the ingredients for.” I smooth my hands on my apron, feeling a bit like June Cleaver. “But if you’d like something else, I’m sure I could rustle up more. Any special requests? Pancakes?”
Trigger looks up at me, startled, with a wedge of cornbread in one hand and a fistful of bacon in the other.
“You can make pancakes?”
“Down, boy,” Stephan chuckles. “You don’t have to have everything on the first day.”
First day. I guess that means there will be a second day? I know we talked about it, but I still can’t believe it is a done deal. Not until I hear for sure from Bubba. That’s when I’ll be able to exhale.
Taking the bull by the horns, I grab a coffee mug and just sit in the chair directly across from the chief. Pete gives me a surreptitious wink. The chief digs into a generous plate of breakfast, chewing happily. After a little while he looks at Pete and stops chewing, raising his eyebrows.
“What?”
“It’s good, right?” Pete suggests raising his eyebrows. I notice there are flecks of grey hairs starting at the inner corners of his brows, like the ones at his temple.
The chief looks at Pete, then looks at me. “Is there something you want to say?” he prompts.
“Well…”
My heartbeat races. I feel my toes clench. This is it. It all falls apart right now.
Fuck. I probably should have made pancakes.
“We never did fill that position,” Pete begins amiably. “I mean, when Mario left we sort of dropped the ball.”
The chief chews, then swallows, then looks around. “You’re saying you want this little lady to do it? Olivia, is that right?”
“We could use the help,” Pete explains, though I am not sure I really believe that. He rakes his fork against his plate, setting up a bite but not putting it in his mouth. He’s acting deceptively casual, not taking his eyes off Bubba.
The chief shrugs and shakes his head, then tucks back into his breakfast.
“Jeez, Pete, why do I care?” the chief finally huffs. “Hire who you want! It’s your firehouse, for mercy’s sake…”
Trigger raises his eyebrows and glances at Pete. Pete nods and flares his nostrils carefully, not to look too proud. Even Stephan offers him a chin raise of respect.
I’m not entirely sure, but I think Pete may have just been promoted.
“So, all right!” the chief bellows… I mean, the old chief.
“Yes, all right,” Pete nods seriously.
I bite the inside of my cheeks to keep a huge smile from spreading across my face. It’s happening? I think it really is.
“I’m just going to go hit the head,” the chief informs us, wiping his mouth with a napkin and pushing his cleaned plate away. “Then we can take care of the moving. It will be nice to get that out of the way.”
“Moving?” Pete repeats.
The chief glares at him and sighs, pursing his lips. “Now that I’m retiring, you’re going to pick this moment to turn stupid on me?”
“It’s just…”
“The little lady needs to pack, right? Needs to move?”
He looks at me for confirmation. I nod quickly, afraid to do anything else.
“All right!” he announces, clapping his giant hands together so hard I feel like the plates jump. “Time is wasting! Let’s do this!”
He hustles from the room, adjusting his suspenders over his shoulders as he walks. The guys just look at each other with open mouths, obviously completely shocked.
“What did you say to him?” Stephan asks in a low voice so the chief can’t hear.
“Just the bare outlines, I promise!” Pete answers.
Trigger shrugs and fills his mouth with the last bite of bacon.
“I told you he was retiring,” he says.
“He didn’t tell me till just now,” Pete scoffs. “Was I supposed to read his mind or what?”