“So, any prospects on the horizon?” she questions.
“Has Allison been texting you?” I ask her, almost wondering if my best friend has been conspiring with my cousin.
“Nope, why? Does that mean that there is someone?” Reese perks up.
“Maybe,” I tell her, sucking in a breath, not really knowing where to start. “You remember Tucker?” I ask, sucking my bottom lip in and biting it.
“Tucker Wild?” she asks.
“The one and only,” I confirm.
“Yeah, what about him? Wait, didn’t you crush on him hard all throughout high school?”
“I wouldn’t say all of high school, but some of it.”
“Anyway, go on about Tucker,” she instructs.
“We’ve had a few encounters? Moments? I don’t know how the hell to describe them,” I tell her honestly, and then go on to lay out the details of each of our last few encounters. She listens intently as I tell her everything.
“Okay, so that’s a lot to unpack, but I agree that it sounds like something is brewing. What’s your gut telling you?” she asks.
“To let it unfold and see what happens. I know some of that is I want that perfect romantic experience. The movie-worthy swoony moment of being swept off my feet, falling in love with my soulmate kind of love. I want what you and Austin have.”
“And you deserve every one of those moments, and if Tucker is your soul mate, then I have faith that he’ll deliver all of them.”
“How can you be so sure?” I ask.
“Love is…” she trails off for a moment. “Love is a funny thing. It will leave you hurting and confused one moment and so over the moon the next that you’ll feel like you’re floating and won’t come down to earth again. It’s definitely a rollercoaster on the emotions. Austin and I had a lot of obstacles in our way when we first met, the distance being the biggest. We were forced to become friends and get to know one another long before we were ever able to connect on any other levels, thanks to my tour schedule back then. I know you don’t have any obstacles like that in your way, and you and Tucker already know one another, probably pretty well since we all grew up together. But I’m sure that there are still lots for the two of you to learn about one another. Hell, I’m still learning things about Austin, and we’ve been married for a few years and have a kid.”
“Thanks for the advice. I think I’m going to just let things develop if they’re going to develop, and if they don’t, then it wasn’t meant to be.”
“Maybe give him a nudge or two?” she suggests.
“I’m not sure I’m that outgoing,” I tell her. “What if I’ve just read everything wrong and he doesn’t have those kinds of feelings toward me. Then I’ve gone and made a fool of myself.”
“Lindsay, if that man held you in his lap for an entire football game, he’s got feelings for you, or at least one hell of an attraction going on.”
“We’ll see,” I say. “Okay, now tell me, when am I going to get new music from you? Have you been working on anything new?”
“I have! I’m actually dropping a surprise single in just a few weeks! I’ll send you a copy of it to listen to. It’s so fun, and I can’t wait for it to hit the radio. I think this next album is going to be my best yet! I’ve had so much fun helping with the writing of these songs the last few months and can’t wait to channel that energy into the studio and then out on the road with a tour.”
“Will you do another full tour?” I ask. I know since Nicole was born that she’s only done some shorter jaunts, playing maybe ten shows over a month or six weeks rather than a show every night or two, going city to city for months at a time.
“Possibly. I know my record label wants me to, but that’s a lot of logistics to take a baby on tour, and a husband on the road with a completely different schedule. Makes for lots of feathers in the air, but I’ll probably have one, and we’ll just have to hire a nanny to travel with me. I can’t expect any of the grandparents to go on the road for months at a time, and Austin can only commit to the off-season dates, so it’s something that we’ll have to get used to at some point, at least until he’s ready to retire, but that’s a long way down the road, Lord willing.”
“If I didn’t love my job so much, I’d say you could take me with you, but I don’t know how well that’d work out long-term.”
“I’d so take you up on that offer, but I understand.”
By the time we’re ready to hang up, hours have passed, and it was just what I needed to feel ready to tackle life, and whatever is going on between Tucker and me.
“I’ll shoot you that song and let you know ASAP if we’ll be heading that way for Thanksgiving.”
“Sounds good. Give my love to Nicole and Austin,” I tell Reese before we disconnect.
I plug my phone in on the end table by the couch and make my way into the kitchen, looking for something to eat for dinner. I don’t find anything appealing, so I grab my keys and phone and head out to my car. I don’t really know what I want but find myself pulling into a local BBQ place in town. I head inside, and place and pay for an order to-go, then take a seat on one of the benches in the waiting area. They usually don’t take long to box up to-go orders, so I just scroll through my Instagram feed while I wait.
“I’m here to pick up the order for House 57,” I hear a male’s voice say. I look up and see someone dressed in a Station 57 dark blue T-shirt and uniform pants. Upon closer inspection, I see that it's Lee. Once the hostess turns to go check on his order, he turns my way, seeing me sitting here.
“Hey,” he greets me, closing the space between the two of us.
“Hey, Lee,” I greet him. “How’s it going?” I ask.
“Good,” he says, a cocky grin tugging at his lips. “How are you?”
“I’m good, just grabbing some dinner and then heading back home. How’s your shift?”
“Good, been pretty laid back so far. Hopefully, the rest of the night will be the same way,” he says just as the hostess comes back out with multiple bags in her hands.
“Lindsay, I’ve got your order here, and Lee, I’ve got part of yours; it will just be another minute or so on the rest,” she says to both of us.
“No problem, I’ll just run this out to the truck and be back to get the rest,” he tells her, flashing her a quick wink.
“Tucker’s out in the rig,” he says as he backs against the door, pushing it open as he does, and allows me to step through it. I see the fire truck parked along the far side of the parking lot, a few guys all loaded inside of it. They have to travel together just in case they get called out when away from the firehouse.
“I see that,” I tell him watching Tucker as he jumps down from the fire truck. He’s dressed in the same uniform as Lee, the firehouse T-shirt pulling tight across his sinewy muscles. Even from across the parking lot, I can tell that it’s tight. I see the moment that he realizes that I’m next to Lee, as his face lights up in the sexiest smile that has my knees going week and a jolt of need that makes me want to rub my thighs together to relieve it.