“Okay. Sounds like a plan. You can call if you need anything when you’re there.”
“I’ll text you, Dad,” she said, her tone exasperated. She frequently reminded me of how slow I was on the uptake when it came to technology. She was not a fan of phone calls.
I was relieved she was in a cheerful mood. Last night had been tough after her mom called. She’d stopped crying, and we’d enjoyed dinner, but she’d been melancholy, and I knew it. She hated when her mom canceled, but sadly, she was accustomed to it. She was as realistic as one could be about one of their parents being mostly absent in her life. I knew it hurt, and I hated that my little girl had to carry that ache in her heart.
Not much later, I dropped her off at school and headed in to work. Willow Brook Fire & Rescue was in the midst of an addition. When I showed up, the sound of hammers pounding and some kind of pneumatic-powered tool filled the parking lot. I looked over to see Amelia Masters, Cade’s wife, with a hammer in hand and a tool belt around her hips as she put some framing in place. It said something about what a good business Amelia and Lucy ran when there hadn’t even been a rumbling about the town hiring them to do the addition for the station. With Cade being a superintendent here, his father the police chief, and Lucy’s husband another hotshot firefighter, it was easy for people to complain about nepotism, but there hadn’t been a peep.
I snorted to myself as I crossed the parking lot and glanced up to see Lucy working, her long blond ponytail blowing in a gust of wind. One of these days when I managed to save up a little extra money, I intended to hire them to do an addition on my house. Allie and I could use the extra space, and I might not mind a garage. It was sacrosanct to complain about the snow in Alaska. But it wasn’t great in the long dark winters to wake up and shovel it off my truck. I also wanted to plan for when Allie started pestering me to drive.
I called over. “Hey, Amelia! Hey, Lucy!”
They waved back and carried on working. As soon as I stepped into the back hallway at the fire station, I encountered Levi with two cups of coffee in hand. He stopped at the door when I held it open. “Thanks, man.”
“They’re not gonna stop work to take a coffee break,” I teased, glancing over my shoulder. I was proved right when Levi called Lucy’s name, and she replied, “I’m busy.”
I chuckled, and Levi rolled his eyes. “Here, you have one then.”
He handed me a cup and followed me down the hallway. “What’s on the radar for today?” I asked.
“You’ve got a couple of interviews lined up. Want me to stick around?”
“Sounds good to me. I hate hiring people unless I know them,” I answered.
I’d been stoked to get the position as superintendent for the new crew, but it meant some work as far as hiring. Fortunately for me, there were a few local applicants, all people I knew. The rest were coming from outside the area. Hotshot firefighting was a coveted job for people who enjoyed the work, but it wasn’t for the faint of heart. Firefighting was hard all on its own. Throw in flying out to the wilderness and dropping into fires from above with heavy equipment on your back, and it was next level. It was critical to have a well-trained and trusted crew. Everyone needed to be able to handle pressure, deal with the isolation, and not play games. The last thing any hotshot crew needed was tension amongst the crew. They ended up being like family.
“I’ll take all the help I can get,” I added. “I think I have five interviews lined up today.”
“Rex said he’s been sitting in on the ones you’ve done so far.”
“He has. You know him; he likes to know who’s coming into the station.”
We stopped by the office space I shared with Cade, Beck, and Ward. Levi followed me into the office and plunked down in a chair at a round table in the corner.
“You think they’re gonna have all that framing done before the snow flies?” I asked as I sat down across from him.
Levi nodded. “Oh, yeah. My girl runs a fast business with Amelia,” he said as if I had somehow been questioning that.
I rolled my eyes as I dropped my backpack on the floor and took a seat across from him. “I know that, but it’s just the two of them. Do they ever hire on extras?”
Levi ran a hand through his dark blond hair and shook his head. “They’ve tried a few times, but Lucy tells me they work well together and they’d rather do less work and do it the way they want. Most people who do construction are men, and they don’t love having two women as their bosses.”
I chuckled and took a swallow from the coffee. “Damn, that’s good. This isn’t from the office here.”
“I picked up one of the coffee boxes at Firehouse from Janet. I’d tell you to get some more, but I’m guessing it’s already gone.”
“Course it’s gone. I feel lucky Lucy told you she was busy,” I teased.
Levi gave me a lopsided grin. At that moment, Rex poked his head around the door, asking, “You guys ready?”
I waved him into the room. “Come on in.” Spinning in my chair, I snagged the laptop on the desk and opened it, tapping the screen to life. “Our first interview is scheduled in ten minutes.”
Rex came in, taking a seat at an angle from Levi. He held up his coffee cup. “I got some of that coffee. Who brought that over?”
I thumbed toward Levi, and Rex dipped his chin in acknowledgment. “Good move. It always makes for a more cheerful morning when we have good coffee.”
“I didn’t have time to stop there either. Allie was a little late getting ready for school, so we were cutting it close.”
“She’s growing up fast,” Rex commented with a shake of his head.
“Don’t I know it?” I replied with a sigh before taking a bracing swallow of the rich coffee.
“Life happens fast. I’ve already got a grandkid, and I can’t believe that sometimes.”
“Isn’t Ella expecting?” Levi asked, referring to Rex’s daughter.
“She is.” Rex’s eyes crinkled at the corners with his wide smile.
“How far along is she?” I asked because I hadn’t caught up on this bit of news yet.
“Four months,” Rex said.
“You ready for two grandkids?”
He nodded firmly. “It goes by in a blink. Sometimes, I miss when Georgia and I had young ones around the house. Being a grandparent is better than being a parent, though.”
I placed my hand on my chest over my heart. “Man, don’t start with that. I’m not even ready for Allie to have a boyfriend. I’m kind of hoping maybe she’ll want to become a nun.”
Levi burst out laughing just as Russell peered into the office, his brows hitching up as he looked around the table. “You still need me?” he asked.
“Of course, you’re on the crew. I need your opinion. Is Beck still coming?” I glanced at Levi.
“I don’t know. Let me ask Maisie.” He leaned toward the desk and tapped the intercom button on the phone. “Hey, Maisie, where’s Beck?”
“He’s late getting in. He stopped to help fix Carrie Dodge’s mailbox. Someone hit it with a car last night,” she explained.
“Well, damn, that’s not cool. Glad Beck is fixing it,” I replied, along with the other sympathetic murmurs around the table.