“Then, if it’s okay with you, I’ll bring lunch to your place. You can open day four, and we’ll head to Rough Cut for the event at four o’clock.”
“Are we planning on eating lunch the entire time? Because I don’t know if I need that much pre-holiday consumption.”
He laughed. “We won’t eat the entire time. Your gift on Saturday is some assembly required.”
Yvette nodded slowly before her eyes met his, and this time some of the hesitancy was gone. Curiosity and amusement sat in their place. “Okay.”
Okay.
Day one. Plans made for day four. Alex pulled a book off the shelf to his side, and for the next hour, they wandered through the store, talking about books.
The time together was a touch awkward by anyone’s standard, but it was also far less antagonistic than some of their previous encounters.
It was a start, and that’s all Alex could have asked for.
3
Of course, the change in their relationship was now cannon fodder for discussion in the Heart Falls community. Alex discovered this the following day when he made his way into the fire hall.
His first shift now that he was back wasn’t due to begin until two p.m., but the fire chief, Bradley Ford, had asked him to come in early. After Brad was good enough to let Alex take off at a moment’s notice the previous year with no known return date, Alex figured there would be some payback for his good luck over the next months.
Not that he minded. None of the crew he worked with at the fire hall commanded anything less than his full admiration.
The two men Alex considered his best friends were Mack and Ryan. Mack Klassen, the head firefighter, was ex-military and as solid as they got. Ryan Zhao ran the local pub, Rough Cut, along with doing volunteer hours. Adding in Brad and Ashton, who also coordinated shifts at the fire hall, Alex was surrounded by a core group of men he knew not only had his back but were willing and able to kick his butt when necessary.
He raced up the stairs to the upper level, above where the trucks were stored. The main area at the top was divided into three. First was the kitchen/gathering place where they served meals and met for technical training. The next section was the common room for quiet time and more relaxed conversations, with couches and easy chairs arranged in small groupings. The final area held the shower house and bunk rooms.
The one private room that had been previously occupied by Mack was still vacant. Over the past two years, Heart Falls had slowly increased their volunteer force until there were enough people willing to do overnight shifts, so they hadn’t bothered to fill the space.
Alex hit the top of the landing and jerked to a stop.
As if thinking their names had summoned them, Alex glanced at the table in shock to discover not only Brad but the rest of the supervisory crew. Including Ashton, whom Alex had left not even twenty minutes ago at Silver Stone ranch.
Brad pulled out a chair and patted it somewhat ominously. “Alex, my man. Have a seat.”
He hadn’t expected running the gauntlet would be required, but Alex moved forward, striving to stay as outwardly relaxed as possible. “Well now, a twenty-one-gun salute. Nice you all took the time to come welcome me back.”
Ryan grinned, black hair swinging across his forehead. As he leaned forward, mischief danced in his dark eyes. “This is the interrogation team. You need to pony up information.”
“That’s right, you do,” Mack agreed. “Let’s see, ‘Hey, was just wondering. I need a little info and thought you might be able to help.’ Isn’t that how all the emails started?”
“Mine did.”
“Me too.”
“Me three.”
Shit. When he’d gone looking for information about Yvette, Alex had done his best to keep his questions on the down low. He’d trusted that the guys wouldn’t mention to each other what he’d been up to.
Looked as if he’d been wrong. Still, he wasn’t going to confess to anything until he had to.
He dropped into the chair and deliberately slouched back, folding his arms over his chest. “Ask your questions, but I want it noted up front that the lot of you are worse than a proverbial group of gossiping old grannies.”
“What else is there to do while we’re sitting on shift from midnight till seven on a dead-quiet evening?” Brad asked. He rubbed his fingers over his beard. “Spill. What the hell are you doing with Yvette?”
“This isn’t us being gossipy old women,” Ryan hurried to clarify. “This is us keeping an eye out for a friend. Also, one of our ladies’ good friends.”
Alex snickered. “What you mean is that your wives are making you grill me.”
“Sure. If that makes you feel better,” Ryan said.
“I don’t have a girlfriend, and I still want to know what’s going on.” This from Ashton.
Alex was so close to calling the older man on that fib. Everyone in town knew that Ashton and Sonora Fallen were something, even though they refused to come right out in public and admit it. But after his little conversation with Sonora the day before, Alex knew damn well the woman was curious as all get out. Which meant Ashton wanted dirt to be able to share with her, dollars to donuts.
Alex offered a nonchalant shrug. “It’s like I told you when I contacted you. I wanted to make Yvette a gift, and I wanted it to be something she could enjoy.”
“Good to see you’re finally getting your act together and making a move. You’re slower than molasses on a winter day.” This from Ryan. His friend looked far too delighted.
Alex did his best Vulcan imitation. “Says the man who took far too long to realize he was actually in love with his best friend.”
“Yeah, but when he did finally clue in, he went double time at the whole leg-shackling and merging-her-into-the-family routine. Maddie looks ready to pop.” Mack leaned forward and shook his head. “You’re about to have a preteen and a baby in the same house. Glutton for punishment.”
Ryan raised a hand in the air. “Madison’s got experience with kids. And Talia is over the moon, although she’s still a little worried it’s going to be a boy. She thinks a little sister would cry less than one of the male persuasion.”
“Not our fault that most of her friends had little brothers arrive,” Brad said.
Alex snorted “Exactly whose fault do you think that is? I seem to remember you had a squawking son.”
“Nice try getting us off topic.” Mack leaned his elbows forward on the table and met Alex’s gaze straight on. “So. You and Yvette.”
“Hopefully, but there’s no guarantees yet,” Alex was quick to point out. “Look, I know this is partly because you have wives who are curious, and partly because you’re all super snoopy all on your own. Here’s the deal. You were all a big help putting together what I hope to be a great get to know each other scheme for December. I hope you’ll see a lot of us together, but beyond that, back off and give us breathing room.”
Ashton was grinning far too hard. “Don’t know that we can do that.”
Brad jerked a thumb in Ashton’s direction. “What he said.”
“It’s not that we don’t want to see you succeed,” Mack explained. “It’s just that shepherding you through this tricky relationship business is something we’ve been looking forward to for a long time.”