Page 5 of The Fireman and the Flirt

Ten minutes later, we finally sat down at the dining table. Just as I noticed two empty chairs, the doorbell rang and in walked a blast from the past.

“Holy moly.” I popped out of my chair and gave one of my best buds Mitch a bear hug. We were tight in high school and had played hockey together. He was one of the guys who had gotten drunk with me in the unfinished douche castles.

“Look who’s back,” he said. He and Cal had grown close over the years, bonding over being single dads.

It was weird to see Mitch as a middle-aged man, like myself. We both had beards and heftier mid-sections, and yet him being here made me feel seventeen again. Funny how that happened.

A shorter guy with a big, golden retriever smile stepped out from behind Mitch. This had to be Charlie, his husband.

“Awesome to meet you!” Charlie said.

“Likewise.” I gave his hand a hard shake.

Maybe moving back to Sourwood wasn’t the worst idea I’d had. I had friends and family here. Jolene and I wouldn’t be alone.

Cal had been hyping up Russ’s homemade pizza for a while, and it did not disappoint. It was ultra-thin with a tart taste to the homemade sauce, apparently from special tomatoes that came from Italy. I kept looking over at Jolene, and it warmed my heart to see her bonding with her cousins, whom she barely saw. The boys were telling Jolene all about the Falcons, their scouting troop, different badges they’d earned and brave tales from camping trips. Jolene regaled them with facts from her nights stargazing in Alaska, which had a perfect sky for it. She wanted to work for NASA one day, and she had the grit and smarts to get there.

Mitch asked me about life in Alaska. I gave him the basic strokes.

“I was sorry to hear about Paula. She was quite a woman. Sounds like she loved you like crazy,” he said solemnly, quiet enough not to draw the attention of Jolene. Charlie nodded along.

My stomach tensed again, as it did earlier when I was with Russ. “Cal tells me there’s a movie shooting at Stone’s Throw.”

Mitch grunted out confirmation then epically rolled his eyes.

“Don’t get him started,” Charlie said. He turned to his husband. “It’s called A Mountain Man Christmas. It sounds awesome!”

“It’s one of those cheesy Christmas TV movies. Big city guy gets stuck in a small town, falls for a grumpy lumberjack. Ridiculous premise.” Mitch shook his head.

“That’s how we met, though,” Charlie said.

“Ours was more complicated than that.” Mitch turned back to me. “Because it’s set at Christmas, there’s fake snow clogging my gutters and strings of Christmas lights draining our power. And I had to close down for three weeks so they could film. I don’t know why I said yes.”

“Because it’s a great opportunity! People will want to visit the bar where Colt and Jaxon fell in love. Think of the business,” Charlie said.

“I’m thinking about the crew guys tracking in mud day in and day out and the director chain smoking on the balcony in between takes.”

“They’re going to clean everything up when they leave. Maybe Brad Pitt will make a cameo.” Charlie bit off a piece of his crust.

“Brad Pitt isn’t making a cameo,” said Mitch.

Charlie shrugged his shoulders, his face full of boundless optimism. “You never know.”

“And then there’s dealing with questions from these Hollywood actors about what life is like in a small town and being a bartender. One of them wanted to shadow me.” Mitch rubbed his face with his hands.

“Why don’t you get off the ba humbug bandwagon, you sexy Scrooge?” Charlie tossed his last piece of crust in the air and landed it in his mouth. He made a touchdown sign with his arms. “What do you think, Derek?”

“Don’t they usually film Christmas movies in the spring? We’re already in November,” I said.

“If they shoot it now, apparently it’ll be ready to go by late-December. The Christmas movie industrial complex is a well-oiled machine,” Charlie informed me.

“We’ll have to host a party when it premieres,” Cal said.

Mitch cocked a skeptical eyebrow that suggested he’d rather jump into the Hudson River naked. Russ passed around another homemade pizza fresh from the oven. We all grabbed at slices like hungry wolves. Even though I was getting full, it was too good to pass up. I hoped Jolene didn’t expect this level of cooking from me.

“So how long are you planning to stay?” Mitch asked me.

“Indefinitely,” I said. My eyes flicked to Jolene to see her reaction. Her cheeks bunched up into a pizza-filled smile. She’d had an incident with some girls bullying her on social media last year. Like me, I suspected she also wanted a fresh start away from Alaska. “Sourwood is a great town. Our family is here. We’re not going anywhere.”

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