Page 5 of Moonlit Colorado

“Need help?” Niko asked me.

Callum shook his head. “Don’t get involved, man. She doesn’t want help. She’s on an organizing tear.”

“I’m just trying to knock out my to-do list,” I said, arranging the books like Jenga pieces. “I’m taking these to Silver Linings to drop them off with Piper. Then I have Zoom meetings this afternoon with my online clients, and a planning meeting for the next fundraiser for the children’s center. So don’t wait up.”

“Gracie, most people mean something different when they saydon’t wait up,” Callum said as he rummaged in the pantry for food. “To normal humans, it means they’re out having fun.” Callum tossed Niko a protein bar, then ripped into one for himself.

“Don’t be mean. Planning meetings can be fun.”

“You’re cute.” Callum grabbed me around the shoulders and smacked a kiss on the top of my head. I pushed him away.

“Don’t you have somewhere better to be?” I asked. “Like saving a cat from a tree? Serving your community?”

Callum shrugged. “More like serving beers. I’ve got a shift at Hearthstone.” He and his buddies all had other gigs, since there weren’t many full-time spots with Silver Ridge FD.

“But I’ll bring back potato skins for you,” my brother added.

My annoyance disappeared. “I love their potato skins.”

“Yeah, Iknow.”

“Thank you.” I made my hands into a heart shape, then stuck out my tongue.

Laughing, Callum grabbed his keys and phone, spun on his heel, and jogged toward the door.

Niko turned to me. “I think you’re fun, Grace.”

“Stay away from my little sister,” Callum shouted from somewhere near the back door.

I just rolled my eyes, because that wassonot necessary. Niko was a sweet guy, the type to give you his last dimeandthe last ice cream bar. Easy on the eyes too. But I had no intention of getting romantic with anyone, firefighters or otherwise.

New living arrangements aside, my life was straightforward.Boring. And that was the way I liked it.

Because boring wassafe.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, I made my way toward Silver Linings Coffee with my cardboard box of books. Sometimes, I felt like I singlehandedly kept Piper’s used books shelves stocked. But it was a sacrifice I was willing to make.

My glasses started sliding down my nose. Praying they wouldn’t fall and get scratched on the concrete, I shifted the heavy weight of the box to one arm and popped my glasses back up my nose with my finger. Then I reached for the door to the coffee shop.

It was an elegant balancing act. Itotallyhad this.

Just as that triumphant thought ran through my mind, I yanked the door open and went inside.

Then I crashed into something very tall and very solid. The books went sprawling across the tile floor. My glasses almost followed, slipping back down to the very tip of my nose. I looked over them at the man who stood in front of me. A man who had a coffee-colored stain the size of Greenland on his cream-colored sweater.

“Well, shit,” he muttered.

“Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry.”

He glanced down at his ruined sweater and shrugged. “No worries. Are you okay?”

Shoving my glasses into place, I lunged for some napkins from a nearby counter. “I’m fine, but you’re not. The coffee here is extra hot. And from the looks of it, you dumped an extra large all over yourself. Or rather,Idid.”

He laughed softly, taking the napkins from me to dab at his sweater. “It’s all good. My fault too. I didn’t see you coming.”

“I hope that’s not a comment about me being short.”

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