Page 96 of The Closed Off Captain

Zac and Rico are the first to come out. Zac waves, and Rico heads my way. “Hey, Chloe, you good?”

“I’m just waiting for Gunner,” I tell him.

He smiles. “Gunner? Not Coftman?”

I answer his smile with one of my own and shrug. “What of it?”

His grin widens, and he glances back at the door. “I gotta get home. I’ll see you later.” The other guys start coming out. Every single one of them notices me and makes some sort of comment. I make a mental note next time to just wait in my car. It’s freezing out, anyway. Aiden gives me a nod as he walks to his car. Sebastian comes bounding over like a golden retriever.

“Chloe.”

“Sebastian.”

He cocks his head to the side, grinning widely. “Watcha doing?”

“I’m waiting.” I don’t want to give him anything else. Of course, he won’t let it go.

“Waiting for what or who I should ask?”

“You actually don’t need to ask,” I tell him, and his grin only widens.

“Hart, get away from my truck and my girl,” Gunner calls out, and we both turn. He strides towards us, and I swallow because there’s no getting out of this now. He uses the remote starter to start his truck. “Hey,” he says softly when he gets close.

“Hey,” I say back just as softly.

“Hey,” Sebastian adds. I turn to him, just as Gunner physically pushes him back.

“Don’t you have a wife to go home to?” I ask.

He laughs loudly. “I do. Have fun, Kids. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” He salutes the two of us and then jogs to his car.

“Thought for a moment he was going to ask to come with,” Gunner grunts out, and I can’t help but laugh. He turns to me. “So, does this mean you’re up for a date?”

I smile up at him. “Yes, but I get to pick.”

He grins. “Anywhere you want.”

I’m in his truck moments later with my hands over the vents. “How does your truck warm up so fast? My car takes forever.”

He cranks the heat up another notch. “What are you hungry for?”

I turn to him. “How do you feel about stir fry?”

“Sounds good.” I tell him the name of the restaurant, and he nods. It’s a local favorite. Lucky for me, it has a touch screen with all the allergens clearly marked, so I can order what works for me.

I lean my head against the seat. “How was your day?”

“Long but good. Yours?”

“Same.” And that’s the end of work talk.

“How’s Grandma May doing?”

I smile. “She’s doing really well. I didn’t realize what a difference moving her to the other side with more care would do, but she’s doing a lot better.” I turn towards him. “Thank you.”

“You already thanked me,” he reminds me.

“Well, I’m going to keep thanking you because what you did was...” I struggle to find the words. “Yeah, I’m just going to keep thanking you.”

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