Page 11 of Burn It Down

“You too. I’m surprised I haven’t seen you this summer. I thought you and Bowen were attached at the hip.”

I notice Will flinch a little when I say that, and I’m not sure why. As far as I know, Bowen and he are just fine. “Yeah, uh... kind of been busy,” he says, motioning toward the station.

“Working doubles?”

“Yeah, the wife wants a bigger house,” he says with a smile, but I don’t know. Something seems off. Will was a lot like my brother, for as long as I can remember—the big jock type—but he was known as the nice one. He was always happy-go-lucky.

He doesn’t really seem that way now. “So how was the first shift?”

I snort dismissively. “Boring as fuck.”

He laughs. “Bite your tongue, man.”

I shrug. “I mean, I don’t want anyone in actual danger or anything. But fuck me, it was boring.”

He slaps his hand on my shoulder and grips it. “My first shift here was boring too. Hell, first week, but then the second week, it was like the town went nuts. Car accident after car accident. Brush fires that got out of hand. House fires. Hell, even a knife fight. So be careful what you wish for.”

“Yeah... I guess you’re right.” No matter what, there’s never a shortage of tragedy in the world. I’ve learned that more than anyone. I decide to shift subjects. “How have you been? How’s the wife, besides wanting a new house?”

His playfulness drops almost instantly, and I feel kind of bad about bringing it up, though I’m not sure why. Bowen hasn’t mentioned anything about their marriage not going well, butit’s certainly the way it seems, judging by his expression. “She’s good. Good. Fine.”

Yeah. For sure weird. “What about the kids?”

Now his face lights up, and it’s very real. “They’re great. Josie is starting preschool this year. Can you believe that shit? And Max is walking.”

I grin. “It goes by fast, that’s for damn sure.”

“Don’t I know it.”

“You should bring them by soon. Get the kids together. I know Bowen will be excited. The guy doesn’t shut up about you.”

Will laughs at that, shaking his head. “I swear, I shared my snack with him in kindergarten and haven’t been able to get rid of him since.”

“Yeah, the guy’s a clinger.”

He laughs joyfully at that, no shortage of love for my brother there. “I’ll do that. I’ll text Bowen and set it up. I gotta go.”

I wave goodbye and leave him to it as I drive back home to grab a little sleep before I pick up Elijah from school. I talked to him on FaceTime last night a little before bed, and he said he had a good first day, but he didn’t go into too many details.

I guess that’s pretty standard with kids though. I’m trying not to worry about screwing up his whole life by moving him away from what he knows—but I’m a parent, after all.

I’ll never stop worrying.

The smile Elijahgives me as he runs out of the school is bright and perfect, making me feel like maybe I was worrying too much. That is until I reach him, and his little arms wrap tightly around my neck. “You’re alive!”

Well, shit. “Of course I am,” I say, hugging him tight with his little face nuzzled in my neck. “I had one call the entire time, and it was a rowdy cow.” That makes him giggle, and I’m glad for it as I pull back enough to look at his face. “Did you have a good day?”

“Mm-hmm. I’m hungry though.”

I laugh. “You’re always hungry.”

“I’m a growing boy,” he says effortlessly and plays with the straps on his backpack. I take it from him and start toward the car when I see Spencer walking toward us, and I freeze. I know I was kind of an ass yesterday, but when it comes to my kid, I’m happy to be an ass when needed.

“Wasn’t sure if it would be you or Bowen today,” he says, stopping in front of my son and me.

“Twenty-four on, forty-eight off.”

He nods his head knowingly. “Yeah, Bowen mentioned you were a firefighter. I didn’t know that.”

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