Page 4 of Once Upon a Summer Night

“Any word on the chief?”

Chase turned to find Joey Martinez approaching, a dishtowel over his shoulder. It was Joey’s day to do the cooking, which the firehouse always benefited from. “Not yet. I think his appointment over in Warsaw isn’t until three.”

Chase said a quick prayer for Chief Brooks’s daughter Mia, who had bravely volunteered to transport him to the follow-up. She had the mothering experience to get him there safely and the patience needed to deal with her old man, whose fuse was shorter than usual after last week’s fall. Considering his accident happened at the biggest industrial fire this town had seen in decades; the chief was lucky to have gotten out at all.

Even so, that still didn’t seem to make the chief any less irritated about his broken femur, or the fact that he was stuck at a rehab facility for at least another week. Possibly more, depending on how today’s recheck went.

Joey nodded but didn’t leave, instead turning to face the front window with his arms crossed over his chest. “Any news on whether they’re sending a temp to fill in for him?”

“Not yet.” Hopefully, there wouldn’t be one. Chase felt he was holding down the fort just fine. Besides, this was the perfect opportunity to show the higher ups that he was primed and ready to step into Stephen Brooks’s role when their chief finally decided to retire. When that would be, though, no one seemed to know. Chase met his buddy’s gaze. “But if they do, I need everyone to play nice so we can keep the big dogs out of here. Too many cooks spoil the pot, remember?”

“It’s still gonna suck,” Joey murmured.

“With an attitude like that, I’m sure it will.” Chase leveled a look at his buddy…and they both broke into laughter.

“You had to go and get all schoolteacher on me, didn’t ya?” Joe said.

Chase shrugged. “It’s what us sorry saps wanting to climb the ladder do.”

“Pfft, that coaching stuff is all you, man. I’ll stay behind the wheel, away from all that paperwork and crap.”

Chase watched Joey retreat to the kitchen, then turned his gaze to the window once more. Upper management wasn’t for everyone, and he didn’t judge his peers for the choices they made—each had their reasons behind why they did what they did. His had everything to do with the man who’d been more of a father to him growing up than his own had been. Chief Brooks was his mentor and his friend, and he couldn’t think of a better way to honor him than following in his footsteps at the station.

A grin tugged at his lips. Funny, growing up he’d only ever dreamed of getting the hell out of this town and away from his shitty upbringing. All it took was shadowing the chief for one day after high school, though, and he’d been hooked. Firefighting was what he’d been born to do.

Now all he needed was to find that special someone and start a family of his own. So far, no fairy godmother had appeared to fix all of that with a swish of her magic wand. But he hadn’t given up looking yet.

His thoughts wandered back to the woman in the Jeep. Was she new to town? Just passing through?

And why did he feel so strongly that he’d seen her somewhere before?

He mumbled an excuse to the others and headed back out the door. It was a perfect Indiana summer day—not a cloud in the sky or firecracker in the air. The only likely reason they’d get called out on a run was for a car accident, and since it was nearly two in the afternoon, the chances of that were slim.

The walk to Brooks Books passed quickly, and soon he was ducking out of the bright sunlight and back into Faye’s cozy shop. She’d sure done her sister-in-law proud, carrying on Gretchen’s legacy with their little bookstore. It was a staple in town, drawing people in from all over the region during their fundraisers and charity events. The big box stores had definitely taken a bite out of her revenue, but somehow Brooks Books always seemed to pull through.

Chase removed his sunglasses and moseyed farther inside, his eyes slowly adjusting to the dimmer lighting. As luck would have it, the mystery woman was up at the front counter talking with Faye. She was petite but lean, those denim shorts showing off some mighty fine curves. All he had to do was walk up there and pretend to need to talk with Faye, too, and he’d finally get a good look at her face. Curiosity pushed him forward.

“Hi.”

Chase’s gaze followed the sound to a small, freckle-nosed boy seated cross-legged on the rug in the children’s book section.

“Hey, buddy,” Chase said with a nod, on a mission to get to that front counter before the mystery woman could disappear.

“Are you a fireman?”

Chase paused. He was in uniform; it was his duty to always make a good impression on the townsfolk, especially the young ones. “I’m Captain Redding,” he said with a nod. “But you can call me Chase.”

The little boy pointed to the logo on Chase’s shirt. “My mom’s a captain in our town, too. Well, my new mom. My real mom is in heaven now.”

It never ceased to amaze Chase how kids just said whatever was on their mind, no beating around the bush. And man, this little dude had clearly been through a lot. It brought back memories of his own crumby childhood. He knelt beside the boy and offered him a kind smile. “I’m sorry to hear that, buddy. I bet you miss her, don’t you?”

The little boy looked to the floor with a nod. “Yeah. But Hannah says she’s not hurting anymore in heaven, and that I’ll get to see her when I get there, too.”

Chases’s heart clenched as it always did when he heard that name. Would he ever stop missing her? “Well, your Hannah sounds like a very smart lady.”

“She sure is.” The little boy’s eyes lit up. “Wanna meet her? She’s right over here.”

He hopped to his feet and made for the front counter, Chase following on a chuckle.

---