Page 23 of The Great Maple Mistake

“Kittens.” Alenko growls the words, and I’m not sure if it’s because he’s pissed at whoever left the kittens or if he’s daring Vega to say something about it.

Vega’s teasing expression crumples into concern as his brows draw down, and his bottom lip juts out in a full pout. “Awww! They okay?”

Alenko nods. “Yeah. They’re still shivering, but they had oxygen, and now we’re trying to keep them warm. Shep’s gonna take them to the vet once we get back to the station.”

Vega’s all business now. “You’re taking them to Finn, right?” I nod, and he whips out his phone and starts typing. “I’m texting my dad. It’s Sunday, so they’re closed, but Dad’ll unlock the clinic and alert Finn.”

“Your dad?” I try to remember if Vega ever mentioned his family. “Is he a vet too?”

“No.” Vega doesn’t look up from his phone. “He’s a vet tech for Finn. I’m letting him know what you found and giving him an estimate of when you’ll be there.”

I hold out a fist. “Thanks. Saves us time.”

Vega gives me a bump. “I gotcha. No worries.”

Williams pokes his head around the seat. “Where’d you find them?” He reaches out to touch the wiggling lump under Alenko’s shirt.

Alenko is obviously debating with himself over letting Williams, or anyone, interact with the kitten. “In a dumpster on the loading dock.”

Hoping it will distract everyone, I jump into the conversation. “Yeah, you know Alenko’s superhuman hearing.” The guy hears every little movement anytime he’s sleeping at the firehouse. Up to this point, it’s been a little annoying. But now I’m thankful for his superpower. “Over all of the racket going on around us, he heard one of them crying.”

Alenko nudges my knee. “Yeah, but you went dumpster diving to save them once we found them.”

Vega snorts. “Oh, I thought that was just how you normally smell.” I roll my eyes at him. “But seriously, you’re both heroes. Out there saving lives. Even four-legged ones.” He’s teasing us a bit, but he’s mostly serious, and it makes me feel good.

I chuckle. “Thanks.”

“Can I see one?” He leans in, eyeing the collar of my T-shirt.

When he reaches for it, I bat his hand away. “Hey, hands off. I need to keep the heat in.”

Williams snorts. “Yeah, his boyfriend wouldn’t approve, either.”

“Boyfriend?” Alenko’s grin is mischievous. “Since when do you have a boyfriend? And who is it?”

Back at my old station in Baltimore, no one gave me any crap about who I dated, but they weren’t necessarily comfortable with it either. Not like here, where my team teases me, but it’s good-natured, and they really don’t care who I date. “We’ve only gone out once. I don’t think you can classify him as my boyfriend.”

Alenko nudges me again. “Yet. But based on the way you two look at each other, you’ll be going out again. Am I right?” He doesn’t wait for my answer, probably because he knows it’s a yes. “And damn if you can’t cut the sexual tension between you with a knife. So it’s just a matter of time.”

God, I hope he’s right. Because I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Alex since our date Friday night. And yeah, I’ll see him tonight for dinner at Aunt Viv’s, but it feels so far off. Am I acting like a lovesick teen? Yeah. I am. I don’t even care. “Wait, how do you know how we look at each other? Or how intense the sexual tension is?”

Alenko rolls his eyes. “Seriously? My little sister is friends with Bethany. She was your server at Red’s. Honestly, I’m shocked it wasn’t in Maplewood Matters Saturday morning.”

Before I can die of mortification, Vega snaps me out of my shock. “Who is it?”

“What? Oh. Um, Alex MacDougall.”

Vega nods approvingly. “I’m straight as they come, but even I can admit when a guy is good-looking, and Alex is definitely good-looking.”

Williams leans around the seat again and waggles his eyebrows. “His dad is hot AF.”

Vega shoves him. “You can say fuck, Williams. Nobody here cares.”

Williams shoves him back. “Maybe I don’t like having to switch between swearing and not swearing when I’m around my parents. One time I slipped up, and I thought my mom was going to faint.” He frowns, and his eyes get a faraway look for a minute. “I don’t ever want to experience that again.” He shoves Vega one more time. “So lay off.”

In his defense, Vega actually looks sorry. “Fair. Sorry I gave you shit.”

Williams shrugs. “Thanks. Apology accepted.” There’s a moment of silence that veers close to becoming awkward as they look at each other. I’m just about to change the subject, but Vega beats me to it.

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