Page 36 of Unexpected Love
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah, you and Jackson got stationed here permanently, according to Deputy Chief Collins. He called this morning.”
“Sweet. Jackson’s a solid dude. I’ve worked with him a couple times.”
“Good. We’ll still have a bus that runs out of here. So two medics will be coming in today. But otherwise, it’s the three of us running fire rescue.”
“I think this is a good thing. Can’t hurt to have a regular station and be able to build those partnerships,” I say.
He agrees with a deep rumble.
I haven’t worked with the lieutenant much, but he seems like a nice enough guy. And being able to get to know my partners seems like a good thing. Having to blindly trust guys I don’t know has been one of the hardest parts of the new job.
Our station is fairly new, built to service a growing community in one of the more rural parts of the county. Though we have minimal staff now, there’s room to grow and eventually house enough personnel to run multiple trucks from this station.
“So how’d we get so lucky to be here?” I ask as we make our way into the well-furnished kitchen. We’ve got everything we need, plus lockers for each shift to store supplies.Not that we’ll actually have time to utilize the kitchen until we get more personnel to help run calls.
“Not sure, but I’m not complaining. Beats the hell out of being at one of the outlying stations.” He grabs a clipboard and leaves to do the morning shift-change inspection. I follow and sort my bunker gear by the engine as Jackson walks into the bay.
We go through radio checks and do our morning chores. The medic crew has a similar check-off system, with the added duties of checking off medical supplies.
We’re all working cohesively, helping each other out. It’s a nice change of pace to not be irritated within the first hour of work.
That afternoon, my official new partner and I return to the station after taking the truck to fuel up when I notice something wrong with the flagpole. A familiar-looking backpack is flapping in the wind.
“Well, what have we here. Looks like our new medics are pranksters,” Jackson says.
I jump out of the engine chuckling because, even though it’s a pain in the ass, that shit’s funny.
“Don’t worry, I’ve got retaliation supplies,” I murmur, retrieving my bag and raising the flag again.
Inside the dayroom, the medics are acting normal—one’s watching TV, and one’s working out.
The TV’s so loud I doubt they even know we are back. Still, I creep to my room and fish out the black electrical tape I’ve been carrying with me since day one.
A shit-eating grin passes over Jackson’s face when I flash it at him later. Yeah, this new partnership won’t be a badthing at all.
Blue sky stretches for miles as we roll down Main Street, taking the scenic route through town. I slow to see if I can catch a glimpse of Jules in her shop, when Jackson rolls down his window and wolf whistles to a lady on the sidewalk outside of the Sticky Sweet Bakery.
Her arm shoots up to wave at him with a massive grin on her face. She blows him a kiss as we pass.
“Girlfriend?” I ask, scanning and not seeing Jules in sight.
“Nah, no way. Me and Maggie are just buddies. We’ve been friends since high school. She’s just a goofball sometimes and is always doing crazy shit like that.”
“Oh, that’s cool. I live just above the coffee shop across the street. I’m helping with the finishing so Jules can open.”
“Maggie’s told me about it. She’s looking forward to meeting the new owner. She’s gonna get a kick out of the fact that my new partner is her across-the-street neighbor.”
An idea hits me as we stop at the bottom of Main. “You got ten minutes to help me with a project?” I ask.
I’ve been thinking for days that the divider between our apartment balconies needs to come down, but I haven’t been able to manage it by myself. But with me being back at work, I’m suddenly aware of how inconvenient it is that Jules lives next door but has to literally go around the building to get from my place to hers.
It would be so much easier with it gone.
Jackson is all in, and within a few minutes, we’ve turned around, parked, and I’ve pulled the Jaws of Life from the engine compartment.
It’s the work of a minute to rip the thing down with the saw and Jackson’s help.
