Page 67 of A Baby for the Firefighter
“You’ve already started looking?” I asked, because I’d had no idea.
“Had a few interviews today, in fact.” He set the glass down on the coffee table.
“Is that why you’re drinking?” Did it go that badly?
He laughed again, although there wasn’t a hint of amusement to be found in his voice. “Kinda,” he admitted. “They’re all awful. I don’t want to work with any of them.” He sighed, and I got the feeling that something heavy was weighing on his mind. Something that went beyond the simple prospect of awful coworkers.
“What was wrong with them?” I asked.
He licked his lips. “They’re all… I don’t know. They’re not… They’re all omegas, of course, but they’re not…”
“They’re not Ron?” I asked. And by the silence that followed my words, I assumed that I’d guessed correctly. Offering private senior care had been Ron’s brainchild, first and foremost. I could see why Shane felt uneasy at the idea of replacing him. When I’d come here, I’d jumped in without asking and he’d mostly been to numb back then to protest. And my stay here was always supposed to be temporary.
“I don’t want to do this without him,” Shane admitted. “I thought I could, but… It just doesn’t feel right.”
I nodded. “Have you thought about selling?”
He shook his head. “I know I could, but that doesn’t feel right either. He would never have sold.”
“Perhaps not,” I agreed, “but he would have wanted you to be happy. There’s no point in holding on to a job that makes you miserable.”
“I guess.” He took a deep breath and exhaled, running his hands through his ginger hair. “You make it sound simple, but it’s really not.”
“I just think that selling is an option you need to consider. Find a job that makes you happy.”
He gave me a grim smile. “This job used to make me happy.”
I wasn’t sure what to tell him.Things change?That sounded so crude. “I know,” I said instead. “Maybe it’s just time to move on.”
“The way you’re moving on from your job?” he shot back.
Touché. “We’re not talking about me.”
“Maybe we should be.”
I scoffed. “No way. I’m way too sober to get into that.” Joining him, I let myself sink back into the leather of the couch as well. Maybe I did need to talk to someone, but if so, it should be Griff. Lately though, whenever I went by his place, his mom hovered around us. As much as I wanted Griff to reconnect with his parents, the fact that his mother was always around was really inconvenient. It had been a week, and we hadn’t had a chance to get intimate again after that first time—which was a shame really. I couldn’t wait to have Griff to myself again, find out more about his body, what made him gasp, what made him moan…
“What are you thinking about?” Shane asked, as if cluing in to the way my thoughts went off track.
“I think we need to get out.”
“Out?”
“Yeah.” I hadn’t really thought about it before speaking, but as soon as the words were out of my mouth, I knew that I was on to something. “We need to break the routine.” It might just help us get a fresh perspective, and we could sure use a few hours of fun.
Shane regarded me curiously. “What do you have in mind?”
I stared up at the ceiling. What did I have in mind? What could you do for fun in Oceanport? The town had a small movie theater, but aside from that, there wasn’t much. As a teen, I’d spent a lot of time either hanging around the harbor or hiking in the woods. The weather had been good lately, so maybe… “How do you feel about camping?”
“Camping?” Shane looked at me as if I had gone insane.
“Yeah, you know, sleeping in tents, roasting marshmallows over a fire… the works.”
“You’re serious?” Shane paused. “I should have a tent in the attic. Maybe even two. Haven’t used them in forever, though.” His expression turned thoughtful. “We should take Conner, and I’m sure my mom would be delighted to have Mary for the weekend.”
I grinned. “Two tents are perfect. You can share with Conner, and I’ll take the other one.”
Shane snorted and boxed my arm. “You and who else?”
