Page 37 of Take a Hike
Fifi gave a somewhat guilty–sounding snort of laughter. “Is your angry firefighter coming?”
“Of course.” Charlie didn’t bother asking. “I gave him a nickname. He’s my sidekick now.” She side-eyed Kieran to see his reaction, but his only response was an audible sigh. His cranky expression didn’t change. “See you then.”
“Bye.”
Charlie ended the call. “Want to go to Levi’s with us?” she asked Rory.
“No.”
Charlie laughed. “I like your directness.”
Flushing a little, Rory sent her a sideways look, as if checking her sarcasm levels. “Sorry. I have to work. Store’s open until seven tonight.”
“I was serious—not offended in any way,” Charlie assured her. “And thanks for saving our lives and for setting up the interview with Kevin.”
Rory gave an uncomfortable nod in response, never looking away from the laptop. “Hang on a minute, and I’ll print this out for you.”
“What’s that?” Charlie peered at the screen over Rory’sshoulder.
“Kevin emailed that list of names.”
“That was quick,” Kieran said, leaning over Rory’s other shoulder.
Charlie beamed at him. “Never underestimate the threat of me showing up uninvited.”
He gave the smallest cough-snort, and Charlie grinned.
Eight
Charlie hadn’t realized how hungry she’d gotten until they walked into Levi’s and the smells of barbecued meat and fried things hit her. Between the sheriff’s interrupted interrogation, the meeting at the fire station, and the whole getting-shot-at thing, she’d managed to miss not only lunch, but also second breakfastandher usual midafternoon snack. Her hungry gaze tracked the server who was carrying a large tray laden with plates of food toward a table in the corner.
Charlie took a step in her direction. “Think they’d mind if I just nabbed a plate, maybe two? There’s a ton of food. I’m sure they wouldn’t even notice if a little is missing.”
Kieran just gave one of his snorts, not even bothering to disguise his amusement with a cough anymore. Charlie felt like she’d leveled up in her relationship with him. Now, instead of being somewhere around an adversarial acquaintance, she’d moved up to warily-tolerated-yet-temporary colleague.
His arm wrapped around her middle, sweeping her out of her intended path toward the food-laden server. “Over there,” he said, confusing her until she spotted Fifi and Bennett, already seated at a table.
With a final longing glance at the food, Charlie made her way toward her sister and brother-in-law. Kieran kept his handon her lower back as they wound their way through the tables, either because he was feeling uncharacteristically affectionate toward her, or because he didn’t trust her not to make an attemptto steal someone else’s food. She was leaning toward the latter, but she couldn’t even blame him. She was, after all, very hungry.
“Why are you both on that side of the table?” Charlie asked once they’d reached Fifi and Bennett. She plopped into the chair across from her sister. “Is that a married-people thing?”
Fifi gave Bennett a sappy smile and patted his arm. “We both hate having our backs to the crowd. It’s one of the many things we have in common.”
Now that she’d mentioned it, Charlie felt the tickle of unseen eyes on her shoulder blades, making her twitch. Fifi must’ve read her mind, because she lost her lovesick expression and sprawled her leg to the side.
“Nope. No room over here.”
Giving in with a sigh, Charlie settled back in her less-than-optimally placed chair. Kieran was hovering, as if waiting for an invitation, so she kicked the last seat away from the table and waved at it. “Might as well sit. Fifi isn’t moving, and Bennettprobably won’t let you sit on his lap.” Just in case, Charlie raised a questioning eyebrow at her brother-in-law.
“No.”
With a sigh, Charlie gave the seat next to her a pat. “We’ll just have to trust these two to let us know if we’re about to be ambushed.”
Kieran slowly settled into the last seat. “Not used to trusting someone else to watch my back.”
“That must be tough with the jackals at the station.” Charlie hadn’t been impressed by the way several of the other firefighters had treated Kieran. Except for the chief, Ian and Rory had been the only ones who seemed willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, and even they’d been wary.
His shrug was more of an uncomfortable twist of his shoulders. “Can’t blame them. They all trusted Dad.” He glanced at Fifi. “Sorry about that.”
