The deep voice so close to my ear causes me to scream and jump. Turning around, my hand to my racing heart, I’m face-to-face with our savior from the beach.
CHAPTER FIVE
GUNNER
She fumbles, a look of surprise crossing her face. Whatever she was holding in the backseat of the car goes down.
“Hi.” She waves a hand in between us. The word is overly eager, and I can’t help but smirk.
“Hi,” I answer back. “What can I help you with? Do you have an emergency?”
Her eyes dart around, like she doesn’t realize where she is or what I’m asking her.
“What?” The fingers on her left hand shake as she pulls her hair behind her ear. Again, I notice there’s no wedding ring, and no tan line where one would rest.
“You’re at the fire station. Most people come here when they’re having some sort of emergency.”
“Oh yeah.” She giggles, a deep throat sound that causes a reaction in my body. “No emergency today.” She turns, grabbing what she had previously dropped out of the car.
“Hey, Rosa.” I reach out to chuck her under the cheek. “How’s the wrist?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugs as she looks up at her mom.
“She has an appointment in a few days, but right now it’s too swollen. Hopefully it’ll go down before, and they’ll be able togive us a definitive diagnosis. They do seem to think it’s broken though, and I tend to agree with them, the way she’s favoring it.”
“Bummer.” I give her a frown. “Maybe it’ll be taken care of before summer really hits, and you’ll at least be able to enjoy it.”
She frowns, pouting slightly as she turns this way and that, making the skirt of her dress move. “I wanna be able to swim.”
“That’s one of the best parts of summer. If you can’t, I’m sure we’ll be able to find you something else to do.”
I have no idea why I’m offering to entertain her, but I sort of feel like it’s my place. I don’t like to see children unhappy, and knowing this one might have to give up a portion of her summer hits my gut hard. Turning my attention back to the mom, I hold out my hand. “I’m Gunner, by the way.”
“Amy,” she answers, putting her hand out to shake mine.
When our palms connect, I feel it—that spark everyone talks about. The one that changes your perspective and makes you start thinking about the future. I think she feels it too, the way her cheeks bloom with rosiness under her tan. Our eyes connect—my blue ones to her green ones. Although they aren’t exactly green; they’re light and dark at the same time. Deep and endless with depths of places I’d love to explore. Her tongue comes out to lick her top lip, and it takes everything I have not to lean over and capture it with my own.
“Mom, the cookies!”
The trance we’ve been in is interrupted.
“Oh yeah.” Her hands fly to her hair again, in what I’m beginning to notice is a nervous gesture. “We made cookies for you.” She reaches in, shoving a few containers of differing kinds of cookies into my hands. “As a thank you.”
“A thank you for what?”
“For helping us. You didn’t have to, and you went out of your way to make sure we were both calm.”
Rosa stands in front of her mom, the two of them clasping hands over her shoulder.
“This isn’t necessary, but we’ll never say no to sweets.”
“Especially if it’s Gunner’s shift to cook,” Ash interrupts from where he’s been watching. I wonder how long he’s been there. I didn’t notice, and that’s saying something since I pride myself on being aware of my surroundings.
Amy grins, looking between the two of us. “I’m sensing a really strong friendship, and I’m also sensing it’s Gunner’s shift to cook.”
“It is,” I confirm. “And they haven’t stopped being annoying about it since I got here.”
“Well, can you cook?”
