I was still staring at the phone when it rang again.
“Chief Paige,” I said out of habit.
“He’s not answering,” Sassy said. “I don’t know where he is.”
“Willow said he has a job in the city?”
There were several beats of silence. “Oh shit.”
“What is it?”
“I’ll come stay with Willow.”
“Sassy, where is he in Dallas? What’s the job?”
“No way. I’m not getting in the middle of this. Best friend trumps fire chief every time.”
“Do I need to remind you I’m also your brother’s boss?” I growled. Now I was really concerned about Stevie, and it wasn’t just his family situation.
“Like I give a shit about Otto’s job. Hell, I’d rather him not walk into any more burning buildings if you want to know the truth. Go ahead, fire him.”
Fuck.
“Sassy—”
“Gimme twenty minutes, Chief. See you soon.”
I hung out on the landing outside the apartment with the girls. At one point another girl who was a carbon copy of Willow’s friend joined us with a shoebox of sidewalk chalk. The girls made themselves comfortable drawing pictures of rainbows all over the cement around the apartment door until Sassy pulled up all cheerful and fun like Mary Fucking Poppins.
“Sassy—” I tried again.
“Sorry, Chief! I have to get this sweetie fed and tucked into some homework. Girls,” she said, turning to the twins, “your momma’s probably expecting you home. G’night everyone!” She hustled Willow into the apartment before shutting the door in my face.
It wasn’t until I was halfway back to Hobie I realized it wasunlikely a first grader was inundated with homework. Sassy was just as devious as her missing bestie.
By the time morning rolled around, I was sleep-deprived and desperate. There was still no answer from Stevie, and Sassy was a locked vault who kept reassuring me everything was fine. It wasn’t fine. I was sick with worry, exhausted after tossing and turning, and distraught from missing the sweet man I’d thought only a week ago might actually be the one.
Regardless of how fucked-up I was, I had to make an appearance at work. I hadn’t been to the fire house since the previous week, and my guys needed to see my face. Halfway through the day, I overheard someone mention seeing Stevie at Sugar Britches that morning.
Knowing he was only blocks away and hadn’t had the common courtesy to call me to reassure me he was okay broke my heart. And honestly, I didn’t have the stomach to go confront him, especially while he was at work.
Finally, later in the afternoon, I agreed to go for a drink with Otto and the sheriff. They wanted to stop by and check on the progress of Hudson’s pub on the way to the Pinecone, so I followed them in my quiet funk.
It wasn’t until I was inside the Fig and Bramble pub that I heard Stevie’s voice from somewhere behind the bar.
13
STEVIE
As I’d pulledup to Feathers the night before, I realized I’d whipped myself into a regretful tizzy over the whole Chief Paige thing. It hadn’t been fair of me to assume his feelings about my virginity. That had been so stupid and immature. Not long into the drive, I’d realized how much I’d let my insecurities take over. Evan had made it clear in many ways he was interested in me despite our age difference, and he’d even mentioned wanting this thing between us to be permanent. So when I’d gotten into the club and discovered Darius needed me as a dancer, it had made my misery complete.
Rather than succumb to a horrible case of the pukes, I’d poked my head into Darius’s office to ask if there was any way I could keep my boy shorts on or if it was a requirement to strip completely down.
He’d glanced up at me. “As long as you’re playing the sexy tease, I don’t give a shit. It’s your loss at the end of the night when the tips aren’t as big.” He’d gone back to whatever it was he’d been doing, having no idea how relieved he’d made me.
The night had turned out to be fun as long as I’d been able to stay out of the danger zone, which was approximately the length of the tallest man’s wingspan from the dance floor. I’d actually loved dancing and moving, and that night hadn’t had any specialchoreographed numbers I’d needed to worry about. I’d finished up with tons of cash in my wallet and a bit more confidence than I was used to.
Being desired and pursued by all those men, even if it’d only been for purely physical reasons, had bolstered my self-esteem. It had reminded me I was desirable. If the worst case happened and Evan dropped me like a hot potato, there might be other guys out there who’d want me. And honestly, the money was no joke. It had taken some stress off me and then some. I knew I could cover the rent on my own if my mom didn’t get her act together. It would be tight, but I could do it.
