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“Last time I had a flat tire – and well, I apparently have a three-year-old son that suddenly showed up on my front door step with his mother,” he said candidly, expecting to get shredded by the other man’s sharp tongue.
Justin had a reputation for being short and hostile with people if they didn’t fall into line, which whipped the other team into shape. He had been the engineer and left a firefighter who was dallying around taking too long. Yeah, that had been a shocking turn of events – but it never happened again.
To his utter surprise, Justin let the front door shut behind him and looked at him curiously before chuckling.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m a little shocked – but really glad too.”
“I bet.”
“How come you aren’t ripping me a brand new one?”
“Because I’d rather you talk to me, know that you can reach out. I’d prefer you have my back than for you to hate my guts and try to stab me in the back. We both know you were vying for this spot, and I’m really grateful to have you on my team,” Justin said openly, looking over his shoulder and nodding.
That wasn’t what he anticipated in the slightest.
“They think I’m chewing you out,” Justin chuckled – and Colton saw the curious faces watching. “Make this look good, okay?”
“You are not what I expected,” Colton clasped his hands in front of him, begging… as he spoke, keeping up the charade. “Why the big show?”
“I need to get our team in shape.”
“Agreed. There isn’t much of a team to hold together.”
“But they look to you, and I’m fully aware of it,” Justin nodded – and then shook his finger at him. “Don’t smile. Just make this look like I’m chewing you out.”
“You’re okay in my book, you know that?”
“Have my back – and I’ll have yours,” the captain promised, “but make sure you aren’t late again… all right?”
“You got it.”
“Thank you… oh, and tell them I was very strict with you.”
“I will,” Colton said solemnly and stuck out his hand toward him. Justin clasped his palm, shaking it, and nodded. “And I will have your back anytime.”
“I appreciate that – now, let’s get inside for a quick briefing before things go crazy. It’s supposed to rain later, and we both know people cannot drive when water is falling from the sky.”
* * *
Three hours later, Justin’s prediction was accurate.
They were on their second car wreck of the day and finishing up when a call came in for a house fire. Chad, their new engineer, was picking up some of Justin’s traits because the man was yelling at them to hurry.
“Let’s go! Let’s go…”
“We’re wrapping up, Mini-Me,” Justin chuckled and pointed at him. “Fischer, get your boys, and let’s get moving.”
“Cortes, Beckett…” but thankfully, the other guys were already gathering their equipment and heading back toward the truck, stowing their gear. Yes, their portion was over and the police would take over clearing the scene of the accident now.
Climbing up into his seat, Colton checked his phone and sighed. No text messages from Eris, but it said ‘seen,’ so he knew she had received his messages. Maybe he was still coming on too strong or pushy. Slipping his phone back into his pocket, he listened as Justin rattled off information, talking openly with his headset over his ears.
“ETA four minutes, structure fire with possible entrapment. One inside, possibly two – not fully engulfed yet. V.E.S. on this one, fellas – vent, enter, search…”
Colton nodded grimly, looking at the other two firefighters. Vent, enter, and search was a tough run. There would be flames everywhere, but there was still a potential search area that was possibly considered safe. They wouldn’t necessarily use the front door but rather any opening they could see or find to get in. Window, wall, door, or garage… but most times, they used a window.
He’d climbed in many windows over the years. Once you are inside, the clock is ticking. You close the door quickly to buy yourself a few moments, and search the room you are in as fast as humanly possible before moving on.
