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“Agree. Maybe we could talk to the chief, get him to float that to City Council at the next meeting?”
I laughed. “Yeah, good plan. Don’t think it’ll pass. How ‘bout you bring it up to him?”
“Nah. I’m way too junior a player to mention that. What’re you doing when you get off duty? Did your family hold dinner for you?”
“No. I didn’t ask them to. I’ll swing over and grab some leftovers, though. You?”
“Having dinner with the wife. At least I get to avoid the in-laws.” Nick rolled his eyes.
“Yeah, that’s always a plus.” Never having had in-laws, I couldn’t relate, but I figured it’d be annoying. Except Delaney’s brothers were my friends, so that would be cool.
Not that I was thinking about her like that. After Julia, thelastthing on my mind was getting married. Although there was something different about Delaney. Her spunkiness, her free spirit, her dedication to the bakery. Each of those qualities individually were freaking hot. Combined, well, they added up to make Delaney someone truly special.
“Dude. We’re here.”
Sure enough, we’d pulled into the station. Guys were already unloading equipment and restocking the truck for the next call.
“Thanks. I zoned out for a minute.” Gathering my gear, I jumped down from the truck. Only thirty more minutes left on my shift, and I needed a shower something fierce. Acrid, sticky sweat clung to my skin, and I certainly didn’t smell good.
“Hit the shower, McCauliffe. Happy Thanksgiving.” The chief tilted his head in my direction, dismissing me from duty.
“Thanks, Chief. ‘Preciate it.”
“Tell Gigi and Pops I say ‘hi.’ Now get outta here.”
* * *
Traffic was light, on account of the holiday, so I made it to my parents’ house in record time. Parking my bike, I noted Bree’s car in the driveway. Things were definitely getting serious between those two; I wouldn’t be surprised if my crazy brother was planning another trip down the aisle soon. Some people never learn, I guessed.
“Hey guys, Happy Thanksgiving!” I let the door slam shut behind me. “Hey Goldy.” I reached down, scratched the aging golden retriever’s ears. She padded behind me to the kitchen. Smart dog.
“Quinn!” My mom beamed at me from the sink, where she was busy washing dishes. Pops was next to her, drying.
“Let me take over, Mom,” I said, giving her a quick squeeze before grabbing the scrub brush from her hand. “I’m sure you’ve been cooking all day.”
“Nonsense, honey.” She wrestled the brush back. “You’ve been working for the past how many hours? Your plate’s warming in the oven.” She nudged me away from the sink with her hip. “Besides, your father and I are bonding here. Grab your food and join the other kids in the family room.”
“Thanks, Mom. You’re the best.” I kissed her cheek, smiling at her ‘kids’ reference. We were all in our thirties, hardly kids anymore. Hell, Ryderhada kid. But I guess we’d always be kids in her eyes. Which suited me just fine.
Snagging my food and a cold beer, I ambled to the family room, Goldy hot on my heels. Ryder and Bree were snuggled on the upholstered couch, with Charlie curled up in his beanbag watching Rudolph.
“It’s that time of year again, huh?” I said, plopping onto the couch next to my brother.
“Happy Thanksgiving, bro,” Ryder said, scooting over to make room.
“Same to you.”
“Thanks. How was work?” Bree asked, fixing her eyes on me. “Busy?”
I nodded, took a bite of turkey. Not fried, I noted, even though my dad could pull it off without burning the house down.
“Oh yeah. Today was rough. But the chief let me off early, so that was good.”
“Anything crazy happen?” Ryder asked, his hand caressing Bree’s arm.
I tried to ignore the stroking going on, making a point of keeping my eyes on my plate.
“Brush fire on the far side of town. Burnt turkey. Three burnt turkeys today, in fact. Plus a grease fire. Luckily no one lost their house, so we’ll call it a win.” I shoveled another bite of sweet potatoes into my mouth.
