Page 28 of Heat Advisory

I was a little nauseated. After working the last twenty-four hours and then sleeping for eight hours after that, I somehow felt worse than I had before.

My head was pounding, my stomach was unsettled, and every joint in my body ached.

I knew this was possibly—probably—the flu that had been making the rounds at work, but I told myself it was just nerves for our date since I had screwed up the first one. I should’ve canceled dinner with Cora, just to be safe.

Any reasonable person would have.

But I couldn’t.

I’d already bailed once. Twice was unforgivable. So, I did what any idiot determined not to ruin his chances would do. I popped some meds, splashed some water on my face, and hoped for the best.

I figured I could power through a simple dinner for a few hours.

Bad decision.

Walking from my car, up the stairs to her apartment, and down the hallway to her door felt equivalent to running a 5K race, even though the real distance was probably barely fifty yards.

The second she opened her door, she smiled at me, and guilt punched me square in the chest.

I gave her my best smile as I took in the sight of her. She was wearing a sleeveless, flowy, pale-pink dress that went just below her knees. She looked stunning. I felt dizzy just looking at her beauty—although that could have been related to my previous dizzy spells.

“Are you okay?” she asked me, worry etched on her face.

“I’m good.” I lied smoothly. “Just tired from a long shift.”

She studied me for a second longer, likely trying to judge my sincerity, but just gave a small smile, and we made our way back to my car.

As we drove, I started a conversation to keep my mind on her instead of the medicine that still hadn’t kicked in yet.

“I know some of the basics because Morgan told me, but tell me how you went from high school tutor to badass hydrologist.”

“Well, after graduating from high school, I went to college at U.C. Davis,” she started to explain. “Hazel was several years younger than me, and I didn’t want to move too far from her. It was just far enough from home to make me feel like I was an adult and on my own, but close enough that I could still come back home to the O’Haras for the holidays and help Hazel with prom and other big events.”

I nodded, listening to everything she said, and really taking it in.

“After college, I got my first job working at the National Weather Service office in Sacramento,” she continued. “Then, a few years later, I took a job at the River Flood Management Authority in Nevada.”

“Forgive my ignorance, but I didn’t even know such a thing existed,” I said, a little embarrassed admitting that.

“It’s really just a joint effort with the counties in and around Reno to figure out ways to reduce the devastating impacts of flooding. Essentially building infrastructure and managing the floodplain to reduce flood damages and create a more resilient community.”

“That’s cool,” I replied, hoping she could see my genuine interest. “Is that how you got the job now?”

“Kind of, yes. My supervisor at that job recommended that I look into the state hydrologist job when it became available. Here I am two years later, and I have my dream job.”

I couldn’t contain the smile spreading wide across my face, thinking about how everything had fallen into place for her.

“What about you? How did you decide where to go for your firefighter jobs?”

“You know I was drafted right out of school—and quickly,” I replied, which reminded me of the night I’d kissed her, only to bail and move away a few days later. “I moved to Texas right away to start playing and training with the team. When I was twenty-one, I was injured and immediately put on the injured reserve list.”

I sighed deeply, thinking about my dream career ending sooner than I had wanted.

“Two years later, I was finally cut from the team after my injury just never allowed me to go back to playing like I had before. I knew my family wanted me to come home, but I also knew that if I did, my dad would try to get me to go to college and go into business. So, I hurried up and began training to become a firefighter and stayed in Texas.”

I was happy that I’d been able to transition to my other career so easily, given that I had been injured. Even though I’d healed, being a firefighter was no joke. You had to be incredibly fit and strong for that job.

“I hated the heat in Texas, so after a couple years, I moved to Colorado and became a firefighter there,” I added. “Then last year, I decided I was ready to move back closer to home. I was also ready to switch to being a fire investigator, so I moved here to finish out that goal.”