Page 10 of Love in the Time of Wildfires

“Hi!” River said brightly. “Thanks for letting me crash the party.”

“Hey! It’s the birthday girl!” Damon shouted, lifting his drink in the air.

The rest of the table, sans Logan, whistled and banged on the table with fists, yelling “Happy birthday” in the loudest, most attention-grabbing way possible. River blushed, covering half her face in an adorable response. He was mesmerized.

Logan was knocked to reality when Damon jabbed an elbow into his side. “Sonny, make some room so River can sit down.”

He slid from his seat, allowing her to slip in before sitting down again.

“Oh my gosh, this looks like such a great place,” she said. Logan didn’t agree with her opinion, as he found the place weird and eccentric. A bunch of colorful rubber ducks hung from the ceiling, and the walls were covered with pop art-style paintings of ducks. Was this a bar or a place for kids’ parties? He preferred bars with minimal lighting, good comfortable seats, and ready bartenders.

“You wanna put in a request for a karaoke song? You can write it on this,” Damon said, slipping her a small square of paper. They didn’t even bother asking Logan anymore since he always refused.

“Oh, I don’t know . . .” she started to say. “Maybe I’ll just watch this time.”

“It’s your birthday!” Damon shouted, lifting his drink again, and the rest of the table did the same as though this was the evening’s mantra.

Logan decided to step in before the group got too out of hand. “If she doesn’t want to do it, she doesn’t have to.”

She looked in his direction, her chin raised in defiance, before taking the sheet from Damon. “You know what? I’m gonna do it!”

“That’s our birthday girl!” Damon replied, which made Logan grind his molars together at the use of the word “girl” again. He tried not to study her too closely, keeping his focus somewhere on the other side of the room while drinking his beer. He didn’t want to think about how close she was or how he could practically feel the heat radiating from her or get a whiff of something sweet like apples. Her wanting to do the opposite of whatever he suggested was a good reminder that she enjoyed being contrarian. See? They went together like peanut butter and sardines.

Either way, it struck him that she seemed to be a natural fit with the crew. As much as he’d been of the opinion that he didn’t need his new neighbor weaving herself into his life, he kind of liked that she could easily be a part of the group. The evening was becoming a confusing mix of feelings for him.

“You guys need anything else?” asked the dark-haired bartender slash waitress. Jane had a hard edge, like she was part of a roller derby league and completely out of fucks. She didn’t fit with the feel of Lucky Duck and its ridiculous decor.

River put in an order for something fruity while passing her karaoke song of choice over. She picked a mango daiquiri, which wasn’t surprising, considering her vibe.

Everyone else voiced that they were good with their current orders, except for Damon, who kept his attention focused on his phone, ignoring Jane altogether, which was probably for the best. Damon seemed to moon at her from afar but completely fold up into himself whenever the pretty bartender was nearby.

Just like Logan’s sitting position, he was very much on the fringe of the group’s conversation—not that he ever talked much to begin with. They were loud and lively enough to make up for his lack of words. Grace asked River what type of moisturizer she used, as Grace mentioned her skin had become particularly dry during the season. The rest of the squad talked about past good fires. Marcus was showing off pictures of the latest cake creation he’d made for his niece’s birthday party. The conversation eventually turned to something Logan considered to be too personal. They wanted to know about River’s history.

River mentioned she was originally from San Diego and had worked at the zoo there, but then this great position came up at the Sierra Nevada Nature Museum, and she had to jump at the chance.

“Are you with anyone? Do you have a boyfriend? Girlfriend?” Grace asked, propping her chin on a hand as though ready for the full scoop.

Logan tried not to pay attention, but his ears focused in because they were traitors to his intention to mind his own business.

“Oh, no. I mean. I used to. I was engaged to someone. He’d been my boyfriend since high school . . . well, my only boyfriend. But, yeah, he didn’t want me to take this job. He’s a trauma surgeon and wanted us—me—to settle down and take care of our home and future family.” She re-tucked the hair behind her ear as her cheeks reddened.

Logan didn’t like that there was someone out there that had her and then threw it away because they wanted to clip her wings. The only good thing was that River saw this and decided to cut the ass out of her life instead. A small spark of pride and respect flickered inside him.

Grace rolled her eyes. “You don’t need him. You’re going to love living in Tahoe. It’s one of the prettiest places in the state. And most men suck.” Damon booed in her direction, resulting in Grace laughing. “Except for these guys. I wouldn’t want to fight the beast with anyone else. Don’t let their grumpiness fool you. They’re all sweethearts and weirdos, at heart.”

Logan could feel his ears heating at being pointed out specifically . . . at least he knew Grace was referring to him. Hopefully, River wouldn’t automatically assume as much, but it was hard to deny he was the one everyone would vote for as Most likely to be a stick in the mud. As boss, it came with the territory of having to make the tough decisions. It had been a while since Logan had known how to be anything else.

“I do have a question for you guys.” River ducked her head shyly.

“Oh no, here it comes,” Jake said with humor. “What are some firefighter stereotypes you’ve heard? We don’t even have a pole, so no, we’re not doing any stripping on it.”

“Wait . . . people really ask you that?” River laughed. “No, I was just wondering if you guys have ever spotted a fox in the area when you’re out doing your thing.”

Oh god. What was with this woman’s obsession with this damn animal?

“Sorry, did you say fox?” Marcus said, leaning closer, as though hoping this would cut through the noise.

“Yeah, I’m looking to spot the Sierra Nevada red fox in the wild. But it’s endangered, so I’m hoping for some insight on where I should hike for the best chance. I get that you’re doing a job out there, but thought I’d at least ask since you’re going into remote areas and might have seen one.”