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“I didn’t! I was…mostly joking. Are you really going for it?”
Was that respect in her eyes? She probably thought of him as so easygoing that he’d never push for a promotion like that. And she might be right.
But man, how would it feel to see that look in her eyes more often?
“I haven’t decided yet.”
“So what’s stopping you?”
“Who needs the stress? It’s a lot of responsibility. I’m all about the simple life. Fishing, firefighting, good f…n.” He deliberately let that last “f” linger before completing the word.
She rolled her eyes at his dumb stab at a joke, but then turned serious.
“Don’t sell yourself short, Jason. You’d be a good fire chief.”
A compliment from Kendra? Now that surprised him, so much so that he loosened his grip on the blowup doll and it bounced to the ground. He grabbed at it. Plastic squeaked and then a pop let out all the remaining air in one big whoosh. He dropped the limp deflated plastic to the concrete floor. “Oh yeah? Tell me more.”
She burst out laughing. “Never mind. So tell me what I’m doing here, Jaybone?”
He winced at the sound of that old nickname, inspired by the fact that he played the trombone in high school. He still played, but only as part of an informal jam session organized by Redfish Carter. “I haven’t heard that one since high school, and I can’t say that I’ve missed it.”
“Really? I always thought it was cute. It suited you.”
Was she saying he was cute? He wanted to pursue that possibility, but they were running out of time.
“Here’s the drill. You’re going to play the victim of a swatting attack. All you have to do is act like you’re an ordinary person sitting at home watching TV. We’re going to swarm you as if we’re going to arrest you. You have to act like a normal innocent person. Can you do that?”
“There won’t be guns, will there? I’m not trying to get a bunch of guns pointed at me.”
“Of course not. We’re firefighters. We don’t carry guns.”
“Are you going to push me around? I don’t want that either.”
Trust Kendra Carter to set her boundaries so clearly ahead of time. He admired that about her. Along with so many other things.
“No physical contact. No one will touch you.”
She thought it over, then nodded her consent. “I got it. Patty owes me for this one.”
“Yeah, sorry. She’s our usual victim. She’s done it so many times that she critiques us afterwards. Catches all kinds of stuff.”
Kendra’s face lit up. “Ooh, now you’re talking my love language. Can I do that too? You know there’s nothing I love more than giving my opinion.”
“Sure. We’ll give you a feedback card that you can drop in the suggestion box.” He gestured at the burn barrel in the corner of the garage.
“Cute, Jaybone. Supercute.”
They grinned at each other. A moment. We’re having a moment. Me and Kendra. Or should it be Kendra and I?
Because one thing he knew for sure, Kendra would correct his grammar if he got it wrong. He knew because sometimes back in high school, he deliberately got it wrong just so she’d give him that look. The one that said, “I’m smart and hot and dream on, bud.”
“Okay then.” Just like that, Kendra shattered the moment. “I’m ready to scream my ass off because some idiot firefighters can’t tell the difference between a real call and swatter.”
Ha. Yup. Dream on.
“Get out of my house, you’re trespassing and trampling all over my civil rights and I will sue your asses!” Kendra shouted at the firefighters stampeding toward her.
“Cut!” Jason gestured at the crew. “Let’s try it again.” He strode over to Kendra, who’d taken a seat on a folding chair he’d set up between the paramedic van and the fire truck.
