Page 50 of Controlled Burn

We didn’t see any signs of squatters or anything that made it look like kids had been partying there, so no obvious cause for the fire, and it sat on the edge of our coverage area, which meant maximum response time, so longer for the fire to burn.

We did our part and put the fire out, which meant it was in the fire marshal’s hands now. He would send over a team, probably Fox, to try to identify the point of origin and what caused the blaze. The good thing was a neighbor called it in right away, so it didn’t spread to any surrounding homes or structures.

When we were on the truck headed back to the station, I pulled out my phone to let Caleb know everything was okay. I knew from growing up with my parents that having a firefighter for a partner wasn’t easy, and I didn’t want him to worry.

Me: We’re headed to the station.

Rabbit: Everyone’s okay?

Me: Yep. We’re good. I’m gonna make us all some tacos when we get back.

Rabbit: Tacos sound good. We should have prepped tacos for my dinner. *sad face emoji* *taco emoji*

Me: I’ll make you tacos tomorrow night.

I was about to add since we have dinner with your dad Wednesday, but thank goodness I didn’t.

“Who’s Rabbit?” Robert asked over my shoulder.

“Umm, just a guy I’ve been seeing.” I shoved my phone back into my pocket. The last thing I wanted was for Robert to find out by reading one of my texts.

“You’re seeing someone?” he asked, looking at me skeptically.

“Who’s seeing someone?” Ford asked, sliding over to get in on the conversation.

“Keith is, apparently,” Robert said.

“Like more than once?” Ford asked.

“Yeah, smart ass, more than once,” I grumbled.

“Hey,” he said, lifting his hands. “I know what I know, and what I know is Daddy Keith over here doesn’t do repeats.”

“Whatever.”

Robert shoulder-butted me. “Hell, man, you almost look happy. I want to hear all about it after we get cleaned up.”

“Trust me, you don’t want the details,” I teased. This was a standing joke between us, but little did he know he really didn’t want them this time.

“True enough.” He laughed, and I forced a grin and laughed with him. All the while, I felt like shit inside. This was all so normal for me and Robert. It was the way we’d been for years, and Wednesday night, I was going to do something that would change everything.

I don’t know how I would’ve made it through Jonathan leaving and the potential fallout of my coming out without him there, having my back through it all. Sure, I had my father’s support, but it was Robert’s unwavering acceptance that’d swayed the rest of the crew and kept me showing up to work while my father worked his magic to transform the Sixty-nine into a place I could call home.

On Saturday, I’d reassured Caleb that this would be okay. And I was sure that for him, it would. Robert loved his son. My concern was never for what Robert would think about Caleb.

I didn’t think it was going to go as smoothly for me, though. He still struggled to see Caleb as an adult, and the idea of him in a relationship with any forty-year-old man wouldn’t go over well, and the fact that it was me wasn’t going to make it any better. If anything, that would make it worse because, while he trusted me with his life, literally, he knew I’d sworn off relationships a long time ago.

Hell, a month ago, if anyone had told me that when I looked at Caleb, I’d see what could be my future, I would’ve laughed in their face, and that’s pretty much what I expected him to do. Well, right before he took a swing at me, anyway.

But no matter how hard it was to believe, I really thought Caleb and I could make a go of this. So here I was, about to risk what was one of the most important relationships in my life for a chance with this intelligent, kind, sweet boy because I simply couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

For the rest of the shift, I tried to act like nothing was wrong, and I wasn’t scared shitless about what he was going to think. I stood by my decision to tell Robert, but that didn’t change the fact that while I sat there in the rec room and watched everyone goofing off, I couldn’t shake the fear that I was about to blow apart the family we’d built here.

Robert sat down across from me and kicked the foot I had propped up on the coffee table. “Hey, you okay?”

He’d known me too long not to pick up on the fact that something was off.

“I’m fine. I just have a lot on my mind.”