Page 3 of Up All Night
“See, Dad?” Maren was the most enthusiastic of us all. “It will all work out.”
“Yep.” Tony grinned. “The four of us, together again.”
“But not in a two-bedroom dump near the college.” Jonas shuddered, and I had to agree. No way did I want to return to the community college lifestyle of our young adult years.
“Are you sure you want to upend your life to come back to Mount Hope?” Eric studied me closely, the only person besides my dad who could always spot the lie.
“Absolutely.” I did my best to banish the doubt from my voice and expression, but in truth, I was anything other than certain. All four of us were too old to be starting over, yet as Tony had pointed out, here we were again.
ChapterOne
Denver
The hot ginger firefighter was in for breakfast again. A little older than my thirty-nine and on the shorter side, but oh so easy on the eyes. Third time this week, but his first after a shift change. Knowing the shift schedule for the nearby firehouse was an occupational hazard, not the result of stalking any first responder eye candy.
I might look, but uniforms were far from my usual. Give me someone scruffy, a little feral, a lot wounded… Okay. Hot messes were my personal kryptonite, a habit I was trying hard to break. I’d given up smoking, partying, and I’d been working the overnight shift here at Honey’s Hotcake Hut for over eighteen months now. I was almost a regular upstanding citizen. Almost.
Sizzle.Two eggs over easy joined the not-too-crispy bacon on my griddle as I finished the previous order while Tammy got the firefighters situated at the counter. Only three of them today, down from their usual full-shift crew looking for after-midnight chow. We were one of the very few twenty-four-hour options for food in Mount Hope, so I didn’t kid myself that the new guy had been coming around to see me specifically.
I did, however, nod at all three of them as Tammy poured their coffee and doled out glasses of juice.
“No middle-of-the-night munchies run?” I teased the group as I plated the order for the only other patron at the counter, an old farmer named Ed who spoke little, tipped less, but came in like clockwork every Saturday. Near the window, a hungover group of twenty-somethings nursed coffee refills while picking at half-eaten plates of loaded hash browns.
“We were up all night babysitting the last of a warehouse fire out south of town.” Ginger’s younger friend, a blond firefighter I’d privately nicknamed Fireman Flirty, answered first. Flirty’s real name was Caleb, and he’d demonstrated a willingness to banter with everyone from eight months to eighty.
“And now we’re starving.” Ginger groaned. He wore jeans and a blue pullover rather than his usual uniform. The look made him seem far more approachable, a quiet vulnerability in his eyes that did something for me. “I could murder a stack of pancakes.”
“That’s rather violent.” Caleb laughed easily. “But I’d like to make out with some bacon about now.”
“Your usual meat-lovers omelet with a side of bacon?” I asked, already prepping. Caleb was as predictable as he was flirty.
“You know it.” Chuckling, Caleb jerked his head toward Ginger. “And whatever my friend here wants. I owe Sean big time after last night.”
“Hey, I’m enjoying being out in the field.” Ginger—Sean—held up his hands. The name suited him, a short, sharp, masculine nod to his Irish looks. And damn it, of course, he had dimples. Adults had no business with dimples. Too damn devastating and possibly as tempting as wounded eyes and pouty lips. “Saving Caleb’s ass a mud bath was a bonus.”
“And what a cute ass it is.” Tammy smirked as she topped off the coffee. Like Caleb, she was an unrepentant flirt. Somewhere between fifty-five and seventy, not that she’d ever fess up to that many years, Tammy looked like Dolly Parton’s redheaded half-sister. Like me, she’d had her share of hard-living years, but her smile and quick wit kept diners coming in. “Good thing you didn’t get dirty. Might have had to offer you a sponge bath myself.”
“Don’t encourage him.” The third firefighter grimaced. Tom Johnson had been coming in for as long as I’d been at Honey’s, and he’d been grumpy the whole damn time. “And I’ll take some of those loaded hash browns. Gotta recall my misspent single youth.”
“Coming up.” I nodded even before Tammy added the order. Johnson’s unhappily married state was a frequent source of his complaints and his attempts at jokes.
“And you, sweetie?” Tammy asked Sean. Busy at the grill, I still managed to listen for his reply.
“Can’t decide. I’m torn between an omelet and hash browns. Or a skillet. Decisions.” Sean’s tone wasn’t nearly as flirty as Caleb’s, but I liked his friendly yet strong voice. Made me feel a certain warmth I hadn’t had much of this long damn winter.
I briefly turned back to the counter. “Want me to surprise you?”
“Take Denver up on it,” Tammy urged with a cackle. “His surprises are usually worth it. Usually.”
“Sure thing. Save me from myself.” Sean offered a grin, and those dimples were even better in high-definition. Made me want to make him smile more, an unfamiliar urge outside of the normal desire to make sure our diners left happy.
“Any allergies?”
“Only to good taste.” Answering for Sean, Caleb pretended to shudder. “Pineapple doesnotbelong on pizza.”
“Hey, I ordered the usual suspects too.” Sean rolled his eyes at the younger firefighter.
“I should take you to Pinball Pizza. Teach you what the good stuff tastes like,” Caleb countered as I continued to work on their orders.