Page 37 of Off the Clock
“How’s the fundraiser planning going?” Sean’s voice was friendly and chatty, yet I stared longingly at my truck a few feet away. “I’m looking forward to attending, and somehow, Tony twisted my arm into agreeing to play in the charity game.”
I flexed my feet inside my shoes and lightly shook my hands. I couldn’t afford to tense up at every mention of Tony’s name. “He can be rather convincing.”
“Yep. He’s good at getting his way.” Sean’s tone was that of a longtime friend, and his comment absolutely should not have inspired visions of all the ways Tony and I had of talking the other into fast meetups, quick sexts, and other naughty shenanigans. “Tony seems to be fitting in well here though.” Sean’s gaze turned more critical, increasing my desire to squirm away. “You think he’ll do okay at the academy? He’s seemed sort of…subdued since you guys rescued that hiker.”
Oh lord. The only thing worse than Sean catching wind of anything brewing between Tony and me would be Sean questioning Tony’s suitability for first-responder work. And even if I shared some of those concerns and continued to advocate for Tony trying a counselor or veteran’s support group, no way could I share those confidential conversations with Sean.
Tony and I were finally at a point where he was opening up more about the horrors of past deployments, the hiking rescue having changed something between us, an increase in trust that made such talking possible. I couldn’t jeopardize that either.
“He’ll do fine.” I made my voice firm. “Diesel lived, which is great, and I know Tony’s mentioned hearing that he’s out of ICU at last. That’s gotta be a morale boost. I bet Tony passes the exams with flying colors. He’s certainly got the fitness part down pat.”
“And you’re saying that as his mentor, someone who has worked with other rookies, right? Nothing clouding your judgment that you’d like to talk to me about? I hear you and he are…friendly these days.”
And there it was, a sharp little prick to my bubble of happiness, a swift reminder that everything could change in an instant. Also, it didn’t matter how easygoing Sean was. He was still my acting captain, and I couldn’t afford to let my guard down for an instant.
“Nope,” I lied with a smile. “My judgment is fine. Sure, Tony and I went for that hike and are working together on the fundraiser. But last I checked, off-the-clock friendship wasn’t an issue. You and he jog all the time and eat together several nights a week.”
“True. But, Caleb—” Sean started what was likely to be a lengthy warning about crushes and anything more than friendship, but blessedly, his phone rang loudly with a revving engine ring tone. “Crap. I better take this. It’s Declan, my kid. But we’ll talk more soon.”
That sounded ominous, but I kept my smile all the way to my truck, lest he see me sweat these rumors or whatever he was hearing.Crap. Crap. Crap.We had to be more careful. My hand lingered on my phone as I plugged it into the truck’s charging port. I should text Tony to tell him exactly that, but I wasn’t ready for him to end everything. I’d simply have to be more cautious for us both.
Once downtown, I met up with Scotty, who was in a typical grumpy mood. “Why did I agree to talk to some dumb businesses I’ve never heard of?”
“Because you want to play football this year, and there weren’t any better ideas for raising money.” I so did not have patience for his funk tonight. “And these are local businesses based right here in Mount Hope. Of course you haven’t heard ofthem because they don’t have national advertising budgets, but these are the people most likely to donate to the fundraiser and silent auction.”
“I guess.” Scotty sulked through a few more business stops, perking up slightly as I wrangled a few gift certificates for the silent auction, including a weekend at the coast from a local travel agency. But as the evening dragged on, Scotty returned to his cranky self. “God, it’s fucking hot as balls.”
Rather than snapping, I took a breath, playing my current favorite game: What Would Tony or Eric Do? They’d be more patient than me, that was for sure.
“We can get a drink soon.” I pointed to the ice cream shop at the end of the block.
“What? You’re not going to bust me for cursing or having an attitude?”
“I’m trying.” I squished my eyes shut and counted to five.
Scotty blew out a ragged breath. “I know you are.”
Well, that was the shocker of the century. “You do?”
“I guess.” Scotty made a show of studying a store window advertising a back-to-school clothing sale. “John says I need to be less hard on you.”
“I knew I liked that kid,” I joked, suddenly hoping John ran for every touchdown his kind heart desired.
“He’s okay.” Scotty slowed his steps further.
We were wading into dangerous conversational territory here, topics that were likely to get me dunked on, but I had to try. “You’ve been spending a lot of time with him and his crew.”
“Nothing better to do.” Scotty huffed, and I assumed that was the end of trying to get him to talk, but then he pulled up short next to an insurance building. “You ever have a friend…? Never mind.”
“What?” I kept my tone gentle, not unlike approaching a feral kitten. “You can tell me anything. Big-brother promise. Here,I’m taking off my guardian hat.” I made a silly show of removing an invisible hat. “I’m just Caleb, your big brother, the one who has done some truly stupid shit of his own. What’s up?”
“You ever meet someone, and like you don’t exactly understand it, but they make you want to be a better person?” Scotty groaned as he rested his head against the brick building. “God, that sounds so freaking stupid.”
“No, it doesn’t. I know exactly what you mean.” And I did.Tony.He made me want to be a better brother, better caretaker to Scotty, better friend, better all-around person. Not simply because Tony was such an awesome person but also because I wanted to be worthy of a Tony in my life. “I’ve had friends like that, sure. And crush?—”
“Stop right there.” Scotty held up a hand, predictably bristling. “It’s not a crush. We’re not like that. He’s straight. We’re buds. But when I’m around him, I want to try harder. Do better. Be more like him. People respect him, you know?”
“Yeah, he’s a good guy, and it sounds like he’s a good friend. Good friends lift you up. They don’t take you along with them on the ride to detention.”