Page 70 of Built of Flames
She grinned up at him. “Exactly. Although I’m betting his owner named him after Tom Hiddleston’s Loki.”
He laughed and knelt down to pat the dog again. “He’s perfect, Bella. Just like you.”
She rolled her eyes, but her smile matched his own.
The front door to the fire hall opened. Ginny and Nimii walked in, hand in hand. They both smiled at them, then waved them to come out front.
Mitch took Bella’s hand and motioned for Loki to come along. The dog trotted happily beside them.
Outside, Aisling and Graham were waiting. Ginny pointed to a large wooden sign resting against the wall. “Nimii and Aisling made it for you. Isn’t it gorgeous?”
Nimii flushed, but smiled. The artist didn’t say a lot; she preferred expressing herself with her craft. And her craft was amazing.
The sign was at least a dozen feet long, carved out of dark wood.Phail Fire Hall.
Mitch had to battle back the sudden onset of tears. He swallowed hard and turned to pull both women into a hug. “It’s gorgeous. Thank you.”
Ginny bounced and clapped her hands. “We’ll get Troy to help you set it up tomorrow. Tonight is to celebrate. Can you guys help me set up the food?”
Mitch had felt weird hosting an open house, but the town wanted to celebrate, so here they were.
The Midnight Lake crew showed up moments later to help. Then others started arriving.
Christo, Regina, and Juan.
Roberto and a dozen other firefighters.
Pretty much every resident in Phail.
A full house.
Ginny had baked. Manuel, Jim, and Carl had cooked.
Mitch took people on mini-tours around the hall, as did Bella and a few others.
Loki played with kids and took naps in the corners.
It was amazing and overwhelming.
The old-fashioned bell Tansy had found in the lodge's basement hung near the bay doors. When it rang out, everyone turned to Troy, who was holding up a beer.
“Thanks for coming, everyone. This is a big day for our town. We’re welcoming a new service to Phail along with the friends—new and old—who have made this possible. We hope to never require fire services, but having them available adds peace of mind and value to our town. To paraphrase our favourite Samuel Beckett quote, it’s time to Phail Better. To Mitch Robinson.” Then he raised his beer in Mitch’s direction.
Mitch knew his face was flaming as everyone repeated the toast and looked his way.
Troy waved him up and Bella squeezed his hand and gave him a little push, so up he went to stand beside the bay door.
“Thanks, everyone. This has been an incredible team effort, and I’m thrilled to be part of this town and still have strong connections to my family and team from Kelsor.”
He swallowed hard. “I appreciate the trust you’ve put in me, and I promise to work my ass off to keep earning that. Thanks to Bella, we have our very own firehall dog, Loki. Thanks, Bella. If it weren’t for you, none of this would have happened. None of this would be possible. I love you.”
Whoops and cheers filled the hall, and Bella’s face flushed, but her smile glowed. He couldn’t resist, so he didn’t.
Mitch strode toward her, wrapped his arms around her, then dipped her in a kiss that had the cheers echoing in the space.
Their space.
Where their future would begin.