Hot and Bothered

Brooks

"There is no way I'm wearing the Dalmatian costume again. Last year I almost had a heat stroke." Rafe holds his hands up. "I'm out."

I don't blame him. At last year's fire muster, it got to be nearly a hundred and five degrees outside and probably way hotter inside a mascot head. Not to mention that suit has been around longer than I have and there's no telling what's growing inside of that thing. Honestly, I'm surprised they haven't retired it by now.

Especially considering that we have our own real life Dalmation now–thanks to Zoe. Ember is curled up on my feet as we speak, not even remotely interested in the conversation going on around her. I was against the firehouse dog thing at first, but Ember sought me out right away as if she could tell and made it her mission to win me over. Spoiler alert–she won.

"Come on," Tanner chuckles. "No takers? It's for the kids!"

Each year, the department puts on a big festival for the community. There's games and food and all kinds of entertainment, but what we really aim for is bringing awareness to fire safety. We provide fire extinguishers, smoke alarms, and other basics to families, and the kids get a chance to see us in our gear so they won't be scared if we ever have to rescue them in an emergency. All the latest and greatest equipment gets paraded around, and we even light some cars on fire to give demonstrations. It's always a big hit, and it's happening again this weekend.

"Not me." Riggs says "I'm too big for that thing."

"Brooks? Might be a good way to get back on Morgan's good side?" Tanner arches his eyebrow at me.

"Sorry, Madden and I are teamed up at the demo station all day."

"Hell yeah." Madden high fives me as he comes into the great room where we're all hashing out the final plans for the event.

I'm actually looking forward to it. Madden came on a few months ago, and he joined Riggs on the Rescue squad. We haven't had the chance to get to know each other outside of calls, but he seems like a good guy and he's a perfect fit here at 22.

"Fine." Tanner finally concedes. "I'll have Morgan grab somebody from another station."

With the shift over, most of the guys are free to go home, but not me. I've two hours of safety class left to teach, but on the bright side, there is no way it can go nearly as terrible as last week.

Maybe I shouldn't put that kind of thing out into the universe.

The odds that Anna would wind up in my community safety course have to be astronomical, and for a while, I thought Tanner was playing some kind of prank on me. That wasn't the case, though.

And if that wasn't bad enough, she had to witness my confrontation with Kristin, which didn't exactly help my credibility. Not that I care what Anna thinks of me. It just wasn't a good look regardless.

I spent the rest of the class on edge, trying to avoid her judgemental gaze as I went over the schedule and some of the rules for the course. My only consolation was knowing that she felt as antsy as I did, which was made abundantly clear when she bolted out of here like the place was on fire once I dismissed the class. Part of me is glad she feels uncomfortable, because it's her fault we're in this situation at all. She's the one who started the fire. She's the one who filed the complaint. I could be heading out with the guys for drinks, but instead, I'm stuck here for the next eleven weeks, and we have to find some way to make it through without killing each other. Considering all the animosity between us, that might be easier said than done.

After I get the classroom set up, I wait for everyone to arrive. Time inches closer to seven, and there is no sign of Anna. I didn't expect her to be early again, but she's cutting it close. She didn't mention a conflict. Didn't leave a message. Nothing at all.