Off the Clock (Mount Hope Book 2) by Annabeth Albert

Author:Annabeth Albert [Albert, Annabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Annabeth Albert
Published: 2024-07-25T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

Caleb

“Big plans?” Sean caught up to me as we exited the fire station into a steamy summer evening. The late summer heat wave continued to march along, exactly like my super-secret fling with Tony. The one Sean absolutely couldn’t know about.

“Nope.” I hated the way my pulse galloped like a spooked pony. Every interaction these days with Sean and other supervisors felt like walking on floss stretched over the Grand Canyon. What did Sean know or suspect? Or was he simply being a decent captain and friend, and I was the one being paranoid? I had absolutely no clue, so I worked to keep my voice bright and easy. “I have to meet Scotty to sell more tickets for the football fundraiser.”

Right on cue, my phone buzzed in my pocket. No way on earth was I pulling it out right then. Chances were good that it was Scotty confirming our meeting spot downtown, but I also had a lengthy text thread going with Tony. Late-night conversations, after-work meetup arrangements, random memes, and snarky comments and complaints, none of which Sean needed to get a whiff of.

“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.

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