LITMIR.BIZ

      TONY WAITED NEXT to his truck while Kevin carried the paddleboards into the garage and Nicole followed him to help secure them on brackets along the wall. The garage was just large enough for Nicole’s small red car, and Tony noticed that Laura was keeping her vehicle tucked alongside the driveway.

      “Did you have fun?” Tony asked, hoping to fill up their few minutes together in the driveway with neutral conversation. He was afraid of the negative impression he’d given Laura when she approached him about joining the fire department. He didn’t want her to think he didn’t believe she could do it, and she’d have other obstacles to face.

      “We did,” she said. “I love being on the water.”

      “It’s different here than it is back in Indiana, though, isn’t it?” he asked. He tried to picture rivers and freshwater streams, but he’d hardly traveled outside of Virginia and the Atlantic coast region.

      “Very. At home, all the beautiful scenery is above the water, but here it’s above and below the surface.”

      Below the surface. Tony wondered what was beneath the surface of Laura Wheeler.

      “I hope you’ll get to enjoy it a lot this summer,” he said.

      “I downloaded the application,” she said. “For the volunteer department.”

      “About that,” he began. It had occurred to him that her residency in Virginia was temporary and that she probably didn’t even have a Virginia driver’s license. Not being a resident would prevent her from getting certified as a volunteer firefighter in the state.

      “I didn’t look at it yet,” Laura said. I planned to do it later today since it’s my day off—I asked for Mondays because that’s the day the gallery is closed.”

      “That’s great,” Tony said.

      “Were you about to tell me something?” Laura asked. “You don’t have to reveal any secrets if you don’t want to,” she added quickly.

      “Nothing special. It asks for your contact information, relevant background and experience, special skills you have and why you want to be a firefighter.”

      “Okay.” Laura nodded.

      Tony swallowed and looked toward the garage. He wished Kevin would hurry up and finish stowing the paddleboards so they could get on the road to the evening class they were both taking to advance their careers.

      “There’s no test to get started, right?” she asked.

      “No. Just a criminal background check, standard procedure for anyone wanting to join. And you need a valid Virginia driver’s license.”

      Laura bit her lip and looked nervous, and Tony was afraid he’d destroyed her dream. He didn’t want to see Laura put her life in danger in the line of duty, but he also didn’t want to wreck her hopes with a technicality. Even though that technicality might be the easy way out for him.

      “I’m going to the license bureau after work tomorrow to transfer my Indiana license to a Virginia one. I hope that won’t slow down the process for my application.”

      “Transfer? Does that mean you’re planning to...stay in Cape Pursuit?”

      “I drive vehicles for my job supervising the beach guards and surf shack, and for insurance purposes it makes it a lot easier for them if I have a Virginia license,” she said.

      Tony noticed that she hadn’t answered his question, and there was no polite way for him to pry further.

      He’d noticed that Laura was not afraid to ask tough questions, which didn’t quite fit with the picture he’d formed last summer. He wished he knew her better, but there was no way he could say that, either. Not if she planned to join the department and be under his supervision as a trainee and member. A personal interest or relationship was definitely out of the question, especially since he was the youngest fire chief in the area. He always felt he had to be careful to act twice as professionally as the other chiefs.

      He would have to be content with the information she offered. If she offered it.

      “You’ll need a few character references,” he said. “But I’m sure that won’t be a problem for you. You can put down people you worked with in Indiana. Or maybe Kevin.”

      She pulled off her ball cap and ran a hand through her long dark hair. “So I hear you’re in the wedding party, too,” she said, nodding toward the garage where Kevin was giving Nicole a long goodbye kiss.

      “Groomsman,” Tony said after a split second in which he wrapped his head around the change of subject. “And you’re the maid of honor.”

      It wasn’t a question. He already knew all the members of the small wedding party. He’d been involved in the planning because the reception following the beach wedding was in the fire station. They didn’t rent out the station as a party venue, but Tony remembered a few firefighters’ wedding receptions and parties in the past. And the station hosted an elaborate Christmas party every year for members and their families. With the trucks outside and enough decorations, the building could be pretty festive.

      Laura nodded. “I still need a dress. Nicole and I decided to wait until I got here so we could go shopping together.”

      “I haven’t been given my instructions since the wedding is still six weeks away, so I don’t know what I’m wearing.”

      “I do,” Laura said. “I helped Nicole pick it out.”

      “Tell me it’s not a white tuxedo. The glare on the beach would blind everyone and they wouldn’t be able to tell the bride from the groomsmen,” Tony said. “Plus, I’d feel stupid in a white tuxedo.”

      He was glad to have something to talk about with Laura. Every exchange they had might bring him closer to understanding what motivated her and how he could decide if letting her join his department was the best way of helping her.

      Not that she’d asked him to help her.

      Laura laughed. “Relax. You’re wearing navy blue suits. Rented, matching, and you don’t even have to pick out your own ties.”

      Tony swiped a hand across his brow. “Huge relief,” he said, grinning.

      He thought ahead and realized that the new training class would finish at the same time as the wedding. When Nicole walked down the aisle and married Kevin, Laura could be ready to be a volunteer member of the Cape Pursuit Fire Department. But would she officially join the department? It didn’t cost him anything to let her join the class since he was running it anyway and the prospective volunteers would use borrowed equipment. Still, it was unusual to train a volunteer who appeared to have no plans to stick around. He wanted to ask how long she planned to stay, but then he remembered her response to his question about

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