injured firefighter a hard time. Rafe knew it meant they cared about him. And as he looked around the table, he realized how much he cared about them, too. These people all had his back, no matter what.
That meant a lot.
“So, what did you do with all that time off, Rafe?” Callie Vassar asked. “Lie in the sun and work on your tan?”
“He probably took a lot of naps,” Rodriguez said. “You know how Rafe is. We always catch him napping around here.”
The reprieve didn’t last long. “Not much, since I was on activity restriction. I’m looking forward to a hard workout today.”
“You’ll get it,” Jackson said. “Truck needs washing, and there’s a knocking sound in Ladder 6’s engine. See if you can figure out what the problem is.”
Everyone knew Rafe was the mechanic of the fire station. If any of the rigs had a problem, they’d call on him first rather than sending it out for service.
“I’ll get right on it. As soon as I eat a second helping of this breakfast casserole.”
“He’s back to normal,” Ginger said, grinning.
“Yeah, normal, all right,” Kal said. “Eating all the food.”
Rafe ignored them and finished breakfast, then moved the Ladder 6 truck into the mechanic’s bay where all the diagnostic and repair equipment was located. It didn’t take him long to figure out the problem in the timing system. He adjusted it and then drove the truck outside to wash it.
It felt good to be doing something again. He liked staying active, and five days of doing nothing had been frustrating. Being able to use his muscles again felt like he’d received a second chance at life.
He knew that the backdraft at the house could have gone much worse. He’d been lucky to end up with only a concussion.
He got up on a ladder to scrub the top of Engine 6.
“You could have yelled for someone to come in and help you.”
He turned around to see his brother Kal staring up at him.
“I’m okay.”
Kal grabbed a long-handled brush and a ladder, then appeared on the other side of the truck. “I know you’re okay. But I’ll still help you.”
Rafe cocked his head to the side. “You’ve gotta wash Ladder 6, don’t you?”
Kal grinned. “Yeah.”
“So now you’ll want me to help you do that.”
“Well, yeah. Brothers help brothers, don’t they?”
Rafe rolled his eyes, but he didn’t mind. He planned on washing the ladder truck anyway. Not that he was going to tell his brother that.
With the two of them working, they had both trucks washed and dried in no time. They cleaned the windows, then rolled the trucks back into their bays.
Rafe and Kal picked up all the towels and tossed them on top of the washing machine. They hosed out the shop and started sweeping out the water to dry it.
“So, I asked Carmen Lewis out to dinner.”
Kal stopped and stared at Rafe. “Did she say yes?”
“She did. She’s reluctant, though. I had to tell her it was a thank-you for bringing that casserole over the other day.”
“Maybe she doesn’t like you.”
Rafe shook his head. “Not possible. All women like me.”
Kal laughed. “In your mind, all women like you.”
“Whatever. Carmen likes me.”
Kal leaned on the broom handle. “And you like her.”
“Yeah, I do. She’s feisty and smart and beautiful. What’s not to like?”
“She’s also our next-door neighbor. If you start dating her and things go south, she’s still going to be our next-door neighbor. Have you given that any thought?”
He had thought about it. Too much. And he didn’t want to think about it again. “I’m not going to get into a relationship with her. We’re just going to dinner.”
“Uh-huh.”
“And anyway, I don’t hurt the women I date. I’m always honest with them, letting them know that we’re just going to have a good time, and I’m not looking for more. I’m pretty sure Carmen isn’t looking for anything more, either. I think we’ll be fine.”
Kal shrugged. “As long as you don’t screw things up with her and make her mad.”
“Have I ever done that with a woman?”
“Not that I know of. But then again, you’ve never dated a woman long enough to have what I would consider a relationship.”
He was about to respond to that with a denial, but he paused.
Was Kal right? He’d gone out with Kaylee for a month. And then there’d been Gina, but that had been only a few weeks. Maria had lasted six weeks, and she’d probably been his longest relationship. And she was a flight