Deck the Fire Halls

Chapter Two

CHAPTER TWO

SOREN DE SILVA

“What the . . . ?”

I stood up from my desk and walked to the open doors of the fire hall.

“What is it?” Chucky said, coming to stand beside me.

Hartbridge Firehouse was on Main Street and traffic wasn’t uncommon before eight o’clock as people went to work and school, but a now-familiar Audi SUV pulled up across the street at the medical clinic.

Nothing too unusual about that either. Except the clinic didn’t open until nine and the fact that car had been parked next door to my house for the last two days.

“That’s my new neighbor,” I admitted quietly.

We watched as he got out of his car, dressed immaculately in tan trousers and a black coat. His short sandy-grayish hair was neatly brushed, and I couldn’t help but smile. “Except he looks a bit more put together now than when I saw him yesterday,” I added .

His hair in disarray, his navy robe falling open to reveal his pajamas with flamingos and rainbows on them. Pride pajamas, if I ever saw any.

I’d asked him if he was okay, and he’d stammered that he was fine, and sorry, said it was nice to meet me and that he was busy, and ran back into his house.

It was all a bit odd, not gonna lie.

And I’d considered going over and introducing myself properly later on but figured I’d give him a few days to get moved in and settled. Moving was stressful, after all.

“Is he the new doctor?” Chucky asked.

He had a brown messenger bag over one shoulder and was carrying an archive box from his car. He tucked it under one arm so he could unlock the door, and disappeared inside. “He’s got keys, so he must be?” I shrugged, still unable to get the flamingo pride pajamas out of my head.

“Imma be right back,” I said, heading out, just as Doug came out of his office.

“Where are you going?” he yelled.

I half-turned and held up two fingers. “Two minutes.”

I ducked across the street and up to the clinic door. It was open, and I popped my head in as he was sliding his box onto the reception desk.

“Uh, hey,” I said.

He spun around, startled. “We’re not open.” He held his messenger bag defensively. “I should have locked the door, sorry. If you’d care to come back in an hour?— ”

Shit. He thought I was gonna jump him.

I stepped inside and smiled at him with my hands up, wanting him to see I was no threat, and a little disappointed he didn’t recognize me. “My name’s Soren,” I said. “Your next-door neighbor at home and here, it seems.” I gestured to the fire hall across the street. “Just over there. I saw you pull in. I recognized your car. You just moved here, right?”

He blinked and he flustered a little. “Right, yes. Ugh. I’m so sorry about yesterday. I don’t even know what I was thinking.”

“That those flamingo pajamas are a bold statement?” I was aiming for funny...

His whole face scrunched up in the cutest way before he buried it in his hands. “Oh my god, I’m so horrified.”

“Don’t be embarrassed. I liked them.”

One cautious eye appeared from behind his fingers.

“I’m serious,” I added, as nonchalantly as I could. “Anyway, I recognized your car and saw you come in and just wanted to say hi and welcome you to town. I didn’t want you to think we got off on the wrong foot or anything.” I took a step toward him and held my hand out. “Soren De Silva.”

He stared at my hand, and for a long moment, I thought he wasn’t going to take it. He seemed to shake off his embarrassment and took my hand. “Rob O’Reilly. Doctor.”

It made me smile.

He was kinda cute, in a professional, clean-cut way. Not usually my type but there really was something about him that struck me. He was... god, there was something about him.

He was older than me by a few years, at a guess. He was pale, as if he hadn’t seen the sun in years. And he had dark, tired circles under his eyes.

But under that . . .

His blue eyes hid a story I wanted to hear. His lips looked as if he worried them with his teeth too much.

Realizing I’d been staring a beat too long, I nodded to the box he’d carried in. “First day?”

“Uh, yeah,” he said. He slid his messenger bag onto the counter and opened the archive box, revealing some stationary, a small medical skeleton thing, and a certificate frame. “Need to get acquainted, I guess.”

Yeah, there was definitely a story in those eyes.

He carried the box into the second office, and given he hadn’t told me not to follow, I assumed I was supposed to. He paused a moment to look around, then slid the box onto the desk and took the frame out first. He looked around at the walls. “Hm. I’ll need a hook. I should have thought about that.”

“I can put a hook up for you,” I offered.

He looked over at me and blinked as if surprised to see me. “Oh. No, it’s fine. I can... get one of those stick-on hooks or something.”

I pointed my thumb to the door. “We have all kinds of stuff at the fire hall, it’s no problem.”

He hesitated so I took it as a green light.

“I’ll be back in a minute and get it fixed up. You open at nine? ”

He nodded.

I grinned at him. “Plenty of time.”

I jogged back across the road, unable to stop smiling.

“Oh shit,” Chuck said when he saw me. “Boss, he’s got that look.”

Doug came around from the side of the truck and looked me up and down. “Longest two minutes I ever saw.”

I grinned at him as I opened the drawer, took out a one-inch nail, and lifted the hammer from the hook on the wall. “Gonna be another two.”

“What the hell are you doing?” Doug asked.

He was my superior, but he loved me. He’d scowl at me, I’d grin at him, and he’d grumble but let me off. It was how we rolled.

“Just doing my civic duty and helping the good doctor.”

Chuck looked at what I was holding. “By nailing him?”

Doug told him to shut it, and I snorted as I went back across the street to the clinic. “Hello,” I called out as I opened the door. “It’s just me.”

He poked his head out of his office. “Oh, hey. You really... you really didn’t have to come back.”

“It’s no problem,” I said, grinning at him. “It’s a small-town thing. Helping out, it’s what we do.”

He opened his mouth and closed it again, blinking a few times. He had a flicker of emotions steal across his face that I wasn’t yet sure how to read. “Guess I need to get used to that.”

“If you plan on sticking around, then yeah. ”

Was I fishing for information? Yep. Was I subtle? Absolutely not.

He nodded slowly. “I, uh... I’m not sure.” He looked around the clinic. “A year, maybe. Possibly two. I’m not sure if this is...” he trailed off with a shrug.

Damn. He looked so well put together, like a doctor should, I assumed. But he was... I wasn’t sure. Running from something?

“Not sure on Hartbridge?” I asked. “It’s a great little town if you give it a chance. People are real nice. It might take some getting used to if you’ve come from a big city and all.”

“It’s not the town,” he said quietly. He frowned, and taking in a deep breath, he shook off whatever thoughts he’d had and tried to smile. It was half-hearted, but maybe it was all he could afford right then. “And I’m actually looking forward to the slower pace. And the peace and quiet—” He smirked at me. “Actually, the peace and quiet would be great, except I have this new neighbor who has a really big motorcycle that he likes to start right by my bedroom window...”

I barked out a laugh. “So that was the reason you came out in your pride pajamas.” I grinned at him. “Were you gonna give me a piece of your mind?”

His cheeks went pink and he scoffed, his gaze looking anywhere but at me. “They’re not... those pajamas were...”

I grinned at him, making full eye contact. “Those pajamas were awesome. I already told you I liked them.”

Read into that what you will, doctor .

His eyes flashed with understanding, his cheeks flushing a darker pink.

Oh yeah. He read it right.

“So,” I hedged. “Did you move here alone?”

He balked at my bluntness.

I chuckled. “Sorry if that’s too straightforward. Well, too forward, I should say. Because straight isn’t something I am. If you get what I mean.”

He cleared his throat, that blush creeping down his neck. “I, uh... I understood the reference, thank you.”

He said nothing more.

Damn, he really was hot. In an older, silver fox kind of way. Not that he was silver... well, maybe there were a few flecks at his temples. His sandy colored hair hid it well.

Before it could get awkward, I held up the hammer. “Anyway. Where would you like the frame put?”

He swallowed hard and turned back to his office. “Uh, here, if that’s okay. You really don’t have to do this... I do appreciate it though.”

“It’s no bother, but I better not keep you. You’re about to have your first patients, and my boss is gonna be all out of the other kind if I’m not back soon.”

He looked a little confused.

“Patience,” I clarified. “He pretends to be grouchy but he’s really a big softie.”

He smiled and nodded slowly. “Right. Yes, patience.”

I fixed the nail with two quick taps and stood back. “Okay, I’ll let you do the honors of hanging your diploma.”

He rolled his eyes, but with a deep breath, he hung the simple black frame and straightened it. “Done. Thank you.”

Then I read it.

Robinson O’Reilly.

“Robinson,” I murmured. “When you said your name was Rob, I just assumed your name was Robert.”

“Everyone does.”

“I like the name Robinson,” I said, not sure why. I mean, not sure why I told him that.

His eyes met mine, those blue eyes a little less guarded.

“Hello?” A soft voice called out.

We both turned for the door and I knew who it was before I saw her. Katie stood by the reception desk in her blue slacks and purple cardigan. She held her handbag nervously.

It was pretty clear that Rob hadn’t met her yet. “Hello,” he said gently. “Can I help you?”

“My name is Katie Hawkins. This is my workplace. I work here. Today is your first day and I was told to be early.”

She was nervous, poor thing. So unlike her.

“Hey, Katie,” I said warmly. “This is Doctor O’Reilly. I was just helping him hang up his frame in his office. Doctor, Katie has worked here for years and she keeps the whole place running. Dontcha, Katie?”

She gave a nod. “Hello, Soren.”

“Well, Katie,” Rob said with a smile. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m glad you’re here and if you know how everything works, then you’re in charge, okay?”

She smiled at him. “I need to turn my computer on, then I’ll go buy the milk. I get the milk on Mondays. You didn’t turn the heat up. Doctor Humphries turns the heat up.”

Rob smiled again, a more natural one. “Perhaps you can make me a list of all the things I’m supposed to do.”

“After I buy the milk.”

“Of course, yes.”

Katie nodded and turned the computer on, then pressed a button on the thermostat so the screen came to life. “You just press Day, and don’t touch it after that,” she said.

“Understood,” Rob said.

Then we watched as she put her coat back on and went out the door.

I don’t know why it made me happy that his first interaction with Katie was so wholesome. He was a doctor, after all, and I should expect nothing less, but some people treated Katie’s Down syndrome as a weakness.

“I better get back to work or Doug will come yelling,” I said. I went to the door and pointed my hammer at the thermostat. “Don’t change the temperature.”

His eyes met mine, warm and filled with humor. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

I went outside into the brisk air, smiling at the blue sky and the warm sunshine on my face.

I had a real good feeling about him. I dunno how or why, because he was certainly not my type, but there was something— something —about Robinson O’Reilly that made my heart take notice.

Doug met me in the doorway, standing with his arms crossed. “Is two minutes different in your world than it is in mine?”

I laughed, my good mood unshaken. “Just doing a good deed for the new doctor in town, sir.”

“Hm-mm.” He was doing his stoic, unimpressed-dad thing. “Your next good deed for the day is washing the truck. Get to it.”

Yeah.

Not even that could ruin my mood.

In fact, pulling the fire engine out the front and spending a few hours in the sunshine sounded like a great idea.

“On it, boss.”

He scowled at me. “Don’t act like you like it. It’s supposed to be a punishment.”

Chucky laughed as I collected the keys, and then Doug turned to him. “And you can help him.”

“What did I do?” Chuck protested. Then it was me who laughed, and Chuck gave me a shove. “Thanks a fucking lot, man.”

We got busy with the truck, cleaning inside and out, working up a bit of a sweat. I had to undo my coveralls to my waist so it was just my T-shirt showing, and man, the sunlight felt good.

It was an unusually warm day for November, and we’d soon be under a few feet of snow and freezing winds, so I wasn’t about to waste any chance I got to absorb some vitamin D.

I kept a random eye on the clinic across the street every now and then, noticing people going in and out as they usually were. But I must have gotten lost in my work until Chucky gave me a shove. “Eyes at nine o’clock.”

I turned and saw Rob standing out in front of the clinic, staring, before he realized he got caught and hurried down the street.

Chuck laughed. “Good deed, huh?”

I was grinning, feeling a buzz I hadn’t felt in far too long. “Good indeed.”