by Marie Harte
“Hey, I made Mrs. Chief’s day.” Mack held up an impressive arm and flexed.
“He probably did.” Avery grinned. “Man, and I didn’t even get a tour of the truck at the festival.”
“You know, that’s a great idea.” Tex shot Brad a sly look Brad pretended not to see and said, “You should come tour the station house, Avery. Maybe next Friday, after your pet thing with Brad. We’re off that day, but I bet Brad would be happy to show you around.”
Avery turned to Brad. “You have to do the segment even if you’re not working?”
He shrugged. “It helps Pets Fur Life.”
“That doesn’t seem fair. I mean, not the part about you helping animals. But that you have to get up early on your day off.”
“I bet our lieutenant will count it as overtime.” Mack snorted. “And anyway, it’s not like Brad’s got anything better to do.”
“Sad but true,” Tex agreed.
Brad frowned. “Just what do you two have that I don’t?”
“Lives?” Mack suggested. “Tex has a date next weekend.” He smiled at Avery. “But I don’t.”
“I wonder why,” Tex said drily. “Now let’s talk about what’s really been on all our minds.”
Brad tensed, really hoping they wouldn’t get on him about Avery the way they had all day yesterday. Avery didn’t look all that much happier, probably anticipating the same.
Tex drew out the tension, talking even slower than normal. “Do we get a Slice and Dice III, or does the franchise end after this one?”
“They have to do another one.” Avery insisted, sounding relieved. She looked way too cute and perky to be into bad horror and gore. “How will we know if Slice’s dog comes back a hellhound?”
“That would be cool,” Brad agreed, having thought that very same thing when Slice’s dog fell through a dimensional portal in the movie.
Mack argued for the franchise to close. And Brad wondered if Avery recognized how often she agreed with Brad on things. Because he did, and it bothered him.
A lot.
Chapter Eight
Sunday afternoon, after Gerty had promised that Brad would be nowhere in sight at the Pets Fur Life adoption day, Avery had agreed to accompany her mouthy roommate, who toted Klingon with her.
“I still can’t believe we got Henri and Rockslide adopted out already.” Gerty beamed as they drove in her lime-green VW Bug. In the backseat in a tiny pet carrier, Klingon gave the cutest little bark. The fluffy golden/setter mix was freaking adorable. “You’re next, boy.”
“I’m just glad they found good homes. We do know that they’re good homes, right?”
“We will just as soon as the adopters clear the screening process. But the homes are in nice parts of the city, and both families seemed super sweet.” Gerty paused. “I kind of nosed through their application processes and ran their names through the computer.”
“Hacker.”
“Thank you very much.” Gerty grinned.
Avery thought her friend seemed in too much of a good mood, even going to an animal adoption, which she loved supporting.
“Okay, tell me. Who was your mystery friend Friday night and nearly all of yesterday?” When Gerty blushed, Avery sat straighter in the passenger seat and gaped. “It was a guy!”
“Shh. Not so loud. You’ll upset Klingon.”
“I saw him eat a moth this morning before licking your dirty sock. Trust me, if he’s fine with that, he’s fine with the news that you had a date. Though my heart might not be able to take it.” She pantomimed a heart attack.
“You’re such a pain.”
“You tell me about your Friday night, I’ll tell you about my Saturday night.” Since Gerty had been in bed by the time Avery had returned last night, she had no idea Avery had spent her evening with Brad and the guys.
“Wait. You mean there’s more to tell than you and Brad shooting lusty hate looks at each other after the Friday morning show?”
“Lusty hate looks? What the heck are those?”
“The same thing I was throwing a guy’s way Friday night at some party his friend threw.”
“What?” She grabbed Gerty’s knee and squeezed.
“Stop or I’ll crash.” Gerty strangled on laughter as she removed Avery’s hand from her ticklish knee. “The party was fun, no booze though, so we went out to a club after. But I had way too many, so we stayed at my date’s friend’s in his guest room. Together.” Gerty gave a sad sigh. “Not the way you’d hope.”
“Wizard girl, that counts. You spent the night at a boy’s house. I just shared a few lusty hate glares in public.”
“You mean in private, in a dark hallway where you and Super Hunk FD were breathing hard.”
“You spent the night at a boy’s house,” Avery repeated. “Heavy breathing or not, I can’t compete with that. You win.”
“Not really.” Gerty groaned. “It’s a long story.”
“Yeah? Well, I have nothing but time because we are not here to adopt an animal. I mean it, Gerty. It’s enough we’re fostering.”
“We? I’m pretty sure I’m the one doing all the pet stuff.”
“I’m your emotional support friend.”
Gerty gave her the side-eye as she parked down the street from the pet store holding the adoption. “Uh-huh.”
They left the car with Klingon on his leash. The adorable fluffball strutted like he owned the street, and more than one person stopped to point him out or ask to pet him.
By the time they got to the crowded pet store, there wasn’t a whole lot of room to work with.
Then Avery saw why. A guy dubbed the Viral Viking had been making the rounds on social media lately. He looked as if he could have stepped out of history—tall, muscular, and extremely attractive.
He stood by the adoption tables in the back, holding up a kitten at the moment, helping with Pets Fur Life.
Next to him Avery saw Reggie and Tex and tensed. “I thought you said Brad wouldn’t be here,” she growled at Gerty.
“He’s not, genius. It’s just those two and the Viking.”
Avery relaxed while Gerty pulled away, Klingon in her arms, as she made her way to the adoption table.
Avery managed to find her minutes later, but before she could join Gerty, she bumped into Brad. Damn Gerty!
“Oh, sorry.”
It wasn’t Brad.
“My fault.” His brother looked down at her with an apologetic expression. “It’s so crowded in here.”
“Hi. You were at the taping on Friday, weren’t you?” She was doing her best to forget how she’d badgered him so many years ago, hoping he’d forgotten it.
He held out a hand. “Oscar Battle. We’ve met.” To his credit, he didn’t say more than that. “You’re Avery, right?” His tone had cooled.
“Yes.” She realized Brad had probably mentioned that she’d be working closely with him. “Look, the past is in the past. I was railroaded into the Friday show, same as your brother. I swear.” She crossed her heart.
He shrugged. “Not my business.”
“He’s your brother. Of course it’s your business.”
Oscar seemed to lose a little steam. “Well, that’s true.”
Wanting for at least one Battle not to hate her, though last night had confused her for sure in regard to Brad, Avery put on an award-winning smile. “So, you’re here to adopt an animal?”
“Kind of.”
She frowned, then saw him glancing at Gerty with more than a little interest on his face. She recalled them both smiling a lot and talking after her taping.
“Wait a minute. Are you the reason my roommate never came home Friday night?”
“Roommate?” He glanced from Gerty to Avery. “Huh. She said you were friends, but I hadn’t realized you were her roommate. The clumsy geek with t
he heart of gold.”
“Gerty.” She fumed.
Oscar laughed. “Hey, that’s complimentary.”
“I’m a geek?” She pointed at the dog Gerty held as she flirted with the Viral Viking. Next to the guy, Gerty looked about as big as a toddler. “She named that puppy Klingon.”
“I know.” Oscar smiled, and he looked so like Brad that Avery could only stare. “Klingon is such a great name. And man, that puppy is cute.” Then he took another look at Gerty smiling up at the Viking and scowled.
“We’re not keeping Klingon,” Avery said, as if to remind herself. “You should see if you can adopt the little guy.” She cautiously navigated forward, trying not to seem as if she were pumping the guy for information. “So, you and Gerty were hanging out, huh? She’s pretty cool, my roommate.”
“Yeah.” He sighed. “And a little judgy.”
“Gerty?”
“Apparently, she’s not a fan of Brad.” He frowned. “I could be just as judgmental, you know, but I’m not. I’m letting you prove yourself.”
“Prove myself?” Gerty had fought with this handsome guy on Avery’s behalf? Avery warmed at the thought. “Wait. Prove myself to you?”
Oscar shrugged. “Doesn’t matter much what I think of you. It only matters that you don’t screw my brother over. Again.”
“Hey, I never screwed him over. I wrote an article chronicling his heroic achievements. And I never did dig for whatever he didn’t want me to find.” Which still bothered her, like an itch she couldn’t scratch. But she’d done enough damage years ago despite her intent to help. “For the record, I never wanted to hurt your brother or use you to do it. I was so impressed by all he’d done overseas. I just wanted him recognized for it. People can be cruel, and he’d already been through a lot. I had no idea how adverse he was to being the center of attention.” She frowned. “Why the heck is he a firefighter? No, don’t answer that. I’m not asking, and I don’t want to know.”
Oscar studied her. “If you want to know about Brad, ask him.”
“No. Nope, not gonna happen. I have to work with him ten minutes every Friday for the next few weeks. That’s as far as I’m interacting with Brad Battle.” Not counting that kiss or the movie last night.
“Don’t you mean Super Hunk FD?” Oscar raised a brow.
She blushed, though it hadn’t been her description. “Gerty’s got a big mouth.”
“But it’s such a pretty big mouth.”
Avery laughed. “You should go talk to her. Compliment Klingon. Donate to the charity or offer to help. She’s a sucker for animals and computer games.”
He brightened. “I know. She’s really into Arrow Sins & Siege.”
“If you can beat a level 49, you’re in.”
“Ah, a challenge. I love it.” He left her when Gerty saw them standing together and headed over to talk to her.
Her BFF’s eyes narrowed, and Avery wondered how Gerty would react to seeing Oscar. She still hadn’t gotten the full story out of her roommate about the drunken sleepover.
Someone nudged her, and she fell backward into someone else. “Oh, sorry.” She turned around to see her mother, of all people, staring at her in shock. “Mom?”
June recovered quickly, but Avery knew surprise when she saw it. “Oh, ah, hi, Avery. How are you, honey?”
“I thought you and Dad were heading to Bainbridge Island this weekend.”
“Oh, we are. I mean, we did.” Her mother’s smile looked way too wide. “We got done early, so—”
“Hey, there, Avery. What are you doing here?” Her father asked from behind June.
Lennox Dearborn looked the way Avery felt. Baffled.
“Dad? Mom was just telling me that you guys were in Bainbridge.”
“We were?”
Her mother laughed. A little nervously, to Avery’s way of thinking. “Sorry, Avery. The line is getting really long. Come on, Len. Let’s not waste time. Bye, honey.”
“But—Bye.” Avery watched them go, wondering what the heck she’d witnessed. Her mother and she spent much of their spare time together when Avery wasn’t hanging with Gerty. Avery didn’t mind. She loved her mom and was used to being an only child with demanding parents—parent, actually—because her father couldn’t care less what she did when not at work. And sadly, she didn’t have that much else going on with her life.
She stared at the back of her mother’s head before the crowd swallowed her up.
“Hey, what’s taking you so long?” Gerty grabbed her by the sleeve and tugged her forward. “You’re helping too,” Gerty insisted.
Avery frowned as she went around the table to stand with Gerty, Reggie, Tex, and the Viral Viking. She couldn’t help looking way up at the guy, who had to be several inches over six feet.
“Axel, man, get a move on. That lady wants to see the kittens,” Reggie dared order the giant. “Oh, hey, Avery.” Reggie’s welcoming smile invited her to move closer. “You know everyone except Rena in the back and Axel.”
The big man nodded. She nodded back, praying he’d keep his serial killer vibe to himself. He seemed much more approachable in pictures and from a distance. Still sexy, but now scary.
“I know, right? He’s like an evil Thor,” Gerty whispered, gazing adoringly up at the man. Oscar stood across the table, glaring at the guy, Avery noted.
“Well, your own evil barbarian is not happy with your fascination.” She bumped Gerty to look over at Oscar. To Avery’s astonishment, Gerty blushed. “Oh my God. You have to tell me what happened Friday night.”
“Later,” Gerty growled and fled to the back room.
Sensing a story, Avery started to move in for the kill when Reggie put a kitten in her hands.
She stood frozen, caught by cuteness overload and an automatic reaction to feline dander.
“Hey, Avery, can you deliver this little guy to the blond by the corner there?” His gentle shove against the small of her back didn’t give her time to say no.
Avery sneezed. “Sure. I think.” She sneezed again and again and barely made it to the lady before she sneezed her fool head off. Her eyes had started watering as well.
By the time she returned to Reggie, he was doing his best not to laugh. “Uh-oh. I’m sorry, Avery. I had no idea. Not good with cats, eh?” Reggie asked, his sympathy more than welcome.
“No.” She sneezed and sniffed, not sure how accompanying Gerty had resulted in her holding a cat.
“Back here, come on.” He led her back to Gerty, who was talking with a pretty woman about the same age. The conversation stopped as soon as Avery entered, and she started feeling paranoid. Why did everyone stop talking or look guilty when she arrived?
Reggie patted Avery on the shoulder. “Rena, do we have any antihistamines?”
Rena smiled. “Sure, Reggie. I’ll get some.”
Reggie turned and left.
Gerty shook her head. “You and cats. You’re a menace, Avery.”
Avery sneezed. “Me? I thought I was just being a good friend by coming with you to swing by, but you dragged me inside. Then Reggie put the furball into my hands and shot me toward someone like a guided missile.” She wiped her eyes. “What was I supposed to do?” She turned to Rena. “Where do I know you from?” Avery would swear she’d recognized the woman’s warm smile and sunny curls. She had medium-brown skin and wore a lovely sweater with strategically ripped jeans. Stylish and glowing with joy, she had Avery returning a watery smile.
Gerty pointed at Rena. “This is the other half of the Viral Viking. Rena’s his girlfriend.”
“And hairstylist,” Rena added, holding out a hand in greeting.
“Ah. That’s where I know you from. That shot of you and the Viking online.”
“Great to meet you, Avery. Gerty’s told me so much about you.”
“Really?”
“Well, at our last event a few weeks ago. Axel—he’s the Viral Viking—has been helping with the pet adoptions. And Reggie and the guys keep inviting us out, so I’ve been trying to help out more. Congratulations. I hear you’re keeping Kl—”
“A close eye on those firemen out there,” Gerty said loudly, narrowing her gaze at Rena.
Rena blinked. “Oh, ah, right. Yeah. I mean, those guys are just so handsome, aren’t they? Station 44 has the best-looking firemen in the city. Or is it firefighters? Although I haven’t seen the women there, so I really can’t comment beyond Reggie and his crew.”
“No idea.” Avery’s throat felt scratchy, and she hastened to accept the pill and water bottle Rena handed her. After she’d downed it, she used the sink in the nearest bathroom to splash her face with cold water. After a few minutes, she started to feel better.
She returned to find Gerty waiting for her. A thought struck. “Was that nondrowsy stuff, I hope?”
“Er…” Gerty looked at the box then back at Avery. “Nope.”
“This is so not my day.” Avery sighed, knowing she’d be asleep before long. She didn’t do well with medications that could make her drowsy. No “could” about it. They knocked her right out. “Did I tell you I saw my mom out there? The same woman supposedly visiting Bainbridge Island right now. My dad too.”
“Well, maybe they came back to shop or something.”
“It was weird. My mom didn’t seem happy to see me.”
“She sees you all the time. Maybe she’s tired of you.” Trust Gerty to keep it real.
“Maybe.”
“Or maybe it’s all just an odd coincidence.”
“Right. Tell me about Oscar.”
“Here?” Gerty’s voice rose. “Now?”
“Before I fall asleep.” She yawned.
“Why don’t you…” Gerty trailed off as Oscar entered the back room.
Rena took a look at all three of them and excused herself to help her boyfriend.
“Hi, Gerty.” Oscar looked adorably awkward, kind of shy yet not as he devoured her best friend with his eyes.
“Oscar.” Gerty sounded stiff and a bit…embarrassed?
