by Lynn Hagen
Stopping behind the counter, Spencer made a small plate of food to take into the office with him. He had spent his lunch hour with Johnny. The tea had been great, but now he was starving.
He felt like Recker at the moment, wanting to eat everything in front of him. But instead of making a pig of himself, Spencer grabbed some fish and a small cup of coleslaw. He wasn’t that big of a meat eater. He enjoyed it once in a blue moon, but not all the time. His eating habits swayed more toward natural foods and soy products.
“Can I get a rib dinner?”
Spencer’s hand froze midair as he heard a deep, melodic voice behind him. He was afraid to turn around as his breath became caught in his lungs. Who in the hell owned that wickedly sexy voice? Spencer’s hand began to tremble so he set the plate down before he dropped it.
“Dine in or carry out?” Parker asked in his usual I’d rather be doing something else tone.
“I’ll take it to go,” the stranger answered, his voice a siren call that held the promise of hot passion and sensual, sexual exploration. Spencer blinked, wondering where in the heck that thought had come from.
Swallowing hard, he peeked over his shoulder and felt his heart jump into his throat. The man standing behind the counter was big, beefy, and deliciously handsome. It only took a millisecond for Spencer to realize he was staring at his mate.
He was freaking huge!
God, no!
Spencer had had enough of testosterone-filled men. Why would fate do this to him? But as he stood there frozen to the spot, Spencer couldn’t help but want the guy. His body proved that point when his cock grew thick as his heart hammered in his chest and he began to sweat profusely.
He needed to escape.
Before he could make his legs work properly, smoky-grey eyes locked on to him. Two deeply embedded dimples appeared on either side of the man’s mouth.
Spencer whimpered.
The guy was well over six feet tall, closer to six and a half. His red T-shirt stretched across the expanse of his chest and arms, making Spencer’s mouth turn dry. His eyes flickered over the emblem on his mate’s shirt and saw the Brac Village Firehouse logo.
He felt his knees grow weak as he leaned into the back counter, trying to prevent himself from buckling to the floor. His mate was walking around the counter, coming after Spencer!
“Hey,” his mate said in a low tone that told Spencer the guy was happy to meet him.
Spencer’s throat closed up on him, making it impossible to respond. The closer the man advanced toward him, the further away Spencer leaned. He felt excited and panicked at the same time. The combined emotions made Spencer feel like he was about to throw up.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Recker.
Spencer was frozen to the spot as he watched his best friend walk with angry strides from the dining room area. “Recker, no!” Spencer threw out his hands up in a way that told Recker that he didn’t need to come any closer. Like that was going to stop the rhino.
This was a disaster!
Priest came from the back of the kitchen, throwing himself at Recker. It was like watching two continents collide. Recker was a shifter. Priest was human. His best friend should’ve bowled his boss over. But his boss managed to keep Recker at bay—although Spencer really wasn’t sure how Priest had accomplished that feat.
“Get away from him,” Recker said in a low and lethal growl as he began to push Priest away from him.
To Spencer’s amazement, his mate pivoted away from him and gave his own warning growl. The voice was on the other end of the scale from what Spencer had heard just a few moments before. It was no longer melodic. The tone held the promise of death. “Mine!”
Chapter Two
Fire Chief Bear Callahan wasn’t sure who this man was, but if the guy came anywhere near his mate, Bear was going to rip his head off. A tendon ticked in his jaw as he considered the stranger a potential risk. It had never dawned on him that when he found his mate the guy would be in a relationship. His beast wanted to eviscerate the bastard.
Bear didn’t share…period.
“Stop it!” his mate shouted as he straightened. Bear’s eyes flickered over the guy’s face, drinking in his cinnamon-brown eyes, short, spiky honey-blond hair, and his beautiful pouting lips. Bear was enthralled. The top of his mate’s head barely reached Bear’s pecs and his body was compact and slim.
He was perfect.
“What’s going on, Spencer?” the guy who had been coming after Bear with a mean scowl on his face asked. The scowl had been replaced by a look of confusion. He was staring directly at Bear’s mate, which gave him a name to put with the gorgeous face now. The short guy’s name was Spencer.
Spencer threw his hands into the air animatedly as his head bobbed slightly around. “The world has gone mad, that’s what. It seems everyone has lost their minds today.”
Bear stuck his hand out to the human and tipped his head in greeting. “Fire Chief Bear Callahan.”
He thought his hand would go unaccepted, but then, the human gave Bear’s hand one strong pump. There was uncertainty in the move, the guy’s gesture more of a reflex than understanding what was going on. “Priest Mosley, proprietor.”
“That still doesn’t tell me why you went after my best friend,” the shifter snapped at Bear.
Bear inhaled deeply, scenting predator, but couldn’t put his finger on what exactly this guy was. His scent was strange, wild. It also settled his nerves to know the man was nothing more than his mate’s best friend. Having this knowledge, Bear gave the man some leeway.
“I went after your best friend because he’s my mate.”
The shifter looked stunned as his eyes traveled from Bear to Spencer. “Is this true, Spence? Is he really your mate?”
“What’s a mate?” the cashier asked. In all the ruckus, Bear had forgotten they had an audience.
“Take this into my office.” Priest waved toward the back of the restaurant. “I think we provided enough entertainment to the customers for one afternoon.”
Bear followed behind his mate. Spencer’s best friend was behind him. Bear didn’t like having the man at his back, but kept his cool. Once they were inside the office, Bear settled against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest, and letting his mate handle this.
“Answer me, Spence. Is he your mate?”
Bear watched his mate pull at the hem of his shirt. It was a move he had seen often, and he knew it for what it was. Spencer glanced at the clock, phone, and then lastly, the door. His darting gaze was everywhere. Finally, Spencer shrugged. “Maybe,” Spencer replied as he shoved his hands into his back pocket, glancing toward the floor.
Bear didn’t like the fact that his mate felt trapped. He hadn’t done anything that he could think of to make the man afraid of him. He knew he was a stranger to Spencer. He wanted to change that, but knew that would take time. For now, Bear just wanted to know a little bit about him.
“What do you mean maybe? Either he is or he isn’t.”
Friend or no friend, Bear was getting tired of the man’s aggressive behavior.
“Okay.” Spencer ran a hand over his spiky hair, exhaling loudly. His mate was hesitant, and it took him a moment to answer. Finally, he gave a reluctant nod. “He’s my mate.”
Why did it seem like the shifter was bending Spencer’s arm in order to get him to answer? Was Spencer ashamed of Bear? His eyes searched Spencer’s, feeling something slipping loose inside of him. If he hadn’t felt the electricity thrumming in the air between them, Bear would have thought he was being rejected.
But as reluctant as Spencer was acting, the man’s eyes were churning with curiosity as he cocked his head almost imperceptibly. His mate was checking Bear out.
The best friend turned toward Bear with an angry scowl. Bear matched the expression with his own intimidating fierceness. “Hurt him and nothing will stop me from coming after you.”
Before Bear could reply, the man lef
t the room just as fiercely as he had entered it. He stood there for a moment staring at the door, wondering if he was going to have to deal with Spencer’s best friend all the time. He sure as hell hoped not. It was exhausting just being around him this short period of time. “Nice fella.”
At first, his mate didn’t say anything, just stared at Bear as though he were some strange new species that Spencer had never encountered before. But he seemed to slowly come out of his daze as his eyes seemed to come back into focus. “He’s harmless…sort of. Okay, he has a short fuse. But he’s a very good friend.”
Rubbing the back of his neck, Bear stared down at his mate. Now that all the interference was gone, the tension of who everybody was fading, they stood there in an awkward silence. “Hi.” He felt sixteen all over again, asking someone out for the first time. He hadn’t been good at it then, and he sucked at it now. “In case you missed it, name’s Bear.”
Spencer dipped his head, his chin nearly touching his chest as a smile tugged at the edges of his lips. He glanced up at Bear through the fall of his lashes, making Bear’s heart beat even faster. “No, I got it the first time.”
The smile was infectious. Bear’s mouth twisted to the side in a satisfied grin. His mate was shy. He liked that. Growing up in the slums, dealing with people who would rather stab people in their back than help them out, Spencer’s personality was refreshing, welcoming. “I know you need to get back to work. I was just wondering if you wanted to come by the firehouse when you got off.”
Although Spencer was a complete stranger to him, that didn’t matter to Bear. In the shifter world mates were a precious find. A shifter was given only one mate—although Bear had heard about some men getting a second chance. Those incidents were so rare that a person had a better chance of winning the lottery twice in a row. Shifters took mating very seriously. That was why there was a law among their kind that prohibited anyone from interfering.
That was also why a cheating mate was dealt with harshly and severely.
Spencer’s cinnamon-brown eyes were darting between Bear and the floor. “You won’t get in trouble if I come by?”
Bear shook his head as he tapped the emblem on his shirt. “Fire chief. I am the boss. Come by anytime you like.” He wanted to touch his mate, kiss him, something. But from the way Spencer was acting, Bear knew he would have to ease the man into the relationship.
He had no problem with that. He had never courted anyone before, and the idea appealed to him on so many different levels.
“I’ll—” Spencer cleared his throat. “I’ll be by after work.”
Curling his fingers in to stop himself from reaching out, Bear gave Spencer one more long look before he exited the office. His heart was fluttering as he walked by the cashier. All he could think about was the spiky little blond-haired man.
“Work everything out?” Priest asked from the door leading to the outside where Bear could see smoke curling in the air.
“Yeah.” Bear nodded. “Thanks for understanding.”
“Not a problem.” Priest walked out the door and Bear headed toward the exit. This morning had been shitty as hell, but it looked like his day was improving. He remembered as he climbed into his truck that he hadn’t gotten a chance to eat lunch.
Going back inside wasn’t an option. He didn’t want to look desperate. Bear was just going to have to make a quick stop at the diner. As he drove through town, Bear waved at a few people he had gotten to know since moving to Brac Village.
He had never lived in a small town before, and found it quite refreshing to actually get to know some of the residents. It was a far cry from how he had grown up. There was no hustle and bustle here and no noisy street life. People stopped on the street to say hello, or they simply gave a friendly wave. It had taken some getting used to, but now that Bear had experienced this rich life, he couldn’t fathom how he had lived without it.
Pulling in front of the diner, Bear quickly went in, ordered his food, and was back outside. Well, it hadn’t gone that fast, but he had already taken too much time from the firehouse as it was.
He didn’t have a set amount of time for lunch, but Bear never stayed away too long. Not only was he swamped with duties, the men that worked there acted more like juveniles than adults. Most days he felt more like a babysitter than their boss.
But he wasn’t going to complain. Bear loved his job and wouldn’t trade his position for the world, juvenile-acting men and all.
When he returned to work, Bear found Travis and Reno lounging in the media room, watching television. “Don’t you two have anything better to do? Like cleaning the rig or getting dinner ready?”
“But it’s only lunchtime,” Travis complained as he glanced over his shoulder to look at Bear.
Bear gave him the look, the one that said he didn’t want to hear the bullshit or whining.
“I’m going. I’m going.” Travis jumped up from the chair with a mute scowl on his face and left the media room.
“And you?” Bear glanced at Reno.
“Hey, I’m waiting on Bailey to get here so I can go home. I’ve already worked thirty-six hours. Baker is going to kill me if I’m late for dinner again.” Reno kicked back in the chair, pressing the buttons on the remote.
Reno’s statement only reminded Bear of Spencer. What would it be like to be wallowing in domestic bliss? It was something Bear had always dreamed of, but had never experienced. Being a shifter, there was a high probability that one’s mate would never be found. Bear had entertained the idea of just settling down, but he had never found the right person.
He was damn glad that he had waited.
Bear walked into the kitchen area and grabbed a drink from the refrigerator. “Let me know when Bailey gets here. I need to talk to him. I’ll be in my office if you need me.”
“You got it, boss.” Reno waved over his head, his eyes glued to the TV. Bear headed into his office, closed the door, and settled down at his desk to eat his lunch. He was starving. He had been running late this morning and had skipped breakfast. He could eat a horse right about now.
But his luck was once again taking a dive. A call came in about a house on fire and Bear was out of his chair in seconds. Reno looked pissed, but there was nothing any of them could do about it. He had a few new men starting next week, but that wouldn’t help their shorthandedness at the moment.
Geared up, Reno jumped into the driver seat as Bear climbed in beside him. Travis hopped in the back seconds later. He really couldn’t wait until the new men started. Two had quit last week, and another two had transferred to other fire stations.
One of the men Bear had gotten into a heated debate with because the guy was used to the old chief. He didn’t like the way Bear ran things. So, Bear told him to take a hike if didn’t like the change.
The guy had done just that.
Apparently he was sleeping with the other guy who quit, because the other guy walked out with the one Bear had argued with.
The two who had transferred were close to retirement. One wanted to be close to his family in another state. The other had an ailing mother who needed him to care for her.
That left three men under Bear’s supervision. His worst fear was that a fire would break out that they couldn’t contain because of the shorthandedness.
Just as they were about to leave, Bailey shot into the bay and quickly suited up, giving Bear an apologetic look. Bear didn’t want apologies. He wanted men who knew how to start their shift on time. It wasn’t like he had an overabundance of firefighters to being with. Every man counted.
Once Bailey was on the truck, they were off. It took them several minutes to navigate through town and out to where the smoke was churning in thick clouds from a ranch-style home.
Reno parked the rig and everyone jumped into action. Bear was barking orders as he lent a hand. The blaze had consumed the house, but the woods weren’t too far behind the structure. If the woods caught fire, they were in a heap of trouble.
&nb
sp; Brac Village was very green. The fire would spread and do some serious damage. Although they were on the outskirts of town, the woods were all around them. It wouldn’t take too much for it to spread.
The four of them worked for the next few hours trying to contain the fire. It wasn’t easy. There was a small barn behind the house that had gone up in a blaze as well. The men were stretched thin.
As Bear combated the flames, a strong odor of gasoline hit his senses. Someone had used it as an accelerant. He knew in that moment that this fire was started on purpose. The house was empty—no occupants lived here. He knew this from the overgrown weeds and vines that were close to the house.
But he would wait until that could be confirmed.
Travis and Bailey were currently checking the house for occupants as Bear and Reno brought the fire under control. He hated that it was only two firefighters inside. He would prefer to have more, but there was nothing Bear could do about that. Not until his new men started next week.
As the flames died down and the smoke turned from a heavy grey into a milky white, Bear finally took a deep breath.
What an afternoon.
He was going to have to call the fire marshal in on this one. Bear had known a few people who had left gasoline cans close to something combustible. But that scenario was far and few. His gut told him this was premeditated.
The only way to officially write this down as intentionally set was to have Fire Marshall Aaron check the place out. Bear knew what the guy was going to say. The smell of gasoline was heavy in the air.
Bear was relieved when Travis and Bailey came out of the house unscathed and empty-handed. Bailey walked over to him and removed his helmet. “All clear, boss. Nobody’s inside. We swept the house and barn and didn’t find any more hot spots.”
“Let’s get this wrapped up,” Bear said as he headed back toward the truck to let dispatch know everything was under control. He also told Felix—the dispatcher—to get a hold of Fire Marshal Aaron. With their town so small, Brac Village shared their fire marshal with the Eastern pack.
