Chapter 9

CADE

Happy Halloween

Cade smiled at his phone, looking at the simple text, and couldn't hold back the chuckle that escaped him. This was insane. Having someone dress up nicely shouldn't have affected it because then that made him vain but seeing Holly in a different light had done a number on him. When he'd first seen her after the accident, he thought that was the shortest guy he'd ever met – and honestly, it prevented him from taking a swing at the little ‘fella' when ‘he' brazenly shoved him. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that the town's beloved mechanic was a spitfire of a girl.

Sass, confidence, and spunk were his biggest weaknesses – and Holly had all three in spades. It was just a hard pill to swallow when he felt a bolt of attraction and thought it was a guy. Her hair was always kept up or stuffed in that ratty baseball cap, her nails were short, chipped, and unkempt. She wore steel-toe boots, baggy clothes that had been greasy each time he saw her until yesterday.

Yesterday, Cade looked up and spotted the most beautiful woman that he'd seen in his life – an angel with a halo of blonde curls around her head – and had been drawn forward. He expected to say ‘hello,' flirt just a bit, maybe get her number… but when he looked into those familiar eyes and saw the flare of recognition, everything in his brain came to a screeching halt.

His ‘angel'… was the unknown grease monkey he was supposed to talk to about his truck, whom he'd called a ‘Creature' to her face. Seeing her standing there, having removed any of the masculinity she hid behind, he saw the woman in her – and was horrified at the amount of guilt within him. He would never treat a lady like that or call her names. His mother would have hung his hide out to dry if she was still alive.

"I thought you didn't like us to be on our phones, captain?" Mayberry teased, looking over at him. "You texting a new girlfriend or one of those others you went to dinner with that week. Is it girl ‘A,' ‘B,' or ‘C'?"

Cade winced.

That was not the reputation he wanted to have in town, and combined with the fact that he'd lied through his teeth to Holly about being interested— yeah, really not good. It did not bode well for anything at all to call a future girlfriend a ‘Creature-Feature,' argue with her several times, have a reputation of getting around, nor was he ready to announce his intentions to everyone else. Things had a way of getting twisted, warped, and blown out of proportion.

"First of all, Mayberry - eyes on the road, okay?" Cade grinned, looking at the older man. "Secondly, it wasn't girlfriend ‘A,' ‘B,' or ‘C' that I was taking to the same restaurant. I'd been in town only a few days and knew of one place – and each of them had been eager to go on a date. Who knew the three amigos were actually like…" and Cade paused as he realized everyone in the cab of the truck was listening to see how he described them. No, he didn't need it getting around town that he called those three women a hydra, Cerebus, or a pack of bloodthirsty wolves.

"Anyhow," he began again, clearing his throat. "I'm just texting Beary about my truck."

"Mannnn-oh-man," Jude sighed dramatically. "Did you see ol' Beary at the festival yesterday? Holy cow! Who knew she was hot under those coveralls and…"

"… And I was asking her to dinner," Cade interrupted hotly, looking back at Jude and laying claim to his woman bluntly. The bear had been poked directly in a wound, and if Jude thought Holly was going out with anyone else…

His thoughts paused as he heard the three men start laughing in awareness just before they started exchanging money. Mayberry handed a twenty-dollar-bill over his shoulder as Jude snatched it, winking at him.

"Y'all had a bet going?" Cade blurted out.

"Layin' odds – yes."

"You thought I was going to ask Beary out?"

"Ya' shoulda seen your face, captain," Jude grinned. "I ain't never seen you go all soft and mushy that quickly."

"Who all knows about this bet?"

"Well, I've gotta collect my money from the chief and…"

"The chief bet on me?"

"He bet that you wouldn't ask Beary out."

"You all bet that I would?"

"Nawww," Rodney laughed. "I told Jude that you wouldn't do it."

"I didn't think you had it in you either, captain," Mayberry agreed.

"Why?" Cade asked simply, kind of taken aback. Why were they all so certain that he wouldn't be interested in Holly?

"She's not your type," Rodney volunteered, and Mayberry nodded before adding to the comment. "You are kinda highfaluting or pretentious if you don't mind me saying. You want things a certain way, people to fall into line when you snap your fingers, and that just isn't how a small town works."

"I'm from a small town," Cade gaped in shock. "And I'm not highfaluting – nor am I pretentious. Ember Creek was no bigger than Sweet Bloom, but everyone understood their role."

"And you think we don't?"

"I don't know!" Cade retorted bluntly, looking over his shoulder and beside him at the three men as they pulled back into the fire department from their last call. "I honestly don't know. I mean, let's take Mayberry…"

"Oh boy," Rodney muttered under his breath.

"Mayberry is our engineer – but every time you guys are running into a house that is on fire, you'd like water or foam… wouldn't you? Well, you know what Mayberry is doing at the truck? He's jawing with the onlookers, scratching himself, and checking his cell phone! That's your water, your lifeline, your backup from the truck," Cade hollered, no longer holding back his temper as the three men looked at him in shocked silence. "I've told you I want lights and ladders on every fire, giving these two men an exit – and it's an argument, or you roll your eyes at me. What if they got trapped?"

Cade drew in a deep breath, knowing he should stop, but couldn't help himself – and pointed at Rodney, whom Jude nudged silently with his eyes wide and staring at Cade as if to tell the other man, ‘You're next!'…

"Rodney is so distracted by the gossip being texted to him that he is not capable of telling Mayberry if he needs another line, more pressure, or if he's in trouble. He's too busy on his phone, even in a fire, to focus – and you know what gets a firefighter killed on the scene? Distraction!"

His hands were shaking and he knew he was getting well beyond the point of no return – and if he was getting fired for saying what had been building the last few months, it was time he cleared the table. If he got canned, they would at least be alive when he packed up his gear and left.

"Jude, you are so young, so innocent, that you think all of this is normal – and fall in line with them because you want to learn… and God help me, that is the scariest part. You are learning from people whose ‘Give-a-crap' attitude broke long ago. I tell you what needs to happen, yet you look to Rodney or Mayberry and do what they say; but I'm your captain."

It wasn't a temper-tantrum but a heartbreaking plea for help and understanding.

"I'm your captain and responsible for your lives. I wake up each morning wondering how I can reach you, tell you how things should be, try to teach you like I was taught. Every night, I go to bed with an upset stomach, tension headache, and fraught with worry because I know it's a matter of time before one of you dies in front of me," Cade hissed, his eyes burning with tears as he looked each of them in the eye. "I'm going to fail you because I cannot seem to reach through the bad habits to show you how to save yourselves in an emergency."

Nobody said a word for several seconds as they sat staring at each other, and Jude spoke first.

"Why do you want Mayberry to put up ladders and lights at every fire… captain?"

Cade sniffed and cleared his throat, looking away and feeling ashamed that he'd let himself get that upset. If they didn't care, maybe he shouldn't, but he wasn't built like that. He wanted to be so much like Reese and felt like an abysmal failure right now.

"I was on a call one time and got trapped in an attic space that someone had converted to a toy room, so my nearest exit was the roof. I used my ax and pike to pull myself upward away from the fire – and my engineer ran forward to put up a ladder for me. Ever since then, my captain insisted there was a ladder no matter if it was one story or three because we had to have an exit."

"And the lights?"

"I bought those big LED lights because you can at least see a glow through the heavy smoke. I hate being completely blind in a fire, and that light at least gives me a reference point," Cade answered simply and grabbed his hat, cell phone, and notepad off the dash. "Let's go eat while we can."

"Oww! What'd you do that for?" Mayberry hollered, looking over his shoulder at Jude. "Why'd you slap my head that hard."

Cade looked at their faces, and Jude looked downright furious. The younger man was putting his finger in Mayberry's face – and it was trembling. His mouth was pressed together, and the anger was coming off of the kid in waves.

"I want a freakin' ladder and those LEDs from now on, fat man!"

"Ha, ha, ha," Rodney chortled wildly – only to have Jude turn on him, too.

"And the captain is right! Your stupid cell phone stays in the truck because you nearly left me on the last call. If I hadn't poked you by mistake with my pike, I don't think you would have realized it."

"Hey! We weren't gonna talk about that!" Rodney hissed, glancing at Cade, whose eyes widened with awareness. Jude almost got lost in a fire and left behind… and no one thought to inform him? He hadn't known?

"I'm done with this station being the joke of the town, and y'all didn't see how the people were greeting C-Captain Pruitt at the festival," Jude said openly, not bothering to hide his emotions. The young man's voice cracked as he spoke – and for the first time, Cade wondered if he'd made a breakthrough by actually spilling his guts. "They looked at Captain Pruitt like he was some hero, and I want people to look at me like that too. I want three dates in a week, to have girls tripping over themselves to talk to me, and for people to respect me like they do him – and none of that happens if you two big boobs get me killed!"

"You ain't gonna get killed, kiddo, he's just trying to get you to…" Mayberry started – and Cade shut him down immediately.

"And your butt won't run into a fire to help him if he's trapped," Cade said bluntly. "That's why the chief made you the engineer. You are good with the engine and certified, but you don't like being a line man. You're the best engineer I've seen – and I rely on you so much," he uttered, trying to stroke the man's ego and layering praise… just like Reese.

"If Jude gets trapped," Cade continued, looking between the two upset men. "I'm going to tell you to hold back the crowd, gimme more pressure, and then I'm going in after our brother. We're a ‘made family' – a team – and nobody gets left behind on my watch. I'll die trying to get any of you out because that is what a team, a family does and like it or not – I consider you part of my new family."

"You know, the chief believes in cross-training," Mayberry said quietly. "So maybe I can show you a few things on this old truck so I don't feel so helpless if someone gets in trouble."

And Cade nearly fist-pumped the air. He'd done it! He'd reached his team, and they were talking, listening, and learning now.

"I would love that, Mayberry, and I think I could learn a lot from you as well as the other guys."

"Jude – I'll make sure you have a ladder and lights."

"Thanks… brother."

"You bet."

"I can leave my phone if it's bothering you," Rodney said quietly, looking beside himself. "I just didn't realize it was such a distraction, and I would never forgive myself if something happened because of me."

"Now you know how I feel every time we get a call," Cade admitted, looking back at Rodney. "We're a family, and I think maybe it's time we start working on it. How about when we get off work, we go have breakfast together in town… on me. I'll buy."

"Hey, ya hear that, big boy?" Jude chuckled, patting Mayberry's shoulder emphatically. "Kids eat for free!"

And all of them laughed hard, looking at each other and bursting out laughing again. It was like everything that had been circling around them had finally clicked into place. Now it was just keeping them there. Friendship, knowledge, respect, and trust.

Cade looked at Mayberry, putting his trust in the trio listening.

"I was texting Holly to wish her a Happy Halloween," he admitted. "I am going to ask her to dinner, but I haven't figured out how. We didn't have the best introduction, and I need to think about it."

"Pshawww," Jude scoffed, waving him off. "Just ask her – because that girl ain't dated a real guy yet. She keeps letting Krista set her up on these blind dates out of friendship and pity."

"She wasn't already interested in someone else prior to accepting those blind dates?"

"Heck no – and they aren't interested in her either. I don't think ol' Beary has ever been asked out or romanced," Rodney added, looking at him – only to feel Mayberry elbow him as the older man gave him a knowing wink.

"You ought to slowly romance the girl before you ask her out. You know, flowers, cards, dumb little trinkets. When you go fishing, you cast the line and let the bait do the work for you. Trust me, you'll get a fish!"

Cade chuckled in amazement, looking at his new ‘family' and smiled.

"Thank you – and I appreciate the information."

"You betcha."

It was several hours later when Cade finally got a text back from Holly, and he had been wondering if she was ignoring him, found the little pumpkin, or if she truly wasn't interested in more than just an easy friendship. He could have sworn there was something in her incredible eyes, but he had been wrong before.

Several times before, he thought grimly, putting his hands behind his head on his bunk and listening to Rodney play a video game on his phone instead of sleeping. Mayberry and Jude were both ‘sawing logs' – and that was what he should be doing, except he couldn't sleep.

Tonight, being Halloween, usually brought about at least a few problems. Candles falling over in pumpkins, flame-retardant costumes weren't ‘flame-proof,' or an overzealous kid would run out in front of a car. Yeah, he loved the holidays with a passion, but it also made people reckless... and his phone beeped.

Happy Halloween to you too!

Is this officially a trick?

Sorry I didn't reply sooner – I was reinstalling the transmission on the minivan. I ended up having to rebuild it. All the syncros and planetary gears arrived this morning. I didn't want to leave it hanging on the lift on the jackstands.

Can I shame myself now and ask what a ‘syncro' or ‘planetary gear' is?

The cool stuff in an automatic transmission that makes it go vroom.

Are you mocking me?

Maybe…

Cade chuckled at the admission, realizing that he liked how she wasn't afraid to speak her mind. It was nice not to chat with some meek girl who was afraid to make you upset. This was real, and he could deal with a dose of sass on occasion.

Butter got a present last night.

You almost got buckshot in your butt last night.

He couldn't help the burst out loud laughter that exploded from him, interrupting the snore-fest nearby as Rodney shushed him, giving him a knowing grin from across the dimly lit room.

Was that a threat?

Nope. Stating a fact. Girls react weirdly when they see someone tripping the motion detectors behind their home, and you could have knocked.

I wanted to surprise you.

Me?

Why?

Just because

Because WHYYY?

Because, because…

And Cade put a rolling eye emoji on the screen, hoping she wouldn't press for more because he really wasn't sure how far he wanted to go with this in a text message.

Fine. You win. We'll leave it at ‘Because…' and fill in the blanks when appropriate.

Sounds like a plan.

You're strange.

Strangely nice?

Hmm… we'll see.

His heart flipped in his chest weirdly as he saw her put a winking emoji on the screen. Maybe she was playing slightly hard to get, just like him. Wouldn't that be weird if perhaps she was just as nervous about this… just like him?

Happy Halloween, again. I've got to get some shut-eye. Maybe we'll talk soon?

I'd like that. Good night, and be safe.

Hey – thanks! I appreciate that more than you know. Firefighters have a quirk; we don't ever say ‘BYE.' We're superstitious.

I get it. It's hard when you say ‘bye'… and then it is.

Exactly.

So, we'll talk soon?

You betcha.