It was just the town sign—CREST LAKE.
I felt stupid flinching like that. Might as well have a neon sign flashing "WUSS!" on my forehead. But this whole scene was unnerving. If I'd been alone, I would be cursing up a storm, pleading with God, or maybe panic crying. But with a macho fireman in the car, I had to tone down the drama. That didn't mean I wasn't freaking out deep down in my little gay heart.
"It's gonna be all right, Shane," Mike said quietly.
"Do you really think that?" I turned my head to look at him so I could read his eyes. I could always tell when people were lying by their eyes.
Mike stared right back. He looked… kind in that moment—or at least sympathetic. Like he didn't find me annoying or cowardly. "Yeah, I do. I trust the stations working on this—and the cops. And I'm with you. You're gonna be okay."
"And Pops," I said firmly.
He smiled. "Yes, your grandfather and his Aggravation-fu are going to be okay too."
I sighed. He was so confident. It did make me feel better. "Thank you, Mike."
Maybe Mike the fireman wasn't as much of a waste as I'd thought.
Chapter two
Mike
What? Why me?
Admittedly, that had not been my finest moment. Shane had glared at me when I'd said it, as if I was a high school bully complaining about him being assigned to my team in volleyball or something. But that wasn't what I'd meant.
At least, not for the most part.
But when Chief Reiger assigned me to go with the flaming gay guy—in his ridiculous pink BITE ME hoodie, gray legging jogger-type pants that cuffed at the ankle, and metallic gold Converse tennies—my first reaction had been fear. As if I was being singled out because I was gay. The thing is, I'm not out yet. Not to my station. And not to my family either.
It was… complicated. I loved my family. But if there was a more macho, football-watching, beer-swilling, weight-lifting, testosterone-driven family than the Canalis, I didn't wanna know about it. To the Canalis two things were gospel. One: family. And two: being a man.
And my dad and brothers had very definite ideas about what being a man meant. As the youngest, I'd always looked up to them, so I wasn't exactly looking forward to facing the shit storm that would be my coming out.
Like I said: complicated.
But, anyway, Chief hadn't given me the assignment for that reason, as Donny pointed out in his oh-so-mature way. And I'd looked like an asshole to Shane.
Not that it mattered what Shane thought of me. All I wanted was to get him to his grandfather's place, load the old guy up, and get back to my crew. Then I'd never see Shane again.
I'd never spent time around guys like Shane and didn't want to. That level of flamboyance made me uncomfortable. I mean, there was nothing wrong with it. You do you, bro. It just wasn't me.
No, Shane wasn't my type at all. Even if he did have the most beautiful eyes I'd ever seen on a human being. They were large and a brilliant teal blue surrounded by black lashes that
matched his shoulder-length black curly hair. But the best part about his eyes was how clear they were. They were so clear and sparkling, the whites were absolutely white and pure, like he'd never had a bad moment in his life, and wasn't surrounded by an irritant as toxic as this smoke. They were The Picture of Dorian Gray perfect. Like, how was that even possible?
Well, not just his eyes. He also had super clear and perfect skin—probably moisturized with some expensive shit. His soft lips were a little too pink to be natural. Lip balm maybe. All organic and gluten-free, no doubt. Tall and skinny. Almost fragile-looking. So unlike the thick Canali physique. I glanced at his hands gripping the steering wheel. Nice hands. Long fingers. And, currently, white knuckles.
White knuckles. Shane was scared shitless. Maybe I should stop ogling him and do my fucking job. He was being brave just driving forward into this shit. I'd been fighting the Dixie fire for a week, and it still scared me too.
"What are you studying at Sac State, Shane?" I asked, hoping to distract him.
He blinked those blue eyes, both hands clutching the wheel like it was a life preserver. "Me? Oh. Um. Literature and English. I'd like to write. Something. Anything. Like, documentation or ad copy or whatever pays the bills. But I also want to be an editor. Like, for a big publisher? It would be cool being that close to the process. I love books."
He was babbling nervously, but it was better than panicking.
"What kinds of books do you like?" I asked.
"I read all the things. Science fiction, horror, thrillers, even a little romance. Especially the older romances, with all the dashing heroes, because real-life dating kind of sucks
ass? And of course I have to read classics for my classes, and they're all amazing. Well, mostly amazing. Even when they're bigoted or sexist or whatever. Because you learn so much about the era and what…."
Shane trailed off as we passed a group of firefighters working a few feet from the road on the right. It looked like they were trying to establish a new line to keep the south fire
back from the highway. Highway 49 was the only major road going in and out of Crest Lake, and thus the only evacuation route. I was glad to see them pushing the fire back here because, yeah, it was too damn close, and there were a lot of cars stuck in the traffic jam. But, shit, this was a new development and not good. I looked up at the trees next to the road. I could see the tops of them here and there as smoke blew around. They were waving around and bending in wind gusts. Not. Good.
Shane's gaze fixed on the firefighters as we passed, those blue eyes wide and scared.
I reached out and touched his shoulder. "See? We've got it all under control."
He gave me a doubtful look. Shane wasn't stupid. But he focused back on the road. "Talk to me about something else. Tell me about your brothers. Huey, Dewey, and Louie, was it?"
I chuckled, though I was still uneasy. "Pretty much. Donny, Tony, Andrew—we call him Ace—Paul, and Gabe. Donny and Tony are in my station."
"Is that weird, working so closely with your older brothers? Do they give you a hard time?"
I shrugged. "Sure. But I give them a hard time right back. I dunno. I'm used to having a big family around, so it seems normal to me. They're good guys, really."
"Hard to imagine. I have one brother, but he's eight years older and I haven't seen him since, well, since I left home when I was sixteen and went to live with Pops. My mom and dad and brother, they're Seventh-Day Adventists. Uber religious."
Shane mentioned his mom and dad kicking him out before. Add in religion and his flamboyance and it wasn't hard to guess why. The thought made me sick. Family should never desert family. Not ever. My family would never do that to me.
I hoped not, anyway. God, that would kill me.
"Oh! There's Mo's Diner. Thank God!" Shane said.
The fifties-style diner was the first building on the west side of town, and I felt relief seeing it too.
"Just a couple of blocks, right?" I asked. "You said it was by the bakery?"
"Yeah. Just two. And—oh. Wow."
He stared ahead. I'd been working in the area for over twenty-four hours, but I saw it fresh through his eyes. As the town emerged from the smoke, it looked spooky. The buildings changed the flow of the smoke so the street was clearer, but over the tops of the buildings hung a dense black shroud. The building themselves were backlit with an eerie red glow, and the particles were so thick in the air, it looked like it was snowing. It was completely deserted. It looked post-apocalyptic.