Wick had told Zeke and Tyler the day before I was hired. Now he acted as if he’d found out from someone else.

Zeke took a drag of his cigarette, and then playfully pulled at the sleeve of my puffy navy-blue coat. “Confused?”

I arched an eyebrow, unsure if it was a trick question.

Their laughter was cut off by the sound of Zeke’s pager. He pulled the clip from his belt and held it up, squinting. “That’s me.”

He patted Tyler on the shoulder as he nodded to Wick. “Maybe I’ll see you guys this afternoon. It’s just a meeting.”

I waved to him, and then crossed my arms as the air between the three of us who remained quickly turned awkward. Tyler and Wick traded smug grins, clearly sharing a silent joke at my expense. I glared at them, relieved when Jojo poked her head out through the back door.

“Annie is on the phone for you.”

“I’m on a break,” Wick growled.

“You should probably take it. It’s the refrigerator again.”

“Damn it, damn it, damn it!” Wick said, tossing his cigarette and missing the canister.

The back door slammed behind him, and I picked up his still-lit butt and buried the end in the sand.

“Good thing you picked that up,” Tyler said.

“I’ve heard that one already,” I said, taking a drag.

Tyler pulled his cap low over his eyes, and then shoved his hands deep in his coat pockets. Before I could ask him how he managed to get the day off, he grinned.

“How is it? Working for Wick?” he asked.

“Not as bad as I thought it would be.”

“That’s unexpected.”

I took another drag, watching him put out a cigarette and light another. “Do you come here every day?”

“During fire season, yes. In off season, if I’m here.”

“When are you not here?”

“When I’m traveling.”

“Oh.”

“Oh?” he asked. I could see that familiar desire in his eyes, even behind the shadow cast by his ball cap. The dimple in his left cheek deepened, and he leaned a millimeter in my direction.

Even that nominal response made the old me wish for a bottle of bourbon and a dark room. I swallowed. The old me was just two days away, and she wasn’t buried deep enough to withstand the way Tyler was looking at me. I wanted to hide underneath his body and replace the pain with his fingers digging into my hips and to watch him tense while he thrust himself deep inside me, forgetting everything else but Tyler’s rough hands on my bare skin, letting the sweet escape of intoxication carry me through.

“Stop looking at me like that,” I snapped.

“Like what?”

“Like you’ve seen me naked.”

“Have I?”

I rolled my eyes, bending down to put out my cigarette.