Page 22 of A Hard Fit (Falling Hard #2)

Hot Dog Heist

The three of them strode through the park, Markos’ bulk cutting a swath through the crowd. “The customer service line is swamped with people complaining. They can’t access the wait times or line skippers, but the biggest problem is they can’t order food,” Markos explained. “There’s a lineup a mile long at the grill because we don’t have the capacity for everyone to order in person anymore.”

When they arrived at the covered outdoor eating area, they confirmed that the lineup had spilled from the appointed lanes and was twice as long again, winding through tables and nearly out into the park itself. And the people looked…hungry.

As they stood and gaped at the crowd, another family stopped next to them and did the same.

“This is ridiculous. We are not getting in that line!” one of the grown-ups said.

“But I’m starving!” The teenager groaned.

“Let’s just go,” the other adult said. “We can get food on the way home.”

Markos watched them depart like a puppy being left at the pound. “More people are going to start leaving.”

Finn and Rory looked at each other.

“Are you going to…” Rory started.

Finn nodded. “I’m gonna try.” They gave each other a quick kiss, then Finn turned to Markos. “I have an idea. Can you give me free rein with the grill? I want to give away some food.”

“Absolutely.”

Markos led them through a staff door into the kitchen and found a tall, lanky woman with a clipboard. “This is my grill manager, Nadya,” Markos said. “Nadya, this is Finn. Give him whatever he needs.” He nodded once. “Let’s go, Rory. I hope you can fucking fix this.”

Finn and Rory shared one more look before Rory followed Markos out of the kitchen.

“It’s a mess out there,” Nadya said. “Things are going fine in here, but we can’t get the orders in fast enough.”

“I think I can help. Can you get everyone’s attention for me?”

Nadya clapped her hands and bellowed, “Listen up, crew!”

The staff paused what they were doing, regarding the large, redheaded interloper warily.

“Hi, everyone. I’m Finn. I’m with Breakpoint, Thrill Island’s advertising company. And we need to make a whole bunch of people real happy real quick. I’d like you to cook all the hot dogs you can.”

“All?” repeated Nadya.

“All. And I need someone to contact a supplier and get more delivered here as soon as possible. Now, how many can we crank out within the next ten minutes?”

Eleven minutes later, Finn left the kitchen clad in a Thrill Grill apron and carrying a tray of hot dogs, followed by a handful of kitchen staff bearing the same load. The smell of park food—grease and sunshine—made Finn’s stomach growl. He would need a hot dog of his own later.

He approached the cranky family at the front of the long line. “We are so sorry about the wait,” Finn said. “But maybe you can help me out. I just went on a hot dog heist and I need to get rid of the evidence. Can I interest you all in a complementary hot dog?”

“Really?” the mom replied, eyes lighting up. “Yes, please.” She collected a hot dog for each of her family members while the kids cheered. One of the employees behind Finn offered ketchup or mustard from the squirt bottles he carried.

Finn repeated his task with the next family as the other staff spread out with their trays down the line.

“It’s the least you can do,” a woman muttered at him as she collected a stack of hot dogs. “We’ve been in this line for forty-five minutes.”

“We’re so sorry about that, ma’am. We would also like to offer you these coupons for a free slushie after four p.m.” Finn handed her a fat stack of glossy coupons.

“Thank you,” she said, slightly mollified. “The kids will like that.”

Finn continued down the line until he ran out of hot dogs, then he went in to collect the next batch and distributed those, too. A group of teens christened him ‘Hot Dog Dude’ and tried to get him to stay and eat one with them, but he politely declined. His tray was just about empty a third time when he turned to greet the next family, and came face to face with Jackson, Amy and Minnie.

“Oh, hi.” Finn held up his tray. “Um…would you like a complementary hot dog?”

“Are you…working here?” Jackson asked, taking in the apron.

“Just, er, helping. The Wi-Fi went down, so Rory went to deal with that and I was, uh…” He waved at the crowd around him. “Keeping the guests happy while they waited.”

That was when he took a moment to look around him. The mood had taken a one-eighty from when they had first arrived. Lots of the guests had taken a seat at the new tables, happy with the free food, while some had stayed in the much more manageable line to add to their meals.

“I love hot dods!” one little boy exclaimed nearby, dancing in his seat while his mom wiped the ketchup sliding down his chin.

“That was nice of you to step in,” Amy said. “And yes, thank you, we would love some hot dogs.”

“I don’t normally eat these.” Jackson sniffed. “But since they’re free…”

“You’re welcome,” Finn said. “How about some slushies, too?” He handed Amy a handful of coupons and passed their hot dogs around, then crouched down to talk to Minnie. “Did you have fun on the carousel?” he asked her.

“Yes!” the little girl cried. “My pony was pink!”

“No way! Pink ponies are the best.” He smiled at her and Amy. “The gentleman coming up the line behind me has the condiments.”

“ Attention, Thrill Island guests .” A voice cut in over the PA system. “ We are thrilled to tell you that the park Wi-Fi is back up and running again as normal. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience. Your heist may now proceed as planned .”

Finn sighed in relief. They did it. “Sounds like Rory came to the rescue. I’d better go find them. I hope you three enjoy the rest of your day.”

“Thanks, Finn!” Amy and Minnie waved while Jackson nodded, mouth full of hot dog.

Prick . Finn took his tray back inside, thanked Nadya and her staff then leaned against the counter to send Rory a text.

You did it!

Looks like it! they replied right away. Just finishing up a few things here. Want to come meet me?

Rory sent directions for how to get to the server room.

When Finn walked in, his heart swelled. Rory was sitting at a console pointing at a few columns of numbers and explaining something while heads bobbed around them.

“Thanks, Rory. I can’t believe we missed that,” said a bespeckled man in flannel. “So embarrassing.”

“Not at all,” Rory said. “It was my fault. I have my internal pre-launch checklist to make sure all systems are out of test mode, but I should have shared it with you when Markos nixed the soft open.” Rory looked up and caught Finn’s eye.

The rest of the room fell away. He walked toward Rory, desperate to have them in his arms. Rory stood and met him halfway.

It was like a jolt of electricity when his fingertips connected with Rory’s shoulders. He pulled them in tight for a hug, nose in their hair. Rory sank into him with a sigh of contentment.

Rory let Finn squeeze them for longer than a standard hug, then chuckled and pulled away far enough to look up at Finn. “How did things go at the grill? Did you appease the mob?”

“I think so,” Finn said. Rory’s lips begged to be kissed. It took all his restraint to not take one of them between his. “They put out their torches, anyway.”

“Finn, Rory!” Markos burst into the room. “Christ, what a fucking relief! That almost gave me a heart attack!”

“Glad we could sort it out,” Rory said in their typical modest fashion.

“I can’t thank you enough. I guess a soft open would have caught that, hey? I’ll listen to you next time.” Markos let out a booming laugh. “And, Finn! Nadya says you left behind a whole lot of happy customers. The two of you saved the day.”

Finn shrugged a shoulder. “Feeding people is never a bad idea.”

“We were happy to help,” Rory said.

“Thrill Island will be sticking with Breakpoint as long as I’m around, that’s for sure. And you two are welcome here free of charge, anytime.” Markos shook their hands and they left with promises to follow up next week.

Stepping back out into the sun, Rory texted Steffie to see where their crew was at. It turned out they had just ordered their food, so Rory and Finn headed back to the grill to meet them, balloons bobbing all around them in the crowd. They side-stepped a pack of kids surging off the Thrilloscope, laughing and smoothing their wind-blown hair. The park seethed with joy—smiles, souvenirs and laughter, topped with the scent of sunscreen and popcorn.

Just as they arrived at the grill, Jackson, Amy and Minnie were on their way out.

“Rory! I hear you saved the day!” Jackson said. He shook his head. “I still think you’re wasted at an advertising—”

Amy interrupted. “Finn really saved the day, too! I think people in line were about ready to start eating each other.”

Rory half-smiled, lip between their teeth. “Before you go, can we talk, Jackson?”

“Ooh, sorry. We’ve really got to get going. This one’s about done,” he said, hoisting Minnie up, “and we have to get back to the babysitter. Fiona’s getting fussy.”

“Sorry, we do have to run,” Amy apologized. “But we’ll see you tomorrow at Bailey’s party?”

“Yup. See you tomorrow.” Rory sighed as they watched them leave, then they went to find the others. Griffin had joined the group, and was entertaining the kids by folding paper napkins into bunny ears while Steffie and Mikala went to collect the food.

“Uncle Finn!” Cali cried when she saw him. “We did the Ferris wheel and the Ziller, and it was so fun! It whips you all around like…” She turned in mad circles while Finn laughed and caught her before she could fall over.

“Amazing! I’m sorry we missed it. Maybe we can do it again after lunch.”

“Yeah, and the Thrilloscope!”

“And the Thrillcoaster again!” Bryson chimed in.

So they did, and then some. The sun was nudging the horizon when they spilled out of the Diamond Dash for the second time. Cali took Finn’s hand while Bryson hopped around with Leo and Troy in some invented game. Griffin laughed at something Rory said and threw his arm around their shoulders. Steffie fed Mikala a piece of cotton candy.

Family.

The word thumped in Finn’s chest.

Cali tugged on Finn’s arm. “Can we please do the boat ride now?”

The boys moaned. “Noooo.”

“I’ll take these hooligans to the arcade if the rest of you want to go on the boats?” Griffin offered.

It was a short wait in the long willow tree shadows, then Mikala and Steffie loaded Cali into a boat with them. Finn and Rory got the next one to themselves.

Finn stretched his arm around Rory’s shoulders once the boat pushed out into the canal. Rory cuddled up against him and laced their fingers together.

The sun was setting, and the cotton-candy-pink light filtered through the hanging branches. The noise from the park was distant and muffled, almost covered by the sound of the water lapping against the boats. The ‘Haunted Lagoon’ graveyard was gone, replaced by glimmering piles of gems and jewelry, spilling from chests and velvet bags, treasure abandoned, left to wink at them from the long grass.

Finn’s chest felt too full. “I’m so proud of you,” he said, pressing a kiss to Rory’s temple.

“You are?”

“You’re—” Finn’s voice caught in his throat. “You’re so brilliant. Watching you take charge in there and fix everything…”

Rory lifted Finn’s hand and kissed his knuckles. “You had half the park eating out of the palm of your hand…literally. We fixed it. On top of that, we designed this whole place together, and it’s amazing.”

Finn’s throat tightened until he couldn’t speak, so he only nodded and squeezed Rory’s hand.

“We make a pretty good team, don’t we?” Rory murmured.

Finn nodded and kissed Rory’s head again. Sure do.

* * * *

“That was the best day,” Cali said, tipping her head onto Finn’s shoulder and sinking into her seat on the train. She closed her eyes over a sleepy smile.

“Best ever ,” Bryson agreed. He clambered into the seat opposite them and crammed the last of his cotton candy into his mouth.

“Pretty great,” Finn added, looking up to meet Rory’s gaze.

Rory shook their head, a sweet, slow smile lighting up their face. “Yup. Pretty great.”

Finn reached for Rory’s hand and pulled them into the seat on the other side of him.

Rory squeezed Finn’s knee as they settled. “Should we order some dinner so it’s ready for us when we get home?”

“Excellent idea.” Finn pulled out his phone. “Are you guys hungry?” he asked the kids.

“Not really,” Cali said, eyes still closed. “Just tired.”

Suddenly Bryson had a hot dog in his hands. “This is my dinner!”

Finn stifled a laugh. “Where did that come from?”

“Griffin,” Bryson said happily. He got to work demolishing it.

Finn made a mental note to make sure Bryson got some extra fruit with his breakfast in the morning. “What do you feel like eating, love?” he asked Rory.

Rory’s head tipped into Finn’s other shoulder. “Thai, please.”

Finn ordered their usuals from their favorite place—lemongrass stir-fry for Rory, panang curry for him. The train slowed at the next station, passengers jostling on their way off, then a few got on. A small blond man bumped Rory’s shoulder on his way by.

“Morgan?” Finn said when he recognized the face.

Morgan stopped, expression flat. “Finn. Rory.”

He didn’t look good—dark circles under his eyes, hair unkempt.

“Are you— How are you?” Finn asked.

A humorless smile pulled at the corner of Morgan’s mouth. “So great. Obviously.”

Finn couldn’t think of a single thing to say.

Thank God Rory was there. “It’s nice to see you, Morgan,” they said, as graceful as ever.

Morgan’s gaze flicked over their held hands. “Sure… You two did it right, you know. I wish that I had…” He looked away, hurt flashing over his face. “Anyway.” The humorless half-smile was back. “I’ll see you ’round, I guess.” He saluted and pushed his way through the crowded train.

Finn wanted to turn and watch him go, but Cali was still snuggled up against him. Instead, he cast his gaze over at Rory. Rory was smiling at him, something extra in their eyes. Something…searching. And all he wanted was to give Rory everything they were looking for.

They drove home from the train station, and by the time they pulled into the driveway, both kids were asleep in the back. Finn carried Bryson in and Rory helped Cali through the door. The kids woke up enough to get into pajamas and brush their teeth, then they both gave Finn and Rory sleepy hugs and were fast asleep again the moment they were tucked into bed.

Finn eased the pocket door to the dining room closed while Rory opened their delivery bag. They pulled out two containers then frowned. “This is only rice and my stir-fry.” Rory looked in the bag again and shook some napkins and cutlery onto the counter. “Shoot, they forgot your curry.” Before Finn could even reply, Rory pulled a plate out of the cupboard and began scooping out half the rice. “At least the portions are big! Are you good with—”

The words burst from Finn’s lips, clear and sure. “Will you marry me?”

Rory froze, staring at Finn, spoon mid-air. “W—What?”

Finn’s heartbeat echoed in his ears. He strode across the room, took the spoon from Rory and set it on the plate, then took Rory’s hands in his. “Will you marry me, Rory Barrett?”

Rory’s eyes filled with tears. “Oh, Finn.” They threw their arms around him and held tight. “Yes. Yes, I will.”

Finn was crying, but so was Rory, so they just held each other and cried together.

“I’m sorry, I don’t have a ring,” Finn said with a sniffle. “I wasn’t exactly planning to do this, but…today…I know that I want to be with you forever.”

“I love you so much,” Rory said, fingers creeping into Finn’s curls. “ So much .”

Finn took Rory’s chin in his fingers and tilted their mouth up to his. Every thought or feeling he’d ever had about Rory flooded his senses when their lips touched, and it was the most right he’d ever felt.

They kissed and cried and held each other…until Finn’s stomach growled.

Rory chuckled, dabbing the corner of their eye. “Let’s eat, yeah?”

Finn didn’t want to let go, but it rumbled again. “Yeah.”

Rory finished distributing half of the stir-fry onto the plate while Finn collected drinks, then they retreated into the living room with their meal.

But instead of turning on a show, they just sat, feet and knees touching, and talked about the day.

“One woman tried to get back in line and get more free hot dogs,” Finn told Rory, laughing. “She took off her hat and sweater so she’d look different, and used an English accent the second time.”

“No, she didn’t!”

“I swear.”

Rory laughed and covered their face. “Probably less awkward though than when we first got back to the server room, and Markos suggested people could connect to his phone’s hotspot.”

They talked and talked until their plates were empty.

Finn set his on the coffee table then regretted it because he had nothing to hold onto. “What will your family say?” he asked, gripping the couch cushions instead.

“About what?”

“About us getting engaged.”

“They’ll be thrilled,” Rory said, with complete confidence.

Finn was much less confident. “Will they?”

“Of course… Maybe we shouldn’t tell them tomorrow, though? I don’t want to steal Bailey’s thunder.”

“That’s fair.” Finn was nervous enough about the party. Putting off the announcement was fine with him. “When do you want to get married?”

“Soon,” Rory replied without hesitation. “Very soon.”

“Big weddings take time to plan!”

Rory shrugged. “I don’t need a huge wedding.”

“But…your family.”

“I’m not marrying them.”

“You’re telling me you don’t need to have a big ol’ Barrett family shindig?”

Rory put their plate down, took Finn’s face in their hands and kissed them. “I don’t give a fuck about anyone but you right now.”

The next kiss got heated, Rory’s tongue in his mouth and hands hot under his shirt.

“The kids…” Finn whispered, pulling away with great reluctance.

Rory groaned. “I know… I know.”

Finn sighed. “Don’t worry…we’ll make up for it tomorrow night.”

“Promise?”

“I do.”