Page 50 of Between Hello and Goodbye

Chapter Eight

“Yo, Ash,” Billy called from the other side of the shower/changing room. The rookie wore an eager, young-pup smile. “Bunch of us are going to Kalypso’s to kick-off the end of our twelves. You coming?”

“Nope. Thanks, though.” I’d finished showering and changing and now grabbed my jacket and keys from my locker.

“He’s busy,” Cap said, grinning from a bench behind me. Captain Abe Reyes resembled Dave Bautista and did a mean impersonation of Drax fromGuardians of the Galaxyif he was in the right mood. “Mackey has a girlfriend.”

I smiled at the round of juvenile whistles and hollering from the eight guys at their lockers, but I wasn’t about to give’em anything.

“Ash? A girlfriend?” Travis grinned his trademark grin. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“Is it that teacher of Kaleo’s that keeps showing up, bearing gifts?” Cap asked, running a hand over his bald head. “What’s her name? Kyla? The one who brought brownies for us but couldn’t stop making eyes at our boy.”

“Yes!” Travis said, elbowing Roy Huang at the next locker who, per his usual, had nothing to add to the conversation. “Have you finally caved to the pretty young teacher, Ash?”

“Her name is Chloe, and no.” I slammed my locker shut. “See you in a few.”

“Oh, come on, Mackey,” Billy said, clearly relishingnotbeing the one ragged on for a change. “Spill it. Who is she?”

The question of the hour. Faith didn’t fit into any neat category. We were technically friends, but as far as I knew, friends didn’t lust after each other every minute. And when she returned to Seattle in a week, what would we be then? Pen pals?

I left the station with a wave and a vow to teach Billy his place when I got back. But that would come later. Now, I walked into a perfect Kauai twilight in May and four full days with Faith ahead of me.

Pretty sure friends don’t get this stupidly excited about hanging out, either.

Not to mention, I had plenty of friends and not one of them occupied my every waking thought like she did. They weren’t the first thing I thought of when I woke up in the morning or the last thing I thought about as I drifted to sleep, and I sure as shit didn’tdreamabout them. Hell, I’d nearly bungled relaying an order during a call—something I never did—because I’d been thinking ofher.Faith infiltered every part of my life and I’d actively made it happen.

“Hey, Ash, wait up.”

Captain Reyes jogged across the parking lot to catch up to me.

“What’s up, Cap?”

“You know what.”

I turned and squinted into the setting sun with a sigh. “I’m still thinking about it.”

“You’ve beenthinking about itfor two months. With Valdez transferring to Honolulu, I need a lieutenant.”

“What about Roy? He has seniority.”

Cap glowered. “Can you pictureRoyin the field, shouting orders?” He shook his head. “Every guy has the perfect role in this outfit. Roy is exactly where he should be, but you need to level up. I need you.” He cocked his head. “You happy being a grunt?”

“Yes,” I said automatically. “But I’ll think about it.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Cap grumbled. “The tests are coming around in two weeks. In the meantime,think harder.”

He slapped my shoulder and headed back into the station. I hated disappointing Cap; we all did. It’s what made him such a great captain. He commanded loyalty and respect just by being himself. But being his lieutenant meant I was in it for the long haul, and while I had zero plans of ever leaving Kauai, my internal alarm was always keyed up. The one that made me sleep in my clothes as a kid, ready to escape a burning trailer at a moment’s notice. Or pull up stakes in a new town when the authorities sniffed too close to Morgan and me after we’d fled…

I brushed the memories away and took a deep breath to quell the anxiety squeezing my guts that came with them then drove like a bat out of hell straight to Faith.

At her condo, I opened the door to find her in her usual spot on the couch, foot up, gorgeous in a yellow dress with a book in her hand.

“Hey, you,” she said, her smile going straight to my chest like it always did. “Your shifts are finally over and now you’re all mine.”

Fucking hell, the woman knew how to choose her words to ensure I was always on the verge of grabbing her and putting an end to thiswantthat surged in my veins every time I was near her.

And yet I can’t stay away.