Page 4 of Fanboy in the Falls (Devon Falls #3)

Never fall secretly in love with your straight best friend, no matter how lovely his hair smells. The pining will have you in therapy by twenty-five. —Tom Evers

I could go my whole life without ever getting another call that a place I love is on fire, but firefighters? That’s another story.

“Have I mentioned how much I love a town where the local heroes show back up after the tragedy?” I cross my arms over my chest and lick my lips. Next to me, Gabe Gomez bursts out laughing. His laugh is something like a high giggle: bright and clear, just like him.

“That’s Doug and Zeke,” he says, as we both watch the two large, tall, and rather broad men circling the room together. “They’re the La Fierte firefighters who were here the other night putting out the fire. They do fire inspections around the county. Oh, and Doug’s also the mayor of La Fierte.”

I turn to face him. “You’re joking. That’s next-level small town life. Does one of them also run a small muffin shop or, say, an animal rescue?”

Gabe frowns and scrunches his nose the way he does whenever he’s thinking hard.

“I guess they did sort of rescue this cow once, but that was more of an accidental kidnapping. It wasn’t their fault, though.

The kidnapping, I mean. But it’s a really long story,” he adds, like he hasn’t just dangled the strangest plot premise I’ve heard right in front of me.

I’m tempted to ask for more details, but there’s already a lot going on today, and I frankly don't have the energy to add “accidentally kidnapped cows” to the list of things I need to focus on. Right now, I’m just grateful Gabriel Gomez is speaking coherently to both me and Colin without causing any physical disasters in the room we’re standing in.

Not that things could get much worse here.

I arrived in Devon Falls the morning after the fire at the inn to find all the guests relocated to another BnB while Bethany, Evelyn, and Gabe played damage control.

Since then, we’ve all been waiting to get into the back half of the inn, where the fire broke out and was thankfully kept in check, to see the full extent of the damage.

And I have to say: so far, this whole situation is all quite reminiscent of the time one of my co-stars took a chance on an ill-advised nose job.

Not horrific, but certainly less than ideal.

I cast my eyes around the room we’re standing in, which is scorched and scarred throughout, featuring half-burned furniture, walls grayed with smoke damage, and blackened chunks of carpet. It’s a depressing space, to say the least.

Evelyn sighs as she appears next to me and Gabe. Her blonde curls are jumping from her head and her dark eyes are narrowed and serious.

I personally feel that it’s best to keep a certain lightness in all situations, even those involving large flames and enormous property loss. “Well, doc,” I say. “What’s the damage? Are we looking at a full amputation?”

“Funny.” But a corner of her lip does perk up in a slight near-smile, and I take that as a win.

“It certainly isn’t good, that’s for sure.

” She crosses her arms. “But Zeke and Doug confirmed the outlet that caused everything was a lone problem, so there are no larger electrical issues we need to worry about. And luckily, none of the outbuildings were damaged. The La Fierte firefighters came to support the Devon Falls department, and they got everything under control quickly. Doug,” she calls out.

“I’m sending your department and the Devon Falls department cases of my best cab franc! ”

Doug makes a motion like he’s tipping a hat he isn’t wearing. “That’s very kind of you, ma’am.” He frowns. “What’s a cab franc, now?”

Zeke waves at Evelyn in a gesture not to worry about answering, and then he starts whispering to Doug.

“And,” Evelyn goes on, “really, it could have been so much worse. Thank goodness they kept everything away from the wine production areas.”

All those chemicals. All that alcohol. I shake off catastrophizing thoughts of all the horror that one errant outlet could have caused.

Evelyn sighs again. “Eric’s just finishing up looking everything over. Then he’ll be able to tell us more.”

“Eric is Jack’s former brother-in-law,” Gabe mutters to me. “He’s also a construction manager. Oh, and he’s Evelyn’s second cousin, I think.”

When on earth did he find time to memorize the Devon Falls phone book directory? And is everyone in this area related?

I let my eyes drift around me to Colin, who’s standing in the corner next to the remains of what used to be blue patterned wallpaper.

He's got his arms crossed, and he’s focused on a conversation with this famed Eric Maggio, who I’ve only just met.

I had no idea he was a relative of Jack’s.

That’s most unfortunate, given that I will need to murder him if he stands even one half-inch closer to Colin.

Even from this far away, I can visualize every sensory detail he’s experiencing right now: the gentle comfort of Colin’s low voice, the scent of his strawberries-and-cream shampoo.

Never fall secretly in love with your straight best friend, no matter how lovely his hair smells. The pining will have you in therapy by twenty-five, I swear.

I look away quickly as Eric and Colin make their way across the room to join us.

“Well,” says Eric. “The winery’s all good to go, as you know.

No problems there. And as far as the inn is concerned, the front check-in area, dining and sitting area, and front three bedrooms are fine.

They weren’t even touched.” He frowns. “But all four bedrooms back here took a hit, and the attached shed area you were turning into that event space got singed too. You’re pretty lucky, in some ways.

The structure wasn’t permanently damaged, so virtually all of the repairs you’re looking at are cosmetic. But they’ll still be expensive.”

“And time-consuming,” Evelyn mutters. She shakes her head. “Insurance money will take forever, and with how busy construction companies are right now, I’ll never be able to find people to get us up and running again before the festival. You wouldn’t be able to take this on, would you, Eric?”

Eric shakes his head apologetically. “No, I’m afraid not. The company I work for has all its crews on apartment builds in Burlington right now. It would be a hell of a thing finding anyone who could do the work with such a quick turnaround.”

Evelyn frowns. “Then maybe it’s best if we just call time on the inn and the event space projects for now. We can close the inn for the season and look at reopening next year.”

Gabriel gasps, and my heart jumps in my chest as I watch all the blood drain from his face. “No, Evelyn!” he all but shouts. “No, please. I love this inn! And I need this job!”

Evelyn sends him a soft smile. “I know how much you love working here, Gabe. But you’ve had other jobs. We’ll help you find a new one, I promise you that.”

If I remember correctly, Gabe used to have approximately twenty-seven jobs. I couldn’t keep track of them all. I wonder if this is the first full-time position he’s been able to land in Devon Falls.

Gabe’s Adam’s apple bobs in his throat. I recognize the look in his eyes: terror. Desperation. Panic in the face of uncertainty. The rug of his world has just been pulled out from under him, and I have a feeling this isn’t the first time he’s experienced that.

It’s a feeling I know all too well, unfortunately. And honestly? I’m quite tired of it.

So I clear my throat.

“We can do it. Renovate the rooms and the event space,” I say.

The group turns to stare at me. Colin raises an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, what?” he asks.

“Pardon me, I misspoke.” I smile at him. “Colin’s the one who’s been renovating a house for months now. He’ll do most of the work that requires someone with actual skills in the area of saws and nails. I’ll provide design input. And most likely sandwiches.”

Colin snorts.

“And Gabe can help us,” I add, because being out of a job is clearly one of that man’s greatest fears right now. “He can stay on the books for the inn and assist us. If we work at a good pace, we can have everything up and ready for the leaf festival in October.”

Gabe’s mouth is open now, and he’s staring at me, barely blinking. “You want to renovate an inn? You’re, like, a famous movie star!”

Every muscle in my body tightens as I hear those words. But I don’t correct him. Now is very much not the time for that conversation.

“And you.” Gabe turns to Colin. “You’re a race car driver!”

Colin’s frowning now, as he looks around the room. He doesn’t seem to hear Gabe. “I know how to do the drywall and the tile work. Eric, could you just oversee things? Make sure we’re keeping things up to code and whatnot?”

And just like that, I know I’ve got him. Even this far away from racing, my best friend can never resist a good game. A challenge.

“Colin will make sure we do this right,” I tell the group easily. “He can do anything he tries to do. He speaks three languages, you know. Besides English.”

Gabe coughs. “Really?

“Si, oui, and… oh, I can’t remember the last one. Colin?” Drat, I’m sure I’m making that face right now that I always worry will give away my true feelings for Colin. It’s difficult not to smile as widely as possible when I think about all the things my brilliant friend is capable of.

“Ja,” Colin says easily. “But I’m only conversational in German.”

Evelyn shakes her head. “It’s a nice idea, gentlemen. But who knows when the insurance money will come in and what it will cover. I don’t have the cash funding for that kind of project. Not right now, at least.”

“We can cover the gaps financially while you work with the insurance company,” I tell her. “We’re investors, after all. Aren’t we?” I look over at Colin again, and he nods.