Page 15 of The Great Maple Mistake (Love in Maplewood #8)

Cody

August - Three weeks until the cook-off

“Shep!”

I spin around when I hear my name and quickly scan the smoldering remains of the three-alarm warehouse fire. Alenko is walking back toward the building, leaning toward the structure, eyes closed. He looks uninjured. “What’s up?”

“I swear I’m hearing something.” That’s all he needs to say.

It could be nothing, or it could be the building settling as it cools, but maybe we missed someone in the sweep through.

Regardless of my exhaustion, I tear across the loading dock driveway, jump over draining hoses, and splash through puddles to get to him.

He’s focusing on a dumpster that’s only thirty feet from the edge of the dock. “Do you hear that?”

Right now, all I can hear is my thudding pulse and the chief shouting orders.

I try to calm my racing heart and listen for whatever sound Alenko detected.

And then I hear it. A soft squeak. It’s coming from inside the dumpster.

We look at each other for a split-second before we’re both shoving the lid up and off, scanning the sopping contents of the trash bin for whatever made the noise.

I try to hear the sound again, but with the teams shouting instructions at each other and fire engines pulling out, it’s a miracle we heard the sound at all.

I start throwing trash out of the dumpster.

Alenko barely hesitates before helping. There’s already so much cleanup to do that extra trash on the ground isn’t going to make a difference.

I grab the edge of a soggy box and the side pulls away in my glove.

My heart stops. Several soaked kittens are huddled in a pile in the corner of the disintegrating box. Shit!

We peer in through the early morning light. “Can you see? Are they moving?”

There’s one little guy valiantly trying to lift its head. That must be who we heard. “Here! Help me!” I quickly but carefully climb into the dumpster and take off my gloves, shoving them into my pockets. “No gloves. We don’t want the chemicals and dirt all over them.”

“Okay.” Alenko yanks his gloves off and stuffs them into his pockets, then holds out his hands.

I pick up the mewling little one and hand it out, then pass Alenko another two.

“Don’t put them against your jacket. It’s just as dirty as the gloves.

And we need to get them to the EMTs. They’re soaked and probably need oxygen.

” I gather the remaining two kittens and slide over the rim of the dumpster, almost falling back in without the use of my hands.

When I hit the asphalt, we hurry across the driveway to the ambulances.

They’re from another firehouse, and I don’t recognize the techs, so I can’t call them by name.

“Hey, we need oxygen!” That gets everyone’s attention.

“Which of you?” One of the EMTs grabs an oxygen tank from the ambulance.

We stop in front of the three techs, and I nod at the soaked felines.

“We found kittens in the dumpster. Not sure if all of them are breathing. Didn’t have time to check.

” Alenko hands the semiconscious one to an EMT who already has a pet oxygen mask in her hand and passes the other two off to a second EMT.

I give one of mine to a third and get started checking the remaining one for breathing and a heartbeat.

It’s faint but there, and I hand off the little fur baby for its share of the oxygen.

Chief Brennan jogs over once he sees the commotion. “What do we have?”

Alenko answers. “Kittens. Shep and I found them in that dumpster.” The chief follows where he’s pointing. “Someone tossed them in there.”

“Wonder if we could see who it was on the security footage. Maybe they saw how the fire started.”

Someone throwing little kittens in a dumpster makes me furious, and my voice comes out harsh and angry. “You mean maybe they can be arrested for animal cruelty.”

Chief nods. “Yeah, that too.” He hovers while we work on the kittens, administering oxygen to the ones that need it and towel drying them all with blankets. “They all make it?”

Alenko nods and gestures to me. “So far. Thanks to Shep dumpster diving to rescue them.”

I shake my head. “You were the one who heard them first. I’d have completely missed it, and they probably wouldn’t have made it.” As it is, I’m still worried they all might not.

The chief slaps us on the back. “Good job with the fire. And the kittens. The equipment’s almost stowed. When I didn’t see you two back at the engine, I came looking for you. What’s the plan for the kittens?”

“We can’t leave them here.”

The chief scowls. “Of course not. I meant how are we getting them back to Maplewood? Who’s taking them to the vet or the shelter?”

“I will.” There’s no way I’m letting these babies out of my sight until they’re with Finn.

“I can help.” Alenko strokes the head of one of the kittens.

The EMT with the oxygen cuts in. “You’re going to need a lot of help. At least three other volunteers because each kitten should be kept against the skin. They’re still shaking from the cold and will go into shock if they aren’t warmed up.”

I quickly unbuckle my jacket and shake it off before crossing an arm over my abdomen to form a makeshift shelf.

Then I place the little guy I’m holding inside my T-shirt, keeping it against my bare chest. I can feel its damp little body shivering, and it’s breaking my heart.

Who the fuck would throw these innocent babies in a dumpster? They better pray I never find them.

Alenko’s already sliding out of his jacket, and when he’s handed a damp kitten, he settles it inside his shirt too.

“Jesus, the poor little things. The person who dumped them here is an asshole.” The EMT with the oxygen mask looks at the chief expectantly.

He rolls his eyes and holds out an ungloved hand, already out of his coat.

When a kitten is deposited in his large palm, the chief tucks it inside his shirt and holds out a second hand.

“They’re little. Give me another one.” He slips a second into his shirt next to the first one, and I take the fifth little dude, tucking it in with its sibling.

Chief glances between Alenko and me. “You gentlemen ready to go?”

We climb to our feet, and one of the EMTs picks up our jackets, following us.

We cradle the shivering kittens as we cross the debris-strewn property of the partially destroyed warehouse.

When we get to our fire engine, I climb in, and Alenko follows.

The EMT hands our coats to Vega as the chief climbs into the front passenger seat of the truck, and we take off back to Maplewood.

Vega points at the little bulges under our shirts. “What’s that?”

“Kittens.” Alenko growls the words, and I’m not sure if it’s because he’s pissed at whoever left the kittens or if he’s daring Vega to say something about it.

Vega’s teasing expression crumples into concern as his brows draw down, and his bottom lip juts out in a full pout. “Awww! They okay?”

Alenko nods. “Yeah. They’re still shivering, but they had oxygen, and now we’re trying to keep them warm. Shep’s gonna take them to the vet once we get back to the station.”

Vega’s all business now. “You’re taking them to Finn, right?” I nod, and he whips out his phone and starts typing. “I’m texting my dad. It’s Sunday, so they’re closed, but Dad’ll unlock the clinic and alert Finn.”

“Your dad?” I try to remember if Vega ever mentioned his family. “Is he a vet too?”

“No.” Vega doesn’t look up from his phone. “He’s a vet tech for Finn. I’m letting him know what you found and giving him an estimate of when you’ll be there.”

I hold out a fist. “Thanks. Saves us time.”

Vega gives me a bump. “I gotcha. No worries.”

Williams pokes his head around the seat. “Where’d you find them?” He reaches out to touch the wiggling lump under Alenko’s shirt.

Alenko is obviously debating with himself over letting Williams, or anyone, interact with the kitten. “In a dumpster on the loading dock.”

Hoping it will distract everyone, I jump into the conversation.

“Yeah, you know Alenko’s superhuman hearing.

” The guy hears every little movement anytime he’s sleeping at the firehouse.

Up to this point, it’s been a little annoying.

But now I’m thankful for his superpower.

“Over all of the racket going on around us, he heard one of them crying.”

Alenko nudges my knee. “Yeah, but you went dumpster diving to save them once we found them.”

Vega snorts. “Oh, I thought that was just how you normally smell.” I roll my eyes at him. “But seriously, you’re both heroes. Out there saving lives. Even four-legged ones.” He’s teasing us a bit, but he’s mostly serious, and it makes me feel good.

I chuckle. “Thanks.”

“Can I see one?” He leans in, eyeing the collar of my T-shirt.

When he reaches for it, I bat his hand away. “Hey, hands off. I need to keep the heat in.”

Williams snorts. “Yeah, his boyfriend wouldn’t approve, either.”

“Boyfriend?” Alenko’s grin is mischievous. “Since when do you have a boyfriend? And who is it?”

Back at my old station in Baltimore, no one gave me any crap about who I dated, but they weren’t necessarily comfortable with it either.

Not like here, where my team teases me, but it’s good-natured, and they really don’t care who I date.

“We’ve only gone out once. I don’t think you can classify him as my boyfriend. ”

Alenko nudges me again. “Yet. But based on the way you two look at each other, you’ll be going out again. Am I right?” He doesn’t wait for my answer, probably because he knows it’s a yes. “And damn if you can’t cut the sexual tension between you with a knife. So it’s just a matter of time.”

God, I hope he’s right. Because I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Alex since our date Friday night.

And yeah, I’ll see him tonight for dinner at Aunt Viv’s, but it feels so far off.

Am I acting like a lovesick teen? Yeah. I am.

I don’t even care. “Wait, how do you know how we look at each other? Or how intense the sexual tension is?”

Alenko rolls his eyes. “Seriously? My little sister is friends with Bethany. She was your server at Red’s. Honestly, I’m shocked it wasn’t in Maplewood Matters Saturday morning.”

Before I can die of mortification, Vega snaps me out of my shock. “Who is it?”

“What? Oh. Um, Alex MacDougall.”

Vega nods approvingly. “I’m straight as they come, but even I can admit when a guy is good-looking, and Alex is definitely good-looking.”

Williams leans around the seat again and waggles his eyebrows. “His dad is hot AF.”

Vega shoves him. “You can say fuck, Williams. Nobody here cares.”

Williams shoves him back. “Maybe I don’t like having to switch between swearing and not swearing when I’m around my parents.

One time I slipped up, and I thought my mom was going to faint.

” He frowns, and his eyes get a faraway look for a minute.

“I don’t ever want to experience that again.

” He shoves Vega one more time. “So lay off.”

In his defense, Vega actually looks sorry. “Fair. Sorry I gave you shit.”

Williams shrugs. “Thanks. Apology accepted.” There’s a moment of silence that veers close to becoming awkward as they look at each other. I’m just about to change the subject, but Vega beats me to it.

“Hey.” He nudges Williams. “When we get back to the station, you wanna play some Call of Duty?”

“With you?” Vega rolls his eyes and nods, giving him a look that screams ‘duh.’ Williams’ eyes widen, and he sits up, obviously surprised by the offer.

“Yeah, man. That would be great.” Vega looks a little pink in the cheeks.

If he hadn’t just said he was straight, I’d swear these two were flirting with each other.

Alenko snorts, and when I look at him, he rolls his eyes.

Okay, so maybe it’s not just me thinking there’s something going on.

My attention is yanked back to the kittens in my shirt as they move a little, digging their razor claws into my chest. “Ouch! Shit!” I pull out the neck of my T-shirt and glance down at the little furballs. “Look, I’m trying to help you here. Please don’t use me as a pincushion.”

Alenko laughs. “Yeah I’ve been trying to ignore the poking.”

Vega holds out a hand. “I’ll take one for a bit.”

Alenko shakes his head. “Nah. It’s okay.

We’re almost at the station. What you can do for me once we’re there is grab the first aid kit because we’re gonna need to clean out these pinpricks from the cats and get some antibiotic ointment on the wounds.

” He winces, and I assume he’s being slashed again.

“And can you find a box to put them all in so I can get them to the vet? Maybe put one of my old sweatshirts in there or something? It’s probably easier for me to get it back from Finn.”

Vega nudges me. “Why’s that? Because you’re dating his best friend?”

Thankfully, we pull into the station, and everyone piles out of the engine.

Vega takes off to gather the box and something to line it with, and with a little help, Alenko, the chief, and I all extract the kittens from our shirts.

Vega charges back with a med kit and a plastic storage container with a few sweatshirts in his other hand.

“I wasn’t sure if one sweatshirt would be enough so I grabbed one of mine too.

” He hands the first aid kit to Williams and drops the tub to the floor.

He arranges the sweatshirts into the bottom, making sure they cover all the plastic.

“Okay. Time for the little guys to snuggle in.”

I had no idea that I work with a bunch of big softies.

It’s adorable. I place my kittens into the bin and tear off my gear, hanging it up in my cubby.

I’ll deal with it after I get the kittens to Finn.

I’m sure he’ll have some antiseptic for the claw wounds.

“Okay, I’ll be back once I drop them off. Thanks for the help guys!”

As I hurry out the door, Alenko yells after me. “Shep, let us know what Finn says!”

“Will do!” I manage a half walk, half jog across the parking lot so I don’t jostle the kittens too much.

When I get to the truck, I yank open the passenger door and settle the bin on the floor where it’ll be safest. Then I gingerly close the door so I don’t scare the babies, jog around to the driver’s side, climb in, buckle up and head for the vet clinic.