Page 58 of Under Water

“What? I know looks aren’t everything, but all my friends agree you’re a hot dad, so I guess I could understand if you were being superficial.”

I pass a hand down my face with a groan and turn to the coffee maker, punching the button a little too hard. “I don’t care what a person looks like as long as they’re kind. But it’s not…” I trail off. Telling him it wasn’t from a person is an outright lie, and I don’t think I can do that.

“Fine,” he finally says, saving me from trying to figure out what to say. “Keep your secrets. But if I find out they suck, I will not be nice.”

I shake my head but say nothing. Silence is my only real option right now. That and making sure that when Easton comes over, Elio is fast asleep and Easton isn’t seen. Which should be easy, so long as he follows the rules.

And that’s where my knees start quaking a bit because the one thing Easton has never been good at is following my rules. So maybe it’s time to teach him a few. With more consequences than I’ve given him in the past.

TWELVE

RUNE

With no one at the reception desk, I keep the door to Teddy’s office wide open so I can hear if anyone comes in. Luckily, the station isn’t one of those revolving-door types of places, and we only ever get the occasional curious child, food delivery, and packages that come through, so I don’t have to be totally on my guard.

But because of this, I’m totally unprepared for when something hard and metal-sounding smacks against the door, and then the sound of a body hitting the floor.

I jump up and hurry over to find a man lying mostly on his back, propped up on his elbows, looking completely confused and embarrassed.

“Uh,” I say.

“Oh god. I didn’t think anyone was in here.” His voice is low and rough, and he pushes himself up to sit. Then a wandering hand begins to trace across the floor beside him, and I realize in that moment that he’s blind and looking for his cane, which is sitting about a foot away from him.

“To your right,” I say. “It’s just out of your reach.”

He huffs and finds it, then pushes to his feet and taps the metal tip twice on the floor like he’s testing it. “Thanks.” He doesn’t lift his face up.

“Can I, uh…can I help you with something?”

“I’m lost.”

Clearly, I think. But I’m not going to be the world’s biggest dick and say that. “Do you know you’re at the EMT station?”

“Yeah.” He rubs the back of his neck, then lifts his head. He’s very good-looking—tan, a lot of freckles across his nose and cheekbones, dark hair, equally dark eyes, which I realize after a second is because they’re almost all pupil.

There’s a thin ring of honey-brown iris, but it’s barely visible.

“So…do you need help? Are you in trouble?” I venture.

“God, no, sorry. Fuck.” He passes his hand down his face. “I’m looking for Logan. Do you know him? Logan Redding? Canadian guy⁠—”

“Yes,” I say, feeling somewhat relieved that this guy isn’t maybe suffering some neurological issue and thinks he’s somewhere else. “You want me to take you to him?”

The guy looks relieved. “Yeah, could you? I made a big fucking stink about how I didn’t need his help and could find my way and—well. I’m just glad he didn’t witness that.” He gestures to the floor beside him.

I can’t help a small laugh. “He wouldn’t care. He’s a nice guy.”

The stranger softens. “He is. Oh, uh. I’m Matty, by the way.” He sticks out his hand, and I take it.

“Rune.”

“Firefighter?”

“Once upon a time,” I answer with a shrug. “I’m the IT guy now. And receptionist for the day. And filling in for the fire marshal, but that just means keeping his chair warm while he’s out.”

Matty’s lips soften into a small grin. “My mom calls that a jack-of-all-trades.”

“I call it being unable to say no to my coworkers,” I tell him, and he laughs as he takes his hand back, though he leaves it hovering in the air.