No, he wasn’t going anywhere. If God wanted him to have a love life, He’d have to plop someone in the middle of his lap.
Someone called his name, shaking him from his thoughts. “Yeah?”
“So you already met him?” Uncle Charlie was asking, clearly by the raised eyebrow, for the second time.
“Who?”
“The new paramedic we’re getting. Cole Barrett said he was moving up here soon and taking Eli Hueston’s place now that he’s retired to Florida. Said the guy’s name was Ross or Ron or something.”
Peter stood and glanced at Seth, good friend to Kirby Hueston, the one most people in town thought Cole should’ve hired. Thankfully he was deep in conversation with Ree, paying no mind to the talking on this side of the fire. “I haven’t met the guy. He’s supposed to come next week. But if Cole knows him, I’m sure he’ll be fine. Besides, it’s not my choice. It’s Cole’s.”
Uncle Charlie shook his head. “I don’t know about that. Sounds like he’s from the Cities. Minneapolis. You know those guys can’t drive for beans. Especially in the winter. He should leave driving the rig to me and Dean. We know how to handle the ambulance on these roads.”
Thankfully Uncle Chuck turned to his son, Elton, to complain some more about all the tourists that came up and quadrupled the population of Deep Haven during the peak summer and autumn weekends, completely discounting his family’s hotels’ dependence on them.
Peter made a noncommittal grunt and kissed his mother’s cheek. Time to escape before the stupid vote came up again.
He dropped off Daisy with her family and walked away from the warmth of the fire with a wave goodbye.
His mom followed him down the long dirt road to the field where he’d parked his truck.
“Mom, I can walk to my truck by myself, you know.”
“Oh, I know. I just…uh, I wondered what you were thinking.”
“About what?”
She looked back at the gathering around the fire pit and dropped her voice. “Well…the vote.”
His shoulders tensed. Blitzed by his own mother.
Her hand rested on his arm. Squeezed. “I know the Zimmermans want that place for their next moose-themed hotel, Peter, but it would make your dad so happy if you would vote for the restaurant.”
Aw… “But Elton and Grandpa Zim have a good point too. A family-centered hotel on the lakeshore would bring more tourists for the restaurants and other businesses.”
She stilled, staring at him. “Are you serious? Honey. You can’t vote against the Dahlquists. It’s—”
“Disloyal?” He stopped and turned to her. “I’m in trouble either way. No matter how I vote, some family is going to hate me.”
She sighed. “Not me. I’ll always love you. You know that.”
He refrained from rolling his eyes. Barely. “Thanks. Guess I was hoping for a bigger argument.”
She laughed, a quick chuckle that had more to do with pity than humor. “I’m sorry you’re in this position.” Her voice grew quiet. “I do understand.”
Yeah, she did. She had once been married to a Zimmerman—Peter’s biological father. After he died, she worked hard to stay connected with them for Peter’s sake. Like coming to their Christmas party and this picnic every year.
But she’d remarried, had three more children, and now she had to live with the Dahlquists and the repercussions of Peter’s choice.
Peter kissed her cheek and pulled the keys out of his pocket. “I know, Mom. I know.”
She caught his face in her hands. “I know you’ll make the right choice.”
And what exactly was that?
A gust of lake wind whipped through his sweatshirt as he watched her walk back to the crowd. Then he turned, and in the wink of a sunset walked out to his truck.
How could a guy have the biggest family in town and still be so alone?
Five hundred miles might not be far enough away, but Ronnie Morales had done more with a lot less.
Not that she had a choice. She’d learned early on that no one was going to hand her anything on a silver platter. She rolled her shoulders back and took a deep breath, wiggling her fingers on the steering wheel. She would make this work. She had to. For Tiago.
The SUV headlights barely pierced the darkness in front of them. The scent of stale french fries clashed with the floral air freshener attached to the vent. Muted rap music spilled out of her little brother’s headphones. It grated on her ears. The vibrations of the road put her backside to sleep.
She should stop, find a bathroom and a decent meal, because those Cheetos she ate hours ago were not cutting it.
She checked her rearview mirror. Nah. Better to push through and get to Deep Haven. Besides, where would she stop?
Nothing but a hill covered with forest on one side of Highway 61 and Lake Superior on the other, a black abyss with reflections of moonlight lurking on the water.
No other vehicles on the road. No lights.
She was heading to the backside of nowhere.
Still, if she had to go to the end of the state map to find a safe place and keep Tiago out of trouble, so be it. He was only ten. Probably didn’t realize how big a deal this was. Uprooting from their North Minneapolis neighborhood, moving to the opposite end of the state, and starting over…
Hopefully in a place where gangs weren’t recruiting at the local elementary school.
Of course, if Mom had spent an ounce of attention on the poor kid instead of her latest loser boyfriend, or better yet, if she had a smidge of backbone, maybe they wouldn’t be in this mess.
But coming home off her tour with the Army to find her mother in jail and her brother in foster care facing arson charges meant something had to change. Ronnie would not sit by and let Tiago throw his life away like Mom had.
So goodbye, military career. Goodbye, Minneapolis. Hello, Deep Haven.
If they ever found the place.
Man, it was dark out here.
But no turning back now. Like Papa always said, Press on and move forward, Veronica. Find something good to focus on.
The job Cole offered her was certainly a good fit. Paramedic for the small town. Using her skills for this Crisis Response Team she could totally get behind.
She just needed to help Tiago find some new friends, some good friends, and something for him to do in his spare time besides setting fire to public property. And it wouldn’t be so bad to find a cute little house to fix up and call their own eventually. Something without bars on the windows would be nice.
Ronnie glanced at the clock. It was already after eleven. They had to be getting close. Maybe she should’ve called Cole. Hopefully, he wouldn’t mind her coming in a few days early. Once she was done with her discharge paperwork, put in her notice at her temp job, and packed, it didn’t pay to stick around the Twin Cities any longer.
A faint glow in the sky ahead beckoned.
Ronnie nudged Tiago in the passenger seat. “T, wake up. We’re here.”
He mumbled and retreated further into his hoodie. His soft snores resumed.
The light grew stronger as she crested the hill. A sign for a cabin resort on one side of the road. A mini golf place and a Welcome to Deep Haven sign on the other. Yes. This was it.
From the top of the hill she spied the town below, one stoplight up ahead. The hill above the harbor was dotted with porch lights, and a small cluster of businesses along the lakeshore gleamed a rainbow of colors onto the surface of the lake.
It looked so peaceful. So…small.
Wow, it was small.
She checked the navigator, drove to Third Avenue and turned left just as the highway started to curve. One and a half blocks up, and their rental, Cole’s garage apartment, shone in her headlights. The detached garage apartment sat next to a cute gray Victorian. Or maybe it was white. Hard to tell in the dark.
Ronnie exited the car and stretched. Brrr. She dove back into the SUV for her jacket. This was cold for late May. Then again, she’d n
ever been this far north. They were practically in Canada.
“You’re early,” a voice called. She looked over her shoulder. “Thought you wouldn’t be arriving until next week.”
Cole Barrett. He still looked good—tough, focused, all intensity as he came down the sidewalk of the front door.
Ronnie zipped up her fleece and turned with a smile to the former Army Ranger. “Why delay the inevitable, Sergeant?”
Barrett shook her hand. “Good to see ya, Morales.”
“Likewise.” She studied him. Something was different about him. Good different. “Small-town life seems to agree with you. You look good.”
That was an understatement. Because under the lights, under close scrutiny, gone was that haunted look in his eyes, the tortured soul that had walked away from the 75th Ranger Regiment after his buddy almost died. Now that slight smile he wore seemed…genuine. No more anger flashing just under the surface of his words. The man radiated something calm. Steady.
If Deep Haven could do that to Cole Barrett, maybe it would live up to its name and work some of its magic on Tiago too.
A cute blonde walked out the door of the main house and tucked herself under one of Cole’s arms like she belonged there. He looked down at her, grinning like a fool.
Ah. Not the small-town charm. A woman was responsible for this new version of Cole Barrett.
“Ronnie, this is Megan, my wife.”
Megan approached with open arms. “Nice to meet you, Ronnie. Cole has told me so much about you. He said you saved his friend’s life.”
Apparently they hugged upon first meeting here. Uh. Okay.
Ronnie gave her an awkward pat on the back and tried to smile when she stepped away. Megan went back to Cole’s side. Her blonde hair was thrown up in one of those cute little messy knots on the top of her head and even in a sweatshirt and leggings, she was absolutely adorable. They looked like some fairytale couple.
Ronnie felt more like the Beast after a long day of packing and driving. She tried to smooth back the hair escaping her ponytail.
Fairy tales had never been her thing. She had never believed in happily-ever-afters and handsome princes to save the day with a kiss.
Tiago stumbled over, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
“This must be your little brother. Santiago, right?” Megan asked.
“It’s Tiago. Or T,” he grumbled.
Ronnie nudged him. “Hey. Manners.”
He rolled his eyes.
It didn’t seem to deter Megan, who turned to Tiago. “I have a son about your age. Josh. He’s asleep now, but you guys should come over tomorrow and you can meet him. He’d love to have a new friend.”
“Yeah, maybe.” Tiago toed the ground, kicking a pebble away. Then he looked up at Ronnie. “Do you know where we’re sleeping? I’m tired.”
Megan nodded. “Oh, here, let me show you the apartment while Cole helps Ronnie unload your luggage. Josh helped me put a few things up in the bedroom you’ll be using.”
Was everybody this…nice in Deep Haven?
Tiago must’ve had similar thoughts, the uncertainty written all over his face, as his eyes asked, Do I go with this crazy lady?
Ronnie nodded toward the garage apartment. “Go ahead with Megan. I’ll be right there.”
He must’ve been tired since he didn’t put up any more of a fight.
Ronnie and Cole went to the back of the SUV. She opened the hatch and grabbed her duffel. “So. This is Deep Haven, huh?”
He reached for Tiago’s suitcase. “Yup.”
“We’re pretty far off the beaten path.”
“True, but we’ve been in worse places. At least no one is shooting at us here.”
She gave him a smirk. “Okay, so straight up. What am I in for, Sergeant? What’s the civilian life like?”
“It takes some getting used to. For one thing, you can drop the ‘Sergeant’ and call me Cole. But, not gonna lie, it’s great not having someone telling us what to do all the time.”
Yeah, that would be a nice change. “And the paramedic position?”
“You’ll answer to me but will work with the town fire chief quite a bit. He’ll have jurisdiction within Deep Haven city limits, but you’ll be the one calling the shots if we’re dealing with anywhere else in the county. There’s a lot of square mileage we cover, a lot of wilderness and hard-to-reach areas. We have two or three EMTs and a handful of first responders, but everything is on a volunteer basis, so they all have other jobs. You’re the only full-timer. Hopefully our summer won’t be too busy as you learn the ropes. You know how it is—when it’s crazy it’s really crazy and then there’s a lot of downtime in between.”
She picked up her duffel bag and followed Cole toward the door. “What’s this fire chief like?”
“Peter? Great guy, but don’t get on his bad side.”
“Why? Is he hard to get along with?”
“No, he’s about as easygoing as they come. But Peter Dahlquist is a Deep Haven legend. They love him around here.”
She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. “So, why the warning?”
He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and gave her a pointed look. “Ronnie, you’re not exactly the plays-well-with-others type.”
She dropped her duffel and faced him, hand on her hip. “So, you don’t think I can do the job?”
“Calm down. If I thought that, I wouldn’t have offered it to you. You just need to work with the system here. It’s different. Small-town volunteers, not military ops, not big-city EMS staff. More salt-of-the-earth folks helping out their neighbors. So, you’re going to have to go easy.”
“Just because we’re in the sticks doesn’t mean I’m going to drop my IQ to fit in and keep people happy. I won’t risk people’s lives to salvage someone’s pride.”
A rumble of frustration escaped Cole’s throat. “I’m not asking you to risk lives, Ron. Just…be aware that the people you’re working with are the same people bagging your food at the grocery store. They’ll be Tiago’s teachers and the barista making your coffee at the Java Cup. You ruffle too many feathers here and you’re going to have a tough time fitting in. Your brother too.”
“That’s what you’re worried about?” She picked up her bag again. “Seriously, Cole. Since when did you become such a Mother Hen?”
“I’m being serious, Ronnie. I’ve seen you in action. You’re great at getting results and making things happen, but you can’t bulldoze people around here. The mayor, Seb Brewster, insisted on a ninety-day probationary period. You can be fired for any reason. He wants to make sure you’ll be a good fit for the town. He’s one of our EMTs, so he’ll see you out on calls. And you might already have some opposition since you beat out one of the locals for this position. You, hands down, have more medical experience, but you’ll have to break out your kid gloves around here.”
“What are those? Tiny mittens? Come on. If you say I’m qualified, what’s there to worry about?”
“Ronnie…”
“Fine. Kid gloves. Got it.” As long as Tiago made friends and she could do her job, they would be fine. A little challenge never scared her. She climbed up the stairs inside the garage and walked into the apartment.
It was small, but nicer than any place she’d ever rented. A cozy living room done in tasteful neutrals, furnished with sofa, loveseat, coffee table, and entertainment center. It opened to the black-and-white kitchen/dining area. The place definitely needed some color, but the wood laminate flooring throughout gave it a warm feel.
She walked into the master bedroom off a short hallway and dropped her duffel on the queen-size bed. Tiago trudged in from what must be his bedroom directly across the hall.
He plopped on the bed and whispered, “Are we going to be okay? These people are weird.”
“They’re not weird. They’re being nice. Something that might take a little getting used to, but, yeah, we’re okay. Just wait and see. It will be great here.”
Tiago didn�
��t look convinced.
A piercing alarm broke the quiet. Ronnie rushed back to the living area. Cole grabbed his phone, an EMS signal spouting off an address.
“House fire. All available emergency personnel report to—”
Megan stepped out of the kitchen. “You better go, Cole. I’ll help Ronnie settle in.”
Ronnie rounded on Cole. “What? Settle in? No, I’m going too.”
Except, well, maybe Tiago—
“I can stay and watch Tiago since Josh is just in the house,” Megan said.
Oh…the old spark ignited inside her again, flushing all her fatigue away. She glanced over at Cole and he was giving her a skeptical look.
“I have to jump in sometime. Besides, this is the perfect opportunity to see your Crisis Response Team.”
Cole hesitated a second more and then blew out a long breath. “Not exactly the Deep Haven orientation I had in mind, but let’s go. Remember. Kid gloves.”
“Yeah, yeah. Time’s wasting, Boss.”
It didn’t matter what size mittens she wore—Ronnie was going to prove she was exactly the person they needed to save lives in this backwoods town.
Because if she didn’t, she’d have to get back in the car and keep driving. And she’d just about run out of road.
Chapter 2
The rumors were true.
Old man Gust Hagborg was a hoarder and he might die in the midst of his clutter, his addiction to holding on to the past.
Peter stood at the entry of the house, smoke billowing from the garage roof. Flames were licking out the windows of the one-story ranch home in the middle of the woods. A few distant neighbors in bathrobes watched from the edge of the yard.
Crazy for You Page 2