Free The Best Man in Texas by Tanya Michaels Page B

drive home, passing one of Katy’s multiple parks where softball teams were practicing despite the heat, she found herself thinking about the emotional toll a job like Jake’s could take on a person. Especially a person who seemed, in many ways, to be a loner. Whom did Jake confide in about difficult days and near misses? He’d said that he wasn’t close to his family and didn’t have a girlfriend.
    On impulse, she dialed Giff’s office, prepared to suggest he give Jake a call in case the other man needed a friendly ear. But about the time Brooke reached his voice mail, she remembered that he had dinner with a client tonight. He’d originally asked her if she would go with him, but when the client’s wife was unable to make it, Giff had absolved Brooke of the obligation, admitting that conversation was bound to be pretty dry.
    She’d passed by the fire station before and, relying on memory, found her way there with just two wrong turns. Would Jake even be there? Only one way to findout. She parked in a spot marked for guests and hurried out of her car before she changed her mind.
    Would he think she was being intrusive or overreacting? After all, this was his job. It was probable that he’d seen tragedies in the military, too. But then Brooke had a horrible vision of what it must have been like to see a child… Her mind skittered away from the image immediately, and she squared her shoulders. Whatever he thought, she knew she was right to be here. He’s a friend. Or at the very least, a friend-in-law.
    She walked inside a cramped front office where an auburn-haired woman in uniform was talking into a headset. The redhead smiled in Brooke’s direction and held up her index finger.
    A moment later, the woman hit a button on the telephone system in front of her and gave Brooke her full attention. “What can I do for you today?”
    “I was looking for Jake McBride. I’m a friend.” She held up her left hand so that her engagement ring was visible. “Giff Baker’s fiancée.”
    The woman brightened at the mention of Giff’s name. “That sweetheart wrote us a huge check when we were raising money for the children’s burn unit last month. You tell him how much we all appreciate it. I think Jake’s in the common room with some of the other guys. Just follow the blue-carpeted hallway to the first room on your left.”
    “Thanks.” As she walked down the hall, Brooke heard male voices and tried to identify one of them as Jake’s. None of them sounded familiar, though.
    “Hello?” She peered into what looked like a livingroom decorated in Early American Frat Boy. The couch was lumpy and faded to a dingy, indistinct color. There were two mismatched chairs and a coffee table with noticeable scuffs and water ring stains on its wooden surface. She suspected the entire furniture budget had gone toward the big-screen TV three men were watching.
    At the sound of her voice, they all swiveled in her direction. The youngest man, with eyes nearly as dark a blue as his uniform, rose from his chair with a rakish grin. “Please make my day and tell me you’re here to learn CPR.”
    “Hoskins, you dumbass, that’s no way to talk to a lady.” A fit-looking bald man threw an orange pillow at Hoskins, then glanced at Brooke sheepishly. “Sorry about the dumbass, ma’am.”
    She chuckled. “It’s all right. But maybe one of you can help me? I was looking for Jake McBride.”
    All three men sobered. Hoskins grin faded, and he sounded far older when he answered, “He’s in the back, ma’am, but he may not be up for visitors. I can check for you.”
    “I’d appreciate that. Can you let him know Brooke is here? Brooke Nichols.”
    “Will do.”
    The other two men exchanged a look. She couldn’t tell exactly what they were thinking, but if she had to guess, she’d say they were worried about Jake. She’d overlooked these men earlier, she realized. She’d been concerned about Jake being a loner, but she hadn’t