Chapter 5: The Spanish Inquisition

For the second time in less then twenty-four hours, I found myself standing outside station five of the Auburn Fire Department and I couldn’t help but be anything but nervous. In a few short minutes, I was going to have dinner with a group of guys that I barely knew. Sure, they seemed friendly enough, but why was I really here?

A small voice inside my mentioned something about Matt O’Neil but I quickly hushed it. Cooper invited me over to apologized for his rudeness so how could I refuse him?

My stomach turned as I slowly approached the door. I guess my decision was already made, I just hoped that Matt would be nowhere near station five this evening.

I looked around the doorframe but failed to find some sort of bell. Knocking I knew was also out of the question since their quarters are in a different part of the building so it would go unheard.

Exhaling, I twisted the knob and the door slowly opened. You’d think that they have tighter security, but then again, who was going to steal from a firehouse?

I made my down dark hallway; trying to remember the brief tour Matt gave me. The garages were on my right but I couldn’t seem to remember which door led to their quarters.

I suppose I should just start guessing.

The first door on my left was a supply closet. The second was a bathroom and the third was housed some old gear. Two down, two to go.

If I remembered correctly, the last door in the hall led to several offices so it left door number three as the winner.

Unfortunately, as soon as I took a step forward in front of the door, it swung open; I jumped back, and narrowly avoided a collision.

Standing before me was a gentleman who was in his mid forties. The hair that was left on his head had turned gray and he was wearing an amused grin on his lips. “You’re Julia.”

“Julie actually, but yes,” I replied, offering out my hand. “And you are?”

He firmly gripped my hand. “Ray,’ he offered with a warm smile. His mannerisms oddly reminding me of my dad “Come on kiddo, everyone’s upstairs and they’re pretty excited to see you again.”

I followed closely behind Ray, trying to take note of the layout of the building but failing miserably at the same time. Half the rooms and halls were dark and those lighted looked the same.

I ran right into the back of Ray when he stopped abruptly, but in hindsight, I was paying closer attention to everything around me rather then him so I’ll take the blame for that. Luckily, he simply chucked beckoned me to take a seat but saying something about going to gather the rest of the guys.

I glanced around the room and realized that he had led me to their living room of sorts. A few plush couches were positioned around a television, a pool table was set up near the windows, and bookcases aligned the walls with various books and board games. A fireplace sat behind the mounted television, and on the wall around it, were various plaques and trophies. Curiously, I walked over to them and realized that they were different certifications, classes, competitions, and awards that the guys had won over the years, posted on the wall for all to see. In a way, it was like a family.

My eyes paused on a diploma from Harvard for a B.A. in Chemistry, however, the name below caught my eye. Matt Andrew O’Neil.

“Julie!” a voice shouted from behind me and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I spun around and saw Cooper quickly make his way into the room and settle himself on one of the couches. “You came!”

I spun around and immediately spotted Coppers welcoming face out of the three men who now stood before me. The other smiling face I recognized as Jay’s, however the other guy still had a small scowl on his face.

I smiled. “Of course I came, I was invited,” I told him. Glancing back at the doorway, goosebumps appeared on my skin as I met the eyes of another guy who had a slight scowl on his face. Ray was standing next to him and offered me a small smile before joining Cooper on the couch, but the other guy simply crosses his arms and leaned on the right side of the doorframe, never taking his eyes off of me.

“Indeed you were,” Cooper laughed. “Now, please, have a seat.” He waved his hand at the empty chairs in the room, and not knowing what else to do, I sat down in the recliner closest to the television, and incidentally, furthest from the door.

“Alright, now Julie, we have some questions for you,” Cooper began and I was instantaneously worried. My eyes darted from the mystery man to Cooper and back again.

“What kind of questions?” I asked hesitantly. Coming into this, I had an odd feeling that I would be telling them a little about myself but nowhere did I picture that they were going to give me the fifth degree.

Cooper laughed when he saw the uneasiness on my face. “Relax, we just wanted the chance to get to know you better.” And despite his words, I had an odd feeling that they were about to put me through the wringer but I decided to proceed regardless. As long as the questions remained simple and not to personal, I knew that I could handle them. I beckoned for them to proceed.

Copper asked the first question. “Name?”

“Julie Ann Anderson,” I replied simply, secretly hoping and wishing that all of their questions would be as easy.

“Age?” he prompted again.

“25.”

“Occupation?”

“Marketing.”

“Hometown?”

“Lake George, NY.”

I spent the next half an hour telling them all about my life. I told them that I had four siblings: Lexi, who lived in Washington, was married with two three-year old twins; Nora, a graphic designer in New York City, was happily single; Eric, the mayor of a small town in upper NY, was married; and finally, my younger brother Nyles, was divorced and had full custody of his adorable four-year-old son Cody.

I told them that my favorite color was green, I didn’t smoke, my favorite food group was bread, I was single and all of my past relationships had been a joke. They kept firing questions so I kept responding the best that I could. I wasn’t quite sure why they needed to know if I like boxers vs. briefs but I laughed and answered the question regardless.

Sometimes Cooper would ask the questions, and other times it was Jay, but the other guy remained silent, expressionless, and never once did he take his eyes off of me. I tried to ignore him for the most part, but every once and a while I could feel the hair rising on the back of my neck.

As time rolled on, Cooper would get up at various times to check on dinner, and Jay would be a lot more conversational and share some hilarious stories about the guys, but as soon as Cooper came back into the room, the attention once again turned on me.

Cooper had once again disappeared to stir the chili and Ray had been called away by one of the guys for some reason to attend to something.

I nervously shifted in my seat and tried to focus on anything in the room other then the figure in the doorway. After becoming fascinated with the carpet, he cleared his throat and uncrossed his arms.

“I don’t believe I had the chance to introduce myself,” he said deeply as he made his way over to the couch opposite mine. “The name’s John,” he offered but he made no motion of offering me his hand.

I opened my mouth to return the greeting but he interrupted me. “I’m sorry about the fifth degree here but we just wanted to check you out. Our boy Matt has been through a rough time. The people who he has come in contact with” he paused, trying to find the proper words, “well, they’ve put him through hell.”

I nodded, not knowing what else to do or say.

“His mother abandoned him, his father always thought that work was more important, his fiancé left him at the alter,” he trailed off and I could hear the pain in his voice.

He took a deep breath and continued. “Gina was my niece and I’d always thought that they would make the perfect couple. Matt was smitten and I was thrilled, although, come to find out, the rest of the guys never really liked her. They kept telling me that something was off, but I of course didn’t want to believe them. Well, I guess that in the end, they were right.”

“What happened?” I quietly asked, my heart instantly breaking for him.

“He was heartbroken. Even thought it was two years ago, I don’t think that he has gotten over it. He’s a tough kid, but nobody deserves to be put through that much heartache and pain.”

“I only met him the other day so I don’t know him that well,” I told him honestly.

“We know that. But see, Matt’s like a son to be and after all that, I made a vow to watch out for him, and in fact, most of the guys here can say the same thing. We’re a family of sorts and we look out for our own, both on the job site and off.”

“And we just figured that since you’ll be seeing a lot more of each other,” Cooper interrupted from the doorway, and simultaneously announcing his presence, “we’d should check things out first.”

I smiled softly at the two gentlemen, admiring their relationship with one another.

“Plus,” Cooper began, “you’re Matt’s type so I wouldn’t be surprised when you two start dating,” he grinned and ducked out of the doorway as I tossed the throw pillow on the chair at his head.

He shrugged. “Just saying. Now dinner should be ready in five minutes and I would love it if I could get some help in setting the table.

John just rolled his eyes before getting up and heading down the stairs, although, if I wasn’t mistaken, the kitchen was on the left whereas he took a right.

Cooper realized this the same thing I did because he started down the stairs, muttering curse after curse and would constantly turn his head to make sure that I was following him.

With my help, we quickly set the table for eleven and I was about to ask for a small taste of the chili while he stirred it when the phone in my pocket went off. Cooper quickly waved me off, telling me to take it and that he miscalculated so the food would be ready in ten minutes.

Shrugging, I answered the phone without looking at the caller id. “Are you free on Saturday?” a panicked Gabby implored, skipping all types of pleasantries.

“Hello to you too,” I laughed, walking further down a random hall. I wasn’t really worried about privacy but more so not letting Gabby know where I was at the moment. I had yet to fill her in on what happened the previous night and the firehouse was not a good place to do so. I saw the twinkle in her eyes the previous night. She was all set to spend every waking moment that wasn’t already dedicated to planning the wedding as matchmaker and I was going to do everything, and I mean everything in my power in order to stop her. I knew from experience, her blind dates never ended well.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized quickly, “it just that I’m just a little frantic right now because the dress shop called and said they had a small problem with my dress yet the clerk couldn’t tell me exactly what it was and Saturday is the first time I had available and I want you to come with me to make I don’t kill anyone there.”

I had forced myself not to laugh. She was being her normal drama queen self. “Gabby, do me a favor and breathe.”

“I’ll do that later,” she scowled. “Can you make it or not?”

I took a minute to think of my schedule for the day. I knew that Nyles had a business dinner with a new client in the afternoon that he was not able to get out so I had to watch Cody. I would volunteer to take him but I loved his way too much to subject him to Gabby in wedding mode. “Anytime before 2PM. I’m watching Cody in the evening.”

“I guess that works,” Gabby replied, somewhat disappointed. She had been hoping that I would be available all day to help finish up some last minute wedding details. “They have an opening at 11 am so I’ll call and schedule that.”

“Sounds good,” I replied, taking note of the time and filing it in the back of my mind. I glanced around noticing that I had somehow made my way down to the garages that housed the red fire engines and once again realized that I had no idea on how to get back to the kitchen. Would the guys be mad if I send up a smoke signal?

“So my idiot fiancée finally decided to go order his tux,” Gabby complained, jarring me out of my thoughts. I guess I would figure out my dilemma after I straightened out Gabby’s life. I love the girl to death but weddings bring out the worst in her.

I couldn’t help but chuckle, “Is it just me or do you refer to him as ‘idiot fiancée’ a little too often?”

“Well it’s true,” Gabby replied without missing a beat.

“As long as you still love him.”

“I do.” I was about to open my mouth and respond however instead I nearly jumped out of my skin when a loud siren resonated throughout the building. After regaining my bearings, I quickly covered the speaker on the phone, praying it would muffle the sound, but the damage was already done. “What the hell was that?” she demanded however I hadn’t recovered enough to reply.

I opened my mouth, hoping that words would magically come out yet as the guys rushed into the room and into their gear, I was speechless. I dropped my phone to my side and stepped into the corner of the room trying my best to stay out of the way. Five guys, including Jay hopped into the first fire engine, Cooper checked a computer mounted on a wall, and as soon as the door was open, they disappeared down Main Street.

Cooper glanced over at me huddled in the corner and couldn’t refrain from laughing at the look of terror on my face, but in my defense, it was quite an ordeal.

“Relax,” he said calmly, “They are just responding to a car accident on the highway. No injuries reported.”

I couldn’t help but look at him like he was nuts. My heart was racing and I found myself taking quick deep breaths. When the alarm finally stopped, I could finally feel my pulse setting down. Unfortunately, Gabby was still screaming through the phone and I hadn’t found my voice yet.

Cooper, sensing my dilemma, step towards me and gently pulled the phone of my hand and placed it against his ear. “She’s perfectly fine. She’s just a little stunned right now so I’m going to guess that she doesn’t like loud noises.”

I brought my hand up to gently punch his shoulder when two figures standing near the door caught my attention. They were eying my curiously, and Jake’s mouth was open with shock where as Matt was just smiling, amused with my presence.

“Cooper Mathews,” Cooper said suavely into the phone, “Firefighter extraordinaire. If you need anything put out, I’m your man.” If it was certain before, now it was-- Gabby was going to kill me the next time I saw her.

Jake and Matt laughed at Cooper antics and I couldn’t help but smile. If only Jake knew that it was his fiancé that was being hit on.

“Who in the department do you know?”

“Matt O’Neil?” he paused as all the color drained from his face. “Your fiancé’s cousin. Would you like to talk to him?” Gabby must have told him yes because he tossed the phone over to Jake. “For you.”

“Uh thanks?” Jake replied before taking the phone and talking to what probably was a very pissed off Gabby at this point. Let’s just say that I did not envy him right now.

“I’m guessing that is Gabby?” Matt laughed at Cooper discomfort. Jake was currently sending him various glares from across the room. I looked over at Matt and instantly gulped. The nervous feeling that had worn off had reappeared in ten fold.

I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. Luckily, Cooper acted as my knight in shinning armor once again. “Someone here is afraid of the siren,” he poked me in the stomach before rolling his eyes. He laughed, Matt just smiled.

Deciding that I had been a coward for long enough, I defended myself, “I’m not afraid of it, I just never expected it to be so loud.”

“Well,” Matt began, “Cooper here tends to sleep through anything so we had to crank it up a few notches whenever he’s on.” Cooper just shrugged his shoulders.

Jake, who was previously walking aimlessly around the driveway while talking to Gabby, reappeared by my side and held out my phone. “She expects a phone call later this evening.”

“Yea yea.” I muttered, trying to escape a lecture, and quickly grabbed my phone and slid it into my pocket. I was just about to ask them if they found tuxes when yet another alarm went off-- although, fortunately, this one wasn’t as loud and was followed by a voice shouting out that the pot was boiling over.

Cooper, who I quickly realized had a dirty mouth, let out a few more curses as he ran back down the hall. Jake simply followed him but Matt made no efforts to follow the pair. Instead, he was still standing in the doorway of the garage door with that same stupid grin plastered on his face. I knew that he was waiting for me to say something, however I didn’t want to take the bait.

Therefore, for the next few minutes, we simply stood there staring at each other. I tried not to focus on the way that his navy t-shirt was clinging to his body or the way that the sunlight coming in from the windows was reflecting on the green in his eyes. And I tried not to focus on that damn smile but it did not fade.

I finally shook myself out of my reserve. “I was invited over for dinner,” I mumbled. I was tempted to mention the several rounds of questions that I had been through, but then would probably require me explaining that all the guys were looking out for him which would lead to me revealing the personal information I knew about him and I didn’t want to put him on edge. There’s no way in hell I would ever be comfortable with other people knowing personal information such as that without my consent and I had a feeling that he would be the same way.

He didn’t ask any more questions as he walked across the garage and nodded towards the door. “Well, let’s go eat then,” and not knowing what else to say, I turned on my heel and walked over to the door. I was able to take a right when I felt his arm gently on my back and guided me left. “Take your first left and then your second left,” he said softly.

I turned my head only to find him a lot closer to me then I thought he was. I felt myself blush and I quickly turned away to follow directions. I hoped with every fiber of my being that he didn’t pick up on that small fact. “I knew that,” I replied even thought it was a blatant lie. He was right behind me and I felt rather then heard his laugh. “Fine, I didn’t,” I huffed, disappointed that he called my bluff. “This place is a maze.”

He reached out from behind and grabbed my arm. I had missed the second door. “This place is a maze,” I muttered and proceeded down the hall way once again.

He paused for a minute before following after me, but not before calling out, “don’t worry, you’ll get used it to.”