hitched her purse up on her shoulder and nodded quickly. This was getting more and more awkward by the minute, and all she wanted to do right now was to retreat. “Of course. I know that you’re busy and I’m grateful for squeezing me in. Thank you for your time, Deputy—”
“Matt.”
She blinked. “Pardon me?”
“Call me Matt. And I’m not trying to get rid of you. Maybe we could talk more later. I might be able to take you up on your offer, too.”
Rachel’s cheeks grew warmer. “I’m glad. And thank you.”
“My pleasure.”
He reached out a hand and enveloped her slender fingers in his warm grip. A shadow darkened the doorway, and Rachel stepped back to allow the man entrance.
As she slipped from the small office, she glanced back and found Matt’s warm gaze locked on her over his visitor’s shoulder. A smile flickered over his lips and he turned his attention back toward the gentleman in his office. Rachel smothered a sigh and turned her steps in the direction her son had gone. This wasn’t going to be as simple as she’d hoped.
* * *
As the petite dark-haired woman disappeared down the hallway, Matt closed his office door. She was persistent—he’d give her that. She was also one of them—the widow of a firefighting brother, and he couldn’t just forget about that. Firefighters were a tight group. When you put your own life on the line, you had to trust your brothers to step up and take care of your family if the worst-case scenario happened.
Which had happened for Ed Carter, God rest his soul. He remembered that death clearly because it had been so pointless. The firefighter had been hooking up hoses in order to fight a fire on a rolled tanker when a drunk driver careened by and took him out. Death in a fire seemed more acceptable, somehow, than the way Ed Carter had died, and it felt strange to know that he’d just met Firefighter Carter’s widow.
She’s beautiful.
This wasn’t exactly the thought that was appropriate for a time like this, and he pushed it back and turned his attention to his visitor.
The portly gentleman settled himself in the visitor’s chair without much room to spare. He was an older man with gray, thinning hair and red cheeks.
“It’s good to meet you, Matthew.” The older man adjusted himself and shot Matt a grandfatherly smile.
“Likewise. It’s nice to put a face to the voice, Mr. Bernard.”
“This is the less formal part of the process. Don’t think of this as an interview—it’s more of a meet and greet.” He held out a business card.
“Understood.” Matt accepted the card and scanned the details. He wasn’t fooled, though. This was most certainly an interview.
“I sit on the South Maitland city hiring committee,” Mr. Bernard explained. “I’m just here to get to know you a little bit. I want to see your style, what you’ve done here in Haggerston.”
“My pleasure.” Matt leaned back in his chair.
“You’ve applied to be fire chief in South Maitland,” he went on. “And obviously we’re taking your application seriously. You’ve put your time in, and you’re well respected.”
“I appreciate that, sir.”
“Your résumé shows that you’ve worked your entire career right here in Haggerston.”
“I grew up here,” Matt replied.
“What drew you to apply to South Maitland, then?”
“I’m ready for the next challenge,” he said. “And the next step isn’t always available in your backyard.”
“Was it a difficult choice?”
Matt knew what Mr. Bernard was asking—was he going to regret moving across the state and leaving his hometown, his family and his memories behind. The truth was, he wasn’t just willing to go; he needed to go. There were things that he needed to escape, and this job in South Maitland was going to be his salvation.
“Not at all.” Matt shook his head and gave an easy smile. “I’m ready to move on.”
Mr. Bernard smiled. “Glad to hear it, son. So tell me what makes you the right man for the job.”
Matt exhaled slowly, then shrugged. “I’ve been working toward this step for the last five years. I’ve been working on my certifications and my management degree for longer than that. This has been my career goal all along. I love what I do. It’s not a job, it’s my life, and I think that matters.”
“And the move across state doesn’t pose any complications for you?”
“None.” Matt pushed back his chair. “What strengths are most important to you in this hiring process?” It was time to ask a few questions of his own.
“Leadership, flexibility, integrity—” Mr. Bernard nodded slowly. “We also want to step up the community connections with the fire department. The last fire chief, who is retiring, didn’t work directly with school or community groups very often, and we’d like to find someone who can provide that personal connection.”
Matt had suspected as much, and he felt a surge of reassurance that he’d met Rachel when he had. God had a way of sorting out the details, and he sent up a silent prayer of thanks. If they needed someone who could work with school groups, then he’d just have to buff up his skills—pronto.
“Are you hungry, Mr. Bernard?” he asked suddenly.
“Well, I—” The older man cleared his throat and smiled. “I could think about lunch.”
“My treat. There’s a diner down the street and we could continue this over the best burger in Montana. Let’s call it a working lunch.”
“Sounds good to me.” The older man smiled and patted his belly. “It’s getting to be that time, isn’t it?”
Matt rose to his feet and came around the desk to meet him. As Matt opened the door, Rachel’s voice filtered from down the hallway as she talked with her son in the reception area.
“Thank you so much for showing us around, Firefighter Johnson,” she was saying. “It was nice of you to take the time.”
Matt led his guest down the hall toward the door. Rachel and Chris stood with Firefighter Johnson, saying their goodbyes. As he reached the reception desk, Matt gave Chris a friendly grin.
“Hi,” Christopher said quietly, and Rachel’s gaze flew back in his direction.
“Hi, buddy,” Matt said. “Did you like the tour?”
The boy shrugged.
“We did,” Rachel answered for him. “Thanks. Come on, Chris. We’d better get going.”
They all stepped outside together into the warm July sunlight, and Matt glanced in the direction
