He’d been thinking about a potential move as something he could give Luis and perhaps as an empty nest solution, but maybe it was something he could give himself, resurrect old dreams, try something new. Not that there was anything wrong with Adams’s job precisely, but Tucker had a restlessness to his soul as he pictured himself in the role. Just like he’d wonder what might have been if he let Luis go, the possibility was strong that he’d wonder what could have been professionally too, had he allowed himself to stretch his wings.
“Thanks. I appreciate that. But...hard to say what the future holds.” His pulse galloped at the admission.
“Ah. You craving something more exciting?” Adams didn’t sound terribly surprised, but then he always had joked about how Tucker would take any opportunity to get out of the office. “Always figured we might lose you to the interagency or smoke jumper folks. More action.”
“Maybe. Not sure. This was the perfect job while the boys were young, and I’m not discounting how lucky I was to have it. But...might be time for me to chase some old dreams. Or find new ones.” There. That was exactly what he needed to tell Luis and again his gaze flitted to where Luis was standing. He couldn’t wait until this operation was a wrap and they could talk again.
Adams laughed knowingly, but if he’d noticed where Tucker kept looking, he didn’t say anything about that. “You’re too young for a midlife crisis, but I hear you. You’re a damn good manager. You’d be an asset anywhere.”
“Thanks.” Tucker’s attention was less on Adams’s praise and more on Luis walking toward them.
“What’s the latest?” Luis asked as he joined them. “The data I’m seeing suggests that we’ve got it contained absent some hot spot and snag flare-ups. Looks like we’ve avoided the worst-case scenario at least.”
“Yup. Good work on your projections.” Adams nodded. “And good work on the investigation. Because we were already monitoring this trail, we were able to get a faster response.”
“Which let us catch a suspect. Authorities have a young man who fits the profile we’ve developed. Repeated applications for a smoke jumper position, but never made the grade. I’m really hopeful this will be an end to this rash of fires.”
“All of us are.” Letting out a weary noise, Adams wiped at his forehead. “Of course, it would be nice for you to leave with the job done. We got word late yesterday that Angeles got their way—Friday will be your travel day, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they put you to work even before Monday.”
Job done. Tucker had known from the day before that Luis was likely gone in a matter of days, but making it official still made his coffee slosh around in his stomach, acid rising.
“Yeah.” Luis’s expression was guarded, but Tucker didn’t miss that brief moment when relief flashed in his eyes. He might be conflicted about leaving Tucker, but a big part of him did want to be back home. And Tucker wanted to give him that because he might be done with this job, but Tucker was far from done with him.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Ooof!” Luis had to stifle a curse as fifteen pounds landed in his lap out of nowhere.
“Your cat is in your lap.” Tucker gestured at Blaze.
Luis’s laugh rumbled through his chest, a welcome lightness after the heaviness of the day. “Yeah. She’s been doing that more lately.”
She was heavier than she looked, a warm solid weight that somehow made hanging out on Tucker’s couch that much cozier. After Luis arrived with her in tow for dinner, she’d been busy exploring Tucker’s living room, seeking out all her favorite spots on his built-in shelves and investigating Walker’s room upstairs before deciding to plop herself on Luis’s lap.
He’d been idly surfing the various streaming options on Tucker’s TV while Tucker checked his phone. The boys had eaten at Heidi’s house, so it had been only the two of them to cook some steaks and clean up afterward. Domestic perfection. Luis wanted a thousand more nights like this one, not simply two.
“Maybe she’s happy to be back here.” Tucker was doing something on his phone, but he took a second to give Luis a playful smile.
“She’s not the only one.” Luis’s chest lifted at getting to tease Tucker like this. “Are you jealous my lap is full? Because nice as it is that Blaze is tolerating me, I’d happily make room for you.”
“I’ll wait until she moves. I do feel like I need to store up all the touches though. Two more nights.” Some of the lightness escaped Tucker as he frowned.
“We’ll make it work.” Luis patted his thigh, hoping like hell he was right.
“We will.” Tucker held up his phone. “See? I’m looking at flights for October right now.”