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put away a serious amount of food and beer.
    “Are you just inviting the guys or everyone?” she asked, wondering if she should run to the store for a bunch of sodas and juice for the moms and kids.
    “Patterson is bringing his girlfriend; Watts and Markis are bringing their wives. As far as I know, no one is bringing any kids. It’s probably just my station coming, whoever isn’t on duty. I invited the crew from station one, but I don’t know if they’ll show up or not.”
    “Then I should get some sodas to have, just in case. And some bottled water.”
    Jake pulled out his wallet and dropped a few twenties on the counter. “Use that to get whatever you think we need. Might need some chips and stuff too.”
    “What about dessert?”
    Jake arched a brow and pulled out two more twenties.
    Caitlyn smiled as she scooped up the money and hurried out the door. Thankfully her car had survived the fire. She’d been parked down the street rather than in her usual spot. She shoved the money in her purse before backing out of the parking space and heading toward the grocery store four blocks over. Caitlyn didn’t mind doing the shopping for Jake, she just wished she had more of her own money to use for it. But until she bought a new laptop, she wasn’t going to earn much.
    She’d heard the fire had been caused by faulty wiring. The building had been old for sure, but she’d thought they were up to code on everything. Now she had to start over with nothing to her name but her car. Her purse had been lost in the fire, but thankfully she’d been able to get a replacement driver’s license and had requested a new social security card. Her bank card was supposedly in the mail. All she could do now was sit and wait. Now that she had an I.D. again, she could at least withdraw funds from her account, but until her bank card came in the mail, her shopping was limited. She’d had to order a new PayPal debit card too.
    The store was busy, but she found a space near the front door and hurried inside. Caitlyn snagged a shopping cart and loaded it with chips, water, soda, and then picked out a cake and two pies from the bakery. Hopefully Jake would help her unload everything when she got home. Getting it into her car wasn’t going to be fun either, but she’d make do. As she wheeled her way out to the parking lot, the fire chief pulled up to the curb.
    “Caitlyn? You here alone?” Zacharias asked.
    “Yeah. Jake’s at home getting the grill set up. Are you joining us?”
    Zacharias shook his head. “I have some reports I need to go over at the station, but if I get done in time, I’ll swing by for a few minutes. Let me load the car for you.”
    “Thank you.” She pulled the sacks of chips out of the basket and put them in the backseat then popped the trunk for the water and sodas. She set the cake on the front seat and put the pies in the floor.
    When Zacharias was done, he slammed the trunk shut and wheeled the basket over toward the cart return. She waited for him and thanked him once more.
    “You make sure Jake unloads this car when you get home.”
    “I will. I hope we see you at the barbeque.” She smiled. Zacharias was a nice guy, and handsome for an older man. Caitlyn figured he was in his mid to late forties with a hint of silver at his temples. But he always had a ready smile for her and had always been polite.
    Caitlyn drove home, singing along to the radio. When she pulled into the driveway at Jake’s, she noticed a car and an SUV parked at the curb already. She picked up the cake and carried it inside with her.
    “Jake! I’m home.”
    She didn’t hear anything so she set the cake on the kitchen counter and poked her head out back. “Jake?”
    Her brother was standing by the grill with the hunky alien and another fireman she’d hoped to never see again. Jake knew how she felt about Rich and yet he always invited him anyway. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear her brother had it in for her. Rich