Page 40 of Controlled Burn

“That’s great, Dad.” I glanced over at Keith to find him watching me.

“Maybe you could come over to dinner next Wednesday and meet her?” my dad asked hopefully. If he wanted me to meet her, he must be getting serious about her and quick. But if it made him happy, then good for him.

“I would love to, Dad.” I felt my phone buzz in my pocket, but I ignored it, not wanting to be rude, until Keith glanced at my dad to make sure he wasn’t looking and gave me a firm look before motioning toward my pocket. I reached down and pulled out the phone, looking at the screen.

Keith: Do you need to check your calendar before you commit to dinner?

I bit back a grin and looked at my dad. “Let me just look and make sure I don’t have any library events or anything scheduled for Wednesday.”

“Good idea, son. If you do, we can pick a different night.” My dad waited while I opened up my app and checked.

“Crap, I have a meeting that afternoon with the head of the Friends of the Library about the book sale, and I have no idea how long that will take. But we’ll do it soon, okay? Speaking of which, I need to go. Things are crazy right now getting ready for that event. But I wanted to stop by and see the chairs.”

I told them both goodbye and then headed back out to the car, but before I pulled out, I sent Keith a text.

Me: Thanks for the reminder, Daddy. That would have been embarrassing.

Chapter 15

Keith

“So she jumped on him, completely naked? You’re kidding me?” Caleb asked, his eyes crinkling with laughter.

“Nope, no joke. Completely naked.”

“Oh my god, what did my dad do?”

“He held his arms out to his side, palms up, looking horrified.” I did my best to imitate the look on Robert’s face when the blonde with the big boobs launched herself at him, and Caleb bent over laughing.

“I would’ve given my right arm to see that.”

Dinner was over and Caleb and I were sitting outside enjoying the evening while I told him firehouse stories.

“Her poor husband was just as horrified as Robert. He was standing there all helpless, holding out one of our blankets for her while he covered himself with his hand.”

“That’s the best argument I’ve ever heard for not sleeping naked.”

“Nah.” I shook my head. “I still sleep naked. I say it’s a good argument for keeping clothes stashed somewhere, though.”

“I bet you’ve seen some crazy things,” he said.

“That I have.”

A crash of thunder boomed loud, making Caleb jump, and shortly after, lightning flashed across the sky. “Oh wow, I didn’t know it was going to storm tonight.”

“I didn’t either. Are you scared of storms?”

“Not usually. That just caught me off guard. I actually love it when it rains.”

“I do, too, but we should probably get inside before it starts.”

He nodded. “Yeah, besides, you have a shift tomorrow, so if we’re going to watch a movie, we should start it now.”

I reached down, offered him a hand, and pulled him up. “Speaking of my shift tomorrow, do you have a plan for shopping and meal prepping?”

He shrugged. “I figure I’ll make the same stuff as last week. That wasn’t too hard.”

We went inside, closing the door behind us just as the rain started. “Okay, but if you have any questions, shoot me a text. Weekends are pretty chill as long as we don’t have any calls. We don’t do training or anything.”

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