Page 5 of An Adventure For Aster

Though he had to admit he never shut off the possibility of finding a wife and having kids, just didn’t get lucky enough to find one strong enough for it.

“I know that,” Zane said.

He knew Zane’s history with his ex and how Zane had to leave the service before his time too because of his daughter, Willow. Zane was a few years older than him, so he hadn’t served with him for that long. But coming to the area and connecting not just with Zane but also with Luke Remington had felt almost like a homecoming that he needed in his life when he was lucky to even be alive.

“Speaking of kids,” he said, “how is the baby sleeping?”

“She’s only getting up once a night now. Lily never lets me deal with it. Says since she’s still on leave, I should be the one to sleep.”

“Is she really on leave?” he asked.

“No,” Zane said. “No matter how much her sisters tell her to take the time off. At least she’s not going into the office but rather doing work from home. Staff come to her more than anything. Not much I can do about it. She’s as stubborn as me.”

He grinned. “You’d have her no other way.”

“I wouldn’t,” Zane said.

“Time to get to work and get this expansion done for her then,” Aster said. The two of them got their tool belts on and he got right to the hard labor that he loved to do.

If his body was working, his brain would focus on that and not on the life he’d thought he’d have and left behind.

At least he was starting to feel less like a fish out of water.

2

ONLY SINGLE ONE

“The kids had a ball today,” Raine said to Maxine Collar. “I’m not sure they’ve ever asked so many questions or laughed so much before on that field trip.”

“They were super engaged,” Maxine said. Maxine taught second grade and was twenty years older than Raine. She’d often gone to Maxine as a mentor early on, but after teaching for nine years now, she had a good handle on things.

“Tyler was upset he missed a few things while he was in the bathroom,” she said.

“There is always one that doesn’t go when we tell them to,” Maxine said. “What did you think of that sexy fireman that you were in the building with? Talk about anything interesting?”

Raine felt the heat fill her face over the comment. No need to dispute the fact that the guy was extremely good looking.

She couldn’t tell much about his body in his gear other than he was a lot taller than her. Maybe built more like her older brother, Brooks.

The only name she got was Fireman Allen from him. She didn’t know if that was his first or last name and supposed it didn’t matter.

“Not much,” she said. “We weren’t there long.”

She didn’t picture him the type that wanted to have a long conversation, but she found it nice that he offered to pop his head in and help her out with Tyler. That was one thing about being a female teacher with boys. There weren’t a lot of male teachers and it always made it awkward for things like that.

“Too bad,” Maxine said. “He was a treat to look at.”

“He was,” she said.

“You should see if you can find out more about him,” Maxine said. “Maybe ask him out.”

“Please,” she said. “Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve asked a man out?”

“Which is why you should do it,” Maxine said. “He didn’t have a ring on his finger. I looked. I was trying to be a good wingwoman and all.”

“Not having a ring on means nothing,” she said. “My father never wears his ring to work because he doesn’t want to get it stuck in a machine.”

Her father was a boat mechanic. He put his ring in his locker daily and slipped it off when he got to work and on when he left, but never while he worked.

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