Page 73 of Shelter for Morgan

Rhett looked up at their lieutenant, Noah Sadler. They called him Cowboy when they were on the job.

Cowboy had a way of reassuring everyone that things, no matter how dire they might seem, were going to be okay. They quite literally followed him through flames and out again.

“Sage sent me a picture of Morgan and Milo at the outdoor movie theater.” He turned the phone screen to face Cowboy. “Here.”

Cowboy leaned in to look and he was all smiles a moment later. “That’s sweet.”

Rhett nodded. “It really is.”

Cowboy leaned on a half wall that separated bunk areas and gave him a

curious look. “So, I guess she’s not going to be a temporary roommate.”

Rhett saw the raised brow and nodded. “I’m hoping she’ll stay with me. We’re… we’re good together.”

Noah nodded his head. “I can see that. You’re a different guy now.”

“I’m just the same man I was yesterday and the day before.” He wasn’t sure why he was pushing back on Cowboy’s words. Maybe it was just an instinctual thing. It was probably why they called him Rhett in the first place. He was a bit headstrong.

The look on Cowboy’s face said that his lieutenant didn’t believe him.

“You’re a good man, Rhett. I’m sure she sees it.”

Rhett’s smile couldn’t be stopped.

Neither could Cowboy’s pleasantly surprised reaction. “She’s brought out a new side of you that we haven’t seen before. You’ve always been a great firefighter. You’re a top notch EMT as well. Now, you’re just a happier person. I’m happy to see it.”

“She...” Rhett turned his phone back around so he could see the photo again. “She makes everything possible.”

Fish walked into the room and held up his phone so they could see. “Rhett, did you see the picture of Morgan and Milo?”

Rhett turned his phone around and smiled at his friend. “Sage sent it to me.”

Stopping beside Cowboy, Fish looked at the photo on his phone screen. “Sage was amazed at how easy Morgan got him to calm down and play while they were waiting for their food. I might have to take a lesson from her.”

Rhett sat up a little more, his shoulders dropping back and his chest puffing out with pride. “She is something.”

Cowboy nodded. “Fish, maybe you should give him some advice in the whole, ring situation.”

With a wink, Cowboy walked off toward his office.“Really?” Fish leaned against the half wall and folded his arms across his chest. “Things getting serious for you two?”

Rhett leaned back against the wall behind his bunk. “Everyone around here said I’m always serious. So, it’s not all that big of a thing, right?”

Fish chuckled. “Sure, if you want to look at it that way.”

Rhett smiled when he hadn’t intended to. There was just something so easy about talking to Fish. He was like the other smoke eaters, but on the whole, Fish was the most affable of them all. That gave him a special power with kids. He was the go-to guy for school or scout groups. He could have dozens of little kids listening with rapt attention when everyone else might fumble with the informational bits and pieces.

Grinning, Fish nodded. “I think it’s just… just a mellowing thing.”

“Mellowing?” Rhett wasn’t exactly comfortable with the way that sounded.

“Okay,” Fish shrugged, “probably not the exact word that I should use, but it’s how I feel.”

“You were already mellow,” Rhett gave him a smile. Fish was already a great guy, but when he’d met Sage and Milo, he’d become a complete and utter dad. Almost over night. “Sage and Milo make you happy. Morgan is the same for me, but I’m not sure how she’d react if I gave her a ring. She just moved here.”

“It didn’t take me long to realize that Sage was it for me.” Fish’s voice was soft and almost dreamlike.

“When I figured that part out,” he looked up toward the heavens even though they had a big, thick roof above them, “I was bound and determined to make sure that she knew how much I wanted to be in her life.”

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