Page 14 of Single Mom for the Firemen

And the same mess that drove me to want to take a scanner with us, even if we’re meant to be just relaxing and having fun.

Not that I’m expecting much of that. From what I’ve seen of Vanessa, she seems pretty damn forward—not afraid to speak her mind or invite herself into our cabin, at least from what Mason said to me. I can’t imagine an evening at her place is going to be a barrel of laughs, even if she can restrain herself from nearly setting the place on fire again…

After a few minutes, we reach the edge of the property, stepping past the gate and heading up to the house. I can’t help but wonder what exactly it is she’s doing up here. After all, she seems to be a single mom, and I haven’t seen her working or anything in the time she’s been here. How can she afford a relatively fancy place like this? Maybe it was gifted to her by the father of her child? I’m not sure. But I’m damn curious, and maybe tonight will give me a chance to put a few of the questions running around my head to rest.

She greets us at the door, wearing this light pink dress that falls just to her ankles, and her feet are bare. Even though I saw her in a towel before this, there’s something oddly intimate about seeing her dressed this way—knowing that she has chosen this especially for tonight.

“Come in, come in!” she calls, waving us inside. “Callie’s just finishing setting the table. She’s been very excited about tonight, I can’t even tell you…”

She giggles as she fills us in on her daughter, leading us through to the dining room. Sure enough, Callie is adjusting a very over-the-top table decoration in the middle of the dining space. A large cluster of twigs cling together, studded by various fresh flowers.

“She made it herself,” Vanessa adds fondly. “I think it’s pretty good.”

“More than pretty good,” Mason replies, crouching down to get a better look at it. “It’s amazing. I love the crocuses in it.”

“The crocuses?” the little girl asks, frowning slightly.

“You see the purple and yellow flowers here?” he replies, pointing them out to her. “They’re crocuses…”

As he talks to her about whatever flower-centric knowledge he has already bored us with, Killian and I make our way to the kitchen.

“Anything I can do to help?” Killian asks, glancing around at the food piled up on what seems to be every counter around us.

“Oh, no, I think I’ve got it,” she replies. “Just need to move this nut roast onto a plate, and…”

As she fusses at the oven, I take in the piles of food around us. She really has gone all out. There are roasted potatoes and parsnips, various sauces that fill smaller bowls, and even a bottle of wine out on the counter, sitting open, ready to be poured.

“You’ve done an amazing job,” Killian remarks, speaking my mind.

“Yeah, and without once setting off the fire alarm,” I interject, unable to hold myself back. She shoots me a look—but smiles.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” she replies, rolling her eyes playfully. “Just for that, you have to pour the wine, alright, buddy?”

“I’m on it,” I reply, and I head to take care of my task. With a little help that she finally accepts from us, we take the food through to the dining room, and we fill out the large table as the sun begins to dip low in the sky beyond the windows.

“This looks fantastic,” Mason remarks.

“And all vegetarian,” she says proudly. “Callie and I have been working on it all day, haven’t we?”

Callie nods proudly, reaching to take a bite of one of the roast potatoes at the edge of the large pile. I have to admit, she seems like a sweet girl. The thought of her helping her mom get all this food together and even going as far to make a table decoration is pretty damn charming.

We all tuck in to the food, and to my surprise, the conversation comes easily. Mason mentioned to me that she seemed pretty keen on finding out what we did out here, but the chat seems more focused on less personal things for the time being. We talk movies, books, where we went to school, and how excited Callieis to start school in the coming year. I can already tell she’s bright, and no doubt she’ll thrive in the classroom environment.

“No, but you have to admit, the second one was better,” Mason argues with Vanessa playfully as they debate the merits of some sci-fi movie trilogy I’ve never seen.

“I’m saying that if I hadn’t been paid to review it, I would never have bothered with it,” she shoots back, laughing, as she reaches for her glass of wine. In that moment, I find myself gazing at her. She’s utterly relaxed, able to just detach and have fun and laugh. It’s something that I so often find myself struggling to do, and I have to admit that there’s a part of me that’s jealous of her ability to just lean into it and let loose.

Killian holds his hands up. “I have to intervene,” he protests. “I’m on her side, Mason. I’m not going to let that slide.”

“Oh, so the fact that we’re brothers means nothing all of a sudden?” Mason jokes back, making me chuckle.

Killian shakes his head. “Not if you’re going to be throwing around such ridiculous movie opinions.”

“Oh, yeah, take her side,” Mason replies, waving his hand. “Typical…”

The evening draws on, and I keep my ears pricked for anything coming up on the scanner. The last thing I want is for something to happen just because we’re relaxed and having a good time. I don’t want to get distracted from the real reason we’re out here. Sure, getting to know the new arrivals is one thing, but there’s more important shit for us to be focused on out here…

But, a glass of wine in, I start to relax, noticing every now and then that I’m not even focused on the scanner. There’ssomething about being here, surrounded by good food and good conversation, that has brightened my mood in a way little else has these past few years. I know I shouldn’t be letting myself get drawn into it, but it’s difficult, when it just feels so damn comfortable.

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