Page 2 of Single Mom for the Firemen

“Like I would ever want to get rid of you,” she laughs.

“You’d be the first,” I joke, opening the door and starting down the narrow staircase toward the car. “God, I’m not going to miss the smell of damp in this place…”

“I’m with you on that,” she agrees, reaching out to take Callie’s hand as I balance the pile of boxes in my arms. I pick out every step carefully; the last thing I need is to go falling down the stairs right before we get out of the city…

But I make it to the car in one piece, and Callie and I load up the last of our stuff into the trunk. Callie crams herself into her car seat, avoiding putting her feet in the bag of groceries that we picked up so we’ll have food when we get there.

Lara pulls me into a giant hug before I climb into the car. I can feel her shaking slightly; honestly, I feel like she’s struggling with this more than I am. I give her a tight squeeze, silentlytelling her that everything is going to be okay, and she’s got nothing to worry about.

“You’re going to be alright, aren’t you?” she murmurs to me. I nod.

“Of course I am,” I shoot back, keeping my voice as confident as I can. “Are you kidding? This is the first vacation I’ve had since I had Callie. It’s a dream.”

She chews her lip as she eyes me for a long moment. I can tell she doesn’t entirely buy it. But she manages a nod, and glances into the car to say goodbye to Callie as I climb into the driver’s side.

Gripping the wheel, I nod at Lara to say goodbye, and then stare at the road ahead. I don’t know what this cabin is going to be like—I don’t know what I’m supposed to expect when I get there, or how safe we’ll really be, so far from everything we’ve known for so long. But I do know one thing for damn sure—I will do whatever it takes to keep my daughter safe. And if that means leaving the city and lying low for a few months till this heat dies down? Then I’ll do it.

I press my foot down, and the car pulls away from the curb, toward our new life in the cabin.

1

VANESSA

I squint downat the map as the light dims around us. I guess I should have seen it coming, but it’s way darker out here than in the city, and I can hardly make out the spot I’m supposed to be aiming for, even though Lara outlined it in a giant red circle.

“How far away are we?” Callie asks, peering out the window. She doesn’t sound nervous, which is a relief; I thought she might find this place a little spooky, given that most of her storybooks revolve around little girls wandering into the woods and getting into all kinds of trouble.

“I’m not sure,” I murmur, tilting the map up toward the dim overhead light. I’ve never been any good at map-reading—not that I’ve ever really needed it, given that my phone tells me where I need to go at any given time. It’s not like it was a skill I ever felt the need to work on. But now, I’m cursing myself for my reliance on technology—and more than that, I’m cursing Lara’s family for picking a place that’s in the ass-end of nowhere.

But I know that’s the point. And I know I should be happier to get out of the city for a while. God knows it has been a while since I’ve found the time to explore the world outside the confinesof my apartment block and the office, and I know that Callie deserves more than that. She’s got her friends at kindergarten, her little reading groups at the library, and she never really seems to want for anything else. I guess it’s been too easy to convince myself that she doesn’t need any more than that.

“Okay, I think we’re going…in this direction,” I mutter, folding up the map and looking at the dusty road ahead. In winter, I get the feeling this place would be hard to traverse, but now as we’re just coming into the hottest months of the year, the whole place feels still and dry. I draw the car forward a little further, and a moment later, it swings into view between some trees—the cabin!

“Oh my God,” I gasp as I spot it. “It’s way bigger than I expected…”

“We’re going to be living there?” Callie asks, and she sounds as dumbfounded as me about the whole situation. I double-check the map, and then nod.

“Yeah,” I reply, a grin cracking over my face. “Yeah, it looks like we are, babygirl. Come on, let’s get settled in…”

I drive up to the cabin, fumble for the keys that Lara gave me, and step out to admire the place. It’s huge—a giant log cabin that looks like it could have come straight from some cozy vacation magazine spread. Unlocking the door and dumping our bags inside, the two of us set to exploring the place, and it’s even more beautiful inside. Caramel-colored wood makes up the floors and the walls, and the kitchen is a sprawling open space that looks out onto a giant patio outside. The bedrooms—plural—are upstairs, and Callie takes the steps two at a time to get up there and get a look at them.

“They’re huge!” she yells down to me, and I run up to check them out with her—she’s not wrong. The biggest, which will be mine, has an ensuite bathroom and a balcony, and it’s just next to the guest room, which is perfect for Callie. I flop down on the large mattress in the queen-size bed and pull Callie beside me, wrapping my arms around her and squeezing her close.

“And this is our home for the next few months,” I murmur to her, pressing a kiss against her head. “Can you believe it, baby?”

She shakes her head, nestling in to me. Even though she’s excited, I can tell that the exhaustion from the day is getting to her. Her body sinks into mine, and she drapes her arm across my chest just like she used to when she was a toddler.

“You want to sleep in here with me tonight?” I suggest, stifling a yawn of my own. I know we should probably unpack and get something to eat before we go to bed, but God, I could just fall asleep right there. She nods and stretches her little limbs out around me, her head flopping onto my shoulder as she begins to snore quietly.

I press a kiss to her head and let my own eyes drift shut. I can’t believe this is happening. I mean, it’s not exactly how I pictured us spending our summer—and I can’t help but feel a little guilty, knowing that there’s so much I have taken from her with this story.

But the best I can do in the meantime is try and make this the greatest summer she’s ever had. Try and make up for the mess I’ve made, and let her focus on being here with me, where she belongs. We might never get a chance to have this kind of fun again, and God knows, both of us need it.

Before I know it, I’m drifting off to sleep, my little girl in my arms, and the memory of everything that happened back in the city more distant than it has ever been.

I wake earlythe next morning, squinting against the bright morning sunlight pouring in through the window; I guess I didn’t think to close the blinds, but now I wish I had. I gently extricate myself from underneath Callie and go to look outside, taking in the forest for the first time. I bite down on my lip—I can hardly believe it’s real.

It looks like something out of a fantasy movie—the green trees bathed in this golden sunlight, the sound of birds chirping, the green of the grass studded by a few brightly colored flowers. It’s a far cry from the usual view I get from my bedroom window, onto the dumpsters behind a local Chinese takeout overflowing with food from the night before, and it’s one I know I could get used to.

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