Page 25 of Single Mom for the Firemen

“And I’m at your beck and call for any fire-related stuff you need,” I tell her.

“And what about the story? An interview, maybe?”

I shake my head. “I don’t think there’s much for me to say.”

She raises her eyebrows at me. “Are you kidding?” she laughs.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you moved out here, to the middle of the woods, with your brothers, to fight fires and help people,” she remarks, cocking an eyebrow. “There’s no way there isn’t a story behind that.”

I glance away from her. Truth be told, I don’t want to talk about my reasons for doing this. My reasons for leaving behind my whole life with the SEALs, and coming out here to make sure that nobody else goes through anything like what we did when we lost our parents.

“It doesn’t matter,” I mutter. “Too miserable, anyway. Nobody would want to read that.”

She leans forward and, to my surprise, reaches out to plant a hand on my arm.

“Hey,” she murmurs. “You can talk to me, you know. Even if it’s not for the article, even if it’s just something you want to get off your chest…”

I gaze at her for a moment—and in that instant, I can almost imagine myself telling her everything. Telling her about every little detail of what brought me to this point—standing in the burned-out remains of the home that we’d grown up in after I got the call, feeling numb, the scent of cold ash in the air…

“Nah, I’m fine,” I reply, brushing her off. I don’t want to pull her down with my shit. She’s probably been through enough as it is.

“Okay, well, the offer’s open, if you ever want to speak about it,” she assures me. There’s a note of genuine warmth to her voice. I’m not sure I entirely believe that she wouldn’t use this for astory if she got the chance, but maybe I’m judging her a little harshly.

“Speaking of offers,” she continues. “You want to stay for lunch? So I can say thank-you for saving my ass?”

I glance back toward the cabin. I know I should be getting back there. If Killian and Mason arrive back and find that I’m not there, they’re going to have a million questions about what I’ve been up to, and I don’t feel like answering them.

“I should…”

“Come on, it won’t be more than an hour,” she joshes me, grinning at me over her shoulder. And there’s something about the look in her eyes, so carefree and bright, that pushes all the doubt from my mind, and I find myself nodding.

“Yeah,” I agree. “Yeah, that actually sounds pretty nice.”

I stick around for lunch, joining Callie and Vanessa for something to eat, and I try not to think about what the guys are going to say when I get back. I can already imagine all the snarky comments they’ll have to throw at me about the fact that I’ve been spending time with this woman, especially after Killian slept with her.

Callie’s eyes start to get a little droopy after lunch as we clear up, and Vanessa plants her hands on her hips and looks down at her.

“You want to take a quick nap, little lady?” she suggests, and Callie nods. “Come on upstairs, let’s get you rested, and then I can walk Jake home.”

“You don’t have to do that—” I call after her as she heads up the stairs, but she raises her hand as though to tell me that thechoice has already been made. I grin. Okay, so if I get a little more time alone with her, maybe that’s not entirely a bad thing…

She locks up the house carefully before she follows me onto the trail again. I can’t help but notice all the effort she takes to make sure this place is safe, even though the chances of there being anyone else on the trails is next to impossible. Not that I’m one to speak about paranoia.

“She’s been napping so much more since we came here,” she remarks, shaking her head, as she catches up to me. “I think it’s all the fresh outdoor air—just knocks her out in the evenings…”

“That’s not a bad thing,” I reply. “You get used to it, the more time you spend here.”

“Yeah, I don’t think we’re going to be staying long enough for that,” she laughs. “I want to get back to the city as soon as I can…”

“You don’t like it out here?”

“I…no, it’s not that I don’t like it,” she corrects herself quickly. “It’s just not what I’m used to. Not like the rest of my life, you know?”

“And what is the rest of your life like?”

“What do you mean?”

---