Page 26 of Single Mom for the Firemen

She sounds genuinely surprised by the question, but it can’t come as that much of a shock. After all, now that she’s just dropped in out of the blue, I know that there has to be something she came here for.

Or something she wants to get away from…

“You don’t live with Callie’s dad?”

I don’t know why the question comes out at that moment—it’s not like I’ve been thinking about him or anything. And I guess if she’s been hooking up with Killian, it’s not like she’s tied down. But still, curiosity gets the better of me, and her face drops for a moment before she replies.

“Johnny,” she murmurs, as though it’s been a long time since she said his name out loud. “He passed when Callie was just a few months old. Car accident.”

“Fuck, I’m so sorry,” I reply, my brows knitting together. “I…”

I trail off as she continues to walk, her gaze lowered to the ground. I don’t want to burden her with everything I’ve been through, but at the same time, the thought of leaving her hanging is getting to me.

“I don’t even know if we’d still be together now,” she admits. “We were young then, you know how it is, thought we could take on the world, but God knows how it would have actually worked out in real life.”

She falls silent again, taking a few steps before she speaks again.

“But he gave me Callie, and I’m eternally grateful for that,” she murmurs. “I don’t know what I’d do without that little girl. When I look at her, I—I feel like I have a reason to make the world a better place. Because it’s the world she’s going to live in, and she deserves nothing but the best.”

“You’re doing an amazing job with her,” I reply. “She’s a sweet little girl.”

“The sweetest,” she agrees with a grin—but I can see a hint of sadness in her eyes.

“I’m sorry about her father,” I tell her softly, coming to a halt as we reach the bottom of my steps. “You shouldn’t have to go through something like that so young, losing family. It’s…it’s not the kind of thing you get over.”

She looks up at me, her eyes searching mine. “You sound like you’re talking from firsthand experience.”

“I might be.”

I expect her to ask more questions, but she seems happy to just let the moment linger there between us.

“Well, I’m sorry you had to go through that too,” she replies. “It’s tough. But you’re doing amazing stuff out here with your brothers. I bet there are plenty of people still walking the earth right now because you were there to bail them out when they needed it most.”

I smile. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

She tips her head to the side and studies me for a moment.

“You know, that might be the first real smile I’ve ever seen from you,” she teases, and I laugh and roll my eyes.

“Come on, I’m not that bad.”

“Oh, you’re pretty bad,” she continues playfully, landing a slap on my arm. “You scared the shit out of me when you came to the house that first day…”

“So you’d rather I just let the alarm go?”

“Hey, I had it under control…”

She laughs, that warm, bright sound that fills the air around us, as she tips her head to the side and looks up at me.

And even though I know it’s stupid—even though I know she’s already been with my brother, and I have no idea what she’s doing here—there’s a flash of desire in my chest. Before I can stop myself, I bring my hands to her sides, pull her close to me, and press my lips to hers.

It’s been a long time since I’ve kissed a woman, ahellof a long time. And the explosion of fireworks that bursts in my head is intoxicating. I part her lips with my tongue and dip it inside, and she moves her hands to my belt loops, leaning into me. It’s almost as though I can taste the sweetness of her laugh on my lips, and I want more. I cup her head in my hand, and lean in deeper…

But before I can go any further, I hear a slight creak from inside the cabin—and we both spring away from each other. We’ve got damn good reason not to want to be caught, but I get the feeling this hasn’t gone unnoticed.

“I should…” she blurts out, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Her lips are slightly pinker than they were before, fuller. I can see my own saliva glistening on her bottom lip before she quickly swipes it away with her tongue.

And that’s all she manages to get out before she turns and takes off into the woods—and leaves me standing there, wondering just how much shit my brothers are going to give me for what they just saw.

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