Page 52 of Single Mom for the Firemen

“Hey, that’s not what I said,” I protest, lifting my hands up. “That wasn’t part of the deal…”

“Oh, I think you should have guessed what you were getting into when you decided to make us breakfast…”

She brandishes the fork at me playfully, and Callie busts out laughing—and before I can think too much more about it, I find myself joining her. There’s something so bright and so happy about hearing that little girl laugh the way she does, and right now there’s nothing I want more than to keep hearing it.

We finish up our breakfast, and Vanessa insists on clearing up as I take Callie outside to get some sunshine. We have a collection of vegetables that need watering in the garden out back, andshe gives me a hand with that. She grips my fingers for support when she tilts the bucket to pour the water, her tongue pinched between her teeth as she aims with complete precision.

I can feel eyes on us, and I glance around to see Vanessa looking through the kitchen window toward us. There’s a dish in her hand, but it looks as though she stopped in the middle of cleaning it, distracted by what she sees before her. She lifts her hand and waves, and I wave back before I help Callie move on to the next patch.

The rest of the day is just as easy. Callie is still on edge—to be expected, after everything that happened—but I give her a tour of the office we work from to distract her, showing her how the light-up alarms work as Vanessa holds her hand and picks her up to see the maps.

Once Callie is flicking through one of the giant maps we have stashed in the desk, Vanessa turns to me, a slightly-awestruck expression on her face.

“I had no idea you guys did all of this,” she murmurs, shaking her head. “I mean, you…you must have saved so many lives doing this. Kept so many people from losing everything.”

I nod. “Yeah, that’s the idea.”

“But do you really see how amazing it is?” she insists, taking my hand suddenly. “You doing all of this. You don’t have to. This is all off your own back, just because you know it’s the right thing. There are so few people in the world who can do that, and even less who would actually go through with it. But you’re one of them.”

She smiles at me, and I let the words sink in. I have a hard time wrapping my head around the enormity of everything we’vedone. Sometimes, it seems bigger than I can even make sense of, too big to even think about, or else I’d be overwhelmed by it. But hearing it from her lips feels different—an assurance that she sees the work I do, and she appreciates it.

“Thanks,” I murmur, and I press a kiss against her cheek before Callie turns around again.

Mason and Jake text us from town, and we start on making some dinner for all of us. There has been no question as to whether or not Vanessa and Callie should go home yet; I suppose they will eventually, but for the time being I want them here, where I can see them. I’d be surprised if Jake ever let them out of his sight again, after what happened. I know how protective he is of the people closest to him, and like it or not, she’s among them now.

“Can I help?” Callie asks as I stand over a pasta dish at the stove, Vanessa pouring some juice into glasses beside me.

“Why don’t you make a table decoration?” I suggest, suddenly remembering how much she enjoys that. “I bet the guys would love to see that when they get back.”

Her eyes light up at the thought. “Yes!” she exclaims, and she darts off toward the living room, where I point her in the direction of the firewood for her to craft something from.

As she sets to work, I turn to see Vanessa watching us. She has that look on her face again, and as I head over to her, I tip my head to the side.

“What is it?”

“You’re really good with her,” she replies softly, making sure Callie can’t hear us.

I shrug. “Just doing what anyone would do…”

“No, you’re going way beyond that,” she replies. “Trust me. I…it’s so good to see her around men she’s actually comfortable with, the way she is with the three of you.”

“Wait until she’s tried this pasta,” I joke. “She’s going to like us even more…”

But as I head through to the kitchen, the warmth of those words makes me grin. I like the idea of being part of Callie’s life. Can’t say I ever much saw myself as a dad, but she’s a sweet girl. And besides, she comes in a package deal with Vanessa—if it means that I get to have this beautiful woman at my side, I don’t care what it takes.

She follows me into the kitchen, going back to pouring juice.

“I’m going to miss having someone else to cook for me,” she remarks, and I glance over at her.

“What do you mean?”

“When I go back to the city, that is,” she fills out quickly. “Now that the cartel is dealt with, it’s not as though I’ve got any more reason to be clogging up my friend’s vacation cabin, right?”

She laughs slightly. I try to echo it, but there’s not much that’s funny to me about this. No, if anything, the thought of her going feels abstract—as though she’s talking about a possibility that’s never actually going to come to pass.

“Right,” I mutter back, turning my attention to the food so she won’t see the look on my face. So everything that we talked about last night…it wasn’t a lie, exactly, but she wasn’t in any rush to leave. Or maybe this is what she meant—she wants us to be part of her daughter’s life, but we’ll be here and she’ll be in the city.Though it’s only a few hours drive, it suddenly seems to stretch out on ahead of us forever.

I stare down at the dinner in front of me and silently send up a prayer to anyone who’s listening to make this the first of many, many dinners I cook for them here. Because I am so far from ready to see them go.

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