Page 12 of Single Mom for the Firemen

“So you didn’t go with them? Not the kind of call you all have to go out on?”

I shake my head, still cautious. “No, it’s under control. I trust them to deal with it.”

“But if it was something more serious, you’d be with them, right?”

“Right.”

“When was the last time you were all out together? What happened?—”

But before she can press any further, I hear voices approaching the cabin and, looking up, see my brothers approaching through the window. I’m grateful for the break in her questioning—I get that she’s interested, but there’s something about the way she’s going about it that has me a little worried. Could just be paranoia on my part, but she seems pretty damn direct for someone who’s just making a friendly visit.

I don’t let the thought linger, going to open the door just as Killian and Jake arrive.

“We’ve got company,” I tell them, tossing my finger over my shoulder in the direction of Vanessa and Callie. I don’t know why I feel the need to tell them—not like they wouldn’t have guessed as soon as they saw her, anyway—but I guess I just want to give them a heads-up before they’re hit with the presence of the woman who’s been causing so much tension between us all this time.

Jake’s eyes dart over to her, and I can tell at a glance he’s irritated. He grits his teeth, but before he can say anything, Killian strides past me, a wide grin crossing his face as he approaches them.

“Callie, Vanessa, it’s so good to see you again,” he greets them warmly. Again? What is he talking about…?

“Yeah, you too, Killian,” she replies, and I can sense a tension between them at once. My eyes dart to Jake, and I can tell he has clocked the same thing too. I’m not sure what’s going on between them, but I’m not sure I want to find out.

Or maybe I’d be too jealous for my own good if I did.

“I’m actually really glad the three of you are all here,” she continues, rising to her feet and looking past me to smile at Jake. “I wanted to invite you around for dinner this week.”

I stare at her. This is what she came for? I’m not entirely certain I buy it, and I can tell without looking that Jake is on my side with this too.

“We’d love to.” Killian replies before either of us have a chance to so much as consider what’s going on here. My lips part in protest, but Jake nudges me, as though telling me to keep my mouth shut. He hates seeming like an asshole, no matter how much he might not like someone. I know he’s still pissed at himself for going so hard on her when we made that visit to her cabin before.

“Oh, that’s amazing,” she gushes. “I was so embarassed about what happened the other day, and I know you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression, but—I thought I would try. I want to cook for you, whenever works for you. Just let me know.”

“I don’t think we have anything specific planned tomorrow evening, do we?” Killian remarks, looking back at the two of us as though daring us to argue with him on this. The big, shit-eating grin he has on his face tells me exactly where his head is at. He’s just enjoying pissing off our oldest brother, and if he gets to hang out with a hot woman in the process, then there’s no way he’s going to turn that down.

“I guess not,” I reply, my voice dropping slightly. We can’t let him think that he can just get away with acting like this; he can’t think we’re going to just brush it off as though it’s nothing. Yes, we might not be planning anything now, but we need to be on-call all night in case something happens. If we’re distracted and allow something bad to happen to this place as a result…

“Awesome,” Vanessa replies, clapping her hands together. “Around six, then? I know it’s early, but this little one needs to get to bed at a reasonable time…”

She puts her arm around Callie, who leans into her happily.

“Yeah, sounds perfect,” Killian replies. “We’ll see you then.”

“You sure will,” she agrees as she throws back the last of her coffee and then heads for the door. “I’ll catch you later. Thanks for the coffee, Mason!”

And with that, she brushes past the three of us, leaving the faint scent of vanilla and coconut hanging in the air behind her. My brothers and I exchange looks, and I can tell that whatever we’re about to do tomorrow night is going to cause all kinds of consternation between us.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Jake hisses at Killian as soon as the door swings shut behind our surprise guests. Killian shrugs, as though it should be obvious.

“She invited us to dinner. It would have been rude to turn her down. We should get to know our neighbors, if we’re going to be seeing this much of each other over the course of the summer…”

“Oh, yeah, about that,” I cut in. “What did she mean about seeing you again? She didn’t say that to me when she arrived…”

Killian raises his eyebrows slightly. He knows he’s been caught, and he’s not exactly ready for it.

“We ran into each other while I was out on patrol, a couple of days ago.”

“And you didn’t say anything about it why?” Jake demands, rounding on him.

“Because you were getting pissed off whenever I mentioned her,” he replies, playing at innocent. “And because there was nothing to tell. We just chatted a little when we ran into each other, and that was it.”

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