Page 73 of Castings & Curses

He gave me a killer, dazzling smile, the kind of smile that made me very, very glad I grew up with his shit so that I could never see him as attractive. Because he was heartbreaker attractive, and I knew that smile had landed him in all kinds of trouble over the years.

Terri-Ann watched him leave. She was still and quiet long after the door slammed shut. The smallest sigh left her lips, and then she shook herself.

I did not need to know that my sister still had a crush on him. I didn’t need it, and definitely didn’t want it.

“He’s right, you know. You might even find a man down at the station.”

I looked at her like she sprouted snakes for hair. I was very confused and frozen in place. It took a moment before I shook it all off. “Of course I’d find men at the fire station, they work there.”

“That’s not what I meant,” she hemmed and hawed.

“I know what you meant. Nan said something about getting me a man the other day, and earlier at the park this little girl tried to set me up with her father. Now that was awkward. Why is it that everyone thinks I need a man? Look at me? I’m not in dating condition.”

“Well, you’re not in…” She trailed off. I have no idea what she thought she was going to say.

I was in single-mother condition in a big way.

CHAPTER6

Chickensof all breeds and sizes clucked and pecked around the station.

“Is this a farm or a fire station?” I asked as I waded through their feathery little bodies.

“Hey Paisley!”

I looked up from my fear of stepping on a chicken to see Claudette waving at me. She lounged in a folding camp chair next to a folding table covered in boxes of doughnuts and coffee.

On the other side of the table was a gray drop screen background that reminded me of picture day from school. There was also a ridiculous amount of photography equipment and lights. A few people dressed in all black were fussing with the equipment.

“What’s going on?” I asked as I pointed to the hay bales stacked in front of the backdrop.

“They’re taking pictures,” Claudette told me. But she said it in a way that dripped with ‘how dumb are you?’

“With that?” I jabbed my finger at the backdrop. It gave off photo portrait studio vibes. There was nothing sexy about it. Nothing, it was negative sexy.

“Sure thing. They use that every year,” she said.

“Wait? Really? Do you have a calendar I can look at?”

“No, but Ash should be in his office.” She hitched her hand over her shoulder and pointed back at the station.

A few men were standing around chatting. One or two were curing heavy barbells to get their arms beefed up for the photos. Well, at least they knew to do that. But this shoot so far looked like a disaster waiting to happen.

I knocked on the door frame to Ash’s open office. “Hey, you don’t happen to have a copy of last year’s calendar, do ya?”

I kept forgetting to ask to look at a previous calendar. I didn’t necessarily need to see one, I knew what beefcake calendars tended to look like. But now I was worried about the photos.

“Sure.” He wheeled his chair around, opened a drawer, and pulled out a calendar.

I flipped through the months. This was as generic and dull as it could be. The photos really did have that school, yearbook, picture day vibe. There were three different themed background settings, and then a fireman holding a chicken or two. That was it. As far as beefcake went, it was pretty dull.

“You’re having the photo shoot here at the station, but there are no pictures of trucks or the station at all,” I said as I kept flipping through the calendar.

Ash shrugged. “Never have before.”

“And you have an international following with this?” I was now brandishing the calendar like a floppy sword.

“You think you can do better?” he asked.

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