Page 24 of Nerdy Dirty Valentine

He shut his eyes in relief. His “kids” were around my age, and he looked a little like my father, if Dad had lived to be his age. Giving him some oxygen, I saw they had the same hair color and eyes.

Caleb emerged from the wreck and signaled to Smack the all clear. Nobody else was lost in the smoke.

“Dad!” his son cried, hugging his father.

“I love you, love you…” the dad kept saying as they took him into the ambulance. It was nothing I hadn’t witnessed before, and I felt good to have helped him, but it left me weirdly empty. I longed for my dead dad, for my mother… despite our estrangement.

But would my mom ask for me the moment she could? Unlikely. And the last time we hugged was… fuck, I had no clue.

“You good?” Caleb asked, nudging me in the side. “Didn’t catch smoke, did you?”

I coughed. “Yeah.”

Smack came over, touched my shoulder. “Need some oxygen?”

“No, honestly, just a breath.”

“All right, take a few slow ones.” He paused. “You did good work today, son.”

If I hadn’t already been choked up, that would have done it. I inhaled deeply a few times before saying, “Thanks, Cap.”

“And you’re Erin’s favorite new babysitter.”

I smiled. “Anytime she wants another game of salon, let me know.”

“She’d love that. And I might take you up on it if you’re serious. My mother isn’t well, and that means lots of trips to Flagstaff.”

“I’d be happy to babysit, too,” Caleb volunteered.

Smack stared at him a moment, gave a crisp nod, and walked off to check on Kamira.

“What?” I said at Caleb’s unexpectedly dark look.

“Nothing. Just… He never calls me son or wants me to watch Erin. Guess Smack has favorites.”

“I’m fucking everybody’s favorite.” I repressed a laugh because everybody but Caleb knew how Captain Smack looked at him all soft and gooey-eyed when he thought nobody noticed. No matter how hard Captain Smack might have fought to pretend otherwise, he gave Caleb those looks.

I glanced once more at the spot where I’d given the father CPR. Joy for him and his family was there, but I’d be a liar not to acknowledge the resentment churning deep inside my gut.

Reaching my place, I called out a hello, and Ginsberg greeted me before going to sprawl out on my couch, his new favorite place.

It was odd to find my place not empty, to arrive and actually have somebody there. My heart gave an odd twist as if it were being pulled.

“Hey,” James said, coming from my kitchen. “How was the fire? Was it a bad one?”

“Bad enough. It’s been a long day. I need a shower. I smell like smoke.”

“Sure, of course. But first, let me show you one thing?”

“All right.” I followed James into the kitchen, my mind still on the man I’d saved and his kids. The love they’d shared.

I stopped at the entrance to my kitchen and stared. “What the fuck…”

“I worked on it all day.” James grinned, his eyes shining. “The blue color—I hope you like it on the cabinets, and I left the white on the island, so it really pops. Doesn’t it? Oh, and look here, I added this light fixture over the pantry.” He turned it on and opened the doors to a fully stocked pantry. More food than I’d ever had there.

“Let me give you more money for all of this.” I squirmed.

“No, don’t be silly. I’ve been eating your food.”

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