Page 34 of My Off-limits Firefighter Next Door
Savannah shook her head. “No, I don’t want to go out. Alana do you want to go out for dinner?”
“No mommy, it’s raining! I want sausage balls.”
“Now, what’s this I hear about sausage balls?” I asked, changing the subject to lighten the mood.
Savannah laughed, the sound easing some of the tension in the room. “I made a batch earlier. They’re on the counter if you want some.”
Alana wiggled off my lap and toddled toward the kitchen, her tiny voice chiming, “Sausage balls!”
“I think I’ll take her advice,” I said, following the little one.
I made sausage balls and we have chicken nuggets and fries, too. Alana eats, like, one or two of those things so she’ll need the chicken nuggets and fries for actual sustenance. But I made about two dozen.”
“I knew I smelled something good when I walked in here.” I clapped my hands and rubbed them together.
“Sausage balls, sausage balls!” Alana yelled and dashed toward the kitchen. I followed behind Savannah, who was closer to the kitchen, and went in right behind her daughter.
“Be careful honey, don’t touch, wait for me.”
I was impressed with the way the girl stopped and stared at the sausage balls in lines on a baking sheet on top of the oven, which was off.
In the kitchen, the delicious smell was even stronger. Savannah spoke as she put the balls in a bowl and turned to hand them to me. “And with you here, I feel much safer but I don’t want to go out and put all of us in.….”
I popped one into my mouth, savoring the flavor.
“These are amazing,” I said.
She shrugged modestly. “They’re easy to make.”
Her voice was steadier now, and I could see her relaxing a little. Alana was at the window, watching the rain streak down the glass. She waddled to the screen door which kept her from going out and stared through it. My eyes moved to the back door, which was open when I came in. It gave me an uncomfortable feeling.
“You shouldn’t leave your back door open right now,” I said instinctively. I went to the door but didn’t move Alana. I stood right behind her and looked out, picturing in my mind what I would do if I spotted Roger out there in her back yard or mine.
I’d sweep the girl up in my arms and slam the door. Then we’d lock all the doors and windows and I’d give one of my buddies a call to come over and give me some back up, so to speak. Or maybe call Det. Detwiler or the parole officer, if Savannah ever got that information from him. She hadn’t mentioned it, so I figured he’d forgotten to get back to her with it.
Then again, was it really my business? It was, in a way, because I was trying to protect her and information like that could be useful.
“Hey, have you ever found out about Roger’s parole officer?”
She gave me a blank look, her eyes sliding to Alana. Panic went through my heart. She had literally just told me she didn’t want to talk about him in front of the little girl. Alana, however, had no reaction. I looked down at her.
She’d put her small hands up on the screen but wasn’t pressing hard so I didn’t worry about her pushing it out. Savannah cameover and handed a sausage ball to Alana, who took it without even looking at her mother.
I chuckled. Alana hadn’t been listening to me, I’d guessed. Savannah gave me a satisfied look and a little nod. I understood what she meant and just knowing I understood it gave me a thrill. I enjoyed feeling that connection to her.
“Somebody forgot to tell me that information,” she said, leaving the kitchen with a bowl of sausage balls and heading for the living room again. I blinked, watching her at first and then looking down at the little girl in front of me. Was I supposed to pick her up and take her from the door? Was I supposed to leave her here and follow Savannah?
“Gonna rain!” Alana suddenly spoke, poking her finger into the screen but not hard enough for me to be concerned. I stared up at the gray sky, twisting my neck a bit to see beyond the porch.
“It’s gonna rain?” I asked innocently, deferring to the little girl. “It’s... it’s already raining.”
She turned her upper body and stared at me, her big eyes wide. She nodded. “Rain!” She poked the screen with her finger a few times. I nodded.
Alana turned to dodge my legs and run to her mother. Savannah put her hand on Alana’s head. She got a sausage ball from her bowl and handed it to the little girl.
I finished the last of my own and set the bowl on the table before following the two of them into the living room. I couldn’t remember a time when I felt this at ease... this comfortable with a person. I could tell they both felt the same way.
“So you said something about chicken nuggets and fries,” I said, casually, taking a seat.
