The Firefighter Daddy (14 page)

She scrambled from the car before she lost her nerve to go to the cemetery. She'd shared a part of herself she didn't with others, and it felt right. A lightness to her step, she went inside to let her mother know her plans. She found Nana and Mom out back chasing Junior around the yard. With Gabe next to her, she watched and tried not to laugh out loud.

“Gabe, fetch Junior.”

Her black Lab raced down the deck and across the yard. He cornered the kitten and gently took him into his mouth and trotted to Nana. Sarah's mother plodded to her, out of breath.

“I'm exhausted. Junior climbed the fence again. Then we finally got him down, and he scurried past us and up the fence on the other side. I think I've got my quota of exercise for the week.”

“Mom, it's time to let Junior leave the yard if he does. He has his tracker on, and we can find him if he gets lost. He's at least three months old.”

“But what if something happens to him?”

Sarah thought about staying up late worrying about whether Liam would get hurt or not fighting the grass fire until finally she'd given his safety to God. “Trust the Lord. I know what it's like to hold on to something too much.”

“I know, but Nana doesn't.”

“She does, if you will. I came out here to tell you that I'm going to the cemetery, but I'll be back for Madison.”

“Oh, sweetie, I'm so glad you're going. Don't worry about Madison. I was going to show her how to French braid her hair today. She's been asking about it. Stay as long as you need.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

Twenty minutes later Sarah stood in front of Peter's headstone for the first time since she'd left Buffalo. She knelt between his and Emma's graves and pulled several weeds that had encroached on their plots.

“Peter, we had a great marriage. For a while I didn't think I could ever find someone like you, but I have—at least I think so. I'm falling in love with Liam. He has the same caring and compassion you had.” She switched her attention to Emma's small grave. “Darling, I wish I could have been your mother, but God had different plans. I know you're in good hands. I love you and that will never change.”

Finally she rose and dusted off her jeans. She blew a kiss to each one then swung around and made her way to her car. She could move on now and hopefully one day have her own family.

* * *

Later that evening Liam and Katie strolled toward Sarah's side gate. She'd said they would be in the backyard if it was still light.

“He's been gone for twenty minutes, Sarah. He's lost.” The sound of Nana's raised voice drifted to him and Katie.

Katie peered up at him. “Junior is gone! We've got to find him.”

Liam opened the gate. “Let's check to see what happened. If we need to help, we will.”

Katie ran ahead of him to Nana while Liam detoured to Sarah and Madison working on homework on the deck.

“What's going on? Do we need to search for Junior?” Liam stood across from Sarah. Looking at her, he realized if he pursued his feelings for her he would end up hurt. After what she'd told him at lunch, she could never be satisfied with being a mother to Katie and Madison. She wanted children he couldn't give her.

“Every five minutes, Nana has been announcing how long Junior has been gone. He finally climbed over the fence,” Sarah said.

“And you're not concerned?”

Madison put her pencil down and closed her notebook. “Junior has a tracking collar on.” She gestured toward the cell phone on the table by Sarah's arm. “He's next door.”

“They don't have any animals, and he's checking out his surroundings.” Sarah rose. “I've told Nana that, but I'm going to show her this. If that isn't enough to convince her, I'll take her right to Junior.”

Liam glanced at her grandmother. Katie had helped her to her feet then walked with Nana toward the deck. Sarah met her at the bottom of the steps.

“Sarah, it's been twenty-five minutes. I haven't forgotten how to tell time.”

“Nana, I told you I know where Junior is. He's nearby.”

“How? Do you suddenly have X-ray vision?” Her grandmother pinched her mouth in a firm, thin line.

“No, I have this.” Sarah held up her phone that showed the kitten's tracking.

Nana folded her arms over her chest. “That's a blinking dot. That's not Junior.”

“I'll show you. We're going to follow this blinking dot to his location about thirty feet to the right.”

Nana marched toward the gate. “C'mon, Sarah. It's getting dark.”

Liam dipped his head toward Sarah and whispered, “We'll leave you to deal with your grandmother. If you need us to help find Junior, just give me a call. Thanks for watching Madison.”

“Anytime.” Sarah hurried to Nana.

“Ready, you two? Katie, do you have any homework?”

His youngest shook her head.

“And I'm finished with mine. So, Katie, we'll have time to play with our kittens. I'll race you home.”

“Hold on. No running until we cross the street. Then, if you want to, you can.” Liam followed them, making sure the gate was closed.

“Can we race to the corner and wait for you?”

“Yes.”

The second he said that his two nieces charged down the street. Liam looked toward the neighbor on the right as Sarah and her grandmother emerged from their backyard. Nana grinned from ear to ear while cradling Junior against her.

As he headed down the street, he knew he needed to put some distance between him and Sarah. He didn't just care about her. He was falling in love. He'd already been devastated from one woman leaving him because he couldn't father children. He wasn't sure he could handle that from Sarah.

But even after tucking the girls into bed, he couldn't rid his mind of Sarah. She haunted his thoughts as if she'd already claimed his heart. What was he going to do?

* * *

At the fund-raiser meeting, Liam sat at the other end of the table from Sarah. He'd purposefully come late to avoid being near her during the luncheon and updates from each group, but when they broke up into subcommittees, he was stuck being closer. A couple of times he'd caught her looking at him with a puzzled expression. He hadn't seen her in a week except briefly at church, where he'd herded his nieces out of the building before she could come over to speak to them. He knew he couldn't keep doing that. He had to talk to her. Especially since the girls kept asking where she was.

“Okay, it's settled, then. After the posters are printed up next week, we'll each take a section of town and be responsible for putting them up, especially in any business that will let us.” Pastor Collins closed his notebook.

“Thanks to everyone.” Sarah's gaze skimmed the faces of each member of the bachelor auction committee, resting a few heartbeats longer on Liam than the others. “Other than last-minutes details, we are all set for our part of the fund-raiser.”

“I forgot to mention that I arranged for the weekend newspaper to interview our bachelors and run a feature on the auction the week before the fund-raiser. Do you and Liam want to call the men you recruited, or do you want me to do it?” Beatrice divided her intense focus between him and Sarah.

He started to tell her she could when Sarah chimed in, “We will. Just give us all the details.”

Sarah said
we
and
us
—as if they were a couple. Liam shifted in his chair, feeling the need to escape.

“Suit yourself,” Beatrice murmured and gathered her purse from the floor then stood.

Brandon's subcommittee was still meeting across the room. Liam needed to talk to him and would have to wait outside until they were through.

But before he could move, Sarah took the chair next to him. “I realized I jumped in and answered Beatrice without consulting you. If you can't make the calls, I'll do them all.”

“No, I'm fine with it. Let me know when you get the information from her. I'm not particularly looking forward to being interviewed.”

“Why? It should be fun.”

“Not for someone who doesn't like being in the limelight.”

“Then why did you say yes to being one of the bachelors?”

“Because some of the guys wouldn't do it unless I did. Besides, it's for a good cause. I've already signed my girls up for camp this summer. They're so excited. They loved it last year.”

“How's everything? Gabe has missed the girls. I imagine Buffy and Blackie are demanding their full attention when they come home from school.”

“Those two are active kittens, always getting into trouble. Buffy found a grocery store plastic bag on the floor in Madison's room and ended up trapped with it around her. She went flying up and down the hall trying to shake it. We finally found her downstairs hiding behind the couch, shaking like a leaf in a windstorm. I moved it so Madison could rescue her. It took an hour to calm her.”

Sarah laughed. “It sounds like a cat. They are curious creatures.”

“How's Nana's kitten getting along? Any problems with your mother's allergies?” The questions came out before he could stop himself. It was so easy to talk to Sarah. He would miss her conversation and company, but he needed to keep his distance or, before he realized it, he would be totally in love with her. The problem was that for the next month they would have to work together, and he couldn't avoid that. And then there were his nieces, who were always talking about Sarah.

“Nana is great. Her life revolves around Junior now. And, surprisingly, she hardly messes up with anything dealing with Junior. She often takes my cell phone outside in case he leaves the yard.”

“I know the kittens have helped my nieces. I'm glad it's working for Nana, too.” Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the last subcommittee was through. He stood. “Sorry, but I need to catch Brandon.”

“And I need to get back to work. Bring the girls by when we're home. Nana and Mom love seeing them.”

“I will.” He crossed the room to snag Brandon before he left. Maybe he could time his visit when Sarah was gone. But then every time he thought of not seeing her, bleakness settled into his thoughts. “Brandon, do you have a sec to talk?”

His friend stopped and grinned. “For you, yes. I wasn't sure you were going to come.”

“Yeah, I was running late.” Liam panned the room. Empty. “I need some advice, and our single dads' next meeting isn't until a week from Thursday.”

“Sure. This sounds serious.”

“You've talked about some of your difficulties with your two sons when you decided to move back here after your wife died. Why did you come back?”

“I grew up here, and this town is a great place to raise children. Besides, I had friends and some family living in Buffalo.”

“How did you handle the move with your boys?”

“Are you thinking of leaving for Dallas?”

“Yes. All along I had intended to stay here a year then return to Dallas, but now I'm thinking of doing it in August before the girls start school. I figure a move in the middle of a school year could be harder.”

Brandon whistled. “I didn't even know you were considering it. The guys will miss you—” he cocked a grin “—mostly because of your cooking, but your firefighting skills ain't bad, either.”

“Nothing like a shower of accolades to get a guy to stay.”

“I aim to please.” Brandon's smile faded and a thoughtful expression fell over his features. “Seriously, it was not a fun time for us. The kids came here kicking and screaming. Seth was eight and he was the worst. I think Jared only acted out because his older brother did.”

“They seem well adjusted to Buffalo now. How long did it take?”

“Not long at all for Jared. However, Seth was a whole different story.” He tilted his head. “But now that I think about it, Seth was having a hard time in Saint Louis. He took his mother's death harder than Jared.”

“Like Madison.”

“It's been over six months. Is she still giving you problems?”

“Not as much, especially since she got Buffy for a pet.”

“Seth still says he wants to go back home, but usually when he's mad at me. Otherwise, he's happy here.”

“So how did you handle Seth when he acted out?”

“Just like I would before. I understood where he was coming from, but I couldn't let him get away with that kind of behavior. No one likes change, but it happens. I didn't move here to teach them that, but it has. I'm the same. Our furniture and possessions are the same.”

“Any suggestions?”

“Once you know for sure you're gonna leave, start preparing them. Give them time to adjust to what's coming. That's always a good thing to do. And, yes, I think it would be better if they start the school year at the beginning. Schools change the make up of a class every year, so there will be plenty of kids who don't know anyone in their class.”

“I hadn't thought about that. They won't feel they're the only new kid. Thanks, Brandon. This past weekend I spent Saturday going through the house to see what I needed to paint or fix. There's a lot to do.”

“If you need any help, let me know. I could bring the boys over and they could play in the backyard with your nieces.” Brandon walked toward the exit.

“I may have to take you up on the offer. If I move in August, I'm going to be busy for the next few months.” That would be a good thing. It would keep him from thinking about Sarah and wanting to spend time with her.

“That means you need to tell the girls about your plans. They might be angry, but it'll give them time to adjust to the idea of moving.”

“When?” Liam voiced the question he'd been thinking.

“Soon. They'll know something is up if you're fixing up the house.” Brandon added, “Get some suggestions from the other guys at our single dads' meeting next week.”