A Home for the Firefighter

by Amie Denman

  The more she learned about Brady, the more questions she found herself with. She’d always assumed Brady was from Cape Pursuit and had grown up in a perfect house somewhere in town. He just seemed the type. Of course, she had grown up in what appeared to be a perfect house, a gardened and tastefully decorated prison where her mother was happy to stay inside the walls. Can we go to the park, Mom? Wait until your father gets home, princess. That had been the pattern of her childhood. And usually, by the time they had a polite dinner eaten off good china, her mother decided it was too close to dark to go out, even if Kate promised not to get her clothes dirty.

  “Are you from the Cape Pursuit area?” she asked, curiosity getting the better of her. It would do her no good to get interested in a person she would never see again when the summer season ended.

  Brady’s smile faltered, and he considered her question for a few seconds before answering. That alone told Kate the answer to what should have been a simple yes or no question.

  “It’s home now,” he said. “And if I’m very lucky, my brother and my niece will stay, too.”

  Did the adorable niece have a mother? Why was Brady’s brother apparently staying with him?

  More laughter from the table she’d abandoned interrupted her thoughts, and she saw the waiter deliver two pitchers of beer to her three friends. “I better go,” she said. The new firefighter had squeezed himself into her spot in the booth and was pouring a round for the three women.

  “Are things getting out of control?” he asked. Brady glanced over his shoulder. He swung back around and smiled at her. “I think I’ll grab Chase and haul him back to my table if you don’t think your friends will mind.”

  “They might mind,” Kate said, pressing her lips together.

  “I’ll tell him the chief wants to talk with him about coming in early tomorrow. That will get his attention and get him out of your seat.”

  “Thanks. I owe you one. I’d tell you I’m an only child and I hate flowers, but I’m sure you already figured out those are true.”

  “Why do you hate flowers?” he asked, his voice dipping low and his attention focused on her as if she were the only person in the bar.

  “Long story.”

  Brady nodded. “Something to look forward to.”

  He got up, walked over to the table where Chase was loudly telling a story to the three ladies and leaned down to say something in Chase’s ear. In seconds, they were both on their way to the table by the television where five other men sat.

  Brady was a good friend to have, Kate thought. Just a friend.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  SEVERAL DAYS LATER, Brady picked up Charlie for a round of house showings that had Brady nervous, but excited. He couldn’t have high hopes with his firefighter salary and his meager down payment amount so far, but his heart beat a little faster than usual on the sunny morning.

  “I see you brought some helpers along,” Charlie said as he got in the truck and saw Noah and Bella buckled into the narrow back seat.

  “Second opinions,” Brady said. He was glad his brother was interested in going along because Noah was probably the person who understood him the most. They’d been together through all the upheavals as kids, and had huddled together in meager twin beds in a cold new place more than once. “Noah just finished his associate’s degree in accounting, so that also makes him my financial adviser,” Brady added.

  “Your flat-broke financial adviser living with you rent free,” Noah said, laughing.

  “It’s good that you came along,” Charlie said. “I think I’ve got some houses on the list that you’re all going to love.”

  “Anything is going to look good compared to the apartment I shared with a bartender and a musician for the last year,” Noah said from the back seat. “So I’m easy to please, but my daughter has excellent taste.”

  Brady heard Bella giggle in the back seat, and it reminded him how important it was to be able to offer her a home for as long as she and his brother needed it.

  “Are any of these potential houses in my budget?” He hated sounding like a broken recording, but Brady wanted to be honest with his friend instead of wasting his time on pipe dreams.

  “Most of them are close,” Charlie said. He leaned forward in the front seat of Brady’s truck. “Turn right up here, next street.”

  Brady put on his turn signal as instructed, but he was already worried. His budget and dreams didn’t usually match the beach-town prices of homes. Especially in the summer when the appeal of living in Cape Pursuit, Virginia, right on the Atlantic Coast, was not lost on potential home buyers. Visitors were known to purchase available homes and turn them into rentals for most of the year except for a few weeks when they came to enjoy the houses themselves. Brady had been in Cape Pursuit for eight years, and it seemed to him that the town had grown and gotten nicer with each year—and prices had gone up to match.

  “It’s the one-story with the big tree in the front yard,” Charlie said. “You can park in the driveway because it’s unoccupied. Owners already moved out, which is a plus for you since they’ll be anxious to sell and you could move in whenever you want.”

  Brady’s heart and enthusiasm sank. It was too nice. The roof was in excellent shape, the siding a nice light blue and there was a front porch that someone had bothered to dress up with an overhang and a decorative railing. It even had an attached garage. No way was it in his price range. He turned off the engine as he parked in front of the wide garage door.

  “I know what you’re thinking, but give it a chance,” Charlie said. “It’s just a little bit outside your range, and like I said, the owners might negotiate.”

  Brady got out of the truck, unwilling to give up before he saw the inside. His rental house had been adequate for Brady, but it didn’t offer the permanence he was looking for. The family in the other half of the duplex was generally pleasant, but hearing their television through the wall and smelling their cooking reminded him that the home wasn’t his. And having Bella and Noah living in the two-bedroom, one-bath space made it painfully clear it wasn’t large enough.

  He and Noah had finally had a conversation the night before about his brother’s status. Bella was four years old and, so far, hadn’t lived with both her parents together. Noah hadn’t known about her for the first year of her life because his former girlfriend, Corrinne, had thought he was too immature to be a dad to her child. When they’d met again and rekindled a romance, Noah had the surprise of his life waiting for him. But Brady was proud of his brother’s attitude and adjustment. He wanted to be a great father, and he was trying hard. Coming to Cape Pursuit and living with Brady while looking for a steady job was evidence of his maturity.

  Having Bella for the summer while Corrinne focused on a serious family illness was the ultimate test, and so far Noah was passing the test. With help from Brady. If Corrinne agreed to let Noah share custody of Bella, he would need a place to live, and Brady wanted to give them both a permanent home so Bella wouldn’t have to grow up as Brady and Noah did.

  “Wow,” Bella said. “It’s pretty.”

  Brady and Noah exchanged a glance, and Noah gave him a quick pat on the shoulder.

  Brady walked up to the front door, determined to at least give this house a try. Already, he could picture Noah and Bella living there with him. And if Noah could get a decent job in Cape Pursuit...could they put their money together and give Bella the childhood she—every kid—deserved?

  “I don’t want to scare you away,” Charlie said as he unlocked the front door, “but it even has a pool in the backyard.”

  “A pool,” Bella squealed, and then Brady heard Noah explaining to his daughter that they were just looking and not to get too excited about anything.

  Brady groaned, knowing a pool would drive up the price, but also imagining his niece splashing around, learning to swim, having her friends over. It w
as too good to be true.

  When Charlie opened the front door and let Brady go in first, Brady’s first impression was spaciousness. Wide laminate flooring and natural light combined with the emptiness made it seem as if anything was possible. Even his shabby couch and chair and scarred coffee table would look better in such a perfect living space. He could have them recovered, work on refinishing the table himself on his days off.

  “Three bedrooms, a full bathroom and a half bathroom right down this hall,” Charlie said, pointing. “Whenever you’re ready.”

  Three bedrooms. One for him, one for Noah and the sunniest one for Bella. If only.

  Bella tugged Noah’s hand and led the way down the hallway. As they stood in the first bedroom, its emptiness made it look giant.

  “Nice windows,” Noah said. “I love how bright this place is.”

  They exchanged a glance and Brady nodded. He knew what his brother was thinking, remembering the various small houses where they’d lived, one after another. The one thing they always seemed to have in common was the smell and the darkness. Curtains closed over small windows as if there was something to hide or hide from.

  Brady let out a long breath as Bella ran in to report that one of the other rooms was painted pink.

  “You can have that one,” Noah teased his brother, lightening the mood.

  They looked through the rest of the rooms and made a circuit of the backyard. When they were ready to move on to the next house, Noah buckled Bella into her seat and then came around to the driver’s side where Brady stood looking at the light blue house for a moment more.

  “Too good to be true, right?” Noah said quietly.

  “Maybe not,” Brady said. He’d always tried to shelter Noah, but he knew his brother could see just as well as he could that the house would be on the very far reaches of affordability.

  They had time to look at two more houses before Charlie had an appointment with another client. Although Brady doubted any house could compare to the first one with the light blue siding, one of the other houses also had him imagining life with his brother and niece, all together, securely putting down roots. The second house was a two-story on the edge of town away from the desirable beach district, but the price reflected its location. It had a fenced-in yard with a playset, and there were two bathrooms in addition to three bedrooms. Bella hopped on the playset’s swing and Noah indulged her by pushing her while Brady went through the house with Charlie.

  The third house was well within his price range, but it only took ten seconds for Brady to know it wasn’t the place for him. The floors were spongy and there was graffiti painted on the back wall near some neglected trash cans. Located on an alley, it reminded him of some of the stomach-churning places he and Noah had stayed when their mom was between men and houses. Even the smell of the house had the stench of neglect, indifference. Noah stepped inside, took a brief lap around the living room and kitchen and then picked up Bella and went outside.

  Brady joined Noah and Bella with Charlie five minutes later and found his brother sitting on the tailgate of the truck with Bella on his lap. He was letting Bella play a game on his phone and she seemed absorbed in rearranging colorful shapes.

  “Couldn’t do it,” Noah said, shaking his head.

  “Me neither,” Brady said. “That one’s definitely out even if they gave it to me.”

  Brady dropped Charlie off at his realty office and Noah and Bella off at home, and then he drove straight to the trolley station where he was planning to make some extra money on his day off from the fire department. It was June 10, and the city of Cape Pursuit was planning its official Kick Off the Summer event. The summer tourist season had already started, but each day brought more tourists. Cape Pursuit took advantage of every precious day of the season to promote its offerings and show tourists a good time so they would return for their next vacation.

  “Am I driving or narrating?” he asked when he swung onto the trolley and found Kate with a clipboard doing a pre-work-check. Her long dark hair was in a ponytail and she had her sunglasses perched on top of her head as if she was ready to take on a long day.

  “Your choice,” she said as she looked up and smiled. “I almost grabbed the driver’s seat because I don’t usually like to ride with anyone else, but you’re a good driver.”

  “Thanks.” Her praise gave him a little glow of happiness that almost erased the pit in his stomach from the last stop on his tour with Charlie. Something about that place had taken him back to being eleven years old and wondering where his next school was going to be. Worse yet, he remembered trying to make himself and Noah as small and quiet as possible so they stayed under the radar. He’d always thought being saddled with two young boys was the reason why their mom never seemed to find a new husband.

  He knew better now, but the old insecurity felt fresh again. Working at the fire station restored his self-confidence every day, and even driving the trolley gave him a sense of purpose and ability to direct the course of his own life—something he’d been doing since he took that high school diploma from a principal whose hand he shook but whose name he’d never even known.

  “If you’ll give me the other page, I’ll do the outside check,” he offered. This was his world, and it was just like the fire department. Check the turn signals, headlights, tires. Make note of any dents or scratches. Sign off and start driving. Of course, the daily checks of the fire trucks were a lot more complicated, but this was still familiar territory.

  “Already did it,” Kate said. “I got here early.”

  “Sorry,” Brady said automatically. He wasn’t late, but he didn’t like arriving just in time and leaving the prep work for someone else. Especially Kate.

  “No problem,” she said, smiling at him over the clipboard. Brady’s heart responded to that beautiful smile, and he was secretly thrilled that he would get to spend the next eight hours working the same trolley with Kate. He didn’t care that it would be an outrageously busy day as long as she was there, too, and he could hear her voice over the speaker and glance over his shoulder at trolley stops just to see her.

  “Hey, Kate, you in there?”

  Brady recognized the voice of their employer, George, a second before the man poked his head inside the door of the trolley.

  “Oh, good, you’re here, too,” George said, pointing at Brady. “I need my best two drivers in the driver’s seat today, so I’d like to put Kate on the blue trolley and have you on the red one here.”

  “Sure,” Kate said quickly.

  Brady smiled and nodded, disappointment running through him like a cold drink. Was Kate as disappointed to get assigned a different partner for the day as he was?

  “I’ll find you both a narrator,” George continued, “and I know you two will keep the trolleys moving on schedule unlike some of the drivers who meander and lose time at each stop. We need to run smoothly today.”

  George disappeared and Kate handed Brady the clipboard. “It’s all done,” she said. “You’re ready to go.”

  “I wish I was working with you,” he said, trying to keep his voice neutral and friendly.

  She tucked loose strands of hair behind her ears and cocked her head, looking at him for a minute before she said anything. “You’re the most dependable coworker I have,” she said. “Must be the firefighter in you.”

  Brady swallowed and stepped closer to take the clipboard. He paused with his fingers on it, enjoying a moment of indirect contact with her. “I’d be dependable no matter what I did for a living,” he said.

  She didn’t answer, but he already knew that a solid dependable existence wasn’t exactly what she was looking for. He watched Kate board the blue trolley and was about to head over and help her with her precheck, but Josh clambered aboard the red trolley.

  “Hey, fire chief,” he said. “Looks like we’re partners today and George told me we better g
et moving.”

  Brady smiled at the teenager. “I’m not the fire chief, just a lowly public servant.”

  Josh laughed. “I’ll call you captain, then. Makes you seem cool.”

  If only Kate thought he was cool, Brady would happily drive the trolley until the sun set and rose again over Cape Pursuit.

  * * *

  KATE LOVED DRIVING. Loved the thrill of being in control and going somewhere, anywhere. However, after a solid eight hours behind the wheel of the trolley with only a brief break somewhere in the middle of the long sunny day, she was ready to hand over the keys for the day. The Kick Off the Summer event was great. She remembered loving it the year before. At that time, she had no plan for her future and didn’t know where she’d be when the tourist season ended.

  This summer was different. With a plan in place, she wouldn’t have to spend another fall, winter and spring moving from job to job. She was going to train for a job that allowed her to fly all over the world but also offered her—she shuddered to even think the word—stability. Stability without suffocation. She could have one without the other...couldn’t she?

  “I’m done,” Brady said, leaning in the door of her trolley. “I must have driven a million tourists to the moon and back today.”

  “At least,” Kate agreed. Her shoulders were tight and her eyes were tired, and she knew Brady must feel the same way. His trolley was parked right next to hers at the trolley office near the beach, but another driver would hop in the driver’s seat for the late-night tourist run. The after-dark tourists were usually adults who were enjoying the bars and nightlife. Kate was not sorry to be missing that group of tourists after a long day of celebrating summer, and she imagined Brady would be just as glad to hand over the keys.

  “I think everyone in this town has had fun today except for us,” Brady said, echoing her thoughts.

  Kate laughed. “It’s fun driving the trolley.”

  Brady nodded. “No doubt, but I’m thinking of taking off my nametag and my shoes and joining the party.”