by Candis Terry
Definitely weaker.
Out of options, he backed up and kicked the door open. Smoke billowed out and he took a step back to allow the majority to roll out. Wasting no more time, he went inside to look for the source of the cries. A few feet inside the door lay a cinnamon-striped cat. It looked up, then closed its eyes and gave him a pitiful, weak cry.
Mike scooped up the limp cat in his arms.
“Don’t give up on me, little guy.” He did a quick search of the apartment for occupants, then as he ran downstairs, he put a call out on the radio to ready the pet oxygen mask and send another man to finish the door-to-door evac.
After all, a life was a life.
He dropped to his knees on the grass near the truck, tore off his helmet, and took the oxygen mask from Lil Bit, one of their two female firefighters.
She knelt at his side. “Still breathing?”
“Barely.” He cupped the mask over the cat’s nose and mouth and stroked its limp body. “Come on, kitty. Breathe deep.”
The wail of a small child split the air thick with smoke and spectators. Mike didn’t have time to look up, but the next sound he heard over the usual ruckus of firefighting was a mother yelling, “Brenden! Come back here!”
In an instant, a little towheaded boy no bigger than a grasshopper was screaming “My kee. My kee.” At first, Mike thought the child was calling his name but quickly realized the cat in question was the boy’s beloved pet.
Shit.
Come on. Come back, kitty.
Mike continued to stroke the cat’s body, hoping to restore some circulation while he held the mask to its heart-shaped pink nose.
The mother of the boy scooped him up before he got tangled in the equipment lying on the ground. The little boy reached his arms out, opening and closing his hands in a “give me” fashion.
“Will he be okay?” the mother asked while trying to console her hysterical son.
Mike glanced up at the boy’s tear-streaked face and lied his ass off. “You bet.” Hopefully. “What’s your kitty’s name?”
“Me whoa.” The name spilled out with a sob.
“Milo,” the frazzled mother translated.
Mike looked back down to the cat and rubbed its head. “Come on, Milo, your buddy Brenden is here.”
Please Milo. Wake. The. Fuck. Up.
Finally, Milo gave them a weak meow.
“That’s it.” Mike kept stroking the cat’s head.
Next to him, Lil Bit chuckled. “You are such a marshmallow.”
When it came to kids, animals, and certain shapely cupcake makers, yeah, he was as soft as the Pillsbury Doughboy.
Milo sneezed, and his eyes popped open.
Mike let go a heavy sigh of relief when the cat made a sudden attempt to get away.
A few minutes later, the cat was breathing fine, but Mike knew there could be lung damage. When he handed the cat off to the mother, he said, “It’s probably a good idea to have a vet check him out. Just in case.”
She nodded. “I don’t know how to thank you.”
“You just did.” Mike gave her a smile and ruffled Brenden’s hair. “Looks like they’ve got the fire under control now. I hope there won’t be too much damage to your home. But you are going to need a new door.”
“That’s okay. I’ve got everything that means anything right here.” She kissed her son’s forehead while he tried to rub noses with the slightly groggy cat.
As she walked away juggling the cat and her son, Mike realized that really, at the end of the day, the only thing that mattered were the ones you loved.
The alarm had been silent since the early-morning apartment blaze. The guys were now seeing to the other daily duties, and, for the moment, life was status quo.
Though any one of Mike’s fellow firefighters would have done the same thing in saving the cat, they didn’t miss the opportunity in good humor to call him everything from a cat whisperer to a pussy lover.
He and Jackson had been assigned to do safety checks. Except for the two of them and the trucks they were about to inspect, the truck bay stood empty. No better time than the present to open his vein, bleed out his secret, and gee, maybe even get his ass kicked.
Pencil tucked behind his ear and clipboard in hand, Jackson opened the door on the side of the engine to do an air-bottle check.
“Got a minute?”
Jackson looked up. “You finally going to tell me the reason for that long face you’ve been dragging around all day?”
“Yeah. And I’m pretty sure you’re not going to like it.”
“Oh?” Jackson checked the air pressure, then shoved the can back on the shelf. “Why’s that?”
“Do you remember on the way to the fire Smiley asked me if I had any new prospects?”
“Ohhhhh. I get it.” Jackson nodded. “You’ve got a new girl you want to bring to the wedding. As far as I know, your invitation should have been for you and a guest. So bring whomever you want.”
“I’m bringing Fiona.”
Jackson stepped back. “What?”
“Look.” Mike squared his shoulders and looked his friend straight in the eye. “Since that charity auction I’ve been attracted to her. I couldn’t stop thinking about her. But you’re my friend and I respect you and I wouldn’t ever have broken guy code and acted on it except your mom . . . shit.”
Mike knew he was rambling and he wanted to get the story out before Jackson blew the fuse lit behind his intense glare.
“I told you that your mom called in her charity-donation debt and asked me to help Fiona move into her house and get her shop ready to open. Since she’d had the accident and could hardly manage moving all those boxes around by herself, let alone get everything done for the shop, I agreed and—”
“Aha!” Jackson jabbed a finger in the air. “I knew there was something going on.”
“Yeah. Something’s going on.” Something bigger than he ever expected. “So you can kick my ass or whatever you want, I don’t care. I tried to keep my distance but—”
“You stupid ass.”
Jackson came forward and Mike put his hands up to fend off the blows. Instead, Jackson grabbed him in a bear hug and gave him a good-ol’-boy pounding on the back.
WTF?
Mike blinked. Blinked again and waited for the surprise of Jackson’s reaction to catch up with his brain.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Jackson backed up. The grin on his face was . . . weird.
“Aren’t you pissed?”
“Pissed? Why the hell would I be?”
Mike cited the obvious. “I broke guy code.”
“Fuck the code.” Jackson grabbed him in another quick hug, then punched Mike’s shoulder. “You’re my brother. All I want is for Fi to be happy. If you’re the guy who makes her happy, that’s more than I can ask for.”
Mike leaned against the truck door, dropped his head back, and sighed.
“You okay?”
All he could do was nod. The knot in his stomach had tripled in size in the moments before he’d spilled the truth. Now the relief had sucked the air from his lungs.
“I hate to tell you this, buddy.” Jackson clamped a hand over his shoulder and gave it a shake. “But you’ve been had.”
“Had?”
“By little Miss Busybody Matchmaker. AKA, my mom.”
“You think she was playing Cupid?”
“Hell yes. I know that sneaky, poufy-haired blonde only too well. She’s had her meddling mitts in everyone’s relationships.”
“Looking at you and your brothers, I’d say she’s done a good job so far.”
“Yeah.” Jackson chuckled. “She definitely seems to know what she’s doing.”
“I tried to fight it.” Mike shook his head. “Tried like hell. But Fiona’s an amazing woman.”
“She is that.”
“Thought for sure you’d kick my ass.” Mike let go a relieved sigh.
“Not today. But if you hurt her . . .” Jacks
on narrowed his eyes in warning, then ruined the whole threat with a grin. “Then I will kick your ass.”
“No need. If I hurt her, I’ll kick my own.”
Chapter 16
Sweet Surprise had been open barely a few weeks, and though the hours were much longer than she’d initially planned, Fiona was already seeing a profit. As word spread about the shop, the request of favors kept rolling in alongside the flavors requests. Life had suddenly dealt her a very busy card. One she didn’t mind playing at all.
Earlier that morning, Charli had bounced in with her usual effervescence to ask if Fiona could conjure up a brand-new cupcake flavor to be revealed at the grand opening of her and Jana’s new store. Miss Giddy’s Antiques and Design was set to open its doors in the old Victorian house on Main Street just as you came into town. The restoration had taken almost a year, but the house now looked like a true painted lady, and pride showed on Charli’s and Jana’s faces.
With Jackson and Abby’s wedding the following weekend, Fiona knew she had to get it in gear and get their wedding cake started. The cake itself was easy enough. The challenge would be with the decorations that needed to be molded and kept at the right temperature so they wouldn’t melt or break. Most likely, she’d be up all night the night before the ceremony to make sure it came out perfect. Nothing but the best would do.
As Fiona jiggled the largest cake pan so the chocolate batter would settle, the bell above the shop door jingled. She stuck the pan in the oven, set the timer, then went out to the front and found Jana at the display case, giving some serious consideration to all the mouthwatering selections.
“I just can’t decide,” she said, finger pressed against her lip. Her big blond hair looked a bit frazzled, and her blue blouse had smears of dirt across the front. “I’ve got a fierce craving, and I don’t know if I want the peanut butter cup or the chocolate chip cookie dough.”
“Why not have both?”
Jana gave a slight frown. “That’s overindulgent.”
“Guilty pleasures often go ignored.” Fiona sighed. Something she knew too well these days.
Blue eyes scanned the display case. “Oh heck, I’m over sixty. I should be allowed to indulge once in a while, right?”
“After raising five hell-raising boys, I’d say you should be allowed to indulge every single day.” Fiona got out a plate, set both cupcake choices in the center, and handed the plate to Jana. When Jana reached for her purse Fiona said, “Don’t you dare pull out your wallet.”
“Sugarplum, you aren’t going to make a living if you keep giving your goodies away for free.”
“Don’t you worry. I’m doing just fine. And with all the help you give me watching Izzy? You’ll never have to pay.”
“Then I’ll probably end up weighing as much as a hippo. Good thing Martin likes a well-rounded woman.” She chuckled. “Got time to sit down for a cup of coffee with me?”
Fiona glanced up at the clock. “Sure. The afternoon rush won’t start for at least another hour.” She poured two cups, then joined Jana at the table closest to the window. “So how’s the store coming along?”
“Right on schedule. Biggest problem is going to be trying to figure out what items to pull from my stash above the barn.”
“Well, that is quite an assortment you have up there.”
Jana had a legendary stockpile of antiques and memorabilia she’d snagged from old barns, flea markets, and yard sales. A collection most people would give their right arm to explore. With Jana and Charli’s new store, they’d have that opportunity.
Fiona watched eagerly as Jana eased her fork down into the moist cupcake, lifted it to her mouth, and moaned.
“Sugarplum, my hand to God, you make the best cupcakes I’ve ever tasted.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m so glad Mike was able to help you get things set up so you could open on time.”
“Yes. He was a big help.”
“And he’s pretty good-looking too.”
Fiona laughed. “Yes he is.”
“And I think he’d probably make a pretty good keeper, don’t you?”
“Jana?” Fiona leaned in. “When are you going to give up your matchmaking ways. You aren’t even sly about it anymore.”
“Don’t need to be sly if it’s workin’.” She lifted another bite to her mouth. “Is it?”
“If you’re talking about Reno and Charli, Jackson and Abby, and Jesse and Allison, I’d say it’s working pretty well. But don’t you think you should be more focused on setting a wedding date for you and Martin?”
“Can’t do that till all my babies are settled down.”
“But I’m not one of your babies.”
Jana’s head tilted. “Aren’t you?”
At Fiona’s hesitation, warmth and love filled Jana’s eyes.
She reached out and cradled Fiona’s cheek in her palm. “Sugarplum, I may have given birth to five boys, but you are a daughter of my heart. Divorce from my son doesn’t sever the love I have for you. Nothing ever will.” She gave Fiona’s cheek a gentle pat. “You remember that.”
Tears clogged Fiona’s throat. While she knew her own mother loved her in her own twisted way, there were conditions and restrictions to that love. Fiona had adored Jana from the moment they met. It hadn’t mattered to her that Fiona had gotten pregnant with her son’s baby before she had a ring on her finger. Didn’t matter that Fiona and Jackson had tried at marriage and failed. When Jana loved, she did so with her great big Texas-sized heart.
“I love you too.” Fiona covered Jana’s hand with her own. “You know that, right?”
“Never doubt it for a minute.” Jana’s eyes sparkled. “Not even when I’m meddling in your private affairs.”
Fiona laughed. “You’re just sitting there waiting to take credit for setting me up with Mike, aren’t you?”
“Who me?” Jana hurriedly shoveled in another bite of cupcake, then looked up with a grin and leaned forward. “All right. Just tell me my meddling paid off, so I can go home happy.”
“Your meddling paid off.” Whether or not Mike had talked to Jackson yet, the admission felt like a slice of heaven.
“Yes!” Jana pumped her fist in the air.
“Don’t get too excited though. It’s only been a few weeks. Who knows how it will work out.”
“Sugarplum, you’re talking to a woman who’s been watching you walk around with a dreamy look and a smile on your face for weeks. I’d say it’s workin’ just fine.
“At least now you can focus your meddling on someone else’s life.”
“Right. Jake’s going to be a tough one since he spends most of his time with boots in the sand. Still, I’m hoping he’ll be the son who doesn’t need me to run interference. Jared seemed to manage fine on his own, but—”
Jana didn’t need to finish her thought. And that silence broke Fiona’s heart. They’d only recently discovered that Jared, the oldest son, who’d been killed in Afghanistan, had found the true love of his life. None of them expected it would be another man. And none of them cared that it was. But as a family, they all hoped that someday Jared’s love would come to their door so they could welcome him with open arms.
“Anyway . . .” Jana brushed some crumbs from her lap to give her time to collect herself. “I’m eagerly waiting to see who’s going to give me my next grandchild.”
“Any guesses or bets?” Fiona sipped her coffee and smiled.
“Well, you gave me my first. You could give me my second too.”
Coffee sputtered. “Sorry. I’m currently out of the running. I learned my lesson, and I want the I do’s said before that happens again.”
“Well, I’m glad you were clueless the first time.” Jana laughed. “I guess if it takes too long with all y’all, I could always pull an Ethel Benedict.”
“Isn’t she the lady who lives over in Comfort and has about twenty grandkids?”
“Yep.”
“Obviously, her children aren’t big
believers in birth control.”
“Oh, that isn’t it. Ethel’s a wily one. She gets herself invited over for dinner, excuses herself to go to the bathroom, and pulls a hat pin from that limp old bonnet she wears.”
“And then she does what?”
“She hunts around till she finds their stash of condoms, then she pokes holes through the packages. She figures in the heat of passion, nobody’s going to notice a pinhole in the foil.”
Fiona gasped. “That’s evil.”
“Maybe. But look at the love she gets to spread around with all those grandbabies.”
“I’ve a good mind to tell your sons they’d best keep their supplies under lock and key.”
Jana’s laughter filled the shop. “Or at least that they shouldn’t invite me over to dinner when I’m wearing a hat.”
“You’re not serious are you?”
“Invite me over for dinner and find out.” Jana grinned and winked. “Then I could really say I got my money’s worth out of that charity auction.”
After Jana left, the afternoon flew by, with lots of customers with large orders. Luckily, the lull she’d had for a few hours allowed her enough time to get the base layers made for Jackson and Abby’s wedding cake and to fill orders for tomorrow’s flavors. Surprisingly, by the time she turned over the CLOSED sign, she was mostly caught up.
Jana had asked to pick Izzy up from day care to take her home for dinner. It appeared Martin had been cooking his special spaghetti sauce all day, which was one of Izzy’s favorites. With Jana’s promise to bring her daughter home before bedtime, Fiona had no problem letting her spend some time with her grandparents. Or at least, Martin would be her grandpa as soon as Jana settled down enough to set their wedding date.
With the whole night ahead and only one batch of cupcakes left to prepare, Fiona had visions of a long, hot bubble bath with a little mood music playing in the background. Maybe she’d even light a few candles. Maybe she’d call Mike since he had the night off and invite him over to join her.
She grabbed a cupcake pan from the shelf and sighed. The more time they spent together, the harder it was to maintain her “take it slow” strategy. Right now, she knew Mike better than any man she’d ever known before the hanky-panky happened. She’d only gotten to know Jackson after they’d gotten married. Right now, Mike had more X’s in his good-guy column than she’d ever imagined he could fill. And right now, she thought she just might be falling in love with him.
