Czytaj książkę: «The Firefighter Daddy»

Chapter One

The sound of a loud crash from the rear of the shop reverberated through Snip and Cut Hair Salon. Sarah Blackburn held her scissors poised over her customer’s white hair for a second then whirled around and looked at her mother in the station next to hers. She was in the middle of shampooing a client. “I’ll take care of it, Mom. Mrs. Calhoun, I’ll be right back.”

Sarah made a beeline for the small kitchen area, her heart pounding. What had Nana done now? Please, God, let her be okay.

Sarah entered the room and came to a sudden halt. Nana stood in the middle of a puddle of red and brown dyes splattered all over the tiled floor with a large cat racing through the color mixture toward the open bay window. The tomcat, with splashes of red and brown on its white fur, leaped onto the table, jumped to the windowsill and wiggled his big body under the raised screen, disappearing from sight.

“Oh, dear. Sammy didn’t even finish his food.” Her forehead knitted, Nana glanced at Sarah. “I need to find him.”

Before her grandmother started for the rear door, Sarah moved into action, cutting off her path. She slung her arm around Nana’s thin shoulders and turned her away. “You’ve got dye on your legs. I need to scrub it off before it turns your skin red and brown.” She sat her grandmother in the chair nearby, grabbed a wet cloth and began scrubbing the dye off her skin.

“Sammy will get hungry if I don’t go get him.”

“Nana, the tomcat is long gone. How did you get him inside? He usually eats outside on the back stoop.”

“I left the door open while I fixed his food. He came in.” Nana beamed. “Until lately, Sammy hasn’t always come to me.”

“Sammy,” as her grandmother called the white tomcat that had been showing up lately at the shop, was a stray that Nana thought was her pet when she was a little girl.

“Mama, what did you do?” Sarah’s mother asked as she charged into the kitchen.

Nana peered at her daughter and pursed her lips. “My job. I was preparing a dye for a customer. One bowl slipped from my hand, and I must have dropped the other. The sound scared Sammy. I’ve got to find him.”

Sarah’s mom sighed, her shoulders drooping forward as she faced Sarah. “Go finish Mrs. Calhoun’s cut then style Beatrice’s hair for me. I’m taking her home—” she glanced at Nana “—and get her cleaned up. Good thing they’re our last clients.”

As her mom took over with Nana, Sarah reentered the front of the small hair salon, plastering a grin on her face, when she didn’t feel like smiling. Not when she understood her grandmother’s need to look for what she thought was her pet. Three days ago Sarah’s dog had disappeared. A lump lodged in her throat at the thought of not seeing Gabe again. Her late husband had given her the black Lab on their second anniversary, and Gabe had helped her get through the deaths of Peter and her unborn child. Many late nights she’d held the Lab and cried over her loss.

“Is everything okay?” Mrs. Calhoun’s question drew Sarah from the past, and she mentally shook Peter from her thoughts.

“Nana dropped a bowl of dye. No big deal. Mom is taking care of her.” Sarah shifted toward Mrs. Miller, who was sitting in her mother’s booth with wet hair. “I’ll be with you soon. Mom had to drive Nana home.”

Beatrice Miller snorted, muttering, “I told your mother Carla needed to be put in a nursing home.”

Sarah took a deep breath and refrained from saying anything to the woman who wasn’t that many years away from retirement herself. She hurried to her customer, snatching up her scissors. “I only have to make sure it’s even, Mrs. Calhoun, then blow-dry your hair and—”

“Nonsense. It’s almost dry, and I love this short cut the way it is. You have more pressing issues to take care of, dear.” The older woman winked at Sarah in the mirror and gave her a huge grin as she turned and pointedly looked at Mrs. Miller.

It was people like Mrs. Calhoun that had made it bearable coming home to Buffalo, Oklahoma, after fleeing five years ago because of the overwhelming memories of what she’d lost, crushing her until she hadn’t even wanted to leave her house.

It was the thought of Mrs. Calhoun’s smile and wink, which Sarah carried with her through fixing Mrs. Miller’s hair and listening to the woman’s complaints the whole time she did, that helped. After she left the shop, Sarah cleaned up the mess in the kitchen, locked up then slid behind the steering wheel of the restored yellow MINI Cooper that Peter had given her on their first anniversary.

As she headed to her mom’s house, she glimpsed a sign for the highway that led to Tulsa, and the urge to go there swamped her. Only home three months, she felt as though she were experiencing the loss of Peter all over again everywhere she went in Buffalo. She hadn’t even been able to drive by the house they had rented and had been thankful it wasn’t near any of the usual places she frequented.

She approached the intersection where an old man had run a stop sign and changed her life forever. Forcing herself to continue, since it was the fastest way home, she crept toward it, her hands shaking. Usually she avoided it. She tightened her grip on the steering wheel and kept going at ten miles under the speed limit.

Out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of a poster on a telephone pole of a black Lab. She pulled over to the curb, fortified herself with a deep breath, climbed from her car and then jogged over to the picture to read it.

One look at the black Lab on the sign and she knew it was Gabe. Her spirits soared at the prospects of getting her dog back. She snatched the poster from the pole, hurried back to her car and drove through the intersection with her mind focused on seeing Gabe again.

* * *

When Liam McGregory entered the kitchen to fix the dish he was going to take to his second meeting with the Single Dads’ Club, he came to an abrupt halt and scanned the mess. What happened? After putting away the groceries, he’d only left to wash up and check the mail. No more than ten minutes.

His seven-year-old niece, Madison, stood on a stool with a mixing bowl in front of her, dumping something that looked like sugar into it. Obviously she’d already put flour in, because the counter was covered in a dusting of white powder. Madison stirred whatever was in the dish while looking at a book next to her. “Milk is next.”

On a chair pulled over from the table, Katie put a half-gallon milk carton down on the counter after pouring some into a glass and then passed it to her older sister. “Here.” In the middle of the transfer, hands wobbled and the white liquid splashed all over the marbled-granite top, dribbling its way through the flour.

“I’m not gonna let you help me next time.” Madison dumped what was left into the bowl, grabbed the carton and poured more straight into the concoction she was making. “You spilled most of it.”

“You did, not me.” Katie’s expression morphed into her pouting one, her baby blue eyes narrowing. She snatched the milk from her older sister so hard more went flying out of the half-gallon container and splattered everywhere.

“Madison and Katherine McGregory, what are you two doing?”

Both girls suddenly twisted toward Liam, Madison’s ponytail whipping around so fast it hit Katie in the cheek. Two sets of blue eyes, round as saucers, fixed on Liam.

Madison recovered quicker than her younger sister. “We’re helping you, Uncle Liam. Aunt Betty said you’ve been working hard and we need to pitch in more.” Her set jaw challenged him to disagree.

He inhaled a calming breath and moved toward his nieces, who he’d adopted when his younger brother died six months ago. “How you two can help me is to make sure the black Lab has water in his bowl out back.”

The girls hopped down from their chairs at the counter and raced for the door to the backyard. Katie tried to go first through the entrance, but Madison quickly maneuvered herself into the lead. Only eighteen months separated them in age, but Madison was determined to make sure her younger sister remembered she was the oldest.

Before Liam began cleaning up, he needed to check that they weren’t creating another mess outside, or they might never make the meeting for single fathers and their children started by the church his brother and nieces attended. He walked to the large window in the breakfast nook that afforded him a good view of his fenced-in yard. The black Lab came up to Madison and Katie, his tail wagging. His nieces lavished attention on the lost dog with no tags they’d found three days ago at the nearby park.

As far as his nieces were concerned, Buddy, their name for the dog, was theirs to keep. Reluctantly they’d agreed to help Liam put up posters about the lost Lab before he’d gone on his twenty-four-hour shift at the fire station yesterday morning. Liam had tried to explain to them that Buddy’s owner was probably looking for him.

Buffalo had more than twenty thousand people but with a small-town feel to it. Residents looked out for each other. However, Madison and Katie were sure they were going to get to keep Buddy. Just another problem in the myriad issues he had been dealing with the past six months.

As Madison took the water bowl over to the outside faucet and filled it, Liam sighed and headed for the mess that needed to be cleaned up before he started dinner. How could two little girls manage to cover the whole counter on one side of a big kitchen with various ingredients in such a short time?

When his brother had died in that work-site accident, Liam’s life had changed completely. Sure, he was still a firefighter. But everything else was different—new town, new family, new friends, new problems. When Gareth had asked him to be Madison and Katie’s guardian if anything happened to him, he’d readily agreed, never thinking anything would.

Liam grabbed a wet washcloth and began wiping up the sugar-flour-milk mixture. When he peeked into the bowl, on closer inspection, he found a partially cracked egg in the middle of the concoction. He took the bowl to the sink and dumped it in the side with the garbage disposal.

Chimes rang in the air. The doorbell. Liam quickly checked on Madison and Katie then headed for the entry hall. When he opened the door, a petite woman with long blond hair framing an attractive face stood on the porch with a poster about the lost dog in her hand.

“Can I help you?” he asked, drawn to her dark brown eyes with their long, black lashes.

She smiled, and his attention zeroed in on her mouth and a dimple near its left side. “I hope so. I saw this on my way home from work, and I’m sure this is my dog. He’s been missing for three days.”

“Come in. I think I can help you. I’m Liam McGregory.” He pushed the screen door open, and she stepped inside.

“I’m Sarah Blackburn.”

She held out her hand, and Liam shook it. Her hair—a cascade of curls—instantly reminded him of his ex-wife. He stepped back, thankful she looked nothing like Terri.

He’d started to tell the woman about the dog they’d found, when the sound of the back door opening followed by running feet and a couple of deep barks announced his nieces as well as the black Lab heading this way.

Liam turned toward the hallway that led to the back of the house. The dog appeared and made a beeline straight for the woman next to him.

The black Lab lunged for her, propped his front paws on her shoulders and licked her. She had the biggest grin on her face.

“I thought I lost you.” Sarah Blackburn hugged the Lab.

Madison halted by the entrance to the hallway. “Uncle Liam, we didn’t mean to let him inside. He barged past Katie before we could catch him.”

“I tried. Buddy is super fast.” Katie, followed by Madison, moved to Liam.

He glanced at his nieces, who flanked him, staring at the woman hugging the dog. Tiny lines grooved their foreheads as they assessed what was going on. “I’m assuming from your welcome, he’s your dog,” he said, bracing himself for a protest from Madison and Katie.

The lady peered at him and nodded. “I didn’t think I was going to find him. The few times he’s gotten out of the backyard, he’s always been on the porch when I came home from work.”

Liam braved a glance toward his nieces. Katie’s mouth hung open, while Madison’s eyes glistened. “Girls, this is Ms. Blackburn, and the dog we found is...” He peered back at the woman.

“His name is Gabe. I live down the street on the next block,” she said, gesturing in that direction. Then with her hand stroking the Lab, she calmed him and knelt next to him so she was more on the level with his nieces. “Have you two been taking care of him for me?”

Katie crossed her arms over her chest.

Liam prepared for her outburst, but instead Madison stepped forward and patted the Lab on the head. “Yes, we have. Are you sure he’s your dog?”

“Here, let me show you.” Sarah walked a few paces away and swung around to face Madison next to the dog. “Gabe, come.”

The Lab walked to her.

“Sit,” she said, and when he did, she ran him through some commands, which he performed.

“He knows tricks. We didn’t know that.” Madison crossed to them. “Can I try one?”

“Sure.”

“Bud—Gabe, shake my hand.” The dog held his paw up, and Madison shook it, grinning from ear to ear. “Cool.”

“His name is Buddy.” Katie stamped her foot, her lower lip sticking out.

Liam moved to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Honey, we don’t want to confuse Gabe with another name.”

“Buddy is friendly with everyone. We don’t know for sure you’re his owner.”

“Katie, you knew this was a possibility. I talked to you about it.” When he’d trained in Dallas to be a firefighter, he’d never received a course in dealing with a six-year-old losing something she had quickly bonded with, especially on top of losing her father six months ago.

“I tell you what. You all can walk with me to my house, and I’ll show you a photo of Gabe and me. Will that prove to you I’m his owner?” Sarah asked in a calm, patient voice, as though she knew exactly what Katie was going through.

“I think that’s a great suggestion, Ms. Blackburn.” Liam caught the woman’s gaze and, for a brief few seconds, a connection sprang up between them.

“Please, I’m Sarah. You have saved me hours of worrying about Gabe.” She stuffed her hand into the large pocket of her light jacket and pulled out a leash. “I brought this to take him home with, but I see he managed to slip out of his collar again. It had all his information on it. Even when he wasn’t on the porch, I thought for sure I would get him back right away.”

“Then you can’t walk him home. Without a leash, he might run off.” Madison planted herself next to Liam.

“He’ll be fine. He’s well trained. He’ll heel if I tell him,” Sarah said, again in that even tone.

Her eyes narrowed, Katie lifted her chin. “What’s that?”

“He walks on my left side right next to me.”

Madison yanked on Liam’s T-shirt. “Can we have a dog and teach him tricks like Gabe?”

He peered into Madison’s pleading expression, meant to wrap him around her little finger. “I’ll think about it, but first let’s walk Sarah home. It’s been a long day for all of us.” Definitely an understatement for him with six different calls during the twenty-four-hour shift at the station that had ended at eight this morning. Two of their runs had been serious with one cutting a man out of a wrecked car. “Let’s go, girls.”

Madison hurried to be on one side of Gabe, sandwiching the dog between her and Sarah. Katie tried to walk right behind her older sister but kept running into Madison, who immediately swung around and pushed her back.

When Sarah stopped, her dog sat, and she looked at Katie. “Would you like to be over here with Gabe? You can be the one to tell him to heel if he tries to walk too fast or slow. I’ll be right behind you with your dad.”

“He’s our uncle,” Madison immediately said, frowning.

“Yeah and a firefighter. He helps people.” Katie took Sarah’s place by Gabe.

Madison glanced at him. “And he helps animals.”

In that second all weariness from his last shift evaporated. Sarah and his nieces had reminded him of why he worked crazy hours. But, mostly, it reconfirmed why he’d left everything he had known and come to Buffalo. The girls needed time to adjust to him before he moved them to Dallas. He’d told his captain he would return in a year with his nieces.

* * *

There were times he felt he’d made several strides forward with Katie but not necessarily with Madison when it came to their accepting him as their guardian. He was afraid losing the dog would set their relationship back. The death of his younger brother had hit them all hard.

“I’ll be with your uncle and tell you when we reach my house.”

Katie started forward, saying, “Heel,” to Gabe.

Still scowling, Madison skipped a few paces to catch up with them.

“Did I say something wrong?” Sarah fell into step next to Liam.

“Madison is the oldest, and she’s having a hard time accepting that her dad died. Katie’s younger and seems to have accepted me as their guardian, most of the time. I don’t do everything like their dad did.” He’d tried, but he usually discovered he couldn’t follow the same routine. His work schedule wasn’t the same as Gareth’s, who’d had an eight-to-five job with weekends off.

“Oh, I can imagine. My parents divorced, and when my father moved to Chicago, I rarely heard from him. What about their mother?”

“She died six years ago. Our aunt Betty helped Gareth with the girls and thankfully has been a lifesaver for me. She lives behind us, and when I’m working, she takes care of them.”

“Betty Colton?”

He nodded. “Do you know her?”

“Yes, she comes every week to the hair salon I work at. I just moved back to Buffalo a few months ago when my mom needed help with my grandmother. We all work in the salon. Snip and Cut. It’s been in the family for three generations now.”

“Where were you before that?”

“Tulsa. How do you like Buffalo?”

“I haven’t decided yet. I lived in Dallas all my life and love a big city.” Liam stopped at the corner and waited while the girls checked both ways before crossing the street.

“My house is the white brick one with pink shutters almost at the end of this block,” Sarah said as she and Liam trailed his nieces to the other side.

Madison twisted around and walked backward. “I love that house. Pink is my favorite color.”

“Mine is purple,” Katie said over her shoulder. “I hate pink.”

“I don’t have a favorite color. I can’t make up my mind,” Sarah said in spite of the glare Katie shot her way.

When Katie halted, Gabe did, too. “He stopped! Good boy.” She petted his head then whirled around, her ponytail whishing. “I thought everyone had a favorite color. Why don’t cha?”

Sarah shrugged. “I guess I’m the exception. I love all colors.”

Liam wondered what else she was the exception to. Too bad he had little time to get to know Sarah. She seemed nice. But with his job and raising his two slightly rebellious nieces, he didn’t. He’d always wanted to have children, and this would be the closest he would come to having a family.

“Uncle Liam, what’s your favorite color?” Katie asked as she resumed walking.

“Blue.”

Madison giggled. “No wonder. You’re a boy.”

A boy? He hadn’t been one for years. At thirty-five he’d left his childhood behind in more ways than age. In his job he saw a lot of tragedy and was still trying to make sense of it. Look at all the deaths the two girls had dealt with in their short lives.

Sarah slanted him a look. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I was thinking about the last time I felt like a boy. Even as a kid, I was the man of the house. My dad was a firefighter, who died in an apartment fire when I was seven.”

“And you wanted to follow in his footsteps?”

“Yeah. I knew I would be a firefighter when I first rode on the ladder truck as a kid. Even after Dad died, the guys from his station would come around and help Mom as much as possible.” And he’d become a firefighter at that very station. When Terri had walked out on him, his buddies had been there to help him pick up the pieces.

“Girls, this is my house,” Sarah called out and then turned to Liam to ask, “Would you all like to come in?”

Liam started to decline, thinking about the dish he needed to make before he and the girls left for the single dads’ meeting at Colt Remington’s ranch. But before Liam could answer, his nieces both said, “Yes.”

As the others started toward Sarah’s house, Liam hung back. He missed the guys from the fire station in Dallas. He hoped the Single Dads’ Club would fill the void he’d experienced since coming to Buffalo. Even with Aunt Betty’s assistance, he was alone, raising two girls who hadn’t come with any instructions.