they needed swimsuits when Rory pulled her little hatchback up the gravel road toward Cody’s cabin. Out front, on the gently sloping lawn, Boone and Dade were unrolling a giant tarp, and Cody was hosing it down and squirting dish soap on it. A tub of water balloons sat off to the side. Beside him, Arie and Tate were bouncing up and down in oversize T-shirts. Rory could practically hear them from here, begging the Keller boys to hurry up and let them slide down.
“Mommy!” Aaron yelled when he saw the festivities out front. “Do you see that?”
“I do, baby.”
“What is that?”
“It’s a homemade Slip ’N Slide. You run real fast and lay down on it and slide all the way down to the bottom of the hill.”
“I want to do it!” He rolled down his window and yelled, “Hi Arie! Hi Tate!”
The twins waved and called out squeaky greetings.
Rory couldn’t help her grin if she tried for a hundred years. Aaron had a family and cubs his own age he could grow with. He wouldn’t feel so different here. Now, his future stretched on and on, and the potential for him to lead a happy life had improved tenfold.
She’d been afraid Aaron would have to hide what he was forever, but the Breck Crew offered sanctuary.
Cody’s smile made her knees knock as she parked the car at the end of a row of pickup trucks and jeeps. He handed Arie the hose and jogged over as she opened her door. Offering her a hand up, he dragged his gaze from her green bikini top to her cutoff jean shorts to her flip-flop clad feet.
“Damn, woman,” he murmured.
“Cody!” Aaron hollered. “I’m stuck.”
With a rapid blink as if he was coming out of a trance, Cody pulled open the back door and freed Aaron from his car seat restraints. The little boy hopped from the car and blasted into Cody’s legs, hugging him so hard his little fists clenched the denim material of his jeans. He kissed Cody’s knee with a loud smack, then bolted a beeline up the hill for Arie and Tate, his little shark-print swim trunks sagging under his neon blue tank top.
Cody watched him with an expression that would be called soft if it were on a softer man’s face. Cody, however, was all chiseled jaw line and intense eyes. On him, it just looked like pride.
Rory stepped under his outstretched arm and nuzzled her cheek against the cotton material of the white T-shirt he was wearing, right against the fire department logo over his heart.
With a crooked grin, he grabbed her ass and squeezed as he leaned down and kissed her lips. He plucked the strap of her bikini and said, “You are a sight for sore eyes.”
“Did you miss us?”
“Of course, I did. You’re going to make those long shifts up at the station real hard on me, aren’t you?”
She walked slowly beside him toward the rest of the crew gathered in plastic lawn chairs around a fire pit. “What are the rules with that? Are we allowed to visit?”
“Visits are tough because we never know when a call is going to come in. It’s almost Fourth of July, so fireworks have been a problem lately. On slow days you can, though.”
“What about calling you?”
“Yeah, there is no rule against calling. I’ll pick up if I’m able and call you back if I’m busy. And if I can find time, I’ll try to call around Aaron’s bedtime. Hey, I need to tell you something.” He pulled her to a stop and gripped her shoulders. “Shayna is our dispatcher. We don’t work in the same building, but I wanted you to find out from me. I have to talk to her still, professionally.”
“Oh. That’s okay.” Did she like the idea of Shayna still having any kind of relationship with Cody, professional or otherwise? No. But he was telling her up front because he obviously didn’t want to pursue anything with the woman. “Thanks for telling me.” With a put-upon sigh, she said, “I suppose I’ll have to stop calling my exes if we’re going to date exclusively.”
His eyes narrowed. “What
“Mommy!” Aaron yelled when he saw the festivities out front. “Do you see that?”
“I do, baby.”
“What is that?”
“It’s a homemade Slip ’N Slide. You run real fast and lay down on it and slide all the way down to the bottom of the hill.”
“I want to do it!” He rolled down his window and yelled, “Hi Arie! Hi Tate!”
The twins waved and called out squeaky greetings.
Rory couldn’t help her grin if she tried for a hundred years. Aaron had a family and cubs his own age he could grow with. He wouldn’t feel so different here. Now, his future stretched on and on, and the potential for him to lead a happy life had improved tenfold.
She’d been afraid Aaron would have to hide what he was forever, but the Breck Crew offered sanctuary.
Cody’s smile made her knees knock as she parked the car at the end of a row of pickup trucks and jeeps. He handed Arie the hose and jogged over as she opened her door. Offering her a hand up, he dragged his gaze from her green bikini top to her cutoff jean shorts to her flip-flop clad feet.
“Damn, woman,” he murmured.
“Cody!” Aaron hollered. “I’m stuck.”
With a rapid blink as if he was coming out of a trance, Cody pulled open the back door and freed Aaron from his car seat restraints. The little boy hopped from the car and blasted into Cody’s legs, hugging him so hard his little fists clenched the denim material of his jeans. He kissed Cody’s knee with a loud smack, then bolted a beeline up the hill for Arie and Tate, his little shark-print swim trunks sagging under his neon blue tank top.
Cody watched him with an expression that would be called soft if it were on a softer man’s face. Cody, however, was all chiseled jaw line and intense eyes. On him, it just looked like pride.
Rory stepped under his outstretched arm and nuzzled her cheek against the cotton material of the white T-shirt he was wearing, right against the fire department logo over his heart.
With a crooked grin, he grabbed her ass and squeezed as he leaned down and kissed her lips. He plucked the strap of her bikini and said, “You are a sight for sore eyes.”
“Did you miss us?”
“Of course, I did. You’re going to make those long shifts up at the station real hard on me, aren’t you?”
She walked slowly beside him toward the rest of the crew gathered in plastic lawn chairs around a fire pit. “What are the rules with that? Are we allowed to visit?”
“Visits are tough because we never know when a call is going to come in. It’s almost Fourth of July, so fireworks have been a problem lately. On slow days you can, though.”
“What about calling you?”
“Yeah, there is no rule against calling. I’ll pick up if I’m able and call you back if I’m busy. And if I can find time, I’ll try to call around Aaron’s bedtime. Hey, I need to tell you something.” He pulled her to a stop and gripped her shoulders. “Shayna is our dispatcher. We don’t work in the same building, but I wanted you to find out from me. I have to talk to her still, professionally.”
“Oh. That’s okay.” Did she like the idea of Shayna still having any kind of relationship with Cody, professional or otherwise? No. But he was telling her up front because he obviously didn’t want to pursue anything with the woman. “Thanks for telling me.” With a put-upon sigh, she said, “I suppose I’ll have to stop calling my exes if we’re going to date exclusively.”
His eyes narrowed. “What
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