Page 10 of Big Daddy Firemen

“So tell us about this date tomorrow,” Walker said.

“There’s not much to tell.”

“Start with the guy’s name,” Walker commanded.

“Why do you want to know that? You don’t know this guy. He doesn’t live in Big Cedar,” Daisy said.

“Sounds like she doesn’t want to tell us,” Austin noted as he popped a bite of garlic bread into his mouth.

Daisy spread her hands and laughed. “What? I’m not hiding anything. I just know what y’all will do.”

“And what’s that?” Walker wondered, cocking his head to one side and staring across the table at Daisy.

“You know. That thing y’all do where you act like my older brothers and get all protective and stuff,” Daisy explained. She playfully stuck out her tongue afterward, causing the guys to chuckle.

“Like we’re your brothers?” Cane scoffed. “Honey, I’ve never thought of my sister the way I think of you.”

The other guys laughed and nodded their agreement.

Daisy grabbed a stick of garlic bread, shoved it in her mouth, and prayed she wasn’t blushing too hard.

Once the laughter had died down, Walker said, “Yeah, we’re protective. Because we care about you. What if this guy is some sort of deranged killer or something?”

“You met him on a dating app, right?” Austin asked.

“Uh-huh.”

“So, you know nothing about this guy.”

“I read his profile. The app said we match.”

“Honey, if a serial killer was on a dating app, he probably wouldn’t mention that in his spare time he likes to tie up women in his garage and murder them with an ax,” Walker pointed out.

Daisy laughed. “Why do you think this guy is an ax murderer?”

“I didn’t say that,” Walker said. “I just said if he was, you wouldn’t know it.”

“Why don’t you look for a nice guy here in Big Cedar?” Austin asked.

“Orguys,” Cane said, holding out the S to make sure she caught it.

Daisy’s heart rate sped up as she considered that little comment. Surely he wasn’t really implying what it sounded likehe was implying. He was just being funny. They were always making little jokes like that. They didn’t mean anything, though.

“All the guys in Big Cedar are… you know… Daddies. They want Littles,” Daisy said.

Instead of addressing the comment head-on, Walker just looked past her, toward the refrigerator in the kitchen, and said, “That sure is a pretty picture you colored us earlier.”

Daisy blushed hard, picking up her glass of lemonade and bringing it quickly to her lips in an effort to hide her reaction to the comment and its implication.

It was Austin who spoke next. “We’re just saying you need to be careful. And if you need anything tomorrow, call us.”

“He’s right,” Walker said. “And we want to know where you’re going. Probably a good idea if you let us track your phone, too. You can share your location with us.”

Daisy thought of refusing but then held the protest back. After considering it for a few seconds, she actually warmed to the idea. It was probably for the best, just in case. While she had no reason to believe she was in fact meeting a deranged killer tomorrow, the extra safety was a good idea. Still, she wasn’t ready to concede all their points.

“You know, most people meet on dating apps these days. It’s not like it used to be, where you meet at the church ice-cream social or whatever.”

“Churches don’t have ice-cream socials anymore?” Cane asked. “They were always my favorite.”

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