Page 20 of Big Daddy Firemen

“You’re a year older than me,” Austin reminded him.

“Well. Hell. I guess I’m getting too damn old, too.”

Daisy put plates of sandwiches and chips before the guys, then went to the kitchen counter, grabbed a pitcher of sweet tea, and brought it back. She’d already prepared glasses of ice, placing them on the table. All that was left was to dig into the late lunch.

“You’re not eating?” Cane asked her with a pointed stare.

“It’s after two. My date is at five. If I eat now, I won’t be hungry then. We’re meeting for Italian.” She winced. “Which reminds me, I need to get going soon. I’ve got a long drive.”

“A long drive?” Walker said as he put his sandwich back on his plate without taking a bite. “And just where is this date, little missy?”

“McAlester,” she said. “Well, actually Krebs.” The two communities were so close together that being in one was darn near being in the other.

“Krebs?” Walker exclaimed. “That’s over an hour away! Why are you meeting this guy so far from home?”

“He’s from McAlester,” she said.

With a population of over eighteen thousand, McAlester was one of the bigger towns in Southeastern Oklahoma. But withBig Cedar being so close to the Arkansas border, McAlester was about seventy miles northwest of them. Krebs bordered that town, so Daisy was doing all the driving for this date. Walker was clearly annoyed by that fact, based upon the look in his eyes.

But it was Cane who spoke up next. “So, let me get this straight. You met this guy on a dating app.”

“Uh-huh.” Daisy nodded.

“And he knows you live in Big Cedar?”

“Yep. But don’t worry, I didn’t give him my address.”

“That’s not the point.” Cane scowled.

“He’s right,” Austin interjected. He finished chewing his bite of sandwich, washed it down with a swallow of sweet tea, and then said, “He’s willing to let you do all the driving while he just hops in his car and zips three miles down the road from McAlester to Krebs. Stand-up guy.”

“Hey! That’s not fair. You don’t know him,” Daisy protested.

“Neither do you,” Walker countered.

She gulped. He had her there. Still, she wasn’t going to give up the argument. And it was a true statement when she said, “This is an extremely small town. And not just Big Cedar.Allthe towns around here are tiny. It’s not like I’m going to meet anyone around here. There aren’t any single guys. I’ve got to expand.”

Walker looked around exaggeratedly, eyeing Cane and then Austin on either side of him around the table. “Hear that, boys? I guess we’re spoken for and didn’t even realize it, being as how there aren’t any single guys around here.”

The other men laughed.

“That’s different!” Daisy retorted. “Y’all don’t count. You’re the hot guys. I’m the… blah girl. Y’all wouldn’t want me in a million years.” She’d said that before even realizing the words that were coming from her mouth, speaking from the heart andnot even thinking to filter her thoughts before expressing them. She hung her head in embarrassment.

“Honey, look at me. Right now,” Walker commanded.

She slowly brought her gaze up until she was looking across the table at him.

Once he had her attention, he continued. “You are beautiful. Any man, including us, would be lucky to have you. Now, I don’t want to hear that kind of talk. You walk around here, talking poorly about yourself, and it’s detrimental to your health. You keep it up and I’ve a good mind to do something about it. Am I clear?”

She tried to speak, but the lump in her throat was too big. It took a few seconds to choke it down. Finally, she nodded and said quietly, “Yeah. Sorry.”

“It’s not me you need to apologize to,” Walker told her. “Now, about this guy?—”

“I told you!” she said, having a bit more confidence now as her voice rose. “I have to look outside of Big Cedar.”

Walker looked too irritated to respond, so Austin jumped in. “Even if that were true, the point is that this man should be driving to meetyou. Not the other way around.”

Cane shook his head in disgust and added, “I don’t know what kind of feller does that—expecting a lady to come to him.”

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