Page 21 of Big Daddy Firemen

“You all are just old fashioned,” she said with a chuckle. “Because you’re Daddies.”

“Oh, and you don’t need a Daddy?” Walker raised his eyebrows. “Because you’re such a big girl?”

“Iama big girl,” Daisy grumbled, hanging her head.

The way her bottom lip protruded in a display of poutiness sure wasn’t helping her case at all, and she knew it.

“Well, I’m just glad you didn’t take off and drive an hour and a half in the dark—both ways—to Krebs without telling us first,” Walker said. “Because if you had, when we found out about it,we probably would have marched right on down to your house, pulled you out, lowered your little panties, and taken turns draping you over our knees while we busted your cute bottom. Right there on the front porch for the whole town to see, too.”

This got Daisy’s attention. She snapped her head up, her eyes bulging as she stared from Walker to Cane and then Austin. All of them wore smirks and had steely looks in their eyes that old her they’d actually do it.

“Now, we’re going to put the volunteer guys on alert tonight so we can drive you to this date of yours,” Walker continued. “And there won’t be any arguing about it, either. Have I made myself clear?”

“But—”

“Have I made myself clear, young lady?” Walker repeated, this time with a harder edge to his voice.

When Daisy didn’t immediately respond, Cane filled the gap. “Honey, what he’s trying to say is that we don’t want to get an emergency call in the middle of the night and respond to find you in a car crash. These roads are dark. You could hit a deer. Or one of those damn semis that barrel through here could run you right off the road. Nope. We won’t allow that. You’re too valuable.”

“He’s right,” Austin said. “We’re taking you and that’s final. Or we can grab our belts, bend you over this table, and take turns spanking your bottom until you see the light. So, easy way or hard way? You pick, darlin’.”

Daisy chewed on the inside of her cheek before finally saying, “The easy way.”

The men smiled and spoke in unison, their voices melding together.

“Good girl.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

Krebs wasn’t nearly as mountainous as Big Cedar, but it was still plenty hilly.

There were plenty of trees, too, that blanketed those hills, keeping it green in the spring and summer. Now, the leaves had all fallen and were awaiting their return. In Oklahoma, winters usually didn’t last that long, so the buds would probably appear sooner rather than later.

Austin, Cane, and Walker sat in an Italian restaurant, planted at a circular table, munching on breadsticks.

“Wonder why this town has so many Italian restaurants?” Cane mused aloud.

“You mean you’re from Oklahoma and you don’t know?” Austin said.

Cane thought about it for a moment. “Yeah. Guess I never really thought out it,” he admitted.

“It was the miners,” Austin explained. “You know, there used to be coal mining operations all up and down these hills. Lots of immigrants—especially quite a few from Italy—left the East Coast and headed here looking for jobs. They brought their food with ‘em. That’s why we have so many good little mom-and-pop Italian restaurants around here.”

“Huh. Makes sense, I suppose,” Cane said before shoving another chunk of bread in his mouth. “Sure is tasty. That’s for damn sure.”

The server came by and dropped off plates of spaghetti and meatballs, along with salads and another basket of bread.

Cane didn’t know if he’d even be hungry for the main course by the time their Italian sausage dinners came out. He’d worry about that later. Right now, he wore a big grin as he leaned in close, breathed in the aroma of the steam that rose from the “appetizers”, and smiled in satisfaction.

Despite having eaten the sandwiches before leaving Big Cedar, he could easily enjoy all that food. Fighting fires worked up a man’s appetite.

He thanked the server and then dug in.

They had plenty of privacy to talk, thanks to the unique arrangement of the eatery. The sprawling building contained a bunch of small rooms, each one with a round table in them, for family-style meals.

“Damn, this is good!” Austin said. “But I wonder how our girl is doing on her date.”

“I don’t like that she knows next to nothing about this guy,” Walker said. “He could be a crazy killer.”

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