Page 23 of Big Daddy Firemen

“Excuse me,” she said. “I need to… powder my nose.”

Does anyone saypowder my noseanymore? she wondered quietly as the cut quickly through the restaurant, toward the restrooms. Once there, though, she didn’t go in. Instead, she pulled out her phone and called Austin.

He answered on the first ring.

“I like that I’m the one you always call.”

“It’s because your name is first in my contacts,” she said.

“Sure, sure. You okay? This guy isn’t trying to murder you, is he?”

“No. That would be more interesting than what’s actually happening.” She stopped and thought about it for a few seconds. “Scratch that. He is killing me. With boredom as he talks about himself. Remember when you said to call if I need an evac?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Well, this is me calling for an evac!”

“We’re on our way. Just finishing off our lamb fries. I was full after all that food we had, but Cane insisted we order them.”

“Lamb fries!”

“Yeah.”

“Yuck!” she said. For some reason, the deep-fried lamb testicles were a regional favorite. She found them disgusting, though she had to admit she’d never actually tried any.

“We’re on our way.”

“What should I tell him?”

“Let us handle that.” A few seconds of silence passed before Austin asked, “He’s not being a dick to you, is he?”

“Well, he kind of, sort of implied something about my weight.’

“Mother fu?—”

“It’s okay,” Daisy interrupted. “Just come quick.”

“The only time I come quick is if I’m responding to a call or you need me,” he said.

“Oh my gosh!” she exclaimed, blushing as she laughed and ended the call.

Help was on the way.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“Daisy. There you are.”

The words were spoken by Austin, and they sounded as playful as the look on his face.

“Oh, hey guys,” she responded, looking up from her barely eaten lasagna. Having a man judge you for the size of your portion—and your weight—really zapped the appetite from a gal. So, she’d only picked at the food.

“Our girl’s here,” Walker said as he pulled a chair from a nearby empty table and swung it around, straddling it backward near Daisy’s date, as if he’d been invited.

The other guys did the same, and soon all three firefighters were bunched around the table as if there for dinner.

“Uh, who are you?”

Austin looked at the man. He almost seemed like a caricature of himself—with meticulously combed dark hair, big, dark eyes, and a cleft chin. He’d laid on the cologne a little too thick. He’d only said a few words, but already, Austin could tell this guy had an air of self-importance.

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