Page 5 of Big Daddy Firemen

With Austin’s arm draped around Walker’s shoulder, the men left the burning cabin behind, Austin hobbling as fast as hecould. It was clear he’d rolled his ankle in that fall, but they’d have to worry about that later. Right now, they just had to move.

They’d only gone a few yards when the whole cabin succumbed to the ravages of the fire and collapsed on itself. Flames zoomed high into the air, sending a blast of hellishly hot air out on all sides.

“This way!” Cane called, pointing toward the best path to forge.

He waited for the other two to catch up and then they all set out together.

They’d been through close calls like this before, and each time, they came out with an even stronger bond.

The three of them weren’t just colleagues. They weren’t merely friends.

Walker, Cane, and Austin were brothers.

CHAPTER FOUR

“Thank God!” Daisy said as she ran toward the incoming fire engine.

She stopped a few feet away and let the behemoth vehicle pull into the station’s garage.

Night had fallen. It had been hours since the incident at the cabin, and she’d monitored their progress on the scanner as much as possible. She’d known they were safe but hearing that and actually laying eyes on them were two different things. Now that she had seen them, her soul began to settle.

The smell of smoke was thick as the men climbed out of the truck.

“Holy hell, I need a shower,” Austin said. He was hobbling a little.

“You need to get off your foot!” Daisy fussed as she hurried toward him.

He waved off the suggestion. “Nah. I’m good. It’s wrapped. I’ve been through worse.” He stopped walking and opened his arms wide. “What I need is a hug. I almost died back there! The only thing that kept me going was the thought of seeing your beautiful face once again, darlin’.”

Daisy blushed as she giggled.

“Hey, why do you get the first hug?” Walker asked. “I’m the one that carried your ass out of the fire.”

“Carried?” Austin snorted. “You helped, at best.”

“Y’all, listen,” Cane chimed in. “I’m the one that swung that ax that freed Walker. I deserve the first hug.” He grinned at Daisy and added, “Did you get even cuter while we were gone?”

Daisy just giggled some more before she was finally able to say, “What if I go for all three of you at once?”

The men all grinned, their eyes sparkling with suggestion.

Daisy gasped, covered her mouth as she laughed, and then quickly added, “I meanhuggingall three of you. What if Ihugyou all at once?” She opened her arms as wide as she could, demonstrating such a feat was possible.

“While nothing sounds better,” Walker said, “maybe we should put a pin in that. We need to shower. If you hug us now, you’re going to smell like smoke for days.”

“True,” she conceded.

She wasn’t sure she’d mind, she silently mused. Some things were worth the price.

The men started walking toward the door that led to the firehouse’s living quarters. Daisy hurried and got in front of them, and she couldn’t help but feel as if their eyes were on her as she moved.

She grinned. She wasn’t bothered by the idea. Not one bit. But she reminded herself it was probably just her imagination. She was too plain and frumpy for those guys to seriously consider.

“How’s the fire?” she asked.

“Completely out,” Cane replied. “Amazingly.”

“Yeah. That storm that rolled through sure gave us a hand,” Austin added, referring to the unexpected rain shower that had aided in the response.

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