Page 54 of Big Daddy Firemen

Quinn shrugged. “We don’t know. Maybe. Maybe not. But with them owning land next to each parcel that’s burned—and the owners not willing to sell—it stands to reason that?—”

“Maybe they’re setting fires, driving down the value and making the owners reconsider,” Scott finished for him.

Quinn and Walker both nodded.

“But you said one fire was on the side of the road,” Scott countered. “That’s not valuable land.”

“Not right there. However, the fire was called in quickly by someone passing by,” Quinn responded. “A working theory is that they wanted it to spread, getting the plot that’s behind it. That would be valuable for a cabin or a business. It’s right before you get to town. Would be the first thing someone sees when coming from the west as they arrive in Big Cedar.”

“Anything you got would be helpful,” Theo said. “I hate to lean on you, man, but I just wanted to see if you could have my back on this.”

A heavy silence settled over them as Scott shifted again in his chair, sucking in his bottom lip as he seemed to be considering the request.

“This company doesn’t ring a bell, but I work for so many that I don’t remember them all,” he told the guys. “But still, I don’t know if I should divulge client info.”

Theo shrugged. “You’re not an attorney. You’re a surveyor. There’s no client privilege agreed upon, is there?”

Scott held up his hands in surrender. “You got me there. I’m not bound by law.”

“Then?” Theo said, cocking his head to one side.

Scott’s smile returned. “Man, you’re lucky you saved my life over there in the sandbox.”

“I’mlucky?” Theo said. “Your ass was the one getting shot at. I’d sayyou’rethe lucky one.”

The men began to laugh as Scott started pecking away at his keyboard.

“Let me see what I can find.”

Back at the casino,Daisy raised her hands high, bouncing the dice around her cupped palms.

“Come on, give me five,” she said, calling out the number she needed to roll to win the round of craps. “Mama needs a new pair of shoes!”

She tossed them and held her breath as the stickman raked the dice forward.

“You did it!” Alyssa yelled excitedly, pointing at the three and two that had been rolled. “You hit the point!”

The three women hugged each other as they jumped up and down excitedly.

“Lady’s a winner,” the casino employee said, adding to her stack of colorful chips.

“Do you want to roll again?” Grace asked.

“Nah. I say we cash out while ahead,” Daisy replied.

The other women agreed and soon, they were collecting their winnings at a nearby window, the attendant inside converting the chips to bills and sliding them across the counter.

“What should we do now?” Daisy questioned as she pulled out her phone to check her messages. She wasn’t surprised to see one from Austin, asking if she was okay. A warm feeling overtook her, bringing with it a wistful smile and sigh. It felt so good to not have just one Daddy protecting her, but three.

She was responding to his text while Alyssa answered her question, saying, “Y’all want to go to the spa? We probably need an appointment, but maybe they do walk-ins.”

“That sounds—” Grace stopped talking for a moment and then said, “Hey! That’s Selena!”

Daisy looked up from her phone to see the Little—wearing “big girl” clothes since they were away from Big Cedar—excitedly walking toward them.

“What are you doing here?” Alyssa asked.

“My Daddy took me on a little trip,” she replied with an excited giggle. “But he had to go back to our room to take a call. He’s always buying and selling. You know how the real estate game goes.”

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