Page 82 of A Baby for the Firefighter

“So far, no one's said anything,” I gave back.

“Good. The kids are excited. Jake’s been running in circles around me and Matt all day.”

“I hope he burns all that energy off in the play,” Matt remarked, holding Livvy, who marveled at the stage lights and the toddler in Shane’s lap.

“I wish Conner was that excited,” Shane chimed in, worry lines creasing his forehead. “I mean, he is, but not in a good way. He wouldn’t eat all day, really.”

And almost as soon as he said it, a small child came running to us. Conner. He came straight for his dad.

“Aren’t you supposed to be back-stage?” Shane asked.

“I want to go home.”

“Really? But then they’d be short one dwarf.”

“I’ve thought about it. Snow White can have six dwarfs. That’s okay. It’s a new adaptation, an original re-telling.”

This kid…

Shane stood and handed Mary to Dean. “Watch her for a minute?”

“Sure.”

Shane nodded to him, then took Conner by the arm. “Why don’t we step out for a minute?” He led his son off. I looked after them, wondering how Shane was going to solve this. I felt for Conner. The limelight was definitely not his favorite position, and not everyone could be like Jake.

But then I was thrown off by a weird comment my mother made.

“You look good with a toddler in your arms,” she told Dean.

What was that supposed to mean?Wasit supposed to mean anything? I knew my mom just said whatever came to mind, but still… Her words made me paranoid.

“That’s because little Mary is the cutest,” Dean said. “She makes anyone look good. Don’t you, sweetie?” He kissed the little girl’s cheek. She laughed.

“I wear pretty dress,” she said.

“Yes, very pretty,” my mom agreed. “You know I’m almost a little sad I only had boys. I never got to buy cute little dresses! Don’t you think having a little girl would be marvelous?”

Okay, this was definitely more than my own paranoia, wasn’t it? She was not so subtly trying to make Dean slip up and tell her something incriminating.

Dean was too glib for her, though. “I think little girls are the greatest,” he said. “But boys can be fun too. My mother always said she was happy to have both boys and girls.”

“That’s nice. Which would you like?” my mom asked, but Eli spoke over her.

“Having one of each really is great. Don’t you think so, Matt?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” he said, rocking Livvy. “I wouldn’t mind having more than one of each.”

“That’s just because our children are the best.” Eli gave him a kiss. Then he turned to our parents again. “Have you gotten a good look at Livvy? I think she has your lips.”

Wow, Eli was really going far to throw her off my track, but it worked. Once given the chance, our mom was cooing over Livvy like she was the most wondrous thing in the universe.

Crisis averted. For now, anyway.

And it seemed Shane had mastered his own crisis as well. He came back with Conner after another minute, and the boy seemed a bit calmer than he had before as he went backstage again. “How did you manage that?” Dean asked as soon as the boy was gone.

Shane smiled sadly. “Told him his daddy was watching him.” By the way he said it, I knew he wasn’t talking of himself.

There was a small pause as none of us knew how to respond.