Page 20 of Her Silver Fox Firefighters

“Well, that is really cool.”

“Yeah, it is,” he states, looking adoringly at Leo.

I give Leo a curious look. “You never mentioned?—”

“I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about it,” he cuts in, then looks back at Luke. “Hey buddy, do you want to check and see what Melinda sent over this time?”

“Yeah, man!” Luke exclaims and goes to the table, eagerly opening the box. “Cupcakes, really big cupcakes.”

I laugh. “Melinda’s trying out a new recipe. She figured you’d make excellent test subjects.”

“Lord knows she can always experiment on us,” Dax replies, helping himself to one while I switch my focus back to Leo.

“I didn’t mean to sound…. Gosh, I don’t know how I’m supposed to sound,” I sigh deeply as Leo comes closer. “It’s just that…”

“Luke isn’t a secret,” he says, lowering his voice. “I simply wanted to get to know you a little better before I brought him into the picture.”

The words hit deep, though they shouldn’t. I’m certainly keeping my fair share of secrets, so why does this bother me even slightly?

“It makes sense,” I tell him. “He obviously knew about me, though.”

“Busted. We’ve raved about you plenty,” he admits with a shy smile.

“You have?”

“Of course.”

My cheeks flare with glee and a little bit of embarrassment as I sneak a peek at the boy. “How old is he?”

“Almost twelve. He was five when we brought him back. The adoption process went smoother than with other child refugee cases because he doesn’t have any living relatives left. They were all killed.”

“Poor kid,” I whisper. “How is he faring emotionally?”

“He still has nightmares sometimes. He was born and raised in a conflict zone, so the trauma runs deep. But we attend monthly sessions with a child psychologist who specializes in precisely this sort of stuff. Luke is on the right track.”

“And we’re all pitching in,” Beck says before he bites into a red velvet cupcake. “The kid got lucky. One dad, two great uncles. Plus, the rest of the crew here at the fire house have practically adopted him as well. He’s set for life.”

“I’ll bet,” I chuckle softly.

Luke comes over with a pink strawberry cupcake. “This is for you.”

“Oh, for me? Melinda had me bring them over for you.”

“I don’t care. You should have this one.”

I’m speechless and flattered by his appreciation, so I take the cupcake and give him a thankful nod. “You’re very generous, Luke, thank you.”

“So you like my dad, right?”

Again, I’m speechless but for an entirely different reason. “I’m sorry?”

“He’s extremely observant,” Leo laughs. “He picks things up quickly.”

“Are you dating? Do you want to be my mom?”

“Whoa,” I gasp, half laughing, half ready to run for the hills, though definitely flattered that this gorgeous little kid would want me to be a part of his family.

Leo pats his shoulder. “Dude, take it easy. We’ve barely gone on a few dates and had some coffee together,” he pauses to look up at me, making it clear that the memory of that ‘breakfast’ on my kitchen table is still very fresh in his mind. “We’ve got plenty of time to see where this leads.”