Page 15 of My Three Hometown Firefighters (Aspen Springs #2)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Warren

Jackson’s hand squeezes mine as we walk toward a group of people waiting in line for cotton candy. I gently give his hand a squeeze to reassure him.

Being around lots of people isn’t really his thing. It’s not my thing either, if I’m honest.

Walking around the school district’s carnival isn’t exactly what I would choose to do on my day off, but I want to expose Jackson to things, even if they aren’t the easiest things to tackle.

I’ll always be at his side, so we can tackle it together.

“There are dogs over there,” Jackson says, pointing to the far corner of the gym.

Yeah, buddy, I know there are dogs over there because of the very sexy redhead taking care of them. The very same woman who I feel like I can still taste on my lips, even days later.

I spotted Sienna as soon as we walked into the gym over an hour ago. I’ve tried to keep Jacks distracted by everything else here, other than the very thing I think he’ll be the most excited about.

He loves dogs, so I know seeing them would be the highlight of his night.

It isn’t that I don’t want to see Sienna. I do, believe me . But this will be the first time I’ve seen her since that night, and I don’t know what to expect.

Plus, I have Jackson with me. She knows I have a kid, but they’ve never actually met.

He peeks up at me through his lashes.

“You want to go over there?” I ask him, and he nods enthusiastically. “Let’s go then,” I say, starting to walk in that direction.

Sienna is leaning over the temporary pen she has set up, where several of the smaller dogs are roaming about. Her ass looks mouthwatering in her fitted jeans.

Dad mode. Dad mode. No staring at her ass. You’re at a school function.

It’s no use, though. It’s right there, and all I want to do is sink my teeth into it.

She stands, brushing her hands off on her jeans. She has on a simple white tee. Her hair is tied back in a loose ponytail with a yellow scarf that flows down with her wavy locks.

Her face lights up when she sees me. That’s a good sign. Her eyes soften when she sees the little boy at my side, who is staring wide-eyed at the dogs.

“Did you guys come to see the dogs?” she asks.

Jacks nods, not looking away from the pen of animals.

“Yeah, he loves dogs,” I say. I crouch down next to my son. “Jacks, this is my friend Sienna. She runs the animal shelter.” I look up at her. “This is my son, Jackson.”

She gives me a smile that’s swimming with warmth, then she glances down at Jacks. “Nice to meet you, Jackson. Do you want to pet the dogs?”

A silent moment passes where many adults would jump in and say something else, but she just waits patiently. He doesn’t say a word, but he releases my hand. He steps right up to the fence that comes up to his chest.

She kneels a few feet away from him. I can’t quite hear what she’s saying to him as she points to the dogs that are playing in front of them. Two of the puppies roll around together, which makes Jacks giggle.

Sienna stands up, kicking off her brown sandals. She steps over the fence, grabbing one of the puppies who were just rolling around.

This one is mostly brown with a few white marks on its face. I would say maybe it’s a lab mix of some kind, but I am definitely not an expert in this area.

She holds the puppy in front of Jackson. He might have hesitancy when interacting with people, but he shows no such qualms with animals.

His little hand eagerly runs over the dog’s head. The puppy nuzzles into his touch, which makes Jackson giggle again.

“Do you want to pet the other one?” Sienna asks him, pointing to the black puppy playing in the corner of the pen.

Jacks gives a small nod. She sets the brown puppy down before grabbing the other one. Jacks starts to climb up over the fence.

I move to his side. “Bud, you need to stay out here.”

His shoulders droop along with his face, but he puts his foot back on the floor.

“I don’t mind if you come in here with me,” Sienna says, sitting down crossed-legged with the black puppy in her lap. She pats the floor next to her.

Jacks looks up at me with hopeful eyes. How do I say no to that?

Reaching under his arms, I lift him into the pen. He plops down at her side, petting the dog.

A yelp comes from my right. I see Cash, one of the dogs that was at the photoshoot, on a leash by the table Sienna has things set up on.

Stepping over in his direction, I pet his big head. He lets out an excited bark, so I keep petting him.

When I look back over to the pen, I’m shocked to see Jacks sitting in Sienna’s lap. All the dogs are climbing on them, and he looks like he’s having the best day of his life.

Sienna looks at me over his head of brown hair. “Sorry,” she mouths.

“Don’t be,” I mouth back, even though I can’t really believe what I’m seeing right now.

Jackson takes a long time to warm up to people, especially women. He was so young when his mom left both of us and moved to Europe. He doesn’t even remember her being around.

I’ve never seen him get this comfortable with anyone after just meeting them a few minutes prior. But Sienna saw that he was shy and respected his boundaries. She met him where he was and didn’t push him for more.

My heart squeezes in my chest at the sight of them together. I want to pull my phone out to take a picture of them so badly, but I don’t because everything with Sienna is just casual. It isn’t something Jackson will ever be involved in.

I’m suddenly realizing it’s going to be more difficult than I thought to keep my heart out of this equation.

Jackson looks over at me, a big smile spread across his face. “I’m hungry, Dad,” he says.

I give Cash one last pat before walking over to crouch by the fence. “Do you want a hamburger or a hot dog?”

His head tilts to the side while he contemplates. I already know what he’s going to say, but I let him process it anyway.

“Hot dog,” he says.

Called it.

“Do you want anything?” I say, turning to look at Sienna.

She bites her lip, and now all I want to do is clamp down on that lip with my teeth.

“I’m actually pretty hungry. Can you get me a hot dog, too? I have cash in my purse.” She motions to the table.

I wave her off. “I got it. Come on, bud. Let’s go get you something to eat.”

He shakes his head, clutching the black puppy that’s curled up in his lap. “I want to stay. Please?”

My eyes move between Sienna and my son.

“I could use an assistant for a little bit, if that’s okay with your dad,” she says.

His eyes brighten. “Really?” he asks, turning to look up at her.

“You can help me give them some dinner.” She looks up at me. The question is clear in her eyes.

“Okay. I’ll be back in, like, five minutes.”

“We’re good. Right, Jackson?” she says, looking down at where he’s still perched in her lap.

“Yeah,” he says, grabbing for the dog bowls through the fence.

My eyes connect with her for a long beat before I give her a single nod and walk toward the stand where the football team is selling food.

My head feels like it’s constantly on a swivel between the line moving in front of me and to Sienna and Jacks, who are pouring dog food into all the bowls.

It isn’t that I don’t trust her with him. I just keep waiting for Jackson to freak out or for him to need me.

Being a single parent is a lot. The pressure of making sure he’s getting everything he needs rests solely on my shoulders.

The responsibility of ensuring he grows up to be a good human being is also my responsibility alone.

The weight of it all can seem stifling at times, but it isn’t a job I would give up for anything. He’s perfectly content, so I try to push my anxiety to the back of my mind.

I step forward as the line moves up. Will, Owen, and Miles Kingston turn around with their food in hand. Their niece, Lyla, is sandwiched in the middle of them, her own arms full of food.

“Warren,” the youngest brother, Miles, says with a big smile on his face.

“Hey,” I say with a nod.

“Ready for us to beat you all again?” he says jokingly.

He and his brothers play on one of the other softball teams in town. They beat us last time our two teams played, and he won’t let any of us live it down.

“Not if I can help it.”

“We’ll see about that,” Will grumbles, giving me a half-hearted smirk.

“I’m hungry,” Lyla groans. “Come on,” she adds, slowly saying each word.

Will looks down at her. His eyes show a mix of annoyance and love.

“We’d better go feed this one before she goes feral,” Miles says.

Lyla gives him a look that would render him without the ability to breathe if looks could do such a thing.

Will and Miles say their goodbyes, while Owen just grunts. I’m a quiet person, but Owen takes that to another level. He’s also grumpy as fuck.

Not that he doesn’t have a reason to be…

Their family has been through a lot. They’re all raising their niece together because it was their sister’s last wish before she passed.

Shaking my head, I look over to where Sienna is talking to a few people who stopped by her booth. She’s still standing in the pen, barefoot. Jackson is sitting at her feet, playing with the puppies.

It’s going to be fun getting him out of here later without one of those puppies in tow.

I would have adopted a dog for us years ago, but doing that with a firefighter’s schedule would be difficult.

I already feel bad leaving so much work for Ellie, the nanny, to do every time I’m working. Adding a dog to the mix just seems like too much.

Ten minutes later, with all our food in hand, I walk over to the Perfect Paws booth.

“You got the goods,” Sienna says with a smile.

“I did.” I glance at the table, which only has one chair behind it.

“We can just sit on the floor,” she says, pointing to the empty space behind the table.

“That’s fine,” I say.

She steps over the fence. When Jackson holds his arms up to her, she lifts him up and over the barrier. The two of them plop down on the floor like it’s nothing at all.

I hand all the food over to Sienna before lowering my huge body to the ground with about as much grace as an earthquake.

I can tell she’s trying not to smile. “Sorry. I should have thought this plan through a little more,” she says.

“It’s fine. I’m on the floor with him all the time,” I say, pointing to Jackson.

She nods, like she wouldn’t expect anything less. She reaches behind her, retrieving a bottle of hand sanitizer. “It isn’t as good as washing our hands, but it’ll do.”

She squirts some into all our hands, then we divvy up the hot dogs and chips. I open Jackson’s bag of Cheetos, and he hands me his bun, which he doesn’t want. He’s content to just munch on his plain hot dog and bag of chips.

Sienna and I use the packets I grabbed to doctor up our own hot dogs.

“You just got one hot dog?” she asks me.

I shrug. “I’ll eat more at home later.”

“I figured you’d need more for…” She motions up and down my body. “For all of that.”

“All of that?” I say questioningly.

A faint blush touches her cheeks. “Yeah, all that.”

“It’s Cash,” a girl’s voice rings from behind us.

We all turn to see Evelyn running toward the dog who was lying down, staring at our food, but now has his sights set on the little girl. Her dad, Austin, walks over behind her.

Evelyn buries her fingers in the dog’s fur, giving him a kiss on the top of the head.

“You know Cash?” Sienna asks after swallowing her bite.

“Hadley was with him at the dog park, and she let me play with him,” she says with a big smile. The dog honestly looks like he’s in heaven with Evelyn showering him with attention.

Sienna laughs. “I’m not surprised. She loves that dog.”

“I do too,” Evelyn says. She spots Jackson, sitting at my side. “Hey, Jackson.”

“Hi,” he says with a small wave.

“You alright down there?” Austin laughs, seeing me on the ground.

“Shut up,” I grumble. “You wish you were as tall as me.”

He shakes his head. “I’m just fine, thank you very much.” He puts his hand on his daughter’s shoulder. “Tell all of them goodbye. We need to go.”

Her small arms wrap around Cash’s neck, giving him a big hug. He almost knocks her over as his big body leans into the embrace. Pulling away, she gives the rest of us a quick, “Bye!” before she skips off.

“See you guys later,” Austin says and follows her.

Before I even have a chance to turn my head back to our little circle, Jackson blurts, “Daddy, can we take a puppy home?”

Sienna and I share a look.