Big Daddy Firemen (Big Cedar Daddies Book 2)

Daisy had eventually gone to the site of the fire, watching with the other citizens of Big Cedar as Walker, Cane, and Austin extinguished the flames and worked with Quinn to seal up the scene.

As always, she was relieved that the crisis was over and her guys weren’t hurt.

She smiled as she watched them walk back into the firehouse.

Her guys.

As if they really belonged to her.

“Are you all okay?” she asked, even though she already knew the answer.

“We’re just fine, darlin’,” Cane said as he hung his heavy turnout coat on a hook bolted into the garage’s wall. “All things considered, that was an easy one.”

“Yeah. The fire was easy to put out,” Austin said. “But it wasn’t so easy on me. Are these things getting harder or am I getting older?” He stretched his arms high into the air, wincing as stiffness jolted his aching joints.

“You really want to know the answer?” Walker shot back with a grin.

“Just keep it to yourself,” Austin told him.

The smell of smoke clung to the men, as usual, mixing with the scent of oil, gasoline, and rubber from the big engine they’d just pulled back into the garage.

Jean popped her head from the office and scowled at Daisy, apparently still worried the younger woman was there to steal her hours and snag a few extra dollars.

Daisy smiled. Jean just grunted and disappeared back inside, closing the door in not quite a slam but not exactly gently, either.

“We’re going to clean up,” Walker told Daisy. “Then we need to talk about this date of yours.”

“My date?” Daisy said.

Walker nodded.

“Why do you want to know about that?” she asked as they all walked through the door that led from the garage to the living quarters.

“To make sure you’re safe,” Walker replied.

“I’m—”

“No, little girl. You’re not getting out of this. You’re going to hang out right here while we clean up.” He stopped walking and grinned. “Or do you want to join us in there again?” His eyes darted toward their room.

She blushed hard and shook her head. “I’ll wait here.”

“Choice is yours,” Walker said.

“And for what it’s worth, I think you’re making the wrong one!” Cane told her with a wink.

“He speaks for me too,” Austin added.

She giggled and watched the men walk away.

Damn. They were beyond hot.

Thirty minutes later, the aroma of body wash had replaced the stench of smoke. The guys were all cleaned up, wearing clean gray sweatshorts and dark blue t-shirts. In those matching outfits, they looked like brothers, Daisy noted silently.

They were brothers, she then realized. Maybe not blood. But still brothers, nonetheless. They had a bond stronger than some families.

The three eased into the chairs around the kitchen table. Austin groaned. “Man, I’m sore.”

“We told you earlier,” Cane said. “It’s because you’re getting too damn old.”

“You’re a year older than me,” Austin reminded him.

“Well. Hell. I guess I’m getting too damn old, too.”

Daisy put plates of sandwiches and chips before the guys, then went to the kitchen counter, grabbed a pitcher of sweet tea, and brought it back. She’d already prepared glasses of ice, placing them on the table. All that was left was to dig into the late lunch.

“You’re not eating?” Cane asked her with a pointed stare.

“It’s after two. My date is at five. If I eat now, I won’t be hungry then. We’re meeting for Italian.” She winced. “Which reminds me, I need to get going soon. I’ve got a long drive.”

“A long drive?” Walker said as he put his sandwich back on his plate without taking a bite. “And just where is this date, little missy?”

“McAlester,” she said. “Well, actually Krebs.” The two communities were so close together that being in one was darn near being in the other.

“Krebs?” Walker exclaimed. “That’s over an hour away! Why are you meeting this guy so far from home?”

“He’s from McAlester,” she said.

With a population of over eighteen thousand, McAlester was one of the bigger towns in Southeastern Oklahoma. But with Big Cedar being so close to the Arkansas border, McAlester was about seventy miles northwest of them. Krebs bordered that town, so Daisy was doing all the driving for this date. Walker was clearly annoyed by that fact, based upon the look in his eyes.

But it was Cane who spoke up next. “So, let me get this straight. You met this guy on a dating app.”

“Uh-huh.” Daisy nodded.

“And he knows you live in Big Cedar?”

“Yep. But don’t worry, I didn’t give him my address.”

“That’s not the point.” Cane scowled.

“He’s right,” Austin interjected. He finished chewing his bite of sandwich, washed it down with a swallow of sweet tea, and then said, “He’s willing to let you do all the driving while he just hops in his car and zips three miles down the road from McAlester to Krebs. Stand-up guy.”

“Hey! That’s not fair. You don’t know him,” Daisy protested.

“Neither do you,” Walker countered.

She gulped. He had her there. Still, she wasn’t going to give up the argument. And it was a true statement when she said, “This is an extremely small town. And not just Big Cedar. All the towns around here are tiny. It’s not like I’m going to meet anyone around here. There aren’t any single guys. I’ve got to expand.”

Walker looked around exaggeratedly, eyeing Cane and then Austin on either side of him around the table. “Hear that, boys? I guess we’re spoken for and didn’t even realize it, being as how there aren’t any single guys around here.”

The other men laughed.

“That’s different!” Daisy retorted. “Y’all don’t count. You’re the hot guys. I’m the… blah girl. Y’all wouldn’t want me in a million years.” She’d said that before even realizing the words that were coming from her mouth, speaking from the heart and not even thinking to filter her thoughts before expressing them. She hung her head in embarrassment.

“Honey, look at me. Right now,” Walker commanded.

She slowly brought her gaze up until she was looking across the table at him.

Once he had her attention, he continued. “You are beautiful. Any man, including us, would be lucky to have you. Now, I don’t want to hear that kind of talk. You walk around here, talking poorly about yourself, and it’s detrimental to your health. You keep it up and I’ve a good mind to do something about it. Am I clear?”

She tried to speak, but the lump in her throat was too big. It took a few seconds to choke it down. Finally, she nodded and said quietly, “Yeah. Sorry.”

“It’s not me you need to apologize to,” Walker told her. “Now, about this guy⁠—”

“I told you!” she said, having a bit more confidence now as her voice rose. “I have to look outside of Big Cedar.”

Walker looked too irritated to respond, so Austin jumped in. “Even if that were true, the point is that this man should be driving to meet you. Not the other way around.”

Cane shook his head in disgust and added, “I don’t know what kind of feller does that—expecting a lady to come to him.”

“You all are just old fashioned,” she said with a chuckle. “Because you’re Daddies.”

“Oh, and you don’t need a Daddy?” Walker raised his eyebrows. “Because you’re such a big girl?”

“I am a big girl,” Daisy grumbled, hanging her head.

The way her bottom lip protruded in a display of poutiness sure wasn’t helping her case at all, and she knew it.

“Well, I’m just glad you didn’t take off and drive an hour and a half in the dark—both ways—to Krebs without telling us first,” Walker said. “Because if you had, when we found out about it, we probably would have marched right on down to your house, pulled you out, lowered your little panties, and taken turns draping you over our knees while we busted your cute bottom. Right there on the front porch for the whole town to see, too.”

This got Daisy’s attention. She snapped her head up, her eyes bulging as she stared from Walker to Cane and then Austin. All of them wore smirks and had steely looks in their eyes that old her they’d actually do it.

“Now, we’re going to put the volunteer guys on alert tonight so we can drive you to this date of yours,” Walker continued. “And there won’t be any arguing about it, either. Have I made myself clear?”

“But—”

“Have I made myself clear, young lady?” Walker repeated, this time with a harder edge to his voice.

When Daisy didn’t immediately respond, Cane filled the gap. “Honey, what he’s trying to say is that we don’t want to get an emergency call in the middle of the night and respond to find you in a car crash. These roads are dark. You could hit a deer. Or one of those damn semis that barrel through here could run you right off the road. Nope. We won’t allow that. You’re too valuable.”

“He’s right,” Austin said. “We’re taking you and that’s final. Or we can grab our belts, bend you over this table, and take turns spanking your bottom until you see the light. So, easy way or hard way? You pick, darlin’.”

Daisy chewed on the inside of her cheek before finally saying, “The easy way.”

The men smiled and spoke in unison, their voices melding together.

“Good girl.”