Big Daddy Firemen (Big Cedar Daddies Book 2)

The following morning, Jean came in even though it wasn’t her usual weekend shift.

She’d seemed thrilled for the opportunity of extra hours when Daisy called to ask. It hadn’t taken her long at all to reach the station, and she brought not one, but two mystery novels with her.

Daisy was in the kitchen when the older woman came in and started making herself a cup of coffee.

“Need someone to fill in for you today while you hang out with the guys, eh?”

Daisy smiled. “Yes. We’re going to look into a few things regarding those recent fires.”

The older woman started her coffee brewing and then cast a suspicious glance at Daisy. “They’ve got you investigating now?”

Daisy shrugged. “Just following up on an idea I had.”

Jean didn’t look convinced. “Look, honey, if you want to spend your day getting railed by them you don’t have to make excuses with me.”

Daisy gasped. Of course, she had spent last night getting railed by them before taking a cum shower, but Jean didn’t need to know any of that.

“We just want to get to the bottom of what’s going on.”

Jean snorted. “Kid, this ain’t my first rodeo. I’ve seen the way they look at you and the way you look at them. There’s something in the air here and I know exactly what it is. Reminds me of a Dane-bang I had back in ’87.”

Daisy covered her mouth for a moment, her mind reeling, before she finally managed to say, “I’m sorry, but did I hear you right? A Dane-bang?”

Jean picked up her piping hot mug of coffee, took a sip without even blowing on it, and didn’t flinch at the scalding temperature. “You heard right. A Dane-bang. That’s when a group of Danish guys—or guys pretending to be Danish—it doesn’t matter as long as they wear those weird, pleated, lacy shirts. Anyway, they pick you up in a van and⁠—”

Daisy held up her hands. “Maybe I should stop you right there and ask. Is this story going to be offensive to Denmark?”

Jean snorted even louder now. “The best gang-bangs are.” She looked at Daisy unapprovingly, shook her head, and muttered, “You’ve got a lot to learn, sweetheart,” before marching out with her coffee toward the dispatch room.

Daisy stood there, leaning against the counter, stunned when Walker came into the room, opened the fridge, and grabbed a bottle of water.

“You okay?” He took a swig.

“Yeah. Just, uh, well… Jean is interesting.”

Walker grinned and took another drink before saying, “Was she talking about Swedish Smash Sessions?”

“Oh my goodness!” Daisy exclaimed. “No. This time, she was saying something about Denmark. But how many of these… experiences… has she had?”

“Apparently a lot,” Walker answered with a wry grin. “And you’d be surprised how many involve Nordic countries. A lot of them seem really culturally offensive, too.”

Daisy held up her hands. “I don’t think I want to know any more.”

“Probably for the best. Come on. We need to get going.” Walker took her by the hand and led her outside. He helped her into the front passenger seat of Austin’s pickup before he climbed in the backseat with Cane.

“You all buckled up?” Austin asked.

“Yes, Daddy,” Daisy replied.

“Good girl. Let’s do this.”

He eased the truck out of the station’s parking lot and onto the road, but they didn’t go very far before turning into the sheriff’s office just a few lots down. Quinn was standing out front, next to his personal pickup, along with Alyssa. Theo and Grace were there, too.

“Y’all ready?” Austin asked after rolling down his window.

“You kidding?” Quinn said with a grin. “These girls are driving us crazy! They’re so excited.”

Just looking out the open window, Daisy could see how excited Alyssa and Grace were. They were wearing “big girl” clothes, dressed for the cold temperatures that had descended over the mountains, but they were still clearly in Little Space, bouncing around with frantic, hyper energy.

“You sure you’re all good to leave things around here?” Walker asked, speaking up from the backseat. “We don’t want to tear you away from your duties.”

The sheriff waved it off. “It’s all good. I called in some of my deputies from around the county. They’re going to stay around here and beef up patrols. What about the fire situation?”

It was Austin who answered. “The boys down in Smithville are fielding all calls. They’re on high alert, too.”

“Guess we’re all set, then,” Quinn said.

“Good! Daddy, I want to get to Durant!” Alyssa pleaded, tugging on his arm.

“Hold your horses, little girl,” Quinn told her. “If you don’t settle down, we’ll be even later because we won’t hit the road until after a good spanking. Is that what you want?”

Daisy saw the Little gulp and then stand up straight, her posture becoming rigid as she said, “No, Sir!”

“The do as I say and simmer down, little missy.”

That seemed to settle it, as Alyssa didn’t beg anymore. Ther sheriff was helping her into his truck when another pickup pulled into the gravel lot and came to a stop before them.

Spencer Chapman hopped out and hurried toward them. “Glad I caught you in time.” He held out his phone to Quinn. “Not sure who I needed to report this to. You or them.” He jerked his head toward Austin’s idling pickup. “Figured since there wasn’t a fire it’s sheriff’s business, though.”

Quinn nodded and took the phone.

“What is it?” Daisy asked.

She knew she really had no right to inquire about it. She wasn’t officially part of the investigation, and it would probably be best to let the professionals—and Daddies—do their thing. But curiosity had gotten the best of her, and she’d blurted out the question without even thinking about it.

Quinn answered anyway. “A video.” He stared at the phone for few more seconds and then looked up, into the pickup and at Austin. “Same thing as the other one.” He handed the phone to him and then looked at Spencer. “That’s your game camera, right?’

“Yep.”

“Picked it up the same as Jason’s did.”

“Jason Bennett? The same feller was traipsing around his property, too?”

“Yep.” Quinn nodded.

By now, Daisy had watched the video as Austin held it in the middle, so everyone in the truck’s cab could see. A cold chill traced her spine, the same as it had when she’d seen Jason Bennett’s video the night before. The footage was pretty similar, too.

A small man was sneaking around before disappearing into the thick forest.

She looked closer and nodded at the timestamp. “That was last night!”

Outside the truck, Spencer nodded. “Yep. Got the alert but was asleep. Anyway, checked this morning, expecting to see a deer, and saw this instead. Damn shame. I thought I’d be getting me some meat to last the season. Instead, I saw a damn trespasser. Figured they might be the one setting those fires, though.”

“If anyone is setting the fires,” Walker called.

Daisy wasn’t surprised he’d thrown that out there. She knew he hadn’t let the public know about that device he’d found in the woods. He’d explained that he didn’t want to cause a panic, and the reasoning made perfect sense to her.

“Hell, maybe they’re not connected,” Spencer said. “I just hope this helps. I want this shit to stop as much as all you do.” He winced. “Beggin’ your pardon for my language. I don’t need to talk like that with little cuties around. You know, I don’t have a Little of my own so sometimes I forget stuff like that. I apologize.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Sheriff Quinn said. “And we appreciate you showing us this. Could you text that to me and one of the guys?” He looked toward Austin’s truck, so the implication was clear.

“Doing it now.” Spencer took his phone back and began to tap on the screen.

They said goodbye and Spencer climbed back into his big truck and drove away.

“What do y’all make of that?” Quinn asked.

“I think that’s even more evidence that we need to get to Durant and see what’s going on. And having a lawman there will help,” Austin said.

Quinn bobbed his head. “Then let’s get on the road and get this thing squared away.”

Daisy settled into her seat and got comfortable for the two-hour drive.

She just hoped this plan of theirs worked.