Big Daddy Firemen (Big Cedar Daddies Book 2)

“Y’all be good girls while we’re away,” Quinn said to Alyssa, Grace, and Daisy.

The other Daddies didn’t mind him speaking on their behalf. They stood by him, nodding as they looked at the women.

The group was in a classy cocktail bar just off the casino floor. The men needed to get to their appointment, but first, as Daddies, they had to lay down the law.

“Don’t leave the resort,” Walker commanded. “There’s plenty to do here.”

“Yeah, go hit up the spa or something,” Cane suggested. He looked at Daisy. “We left you plenty of money. Eat. Get some drinks. But make sure you watch your drinks.”

“That’s right.” Theo took over. “Never leave a drink unattended.”

His Little, Grace, laughed. “We know, Daddy. Gee.”

“Don’t give me that, little girl. We’re trying to keep y’all safe. Maybe I need to reiterate the point by escorting you back to the room for a quick bottom-busting before I go.”

“Daddy!” Grace said.

He shrugged. “If you don’t want a spanking, then be a good girl.”

“Yes, Sir,” she grumbled.

“Hey, cutie,” Austin said as he leveled a smirking stare at Daisy. “Don’t blow all your money on slot machines or something. You can play some games, but just make it last. We won’t be gone too long.”

Daisy grinned and spread her hands. “What makes you think I’d do that?”

He chuckled. “Just be a good girl.”

The men gave their cuties hugs before filing away. After watching them go, Daisy asked, “What do y’all want to do first?”

“Is it tacky to day-drink?” Alyssa asked as she turned and looked at elegant looking bar behind them.

Daisy and Grace did the same.

“I don’t think so but if it is, I don’t care,” Daisy admitted. “I want one of those!” A young woman behind the bar was mixing an orange concoction that looked absolutely delicious. She handed it to another patron just as the women approached.

“Excuse me,” Daisy said. “What was that?”

“It’s called a bonfire toddy,” the woman replied.

“I’ll have one, please.” She pulled out one of the high bar chairs and hopped into it.

“Make that two,” Alyssa said, sitting in the chair beside her.

“Three, actually,” Grace chimed in.

And with that, the girls were ready to have some fun.

The men had to take two vehicles to their appointment, even though technically, they all could have fit in only one pickup.

Why be crammed, though?

They stepped out and surveyed downtown Durant. It was like a lot of small towns around there, with a quaint Main Street made up of old buildings, many of them built without any space between them. Most were one or two stories, but there was a taller, four-floor red-brick structure down the road. Walker assumed it had been a hotel at one time, but looked to have been converted to offices or something now.

It looked like every building he could see had stood for at least a hundred years. Some of them more.

Compared to Big Cedar, it was a bustling metropolis.

“How many people live around here?” Walker asked as they walked into the small brick building in front of them.

“Oh, about twenty thousand, I reckon,” Theo answered. “It’s a college town, you know. So that population might dwindle a little in the summer.”

They went inside to be greeted by a heater that clearly worked. If anything, it was a little warm in there for Walker’s tastes. He was glad he’d left his coat back at the hotel. Despite it being winter, and barely over thirty degrees outside along with dark clouds overhead pregnant with snow, he still only wore a black t-shirt along with his jeans and boots. He didn’t like to be hot, so he never layered up. Except when fighting a fire, of course.

Maybe that’s why I hate to be hot, he thought with a grin. I’m surrounded by enough heat in my line of work.

Who knows? he thought. It didn’t really matter, so he turned his attention to the building they’d just entered.

It was one big room, with a high ceiling made of stamped tin that features intricate designs. He loved that old style of architecture and he wondered how old the place was.

A tall, lanky man with a protruding Adam’s apple looked up from a desk deeper in the large room and smiled as he stood up.

“Theo!” he said.

He didn’t stick out his hand as he approached, instead wrapped his long arms around Theo and the men embraced tightly.

“How long has it been?” he asked.

“A year. At least,” Theo answered. “Thanks for seeing me. I know you’re busy.”

“Hey, I’ve always got time for you.”

Theo smiled as he turned and said, “Boys, meet Scott Keyes. We served together.”

Walker was a bit surprised by the revelation. Scott was so thin that Walker couldn’t see him fighting alongside the Marines. Of course, it was possible he’d lost some bulk since those days. But he was a stark contrast to the hugely muscled Theo.

“Nice meeting you,” Walker said, thrusting out his hand.

Scott shook it, followed by Cane, Austin, and Quinn.

“Have a seat. We can round up enough chairs,” Scott said as he spun around, looking at the chairs that were scattered around the small waiting area and an empty desk.

The men got enough, positioned them around Scott’s desk, and then waited as the guy sat.

“It sure is good to see you, but I take it this isn’t a social call.” Scott grinned.

“Yeah. We have some questions and thought maybe you could help,” Theo said. “I’ll let the firefighters here explain all of it.”

Walker smiled. “We’ve had some fires around Big Cedar.” He went on to tell Scott of the forest fire, grass fire, and the old store—along with the suspicious man caught on the game cameras.

“Man, that sucks. But I’m not sure how I can help you,” Scott said. “Unless you’re wanting to move that land now. I can survey it and get all the specs to you.”

“Well, not exactly,” Walker replied. “You see, we did some digging. It turns out, some of the land around those lots has been bought up by a corporation called Southeast Development. We don’t know anything about them. Not even who owns them. They’re sort of hidden behind a lot of legal jargon.”

“That’s not unusual,” Scott said. “Most of the buyers of the land down here are companies from Texas trying to make a killing on the tourism industry that’s exploded in the mountains.” His smile grew. “Of course, we get their money back at the casinos. You know, most of the folks that come in town for the resort are Texans.”

Walker didn’t doubt it. With Durant being so close to the border, and Texas not having tribal gaming the way Oklahoma did, it stood to reason that people crossed the Red River looking to have some fun and possibly strike it rich.

It was Cane who spoke up next, explaining things to Scott. “Well, we were able to dig into some files and find that you did the surveying and even some of the procurement work for this Southeast Development company. And when Theo said he knew you, well, we thought maybe you’d have some intel that might be useful.”

This is where Quinn came in, Walker thought.

And right on cue, the lawman spoke up. “We don’t have a warrant. And I know I’m out of my jurisdiction down here. But it would sure help us if you gave us any information you have.”

Scott’s smile disappeared. He shifted in his chair and let out a loud whistle through his nose as he exhaled. “You think this company might be the one behind the fire?”

Quinn shrugged. “We don’t know. Maybe. Maybe not. But with them owning land next to each parcel that’s burned—and the owners not willing to sell—it stands to reason that⁠—”

“Maybe they’re setting fires, driving down the value and making the owners reconsider,” Scott finished for him.

Quinn and Walker both nodded.

“But you said one fire was on the side of the road,” Scott countered. “That’s not valuable land.”

“Not right there. However, the fire was called in quickly by someone passing by,” Quinn responded. “A working theory is that they wanted it to spread, getting the plot that’s behind it. That would be valuable for a cabin or a business. It’s right before you get to town. Would be the first thing someone sees when coming from the west as they arrive in Big Cedar.”

“Anything you got would be helpful,” Theo said. “I hate to lean on you, man, but I just wanted to see if you could have my back on this.”

A heavy silence settled over them as Scott shifted again in his chair, sucking in his bottom lip as he seemed to be considering the request.

“This company doesn’t ring a bell, but I work for so many that I don’t remember them all,” he told the guys. “But still, I don’t know if I should divulge client info.”

Theo shrugged. “You’re not an attorney. You’re a surveyor. There’s no client privilege agreed upon, is there?”

Scott held up his hands in surrender. “You got me there. I’m not bound by law.”

“Then?” Theo said, cocking his head to one side.

Scott’s smile returned. “Man, you’re lucky you saved my life over there in the sandbox.”

“I’m lucky?” Theo said. “Your ass was the one getting shot at. I’d say you’re the lucky one.”

The men began to laugh as Scott started pecking away at his keyboard.

“Let me see what I can find.”

Back at the casino, Daisy raised her hands high, bouncing the dice around her cupped palms.

“Come on, give me five,” she said, calling out the number she needed to roll to win the round of craps. “Mama needs a new pair of shoes!”

She tossed them and held her breath as the stickman raked the dice forward.

“You did it!” Alyssa yelled excitedly, pointing at the three and two that had been rolled. “You hit the point!”

The three women hugged each other as they jumped up and down excitedly.

“Lady’s a winner,” the casino employee said, adding to her stack of colorful chips.

“Do you want to roll again?” Grace asked.

“Nah. I say we cash out while ahead,” Daisy replied.

The other women agreed and soon, they were collecting their winnings at a nearby window, the attendant inside converting the chips to bills and sliding them across the counter.

“What should we do now?” Daisy questioned as she pulled out her phone to check her messages. She wasn’t surprised to see one from Austin, asking if she was okay. A warm feeling overtook her, bringing with it a wistful smile and sigh. It felt so good to not have just one Daddy protecting her, but three.

She was responding to his text while Alyssa answered her question, saying, “Y’all want to go to the spa? We probably need an appointment, but maybe they do walk-ins.”

“That sounds—” Grace stopped talking for a moment and then said, “Hey! That’s Selena!”

Daisy looked up from her phone to see the Little—wearing “big girl” clothes since they were away from Big Cedar—excitedly walking toward them.

“What are you doing here?” Alyssa asked.

“My Daddy took me on a little trip,” she replied with an excited giggle. “But he had to go back to our room to take a call. He’s always buying and selling. You know how the real estate game goes.”

Daisy didn’t, but she still smiled and nodded.

“Well, do you want to hang out with us while you wait on him?” Alyssa said.

“That would be great! Hey, have y’all seen the arcade yet?” Selena asked them.

“No. But we’ve been talking about going,” Grace replied.

“Let’s go! They have the coolest games,” Selena told her. “And I know a shortcut. The trick is to go outside rather than walk all the way through the buildings. This complex is huge, but there’s a little alley we can cut through. Come on.”

Daisy finished her text, telling Austin that they’d run into Selena, before tucking the phone back into her purse and hurrying away with her friends.

She hoped the Daddies were getting the answers they needed. Right now, though, for her, it was all about fun.

And she was having a blast!