“Well, bring it in here. I have something I want to talk to you about.”
That sounded ominous. The last time her father wanted to talk to her, it was to tell her about his engagement. An event he was happy about, but worried over how she would take it. She smiled at the memory. So silly. How could he ever think she’d be anything other than overjoyed that he’d found someone who made him happy? She’d been trying to get the stubborn man to date for years, but he’d refused, saying he needed to focus on her first.
Well, now she was out on her own. It was time for her father to see to his own happiness, and she was so glad that was happening. But the way he said they needed to talk…
It had an edge to it. Like he was dreading what he had to tell her.
Oh no!
Did something happen with Victoria? Worry filled her stomach. She hoped not. They both seemed so happy. What could have caused a rift? Her mind immediately jumped to Parker and her totally inappropriate attraction to him.
No. That couldn’t be it. First, she and Parker hadn’t done anything but some harmless flirting. Besides, how could her father or Victoria know about her silly crush? She was simply projecting. He probably just wanted to talk wedding stuff.
Then why did his voice sound all shaky and nervous just now? Like the time he had to talk to me about body changes and becoming a woman?
Whatever it was, she wasn’t going to find out standing in the entryway. Closing and locking the front door, she headed to the kitchen with the takeout. She placed the bag on the old wooden table full of nicks and marks from years of homework, art projects, and meals between her and her dad. She was pretty sure the table was older than she was, but it was solid. Her father had never been one to throw away something that still had use.
She hadn’t grown up with the amount of funds her dad’s future wife had, but she’d never gone hungry, and she’d always had a roof over her head and clothes on her back. There had been some tough times when his income had to cover everything from the mortgage to food to childcare, but they managed. And besides, Tamsen had always felt secure and loved, and that was way more important than wealth.
“What’s up, Dad?” she asked, taking the food out of the bag.
“Mmmmm.” Her father sniffed. “That smells delicious. What is it?”
He was stalling. “It’s lemon garlic chicken with roasted potatoes and dill carrots.”
His nose wrinkled. “Chicken? No steak?”
Removing the top from the takeout container, she slid his dinner over to him before opening her own. “No. Your doctor said you needed lean protein. You’re supposed to be cutting back on the red meat.”
He grunted. “Now you sound like Vikki.”
Good. She was glad his fiancée was also taking an active interest in his health. Tamsen’s approval of the woman jumped even higher.
“We both want you around for a lot more years, so stop griping and eat up or I won’t give you the chocolate lava cake I snuck in on my way out.”
That got her dad digging into his meal. They ate in silence for a while, enjoying the delicious food that the stellar cooks at 5280 Eats produced. Once her dad had gotten mostly through his meal, she pushed her empty plate away—she was always starving after a shift—and leaned forward.
“Okay, Dad. Spill it.”
“I’d rather eat it.” He lifted a forkful of chicken to his lips.
She groaned at his dad joke but pressed on. “I mean, what did you want to talk to me about?”
“Right, yes.” He cleared his throat, pushing his plate to the side as well. “Tamsen, as you know, Vikki and I are getting married in a few months.”
Oh, thank goodness. She let out a breath of relief. For a minute there, she’d been worried she’d have to use her art skills to spray paint “Victoria sucks” on the woman’s Lamborghini. If she had a Lamborghini. Honestly, Tamsen had no idea, but she did know if that woman ever hurt her father, there’d be hell to pay.
“And once we get married, that is, I’ve decided…I mean, Vikki and I have agreed that it’s best if we, being a married couple and planning on living together and all, take a new step together as we join our lives by…you see the thing is—”
“Dad, spit it out before the lava cake goes bad.” And people said she rambled when nervous. Wonder where she could have gotten that from?
“I’m going to sell the house.”
Tamsen sat back in shock. Her dad watched her with careful eyes. He was selling the house? The home she grew up in. Where she’d spent every birthday, every Christmas. The place she always felt safe and secure no matter what was going on in her chaotic life.
“Oh.”
His hand reached out to cover hers. “Are you okay, pumpkin?”
Was she? Logically, a part of her knew that he would eventually sell the house. The tiny three-bedroom bungalow with one bathroom and one car garage couldn’t be what Victoria was used to. She didn’t begrudge her father moving on with his new life. But her heart broke the tiniest bit knowing the place she’d always called home would belong to someone else.
Realizing she’d been silent too long, she pasted a bright smile on her face, waving her father’s concern away. “Of course I am. I’ll admit I’m a little bit sad, but I know Victoria probably has a much nicer home for you two to live in.”
“Actually, we’re going to buy a new place together. Start off fresh for both of us.”
Oh. That sounded…lovely. And it eased a small part of her hurt to know her father’s fiancée wasn’t expecting him to make all the changes. She wondered if Parker knew his mom was selling her home. Was it Parker’s childhood home? Would he feel the same loss she was feeling right now? She really didn’t know much about him. Except for the fact that he was a firefighter, a worthy trivia opponent, and made her panties go up in flames with a single glance.
All very important facts.
“You’re really not upset about me selling the house?”
Now it was her turn to place a hand on her father’s. “Really. I figured you’d sell it someday. I’m happy to know it’s because you found someone you love and not because you’re retiring to Florida.”
He laughed. “With all those bugs and the humidity? Not in this lifetime. You know I get cranky when it’s hot out.”
She laughed. Her dad was such a snowdog. He’d be as excited as a kid on their birthday with the first snow of every season. Come wintertime, it was hard to drag the man inside. He was like Frosty the Snowman come to life.
She served up the chocolate lava cake. It was one big piece, so she cut it in half and split it with her dad like always, wondering if she’d need to get two pieces to bring over when her dad and Victoria got married. Or if she’d even need to bring him dinner anymore.
Probably not. A bittersweet melancholy filled her. She was happy her dad had someone to love him and keep him company, but it was going to be strange not being the most important woman in her dad’s life anymore.
“I also have a favor to ask.”
She scooped up a giant bite of the cake and pointed her spoon at him. “Need help packing up? Sure.”
“No.” Her father shook his head. “I mean, yes, I’ll probably ask you to come by and sift through some things when the time comes. See if there’s anything you’d like to keep.”
Keep? Was he planning on getting rid of a lot of stuff? Her dad? It stood to reason. He was getting a new wife, a new house, practically a new life. Of course he’d want new stuff to go with it. It just wasn’t something she was used to from her frugal father.
“Vikki asked if you’d be willing to ask Parker something. Artist to artist.”
“Parker is an artist?” She thought he was a firefighter.
Silly, she was an artist and a waitress. Stood to reason Parker could be both an artist and a firefighter. Most artists had day jobs, though
she assumed with Parker’s family money he didn’t need an extra income.
“Does she want us to paint something for the wedding?” More time with Parker, exactly what she didn’t need.
Her father shook his head. “No, Parker isn’t a visual artist. According to Vikki, he’s a musician.”
Cool. She loved musicians. She often put on music when she painted. It spoke to her soul and she often found her art reflecting the mood of the playlist.
Of course he’d be a musician, too. She sighed, shoving down her growing sexual frustrations. A hero firefighter, funny, sexy, and he had a creative soul? Why? Why was the universe doing this to her? Why couldn’t Parker have one freakin’ flaw she could point out to stop making the unattainable man so damn tempting?
It just wasn’t fair.
“Or he was a musician. He hasn’t…” Her dad hesitated. “She said he hasn’t played his guitar in years, and she misses it. She desperately wants him to pick it back up. According to Vikki, it always made him smile, and she would love it if he performed at the wedding. As a gift, for her.”
“For both of you.” Because she knew making his future wife smile would make her dad happy.
“Yes, both of us.” Her dad nodded.
“I can try.” Though how she was going to convince him when his own mother couldn’t was a mystery to her. “Maybe I can appeal to him. One artist to another.”
“Thank you, pumpkin. We really appreciate it. It’s very kind of you to help your brother.”
“Ew, Dad, no.” She pushed her half-eaten cake away. “He’s not my brother.”
“Okay, I know it’s not like you two will bond like real siblings, like me and your uncle Ray, but I’m hoping you can be friends.”
Friends. Yes, that’s exactly what she wanted to be with a man she was intensely attracted to.
“I’m sure we can. Parker seems like a great guy.” A great, hot, sexy, funny, smart, untouchable guy.
“Well, we already know he’s hero material.”
He motioned to her, referencing the cast incident she wished she could forget. Parker has seen my boobs! It would haunt her for years.
“And Vikki thinks the world of him.”
As most mothers did with their children. Tamsen thought a lot of him, too.
Mostly naked.
While she painted him.
With her tongue.
Her pulse started to race. Oh boy, she really had to stop thinking of Parker like that. Especially around her dad.
They spent the rest of the evening talking about her dad’s job at the library, the new manager position she was up for at the restaurant, and the theme of the gallery showcase she was working on presenting to her boss at the gallery she interned at.
And that brought her right back around to thinking about Parker.
Hmmmm, she wondered if she could add his human form to her show.
No. Bad. That’s a naughty, naughty Tamsen.
She drove back to her apartment, trying to focus on all the plates she was juggling instead of what Parker would look like naked. But as she sat down to work on some sketches, she found all her hands wanted to do was draw the man in question. His strong jawline, his full lips, the tiny crinkle at the corner of his eyes when he smiled, the tilt of his head and slight amusement that curled the corner of his lips when she went off on one of her tangents.
By the time she was ready to hit the sack, she had page after page of Parker staring up at her from her sketchpad.
“Dammit, brain. We. Can. Not. Have. Him.”
She flopped down on her bed with a sigh.
No, she couldn’t sleep with Parker, but there was nothing saying she couldn’t draw him. Maybe even do a small painting? And there was certainly nothing she could do if her subconscious decided to have wild, naked, sexy-time dreams about him. She couldn’t control what her brain did when she was sleeping.
Figuring she’d let whatever happen while she slept happen, she got ready for bed and turned out the lights. Tomorrow she’d see about getting in touch with Parker, and somehow, she’d find a way to plan a party for their parents without ripping his clothes off and jumping his bones.
As for tonight…
She smiled, sighing softly as her eyes closed and visions of Parker laying on a chaise lounge with nothing but a silk sheet covering his good bits while she stood across the room capturing his raw beauty with her brush filled her mind.
What happened in dreamland, stayed in dreamland.
Chapter Eight
Parker gave the bathroom sink one more swipe before he declared it clean enough for his standards. Which was a lot cleaner than some of his fellow firefighters would give it. That was why he didn’t mind bathroom duty at the station. He’d rather have a spotless area to clean up in after a call. Nothing clung to your body like ash and smoke.
He was halfway through his twenty-four-hour shift, and so far, it’d been a relatively quiet one. They’d gone to a local elementary school for a safety demonstration this morning. Always a good time. What kid didn’t love firefighters? He always felt like a superhero around kids. They stared with such wonder and awe, like he and his friends put out fires with sheer willpower instead of gallons of water spewing from hoses.
Honestly, it was a visiting fire crew to his elementary school way back when that first sparked his interest in the job. He could have sworn the men and women who came that day were ten feet tall, all muscles and friendly smiles, regaling the students with stories of running into burning buildings to save people, while teaching them the dangers of fire and how to respect it. He’d never been so excited in all his eight years.
That day he’d run into the house after school and declared his intent to be a firefighter when he grew up. His mother had worried but encouraged him in his dream. His father…that asshole let his only child know how “beneath him” a civil servant job was.
Like his father was one to talk. He was a defense attorney for the rich and shitty. The man spent his days getting billionaires and their kids out of trouble that should have landed them behind bars. But money was power, as his father liked to say. Jackass. Thankfully, his dad moved to Napa Valley a few years after the divorce. Parker hadn’t seen him in years.
Good fucking riddance.
Tucking the cleaning supplies back under the bathroom sink, he washed his hands, stomach growling with hunger. Hopefully Ward wasn’t cooking tonight. That man could burn water. Everyone at the station took turns cooking meals, but when it came to Ward, they usually all agreed to takeout.
“Hey, Kincaid.”
Speak of the devil.
Ward popped his head into the bathroom. “You got a visitor.”
That was unusual. No one came to see him at the station.
“Who?”
The corners of Ward’s mouth ticked up in a smartass grin. “Your future sister.”
Tamsen. He sucked in a sharp breath, his heart rate kicking up. What was Tamsen doing here?
“Stepsister. And wipe that shit-eating grin off your face, ass. Unless you’re cooking tonight and it means you’ve already tasted dinner.”
Ward flipped him off. “Tanner is cooking tonight.”
Oh, thank all the taste buds in creation. Tanner’s husband was a fantastic chef who shared tips with his spouse. Suddenly Parker’s mouth watered in anticipation of the night’s meal. Once he stepped out of the bathroom and into the main living area of the firehouse, his mouth watered for a different reason.
Tamsen stood in the middle of what they called the lounge area. A couch and three recliners faced a five-year-old flat screen someone had donated. She smiled at him as he came into the room. Her long dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail, the end swaying as she moved. She had some kind of long, flowy tunic type shirt on. The dark blue color of her shirt deepened the blue of her eyes, but somehow brigh
tened them at the same time. Her legs were encased in neon purple leggings that ended just above her calf, elongating the short woman’s stature in that magical way clothing managed to change people’s proportions. And since she sported a pair of pink sandals, he could see the sexy little toe ring on her right foot. The green gem winking at him as it caught the overhead lights.
The sight caused his body to tense. Damn, she was beautiful when she smiled. She was gorgeous no matter what, but when she smiled, it was like a light switch. It brightened up the entire room even if it was the sunniest part of the day.
“Hey, Parker.” She gave a little wave with one hand, the other holding a plate covered with foil.
“Tamsen, what are you doing here?” He walked over to her, shoving all the weird feelings she stirred in him to the side and giving her a friendly smile. “Not that I’m not happy to see you, but I wasn’t expecting a visit.”
“I know I should have texted, but I forgot to plug my phone in last night and realized it was dead on my way to work. But I remember you said you were on shift today when we talked at trivia the other night, so I figured I’d stop by and if you weren’t here I’d just leave the…”
She trailed off with a little laugh. Parker just stared at her with a huge grin. He couldn’t help it. He found her nervous rambling adorable.
“Cookies!” she declared, lifting the plate in the air.
“Cookies?”
“Yes, I made cookies for you.” A blush rose on her cheeks, and her blue eyes widened. “I mean not just for you. They’re for everyone. As a thank-you. To you and the others who helped me out of…you know. A little token of my appreciation. For everyone.”
He took it from her hands, peeling back the silver foil. The rich smell of chocolate chips wafted from the pile of cookies. His stomach growled, reminding him again of his hunger.
“You bake?”
“I learned to cook in middle school after one too many nights of my dad’s overcooked mac and cheese. I love him, but that man makes food even a starving dog wouldn’t eat.”
The Wedding Dilemma (Mile High Firefighters) Page 7