Flames of Love

by Erin Wright

  “Oh, Chief Anderson,” the portly mayor said, easing his considerable bulk up from his chair and hurrying around his desk to shake his hand. “Thanks for stopping by. And thanks for your help with my son. Take a seat.”

  He gestured to one of the chairs angled in front of his desk, moving back around to sit behind its polished surface. Jaxson noticed the unspoken body language – the mayor was, consciously or not, using his desk to emphasize his position as mayor. Did he equate power with his political position? Or was he in it to help others?

  Jaxson hadn’t interacted much with the mayor up to this point – he just hadn’t been in town long enough, really – so he simply slotted the body language away for later analysis.

  “I wanted to talk to you a little bit about your son,” Jaxson said evenly, keeping eye contact with the mayor as he spoke. “I ran with a pretty rough crowd as a teen, and made a lot of mistakes. I was angry, and was taking it out on the world. Is there anything going on at home to cause Angus to act out?”

  The mayor shook his head, his jowls swinging with the movement. “No, everything’s normal at home. He just hit those hormonal years, I guess, because he’s been near impossible for a while now.”

  Jaxson wanted to pry more, but he wasn’t exactly a family therapist, and even if he was, the mayor wasn’t his client. It was best to leave any further discussion about difficulties at home out of it.

  “Well, there’s a program across the nation called the National Junior Firefighter Program,” he told the mayor. “Basically, it’s the firefighter version of the ROTC. Usually, you can start training to become a firefighter when you’re only 16. You don’t get paid – it’s strictly volunteer work when you’re in high school – but it’s a good way of trying out the field before deciding to become a full-time firefighter. Plus, it keeps you busy and out of trouble. You can’t smoke pot if you’re at a training meeting and learning how to put out fires.”

  “You think Angus ought to do this?” the mayor asked.

  “I do. I’d like to expand the program to more teens over time – truth be told, our firefighting department is suffering from the same thing that most volunteer departments are suffering from: Our average age of volunteer firefighters is hovering around the retirement age. When the older men age out and can no longer serve, we only have a handful of guys left who can take a call in case of a fire breaking out. Moose, Levi, Troy, Dylan, and Luke are all younger but most of the rest of them are old enough to be my dad, or even my grandfather. Building up this program could only be a good thing for this community. We can sell it as your son being the trial run, rather than this is punishment for destroying one of the historical landmarks in town.”

  The mayor grimaced at that. He’d told Jaxson over the phone that morning that no one had dared to tell him that it was his son who’d caused that fire; according to the mayor, he’d never been told they’d caught the culprits. He had no idea his son was involved.

  Jaxson wasn’t entirely sure he believed that line; it was possible, of course, but he also wondered if it was a small-town case of “Don’t ask, don’t tell.” No one told the mayor the truth, because they knew the mayor didn’t want to hear it.

  Jaxson was just enough of an outsider to upset this delicate balance, and just obstinate enough to be willing to do it. Chances were, this was going to eventually cost him, but on the other hand, ignoring the situation and trying to lay low got him a deputy chief who he had to fire, a burnt-out shell of a building, and a town full of people who thought that he didn’t know his ass from his head.

  He was done playing nice. If he got fired, at least he’d be able to leave town with his head held high, knowing he did his best.

  “Let’s do it,” the mayor said. “My son can start after school next week. Do you think we ought to let him out so he can get to class?” He asked the question with a hopeful note in his voice, and Jaxson ground his back teeth in frustration.

  “Well, he’s your son,” Jaxson pointed out. Captain Obvious, reporting for duty. “But I think maybe a day to cool his heels and think about things wouldn’t go amiss.”

  “Right, right.” The mayor bobbed his head in agreement. Jaxson wondered again about the dynamic between father and son, and if anyone else at home played into the picture. The mayor swore up, down, and sideways that he didn’t know about his son’s behavior and was appalled by it, but when it came to actually punishing the kid in any fashion, he seemed reluctant to do so.

  Jaxson stood. “I better go get cleaned up.” He gestured at his rumpled clothes, flour dusted on them. “Been…a rough morning.” He decided to leave out the part where he was wearing his clothes from the day before, hadn’t taken a shower yet that morning, and then had ended up in a flour bath because of Sugar’s baking skills.

  He figured that was a story he could leave out for the time being.

  He headed out of City Hall and back to his apartment. He could get cleaned up, head back to work – hopefully with no citizen’s arrests along the way – and then tonight, he got to pick his boys up. They were back to their regularly scheduled weekends, and it was his turn.

  Should he introduce Sugar to the boys as his girlfriend? His gut twisted at the thought – from excitement or sheer panic, Jaxson couldn’t be sure. They both felt about the same to him at the moment.

  It was a pretty fast move, considering they’d just officially started dating about twelve hours ago, but on the other hand, the boys were damn in love with Hamlet. They’d spend the whole weekend asking when they would get to see “Scooby-Doo,” as they insisted on calling him, if he didn’t have her come over. And if he had her come over and she was within arm’s reach, he didn’t figure he’d be able to keep his hands off her, even if it just meant holding her hand.

  No, it was time to tell the boys, caution be damned.

  Chapter 30

  Sugar

  Sugar took a deep breath. She was terrified, which was ridiculous. These were small children, not serial killers.

  But she’d never officially met someone else’s kids as their father’s girlfriend before. She steadfastly refused to acknowledge the last time she’d come over to the Anderson’s house with Hamlet in tow – that hadn’t been intentional. Plus, she really hadn’t been dating their dad at the time.

  Now she was.

  She raised her hand and knocked on the door. She heard a scramble of feet and indistinct voices, then a shout of, “I’m older!” before the door flew open to reveal Aiden.

  “Hi, Aiden the Elder,” Sugar said with a laugh. He shot her a confused look, clearly not understanding the reference, and then spotted Hamlet next to her.

  “Scooby-Doo!” he yelled, launching himself at Hamlet. Hamlet’s tail was wagging a million miles an hour, and she swore he had a doggie grin on his face. Maybe she wasn’t the only one who was getting lonely at night.

  “We better come in before we let out all the heat,” Sugar said, tugging once on Hamlet’s leash. He obediently moved forward into the small apartment, dragging Aiden along with him as if he weighed nothing at all. Once inside, he sat down to patiently receive all of the happy, adoring love the two boys could pour on him.

  With the kids sufficiently distracted, Sugar unclipped Hamlet’s leash and walked over to Jaxson, looping it around him and pulling him towards her. His eyes lit up and he looked down at her like a famished man at a banquet table.

  “Hey there, beautiful,” he murmured, pulling Sugar into his arms. She snuggled up happily against him, then leaned back, daring him to kiss her. She shouldn’t – she knew she shouldn’t – but she couldn’t help herself.

  His eyes shot over to the boys, still loving on Hamlet, and back down to her. “With an invitation like that,” he breathed, and then his mouth covered hers and he was pulling her against him, his hands cradling her head, a low growl of pleasure in his throat.

  “Daaaaadddddd!” one of the boys howled. Sugar was too dazed to pin the voice down. She jerked her head back, her face alread
y a brilliant red. She spun on her heel and gave the boys a weak smile.

  Before she could figure out what to say, Jaxson said softly, “I changed my mind, you guys. I’m dating Sugar after all.”

  Frankie began jumping up and down. “Does this mean we get to pet Scooby-Doo every weekend?” he cried, a huge grin practically swallowing his face whole.

  “Every other weekend,” Aiden corrected him, as only an older brother would, and then turned back to his dad. “Does this mean she’s going to start sleeping here?” he demanded, crossing his arms in what could only be described as a miniature version of Jaxson. She’d seen that exact same disgruntled look on his face more than once.

  “Well now, I’m not sure,” Jaxson said. “We hadn’t talked about it. Do you want her to?”

  Aiden shook his head furiously. “You’re our dad. I don’t wanna share.”

  Frankie, picking up on the cues from his older brother, struck a similar pose. Sugar’s heart twisted inside of her and she felt slightly ill. After they’d had so much fun together the last time, she’d somehow convinced herself that they would be excited to have her there.

  Turns out, she’d been wrong.

  Jaxson dropped to his knees in front of his boys and put a hand on each of their shoulders. “Aiden, Frankie, I want you to hear me. Listen closely and remember, okay?” At their nods, he continued. “I’m always going to be your dad. No matter what happens, no matter who I date, or even someday, if I marry someone. None of that matters when it comes to being your dad. I love you two with all my heart and soul, and that’s never gonna change.” They both nodded slowly, and Sugar’s gut twisted. They shouldn’t have moved so fast. The boys were obviously worried about this, and she wasn’t happy that she’d caused them so much concern. “But guys, that doesn’t mean that I can’t date someone else. Dating Sugar doesn’t mean I love you less.”

  Aiden screwed up his mouth and Sugar could tell he wasn’t buying this line of logic.

  Maybe she shouldn’t get involved. These weren’t her kids. She didn’t have any kids at all. But she felt like she could connect some dots between what Jaxson was saying and what Aiden was hearing, so girding up her loins, she knelt down beside Jaxson.

  She looked Aiden in the eye and said quietly, “Some people think that love is like a pie – if you love someone, that takes up a portion of the pie, and you can’t love anyone else with that part of the pie. But it isn’t true. You two love your mom, right?” They both nodded eagerly, their eyes fastened on her as she spoke. She swallowed the fear inside of her, and plunged on. “Just because you love your mom doesn’t mean that you can’t love your dad, right? You love them both.”

  Aiden’s eyes began to light up with understanding. “I love my best friend Isaac, too,” he told her.

  “And the more time you spend around Hamlet, the more you’re going to love him,” she said with a grin. “Just because you love your mom and your dad and your best friend doesn’t mean you can’t love Hamlet too, right?”

  “He’s the nicest dog in the whole world,” Frankie said loyally. He’d draped himself over Hamlet, and her dog was taking it stoically, as if his weight was barely noticeable.

  Of course, Frankie was so small, his weight probably was barely noticeable.

  “He really is,” Sugar agreed. “So you see, your dad is the same way. He can love you guys and other people too.” She didn’t dare say “and me,” because wouldn’t that just be presumptuous. He hadn’t told her that he loved her, and even if he felt that way, it was way too damn early in the relationship to say it.

  “Do you love Sugar, Daddy?” Aiden asked.

  Of course he asked that. Sugar wanted to bury her head and groan.

  “Sugar and I have just started dating,” Jaxson told his sons. “I’ll be sure to tell you if we get to that point.”

  Aiden nodded, accepting that idea without further question. Sugar swallowed hard, her stomach finally loosening up. The first hurdle was over, but with such brilliant kids, she was pretty sure there were more questions to come.

  She could only fervently hope to be absent the day they started asking where babies came from. Maybe she could pretend a bakery emergency had happened – Batman, we’ve run out of muffins! Quick, to the bakery! – and run out the door.

  They were four and six years old. She figured that was totally believable.

  Speaking of…

  “You guys want to visit where I work?” At the boys’ skeptical looks, identical down to the arched eyebrows, she clarified, “The Muffin Man. It’s a bakery in town.” They still just stared. “Where we make donuts and cakes and stuff.”

  “Ohhhh!” they exclaimed in unison. “Can we, Daddy? Please?”

  It was Saturday morning, which meant that Holli was manning the front counter. A high schooler, she could only work on the weekends, but Sugar was happy to give her the hours. It seemed like Sugar lived there as it was. It was nice to have the weekends off.

  “I have an employee discount, so it’s my treat,” Sugar told Jaxson. She left out the part where she was doing her damndest to buy the boys’ affection. She figured that was probably obvious to Jaxson anyway. Never let it be said that she was above bribery, because she totally wasn’t. Not that Jaxson would have much room to complain, Mr. Bring Donuts to the Jail to Bribe Angus.

  Jaxson’s mouth quirked up around the edges, but he didn’t protest. Quite the opposite, actually. “I think I can be persuaded to eat some of Gage’s baking,” he said, patting his perfectly flat stomach. “If I keep this up, I’m gonna be as big as Hamlet soon, but at least I’ll be happy!”

  The boys laughed hard at the ridiculous idea, and Jaxson reached out and ruffled their hair. “Go on and get dressed,” he said. “It’s cold out there, and since Sugar has convinced me to walk everywhere, I figured we’d just walk on down to the bakery.”

  “I get to walk Scooby-Doo!” Frankie yelled, scrambling to his feet.

  “I get to walk him on the way back!” Aiden countered as they ran down the hall to their bedroom to change.

  “Nice save,” Sugar said, turning on her knees to face her boyfriend.

  Boy, that had a nice ring to it.

  “Thanks. I wish I could say that your obvious ploy to buy my sons’ love and affection through sweets doesn’t have an ice cube’s chance in hell of succeeding, but hey, they’re my kids. They’re easily bought.”

  “Is that how I won you over?” Sugar whispered, leaning forward, licking her lips, staring at his mouth hungrily. He wasn’t the only one easily won over. Jaxson was a hell of a kisser, and she was quickly learning that she just couldn’t get enough of him.

  “It mighta helped,” he admitted, and then began kissing her, his tongue sweeping inside, growling in possession and lust.

  As Sugar kissed him back, her fingers curling into his dark brown hair, she figured that it didn’t really matter how she won him over. The point was, he was hers, and that was all that mattered.

  A small voice asked ever so quietly, “But what happens when he finds out the truth about you?” She’d gotten so good at ignoring that question, it was hardly a challenge to push it away and ignore it. With any luck at all, he never would.

  And Sugar figured she’d be just fine with that.

  Chapter 31

  Jaxson

  “Okay, you’re going to use the back of your hand to feel the door, like this,” Jaxson said, laying the back of his hand up against the door.

  “Why the back of my hand?” Angus asked, tossing his dyed black hair to the side to get it out of his eyes. Jaxson wasn’t sure what the attraction to this haircut was – it dropped all of Angus’ hair into his eyes, and then he spent half of his day trying to get it back out of his eyes.

  Jaxson had to say that he was glad he wasn’t a teenager anymore. Shit that made perfect sense to him then didn’t make a lick of sense to him now.

  “Because the palm of your hand might have calluses or something else to block feeling. If the fire
isn’t very large yet, the door may only be slightly warm. The smallest thing can keep you from being able to sense that, and you could be in trouble because of it.”

  Angus nodded, his mouth screwed up in concentration as he laid the back of his hand against Jaxson’s office door, mimicking his movement.

  Just then, the man door to the fire station opened up, and Sugar popped her head around the corner. “Oh hi, Angus!” she called out when she spotted them. She came hurrying in, shutting the door to the wind and snow blowing in behind her. “I didn’t know you were here.” Her ponytail swished as she made her way over, and Jaxson pulled her to him, wrapping his hand around her silky dark brown hair to trap her in place.

  “Why, hello Ms. Sugar,” he growled, and leaned down to kiss her. After a few quite amazing spit-swapping moments, Sugar pulled back, a delightful blush covering her cheeks.

  “We have an audience,” she murmured, embarrassed. Jaxson looked up to see the man door close behind Angus. He’d made a run for it.

  Jaxson laughed. “Not anymore!” he said. Sugar looked around, startled to realize that Angus had left. “Teenage boys are allergic to adults kissing,” he told her. “They break out into hives at the first sign of it.”

  She rolled her eyes, laughing. “Hmmm…you might be right,” she said with a wicked grin. “I never realized what power I held.”

  “Oh, you hold all sorts of power in your hands,” Jaxson said, lifting her hands to his mouth to kiss the backs of them. He swore he could practically see her melt into a puddle in front of him. His chest puffed out with pride. Making her feel good made him feel good.

  “Want to go out to dinner with me in Franklin?” he asked impulsively. “I don’t have the boys this weekend, so we could actually go to a restaurant that doesn’t serve hot dogs or pizza.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.