by Meg Lacey
Alison nodded. "She always made time to talk to me. I could tell her stuff and she understood."
Tessa adjusted her hat as a beam of sunlight spiked through the trees. "You were very lucky to have her, Alison. I couldn't do that with my mother. She was always too busy with my dad, the house, or her committees, things like that."
Tessa felt as if she was a bug under a microscope as Alison considered her comment. "That's weird. Didn't she love you?"
"Oh yes, but…" Tessa wrinkled her nose, not sure how to express her thoughts. "I think she was reserved and afraid to show too much emotion, especially to her only girl. I don't know why. She was older when I was born, so maybe that had something to do with it. Times and attitudes were changing for women, but she was trying to raise me as if they weren't."
"My mom wouldn't have done that. She was cool," Alison pointed out, almost choking on the last word.
Tessa stopped and risked placing her hand on Alison's arm. "Alison, if something is bothering you and you want to talk, you can talk to me." At Alison's solemn look, she rushed on. "I know I'm not your mother, but I understand how hard it is to be your age. Sometimes one woman needs to talk to another." Tessa smiled as Alison seemed to fight against accepting anything from Tessa but eventually puffed with pride because she'd been called a woman. Without waiting for a response, Tessa said, "We'd better catch up with the others before the twins eat all the food. I'm surprised the picnic basket survived the trip in one piece."
"That's because Dad was protecting it."
"Then he's our hero," Tessa breathed in a rescued-heroine voice.
Alison laughed, a free joyous laugh that transformed her face into a young woman on the threshold of life. It was such a change from her normal sulky pout that Tessa blinked away a sudden tear, unable to say anything for a moment. She was tempted to comment on Ali's lovely smile, but was afraid it would disappear if she did so. Tessa cleared her throat, finally saying, "Let's get going." They set off, finding Danny and the kids in the promised clearing a short way ahead.
"Hey there, slowpokes," Danny said with a welcoming grin. "We thought we'd lost you."
"You wish," Alison teased, her good mood still holding. Her father rewarded her humor by gently tugging on her hair.
"We don't need Alison, Dad. She's just a girl," the twins yelled before grabbing Eric and dashing into the forest, with Alison and the rest of the girls accepting the challenge and taking off in hot pursuit.
"If we're lucky," Danny said in a mock stage whisper, "they won't come back and we can gorge ourselves on lunch."
Tessa laughed. "Keep dreaming, fireman. The minute those boys smell food, they'll trample us to get to it." She knelt to rummage in the tote bag. Extracting a blanket, she spread it on the ground before unpacking the picnic basket.
Danny knelt with her. "Let me help." Together they set out the food, Danny sneaking a taste from the covered dishes as he did so. "This pasta salad is great. I like all the vegetables you added."
"I have to sneak them in so the kids eat them without complaining."
"Well, this sure is better than peas in the macaroni," Danny said, taking another mouthful. "I'll call the monsters."
Laughing, Tessa pointed at the woods. "No need, here they come. I told you they'd smell the food."
One by one the kids trailed out of the woods. Upon spying the lunch they descended like locusts and proceeded to devour the turkey sandwiches, pasta salad, pickles, chips and lemonade. It took some effort, but Tessa and Danny finally managed to snag their own food. Tessa looked around at the happy kids before she caught Danny's gaze. She blushed at the warmth in his eyes as he shared the moment with her. She started to say something, but wasn't sure what to say, and Danny smiled. Luckily for Tessa, Eric interrupted, especially since Alison was watching them.
"What's for dessert, Mom?" Eric asked.
It took a moment for Tessa to pull herself together and throw out a teasing "What makes you think I brought dessert?"
"Because you always bring dessert."
Danny looked only a bit less expectant than the kids. "You brought dessert? What kind?"
Tessa pulled a covered plate from the bottom of the basket. With a flourish she removed the cover. "Great big homemade double-chocolate chip cookies."
"Wow, you're the best mom in the whole wide world," Josie yelled, reaching for a cookie.
"Don't grab, kids—there's enough for everyone." Tessa grinned and slapped Danny's hand as he reached for a second cookie. "Greedy."
Danny's expression changed from sexy tough male to that of a deprived child. "Did I ever tell you how much I love chocolate-chip cookies? How I haven't had homemade ones forever?"
Alison called him on the statement. "Dad, that isn't true. I made some last week."
"Honey, you can't compare chocolate-chip cookies you slice off a roll and bake to these masterpieces."
Alison stared at her father, the struggle over going along with the teasing or getting angry at a perceived slight obvious on her face, so Tessa jumped in to change the subject. "Everyone, put your plates and cups into the garbage bag." Watching as the kids obeyed, she asked, "What were you kids doing in the woods before? Exploring?"
"We're warriors and we're hunting because we're hungry and we have to feed the tribe," Kevin piped up.
"We can't find any food, so we're going to attack the fort," Kyle finished in a bloodthirsty manner.
"Who is in the fort?" Danny asked, idly licking chocolate off his fingers.
Kevin gave him an incredulous look. "The girls, of course."
Danny nodded. "Right. I should have guessed that."
Josie stood and brushed the crumbs from her shorts. "But we aren't going to let them win. Are we, girls?" Emma shook her head so hard that her ponytail bounced in a circle.
"Nope. Let's go," Alison said, dropping back into childhood as she raced into the woods with the two younger girls right behind her. The boys stayed only to grab another cookie before they took off in pursuit.
Danny cleaned up the rest of the mess while Tessa repacked the picnic basket. After watching Tessa fussing around for a few more minutes, he grabbed her arm and pulled her gently down to sit on the blanket next to him. "Relax. It's Sunday and my only Sunday off in quite a while."
"Do you like being a firefighter?"
"I never wanted to do anything else."
"All little boys want to be a fireman when they grow up, don't they?"
Danny chuckled. "Well, they sure do if they come from a family of firefighters."
"Did you?"
"Yes, my dad and before that my grandpa."
"Here in Warenton?"
"That's right. They weren't located in the same firehouse, but they were in the department. Grandpa died a few years ago." Danny's face grew taut with memory. "Dad died in a fire. A beam fell when he was rescuing a woman who'd been trapped in the bedroom. She made it, he didn't."
Tessa touched his arm. "I'm so sorry, Danny. Is your mother—" Tessa stopped, not able to go on, afraid of bringing up too many unhappy memories.
"Mom was here for a while, but it was hard for her. Finally she decided to move to Missouri to live with her sister, who was also widowed. They live on a horse farm a couple hours from St. Louis. The kids and I visit when we can, and she comes up here to see them." He leaned back on his elbow, propping his head on his hand. "How about you? Tell me about your family. Do they live in the area?"
Tessa shifted, clasping her arms around her raised knees. "No. They're in San Francisco now. Dad's a corporate executive. Mom is the perfect corporate wife. We lived in Chicago when I was in school. Right after I went away to college, Dad was promoted again into a position that included a lot of travel, and they move every three years."
"Did your husband work for the same company?"
"Ex-husband," Tessa corrected, her tone brittle. "Yes, that's where I met him. Dad introduced us. Colin was the up-and-coming young exec, so Dad thought he'd be suitable for his only d
aughter."
"But he wasn't?" Danny asked, a gentle look on his face.
"He was for a while. We were happy. He worked and I helped him move up the ladder. To our friends we were the perfect couple. I got pregnant with Eric. Thank goodness he was a boy. That's what Colin wanted, a little Mini-Me. Then Josie came along, and by then Colin was scarcely home. At least, he wasn't home in our house. It turns out he was at home in other women's houses."
"Is that why you divorced him?"
"Not completely," Tessa said, drawing out the words as she shook her head. "As the kids got older I wanted something else. I wanted to accomplish more than just throw successful parties for Colin's clients and hang out with suitable wives who bored me to death. I wanted to use my college degree for something more than just arranging flowers. I told Colin I wanted to start a business."
"How did he take it?"
"How do you think? He told me it would take too much time away from him. He wanted me at home. That was the beginning of the end, I guess."
"Well, I can see his point in a way. About staying home, I mean."
Affronted, Tessa turned to face Danny. "What do you mean?"
Danny sat up. "Well, the guy had a pretty intense career and he needed your help."
Pointing at her chest, Tessa said, "What about my needs? I needed something, too."
"Sure, I know. I only meant that maybe he had a good reas—"
"What about the affairs?" Tessa demanded. "I suppose he had a good reason for that, too. Like maybe I'm not pretty enough, or sexy enough, or…"
Danny reached a hand to cup her neck. "Now, hold on. I said nothing about the affairs. I was only pointing out that—"
"Stop pointing," Tessa said, pushing his hand away. "You know nothing about my life. I'm surprised you didn't say he should have chained me to the kitchen stove. That's probably what you did with your wife."
Cupping her shoulders, Danny said, "Hold on, there. I didn't make her do anything like that. Laurie was home because she wanted to be home. But I'm glad she was. That's the type of person a man like me needs."
"Because you're a firefighter?" Tessa rolled her eyes, "Oh please. I'm sure there are women with careers married to firemen."
Danny released her. "No, that's not why…well, not entirely…We had four kids. She wanted to be home with them. I was proud and happy that she wanted that life. She might have gotten a job sometime later when the kids were older, but meanwhile I—"
"Kept her chained to the stove, chained to the cribs and chained to the bed so she'd be available when you wanted her, I'll bet."
Danny laughed. "No, only chained to the bed."
Tessa leaped to her feet and grabbed the edge of the blanket. Tugging, she attempted to dislodge Danny. "Get up. It's time to go."
Grinning, Danny lay back and folded his arms under his head, the picture of confident amused male. "Make me."
Tessa tugged again, but couldn't move him. Infuriated by the conversation, she dropped to her knees and attempted to roll him off the blanket. It was like trying to move a boulder. "I said get up."
With a chuckle, Danny just lay there, an immovable object. Tessa didn't quit, though. With a mighty shove she moved him a bit, but lost her balance and fell on his chest. Promptly his arms came around her.
"Who said you weren't sexy? Your husband must have been an idiot."
Tessa struggled to get up, but Danny just laughed and held on. "Will you let me go!"
"Nope."
"I'm your sitter, for heaven's sake."
Danny winked. "You're not my sitter."
"You know what I mean." Placing her hands on his chest, Tessa reared back to look him in the face. Her anger faltered as she saw his smiling expression. Then she saw the look in his eyes change from playfulness to something warmer, something that caused her breath to catch in her throat.
"Danny," Tessa whispered. "Danny, what are you doing?"
"I don't know," Danny replied, his voice slow and deep. "All I know is I've wanted to hold you like this since you knocked on my door that first day looking as if you were afraid I'd bite."
"Danny, we can't do this."
"Tessa, we aren't doing anything. Yet," he added.
"We can't get involved. We have too much baggage."
Danny shifted so he could cup her face with his hands. "So we can unpack." Without either of them considering it further, they flowed together like a slowly moving creek. Their lips met tentatively at first, then as they became more comfortable, more firmly. It was a kiss of comfort, of friendliness, of companionship. Tessa wasn't sure when it changed. Their lips became more intense, but they both froze when they heard one of the kids yell.
"Hey, Mom, come see what we found," Eric called.
Tessa took advantage of Danny's loosened arms and jerked away. She struggled to sit up, but had problems because her arm was trapped under his body and her thin gold bracelet was tangled with one of Danny's shirt buttons. "Oh, for—"
Danny sat up, with Tessa still attached. With a sideways glance at the forest she pulled harder to untangle them. "Don't yank on it like that—you'll break the chain. Let me help."
"Oh, you've helped, all right. What were you thinking, kissing me?"
"I wasn't thinking."
"That much is obvious."
"I didn't notice you complaining."
"I—" Tessa stopped. "You took me by surprise."
"No, I didn't. You could have stopped me. All you had to do was say no."
Biting her lip, Tessa said, "Okay, you're right. Maybe I didn't want to say no."
"I know," Danny said, stroking her cheek. "I didn't want you to."
"Mom," Eric yelled again, running out of the woods toward the blanket with the twins and Alison behind him. "You have to come quick. There's this kitten and he's—" Eric stopped as if he'd been shot. "What are you doing?"
His question was echoed by Alison's shocked gasp and a terse question of her own. "Dad, what's going on here?"
Danny held up his hand. "It's not what you think, honey."
Unwilling to look up at the kids, Tessa echoed his denial. "No, it's not. My bracelet got caught in Danny's shirt button when I was trying to get him off the blanket." She prayed her hair wasn't as messy as she thought it might be from the suspicious look Alison cast her way.
"Uh-huh," Alison said in that noncommittal way that meant I don't believe a word of it. So much for the progress Tessa thought she was making with the girl.
Not looking at Tessa either, Danny laughed, trying to play off the awkward situation. "That'll teach me to try to steal some cookies. Tessa shoved me away and her bracelet got caught."
"Mom?" Eric shifted his attention back to his mother.
"He's right. I was trying to save some cookies for you guys so Danny didn't eat them all."
Two suspicious faces and the mischievous faces of the twins looked them over. At those looks Tessa yanked her arm away, breaking her bracelet, which tumbled onto the blanket.
"Ah, Tessa, look what you did. You broke it."
"It doesn't matter," Tessa said as she scrambled to her feet. It did, though. She'd been given that thin gold ID chain when she graduated from high school. As much as she regretted breaking it, she regretted the expression on the children's faces more.
Danny picked up the bracelet, tucking it into his pocket before walking over to the kids. "What's all this about a kitten?"
"He's stuck, Dad," Kyle said.
"He needs help." Kevin agreed.
Danny flexed his muscles like a strongman. "Then you came to the right place. Big tough fireman to the rescue." He glanced back at Tessa. "You coming?"
Tessa wasted no time joining them, asking Eric, "Is the kitten hurt?"
"We don't know, Mom. We can't get him out of the hole to see."
"Let's go, then."
The kids led the way following a path in the wood, veering off at a slight hill that descended into a patch of blackberry bushes with Josie and Emma sitting s
till as little mice beside it, peering into the brambles.
"He's down there," Alison said, pointing to the bushes.
Danny paused. "He's tangled in the thorns, you mean? I thought you said he was in a hole."
"He is. There's a hole in the ground in the middle of the bushes. Maybe an animal dug a den or something."
Tessa was right behind a muttering Danny as he scrambled down the hill, where he received an enthusiastic hug from Emma and another from Josie. To the children he was the big strong hero to the rescue, and if she was truthful with herself—to her, too.
"He's right in there, Daddy. You can see his eyes."
"He's all scared, Danny," Josie wailed, holding Danny's arm, releasing it only after he patted her hand.
"Don't worry." Danny grabbed a dead branch, then moved to the bushes. "All right, you guys, all of you stay out of the way and don't try to follow me. I'll get him out if I can."
"You hast to, Daddy," Emma begged. "He's lonely and crying. He can't find his mommy, either."
Tessa knelt to gather Emma and Josie into her arms. "Don't you worry, darling, your daddy will get him out."
"My daddy can do anything. Can't you, Daddy?"
With a sheepish grin, Danny had no choice but to nod. He pretended to push back his sleeves. "Stand back and marvel. The fireman is on the job." Using the branch as a machete, he pushed the blackberry stems aside as he stepped into the tangled branches.
Tessa winced as the thorns caught on Danny's shirt and tore at his skin. At one violent exclamation, Tessa said, "Cover your ears, kids." As Danny pushed farther into the thicket, a moment of silence ensued. Tessa peered into the bushes. "Danny, are you okay?"
"I'm okay. I found him."
"Can you get him out?"
"He's slipped down pretty far, but I think so." Another long moment passed with the kids all shifting and shuffling their feet as they waited. Finally they heard a pathetic meow.
"Got him," Danny called. "Ow, get your claws out of me, Fuzzface." Danny emerged from the brambles, his shirt torn, his arms and face scratched and bleeding and with a pathetic kitten holding on to him for dear life. "Here he is."
The excited kids all reached for the kitten, but Tessa got to him first. "Ah, the poor little guy."