The Firefighter to Heal Her Heart

by Annie O'Neil

  As she spoke to her parents to let them know about her change of plans she watched as Jack expertly unclipped Liam’s travel seat, a single muscled arm smoothly moving him from car to truck before securing all of the appropriate buckles in his backseat with barely a flutter from her son’s sleeping lashes. She grabbed the enormous tote bag she’d hurriedly packed moments before they had left the house. It contained more of Liam’s things than her own. Looking after herself had come a distant second over the past two years and this morning had been no different.

  “You’re going to have to forgive the mess, I’m afraid.” Jack sent an apologetic glance toward the front cab of the truck. “Regulation dictates we keep it free of excess materials, but regulation doesn’t take into account a man’s hunger when on call twenty-four hours a day!”

  “Don’t worry about it.” Liesel found herself strangely relieved to see the jumble of empty soft-drink cans and tomato-ketchup packets lying about the cab. It took the superhero edge off, making him the tiniest bit more human.

  “Here, let me take that for you.”

  She felt her mega-sized tote being lifted out of her hands as if it didn’t weigh a thing and watched as Jack deposited it in the backseat on top of what looked like a regulation issue CFS duffel.

  “It’s not all mine, I promise.” She scrunched her face at the memory of going through Liam’s room at high speed this morning, covering every single option for what her son might or might not need for the next forty-eight hours. She liked to be prepared. Some would say overprepared, but this morning’s tire disaster was proof you just couldn’t plan for everything. Not even a run-in with a handsome fireman who’d danced in and out of her subconscious last night.

  “Right!” Jack smiled across at her as she climbed into the front of the cab. “Where are we headed, Miss Adler?”

  “The Northern Hills, if that’s all right. Near the Kangaroo Creek Reservoir.”

  “No problem. The station where we’re doing the training is just across the reservoir from you, at Houghton. You all buckled up?”

  Uncertainty flickered through her eyes as he spoke and Jack tutted when he saw her glancing at the door handle, as if second-guessing her decision to accept a lift into town.

  “Don’t worry, love. I don’t bite. You’re getting a certified rescue.” Turning off the jokey voice, he continued, “If you like, I can call it in to the station. Just so we’re all on the up-and-up.” He reached for the in-cab radio.

  “It’s all right. Sorry, sorry. It’s just been a bit of a mad dash this morning and now with the tire—”

  “Even better that you’re catching a ride, then. Not good to be behind a wheel when you’re stressed. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.”

  Much to her surprise, Liesel found herself doing just that. Conversation with Jack was easy and after a few more “Miss Adlers” she managed to convince him to call her Liesel. Despite her initial reservations in riding along with him, she found her trust in this man deepening as the kilometers glided past.

  “Will you and the little fella be hitting the town tonight? There are some nice places around where you are.”

  Liesel laughed at the idea of going out. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been out for dinner, let alone feeling as if she was “out on the town.”

  “Hardly. It’s just going to be me, Liam and some Saturday-night television, I’m afraid. All very boring.”

  “Why don’t you let me take you out?”

  Liesel caught her breath at the words, eyes widened in surprise.

  “Both of you, I mean. Training stops at five. We could go for an early tea and I’ll get you back before the little man’s bedtime.”

  Liesel checked her instinct to immediately say no. The butterflies soaring round her tummy were already clinking icy glasses of Pinot Grigio on a restaurant patio with him. The scared, desperate-to-be-wrapped-in-cotton-wool side? Firemen were still in the no-go zone. For her son.

  “Thanks, but I don’t think we should. The whole reason we’re going to Adelaide is to look after Mum and Dad’s cherished poodle.” She found herself embellishing the task, detailing for him the great attention to detail her parents lavished on Moxy.

  “Sounds like they should have called her Cleopatra or the Queen of Sheba.”

  Liesel laughed in agreement, treating herself to another sidelong glance at Jack. He was a good guy and the fact he wasn’t pushing her was something to appreciate. Actually, it went beyond that. For the first time in ages Liesel was enjoying the simple pleasure of having a normal conversation.

  Normal.

  She’d been craving that sensation for a long time now. Since Eric had died it was hard to know what normal was. Hard to know when someone wasn’t treating her like a bereaved single mum or just as her old self—footloose, worry-free, globe-trotting, fun-loving Liesel.

  If someone had told her she’d find “normal” sitting in the cab of a pickup next to a ridiculously fit fireman in the heart of Australia’s wine country, she would have laughed herself silly.

  She leaned against the window, hoping he couldn’t tell she was looking at him through her dark sunglasses. Again.

  No doubt about it. He was gorgeous, of the good old-fashioned hunky fireman variety. He probably had girls hitting on him all the time. She was guessing her permanently rumpled appearance made her “friend” material rather than a possible girlfriend. Not that she had imagined dating him. Or kissing those full lips of his, or rubbing a cheek along that silky-soft stubble lining his face before stealing another cheeky kiss... Liesel! Stop it!

  She pressed her lips together. Hard.

  “C’mon.” She heard Jack’s teasing voice from the other side of the cab. “It’ll be fun. We could even start our chocolate shake quest early. I know a place Liam would love.”

  “Sorry, Jack.” Liesel fixed her gaze straight ahead. “I really think we ought to stay in.”

  Jack gave his head a quick shake. She sure was making asking her out difficult. And given the fact he wasn’t on the hunt for a girlfriend, it was pretty weird he was pushing so hard. No. That wasn’t true. He knew exactly why he was pushing so hard. He wanted to get to know her. Plain and simple.

  His let his fingers run round the leather steering wheel, before glancing in the rearview mirror at Liesel’s peacefully sleeping son. A son. He’d hardly thought about having a girlfriend, let alone a wife. Children, future heirs to the Keller dynasty? They were all wisps of cloud in his imagination. There was nothing plain and simple about his life right now and, from the looks of things, not in Liesel’s, either.

  He should let it go. Leave Liesel in peace to have her quiet night by the television. They drove on in silence, each seemingly absorbed in their own thoughts.

  “What’s that?” Jack’s eyes darted around the cab at the sound of a popular sixties tune coming from the footwell.

  “It’s my ringtone, sorry.” Liesel dug furiously in her bag to end the blaring tones, glancing back anxiously at Liam, whose eyes only blinked open and closed quickly before he drifted back to sleep.

  “Bit of a hippie, are you?”

  “Used to be.” Liesel glanced up at him, a flicker of mischief flashing across her feline eyes before she pushed the “accept” button on her phone. “Hello?”

  Jack glanced across, unable to hear the words of the caller, but the high-octane delivery and Liesel’s raised eyebrows indicated it wasn’t a pleasure call.

  “Cassie, I need you to slow down. How big is the burn?”

  Jack’s attention level shot up a few notches. Burns went with fires. He tapped Liesel’s arm, gesturing that he could turn around if she needed. She shook her head, clearly focused on the caller’s rapid-fire explanation.

  “We’ve got to establish the depth of the burn, all right?”

  Jack was impr
essed with the calm in her voice. She had initially struck him as quite a timorous, shy little thing, but the steady, capable voice he heard now showed him a whole other side to the enigmatic Miss Liesel Adler.

  “Is it just red and glistening or are there any blisters?”

  Jack pulled the truck onto the hard shoulder. Liesel shot him a quick look of gratitude. It was fleeting, but just the grateful glimpse from those expressive eyes puffed up his pride a bit. He wasn’t sure how she did it, but he wanted to make sure he earned the gratitude her look had expressed.

  “Have you put anything on it yet, Cassie?”

  Cassie. The name rang a bell. One of the teachers up at the Murray Valley School?

  “It doesn’t sound too bad, Cass—but if I were you I’d make sure you give it a good clean and then wrap it loosely in a light bandage. You need to be careful not to pop the blisters.” She paused and Jack smiled as her soothing voice turned into that of a strict schoolteacher. “Tell Kev he is, under no circumstances, to pick them open. No gaming devices if he does, and I don’t care if he’s thirteen and knows everything.”

  She paused to listen and offered Jack an apologetic smile. “All right, Cass? Call me if there are any problems, or take him straight to the clinic if it gets infected. Speak soon.”

  “Everything all right?”

  “Sorry, yes. I didn’t mean to delay us. It’s my friend Cassandra Monroe—up at the school?” She raised her eyebrows in question and he nodded—he did know Cassandra. And her son, Kevin. He’d heard through a couple of the guys at the station that the boy had become a bit of a tearaway since his dad had left town a year or so ago. One to put on his cadet recruits list. Being a cadet had given him focus—now he was trying to pay it forward.

  “He’s one of the most accident-prone kids I think I’ve ever met. This time it’s a mishap with the grill pan.”

  Jack’s eyes opened wider. “Is he trying to become a chef?”

  “Hardly!” Liesel gave a hoot of laughter, her fingers flying to cover her mouth as she glanced back to make sure her son was still asleep. “Cheese on toast,” she whispered, her attention now fully captured by Liam.

  They both watched him in silence, the previous conversation forgotten.

  Jack had never been one to coo over babies, but he had to admit Liesel’s toddler was a handsome little chap. It was incredible to him how trusting the boy looked, deeply and comfortably asleep in his car seat as if he hadn’t a care in the world. Building his own family was something he had always imagined happening one day. He cleared his throat. Getting broody was not on today’s agenda.

  “Shall we hit the road again?”

  * * *

  Liesel flicked through the TV channels, finding it difficult to believe the hundred-plus channels her parents received contained absolutely nothing worth watching. It would have to be a cooking show. Maybe that would inspire her to get something to eat. Liam had nibbled at her uninspired offerings before ultimately abandoning them for a game of tug-of-war with Moxy the Wonder Poodle, leaving Liesel with her own listlessness to contend with.

  It didn’t take a brainiac to figure out she had no attention span because of some not-so-idle daydreams about dining with a certain fireman. Too bad she couldn’t take her advice as easily as she dispensed it. The number of times she’d encouraged Cassie to shake off a bad date and to keep on trying! Now here she was turning down a date—no, not even a date really, a casual dinner with the first man to stir feelings in her that she thought had died with Eric.

  She flicked the channels again. Doughnut-making.

  Nope. Still not as interesting as thinking about Jack. About that one, perfectly still moment when his strong hand had held her—well, held her shoulder, at any rate. Or back in the gym when just the brush of his lips had—

  Stop. It. Now.

  She looked across the room at her son, happily sharing his teddy bear with the poodle.

  Liam. He was who she needed to focus on. Not Jack.

  A knock at the door pulled her out of her reverie.

  She jumped up from the sofa, tightening up the drawstring to her tracksuit bottoms as she went to the door. One of the neighbors must have popped round.

  “I couldn’t resist.” Two enormous chocolate shakes worked their way round the door frame.

  Most decidedly not a neighbor.

  Jack handed her the ice-cold drinks, his wrists weighed down with two very full bags of takeaway from a local rotisserie.

  “Hope you haven’t eaten yet.”

  How he’d divined roast chicken was one of her favorites she’d never know. Liesel felt a smile creeping onto her lips.

  Was this another little nudge from fate?

  Or a supersize push?

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “YOU’RE MAKING IT very difficult to resist your charms.”

  “You think I’m charming now, do you?”

  Jack scooped out the final dollop of potato salad for Liesel then leaned back in his patio chair, highly aware of feeling a bit too eager for her response.

  She made a noncommittal noise, took a huge forkful of potato salad to her lips, smiled coquettishly, then devoured it in one go. He watched as the tip of her tongue captured the last miniature dot of mayonnaise resting on her upper lip.

  And another point to Liesel for winning sexiest eater of takeaway rotisserie!

  There was no keeping an appreciative smile under wraps. From where he sat, Jack felt he’d come out the true winner. A genuinely relaxing evening with a woman he could get used to spending a lot more time with. Not to mention her son. Talk about an infectious laugh.

  He had to admit to being shocked by the fact Liesel had a child, but as the idea grew on him, and having seen them interact like the natural twosome they were, it would now seem strange to imagine her without him. Liesel never mentioned the father but Jack was pretty certain that was a topic better left for her to bring up. The boy was a testament to his mother—fun-loving and relaxed. Just a happy little toddler enjoying life, the way it should be.

  Jack rested his chin on a temple of fingertips. With the sun behind him, he had the perfect position to enjoy watching the remains of the sun dance through Liesel’s auburn curls. It was all too easy to imagine slipping his fingers through her hair, brushing a thumb along the soft down of her cheek before drawing her in closer to him for a...

  He shifted. He was staring, a move unlikely to be found in the rulebook for playing it cool. He pulled a hand through his own hair and tried to turn the gesture into a casual stretch. Nope. No good. He was just succeeding in looking like an idiot.

  “If you consider this morning’s heroics—”

  “A hero and charming,” Liesel interrupted with a burble of laughter. “This is a red-letter day for Captain Keller, isn’t it, Liam?”

  The two-year-old, tightly curled in his mother’s lap, responded by snuggling in even deeper and emitting a little boy-sized snore.

  “Clearly my charms aren’t working on your son.”

  “I guess you’re going to have to try a bit harder.” Liesel cocked an eyebrow with a playful smirk, and then just as quickly averted her gaze. Had he seen a glint of flirtation there? Good.

  “That is a challenge I will happily accept.” Jack pushed back his chair and started collecting what remained of the takeaway. The milk shakes were long gone. Scored seven out of ten. “Why don’t you get the little man to bed and I’ll sort these things out?”

  Liesel accepted his offer with a silent smile. Jack watched her slip through the patio doors into the comfortable bungalow her parents had moved into a decade earlier—a downsize, apparently, after their daughters had moved out of the original family home. It had a nice family feel about it. Loved and lived-in. The same feeling River’s Bend had had before his mum had died.

 
; He dragged a hand through his blond thatch again, giving his scalp a bit of a knead as if it would stop the memories from shifting into high gear.

  Jack turned his attention to the handful of scraps left on the picnic table. Chicken? Gone. Potato salad? The tiniest smudge of mayonnaise lurked in the corner of the takeaway container. Veggies? Nada. They’d made mincemeat of the “family meal” he’d ordered. Demolished the lot.

  Scrubbing at his chin, he realized anyone looking over the fence would’ve seen the three of them as just that—a family. Not really what he’d had in mind when his eyes had first lit on Liesel in the barnyard the other day, but he had to admit, learning she had a son hadn’t detracted from his response to her. She brought out the all-male side of him in a big way. He’d been showing off for the past couple of hours and there was no doubt in his mind if any of the lads from down the station had seen him being used as a jungle gym by a poodle and a two-year-old with an insatiable desire for “More!” then the ribbing would have been long-lived.

  The entire evening had been fun. Good old-fashioned fun. And he knew he’d come back for more. If Liesel was up for it.

  * * *

  Pulling the light blue duvet over her son’s shoulders and tucking his favorite cuddly tiger under his arm, Liesel couldn’t stop herself from lingering a bit over her son. His cheeks were still flushed from a full evening of chase with Moxy, enough airplane rides from Jack to last a lifetime and another first, eating grilled vegetables. She didn’t know why she hadn’t thought of barbecuing them before. Cranking up the barbecue for just the two of them had seemed excessive. She’d have to reconsider. Liam had devoured a pile of veg that normally would have been ignored whether they were diced, sliced or shaped into flying saucers.

  Her lips slipped into an easy smile. Jack definitely knew how to tantalize the right things into a young boy’s tummy.

  Who was she kidding? He knew how to tantalize her, too. The number of times she had caught her gaze lingering on his hands, wondering how it would feel if he slid his fingers along her hip, round to the small of her back... She looked back down at her son. She’d have to squelch those feelings for now. No matter how irresistibly tingly an effect he had on her, Liam had to stay her priority. She couldn’t stop her smile from broadening. At the very least, knowing Jack would be an asset to the weight loss she’d suffered over the past couple of years.