I smiled. “I’m not sure about that, but you’ll certainly be the first to find out.”
“Good. And I’m going to keep a look out for you.”
“Are you my wingman now?”
Rick beamed. “I like the sound of that.”
I turned back to the wall to continue with the touchups when I heard him sigh.
“What’s wrong?”
“Xavier, can I ask you something? Sorry, I don’t know why I’m getting so personal lately.”
For a brief second, I thought he was going to ask me if I had feelings for his daughter and I felt my heart race out of my chest. I didn’t like her in that way. I just thought she looked really beautiful. That was all. She’d grown up, and it was impossible not to notice. I had a million excuses in my head, but that wasn’t what he wanted to talk about at all.
“Why do you think your brothers haven’t kept a relationship with me? You’re the only one that makes time for me, and I just don’t understand. I’ve wracked my brain to think of what I could’ve possibly done to make them hate me, but nothing comes to mind. Nothing at all. Clearly, I’m missing something.”
I sighed. I was surprised it had taken him such a long time to ask me this question. It must’ve been on his mind a lot, but this was the first time we’d ever really spoken about it.
“You can be honest,” he said to me.
“That’s just how they are. They’re hard headed; you know that,” I said. I didn’t want him to know that my brothers had never thought of him as a father. He had always considered each of us his sons, and the truth would devastate him. They also hated that Rick was a pastor and felt like they were constantly being judged because they were not religious. It didn’t matter how many times I told them that this wasn’t the case, they just refused to believe me.
“So I didn’t do anything?”
“Of course not. If you did, then I wouldn’t be here. They’re just funny like that. They barely keep in touch with me,” I lied. “I guess they’re just not as big into family like you and I are. I wouldn’t worry about it. You’ll see, they’ll get over themselves and suddenly they’ll be such a big part of your life you’ll wish they weren’t. Trust me; they get annoying when you see too much of them.” I tried to make light of the situation, but I knew that it was still hard for Rick.
Thankfully, Rick didn’t say anything else about the matter, and we changed subjects, but I was sure that it was still on his mind. As we finished up in the garage, I saw Holly pulling up into the driveway. A strange look crossed her face as she saw me but she quickly replaced it with a smile.
“Ah, here’s my girl,” Rick said.
“How was shopping?” I asked. “Like the new mall?”
“It’s cool. Although, it’s pretty much like every other mall I've ever been to. I did bump into Andrea though, so that was good. Remember her?”
“Dark-haired girl? Yeah, I remember her. Nice, she must’ve been happy to see you. I remember that the two of you always got along well.” I remembered actually that Andrea was one of the few people that treated Holly well. I’d always liked her for that. I didn’t want to say that in front of her father, though. I tried not to let Rick know how much Holly was bullied when she was younger. He would’ve been distraught to know that such a thing was happening to his daughter. I was sure a part of him knew, but he probably had no idea how bad it had sometimes been for her.
“She was,” Holly said. She seemed distracted and wasn’t looking me in the eye. I wondered if she was also thinking about the bullying.
“Xavier do you want to stay for dinner?” Rick asked suddenly. “I’m sorry, I’m so rude, I realize I didn’t even feed you today. We were so busy talking, and I’d eaten just before you arrived, so it didn’t even cross my mind.”
I laughed. “You don’t have to feed me. That’s not why I come here. I can’t tonight, unfortunately. I have to pop into the station for some late meeting. As you can imagine, it’s the last thing I feel like doing tonight, but I better be there.”
“But I thought you had a few days off?”
“Yeah, I do. But doesn’t mean I get to avoid the meetings. It’s okay, though. Hopefully it’s nothing too long. You can never quite tell with these things.”
Instead of taking it for granted, Rick pulled a face. “You deserve a medal for the amount of work you put into the community. People do not realize just how much you boys do for us. Hey, you know what, I have an idea. Why don’t you take Holly out for dinner tomorrow night? She doesn’t really know many people here anymore, and I’m sure she’s sick of hanging out with her father.”
Holly laughed. “Wow, you make me sound like a lonely spinster. Also, I think you’re just sick of cooking for me.”
“Not at all. I just thought Rick could introduce you to some of his firefighter friends.”
Holly blushed. “Dad, are you trying to set me up already? I’ve only just arrived.”
“Well, the two of you aren’t getting any younger. I’m just saying.”
I looked at Holly and chuckled. “Don’t worry. Your dad was trying to get me to settle down too. He forgets that we’re immortal.”
“Yeah, Dad, Xavier and I are forever young.”
“So, want to go for dinner tomorrow?” I said to Holly as casually as I could. I wasn’t sure why but I had a feeling she was going to turn me down.
I was wrong. Holly smiled. “Sounds good to me. We can talk about how good it feels to be young.”
I laughed. “You’re on. Okay, old man, I’ll be around tomorrow to pick your young daughter up.”
Chapter Ten
Holly
So much for going out shopping to avoid bumping into Xavier. I’d almost driven away when I saw his motorcycle in the driveway, but maybe it was a good thing I’d gone inside. Otherwise, I’d never have been asked to go on a date. Well, it wasn’t a date. But still. I was looking forward to spending a bit more time with him and catching up on old times. There was so much to say, and there was so much that I wanted to know about his life. Although I wondered if he was going to bring anyone along from the station. It felt strange to think that he was going to try and set me up.
“I still can’t believe you are trying to set me up with one of Xavier’s friends,” I said that afternoon. I was desperate to go and get ready for the dinner but I didn’t want to look too eager, and there was still a bit of time to go until Xavier arrived.
My father laughed. “Well, you deserve a handsome fireman. Like I said, those boys are incredible. They do more for us than people realize. They don’t just fight a fire when there is one, but they spend a lot of time trying to avoid them ever happening. And it’s not the easiest place to conserve considering we’re surrounded by a forest. He’s a good boy. I’m very proud of him and I can only imagine that the other boys are just the same. Mind you, I’m not sure if he’ll even find you someone.”
“What do you mean?” I said. For a minute I thought my father was telling me that nobody at the fire station would be interested in someone like me. It was what I thought anyway but I didn’t expect my father to say it.
“Oh, you know how protective Xavier has always been of you. I doubt he’ll think that anyone is good enough for you. Which is good, I want him to look out for you. That’s why I said he must introduce you to someone because I know he’ll only find the best person for you. If he likes someone for you, then I know I can trust him.”
I flushed. “Really? You think he’s protective over me? I’m not so sure.”
“Of course. You’re his little sister, remember?”
“Dad, I’m not even his stepsister.” The last thing I wanted to do was to think of Xavier as my brother. It made me feel a little ill then at how excited I was about spending some time with him. Although, hearing my father say it did have a bit of a sobering effect on me. If my father thought that then there was a big possibility that Xavier thought the same way. He’d called me Little Holly when he saw me, after all. I was his
little sister, even though I wasn’t. That was simply how he would always think of me.
About an hour before it was time for dinner I went to get ready. The house was small, but the bathroom was big, and I’d forgotten how nice it was to have a big shower again after years in a tiny bathroom. I spent my time scrubbing my body and cleaning my hair. My hair used to be a lot thinner when I was younger, but over the last few years it had gotten thicker and took a lot longer to dry. Thankfully, I’d remembered to buy a hairdryer at the shopping center the other day. I’d left my last one sitting in my bathroom and only realized after my first shower back home. By the time I was finishing with my hair, there wasn’t all that much time to get ready. I changed into a pair of dark skinny jeans, a black top, and black boots. I took a jacket with just in case we were going somewhere cold, but I hoped I wouldn’t have to wear it. I liked my outfit without it. It was a simple outfit, but the top was as tight as the jeans and I’d been told before that it showed off my figure. I wasn’t sure why I was making an effort for someone that looked at me like his sister, but I still wanted to look nice.
I walked downstairs, and my dad whistled. “Wow, you look amazing, Holly.”
I smiled. “You think so? I don’t go out much.”
“Well, you should. You look great. And just on time too, here is Xavier. I’m glad to hear he’s got the car today and that he’s not taking you on the motorcycle.”
I chuckled. “I’m sure he knows I wouldn’t want to climb on the back of a bike.”
“I thought he was doing it for me,” my father said.
I shook my head. “No way am I getting on that thing.”
“That’s my girl!”
I kissed my father goodnight and walked out. Xavier had just stepped out his car, and when he saw me walking towards him, he stopped and stared.
“Holly, you look incredible,” he said.
I smiled. “Really? Thank you. You scrub up nicely yourself.” I laughed when I realized we were both wearing blue jeans with black tops. He had a plain back t-shirt on and black shoes. “I see we both got the dress code.”
He looked at himself and back at me. “Clearly we’re connected.”
I smiled. “Clearly.”
He opened the door and let me in, and I told him that he was being a gentleman.
“You sound surprised.”
“I am. I mean, my father keeps going on about what an amazing guy you are, but I just don’t see it.”
He shot me an amused look. “This is no way to talk to the guy who’s about to buy you dinner.”
“Just us?”
“Oh. Uh, yeah. That okay? I thought it would be nice to catch up.”
I smiled. “I thought you were going to set me up on a hot date with a fireman?” I teased.
“Oh. I’m sorry. No wonder you look so nice tonight.”
“I’m just kidding. But thanks for the compliment. I am happy it’s just you and I, to be honest. I really don’t feel like getting set up. I had no idea my dad was so worried about my love life.”
He groaned. “You and me both. He asked me the other day when I was going to settle down and get married.”
“Seriously? To who? Are you going out with someone?”
He laughed. “No. That’s the thing. He’s obviously very worried about me too.”
“Oh dear. We’re giving him gray hairs. Oh, is this where we are going?”
He grinned. “Yeah. I thought it would be nice to take a little trip down memory lane.”
We had stopped outside Peter’s Patties, one of the most loved burger joints of Wichita. They’d been around forever and never seemed to go out of fashion. I couldn’t wait to go there again and couldn’t believe that I’d forgotten about it. We made our way inside, and I breathed in the familiar smell of juicy burgers. Everyone was laughing and talking, and the atmosphere was just as happy and friendly as it had always been before. I felt good being back there.
“This is amazing,” I said as we took a seat at the red and white checked table. “I love how this place is always booming no matter what. I doubt these guys will ever go out of business.”
“I know. It’s the food, though. They put a lot of love into that food, and I think people know exactly what they are getting when they come. Speaking of love, I hear things weren’t so great at your last job? What happened?”
I sighed. “Yeah, I’m so glad I quit. It wasn’t the right place for me. I was such a hard worker and people obviously thought that they could take advantage of that. They treated me very badly. You know, in all the time I was there I didn’t make any friends.”
“Are you serious? But you’re like the easiest person to be around.”
I blushed. “Thank you. That’s nice of you to say. I don’t always think that, though. I’m so awkward.”
“You’re really not, Holly.”
“I used to be.”
He chuckled. “You were a little, but there’s nothing wrong with that.”
The waiter came by to take our order, and we both ordered the biggest burger on the menu. When the waiter left, Xavier laughed and told me that he was impressed by the size of my appetite.
“I’m making up for lost time. I’m starving, but I have a feeling that I won’t be able to finish it. If I remember correctly the burgers here are huge.”
At that exact moment, a waiter walked by holding a burger to bring to another table, and I laughed. “Those are huge.”
“Those are normal sized. We ordered large ones.”
“Uh oh. I was hoping to impress you with my eating skills.”
“You see, you’re easy to talk to, Holly. Those idiots at your work had no idea what they were missing out on.”
I smiled. “Thank you. That’s nice of you to say. I guess I’ve always felt like the same awkward girl I was back at school. With the big owl glasses that kept falling off my face.”
“I remember those glasses. They were cute.”
“Cute? No, they weren’t. They were awful. You know, I still have a clear memory of a day when you came in to save me.”
“Me? What do you mean?” he asked.
“It was at school, and it wasn’t the first time you’d come into rescue me. The one time had been when those idiots came to laugh at me and I dropped my books. The other time was different. Nobody was laughing at me. But that was mostly because nobody was looking at me. I was all alone. I was sitting at recess just watching the world go by and wondering if I would ever be included in a group, when you came along. You simply sat next to me, took out your lunch and smiled at me. It was one of the sweetest things anyone had ever done for me.”
“Really? I had no idea. I always felt the need to protect you, Holly. I couldn’t help myself,” Xavier said. Then he smiled at me in a way that made me feel like I never wanted to be anywhere else again.
I thought back to what my father had said. Xavier wanted to protect me because he saw me as his little kid sister. I was going to have to be very careful around him moving forward. In fact, the less I saw of him, the better. More dates like this and I was just going to start liking him even more. I was way too attracted to him to be alone with him. I would have to tread carefully before I found myself getting hurt. The waiter came by, and I felt glad that there was something to distract us from the conversation.
“Oh here come the burgers. Oh no, they’re huge. I’m never going to finish that in one sitting,” I said as I watched the enormous burger placed in front of me. Even the waiter giggled at my reaction.
“I dare you,” Xavier said.
“Oh yeah? And what do I get if I manage to finish it?”
“Another dinner with me, of course.”
I laughed, but inwardly I told myself that I was definitely not going to even attempt to finish the burger if that was the prize. I couldn’t have another dinner with him.
Chapter Eleven
Xavier
Dinner with Holly had gone much better than I had expected it to. After the burgers,
which neither of us could finish, we took a drive to a café that opened late to enjoy a cup of coffee. I’d been keen on drinking alcohol, but I had to be careful after my DWI and figured coffee was the safer bet. I had a tendency to get carried away when I drank too much, and I wasn’t quite ready for her to see that side of me. I barely saw it myself anymore. We drank two cups each and squeezed as much as we could into the evening. As it turned out, we didn’t even need the alcohol to enjoy ourselves. I hadn’t had such a good time with someone in a very long time. Holly was easy to talk to. She had always been a very animated person, and I loved how obvious it was when she was happy or excited. She would look like an older sophisticated woman and then break into a giggle that made her seem like a teenager again. But mostly, she seemed to get me in a way that nobody else seemed to. I didn’t feel like I had to be anyone other than myself around her. This was unusual because I always felt like I was pretending with other people. The following day, I couldn’t wait to see her again at Rick’s house. But when I arrived, she wasn’t there.
“Where’s Holly?” I said to Rick as casually as possible. “I didn’t see her car.”
“Oh, she’s gone out for the day. I told her that it was fine. I’d rather finish everything up for her. So, I hear the dinner went well. She said it was just the two of you,” he said and then laughed. “I told her that you were protective over her and that none of the guys were probably good enough for her. Is that what happened?”
I’d laughed politely. “Oh, well, sort of. I figured I’d see what kind of guy she was after first. I mean, I don’t know this older Holly, and I didn’t want to set her up with just anyone.”
“That’s very nice of you. I knew I could count on you, Xavier,” he said, and I wasn’t sure why I felt so guilty about it. Why hadn’t I set her up with someone like he had asked me to? I hadn’t even considered bringing anyone else on the date. I was sure some of the guys at the station would go crazy if they saw her.
Dirty Stepbrother - A Firefighter Romance (The Maxwell Family) Page 6