“Thanks so much, that would be wonderful,” Suzie told them, clapping her hands together.
“Santa and I will grab the materials from the truck,” Ben said. “And if Miss Hilton is ready, we’ll talk to her kids while the Pokey Little Firefighter here finishes up.”
Andrew rolled his eyes at his buddy, then smiled at the kindergartner who he was handing a red helmet to. “Choose your friends wisely, kid.”
“You’re lucky you have friends at all,” Cole said for Andrew’s ears only as he walked by on his way out of the classroom.
Andrew snorted, but refrained from saying anything back. He wouldn’t want the kids to think he was insulting Santa. Instead, he turned to the next kid in line. Although his friend had been ragging him, truth was, Andrew knew how lucky he was to have Cole and Ben. He and Ben were lifelong friends, and Cole had just clicked with them as soon as he’d moved to Pine Hill a year or two back. There was no greater friend than one willing to lay his life down for the other. They were those kind of friends. He knew they would literally walk through fire for him, and he’d do the same for them.
Andrew gave the last kid a plastic helmet and thought he was finished when he realized the cute want-to-be-a-firefighter with the pretty mom had gotten back in line.
Andrew grinned at Greyson and said, “Hey, I’m glad you’re here. With Firefighter Ben with Santa, I need a helper. Do you know of anyone who would want to help a firefighter out?”
“Me,” the boy immediately responded.
“Great. I hoped that’s what you’d say.” Andrew smiled at the kid. “Let’s see if your teacher is okay with you being my assistant when the class goes outside to look at the fire truck. I need someone to sit in the truck cab and keep an eye on things for me.”
“Don’t think I haven’t noticed you looking at Andrew Scott every time one of the kids isn’t demanding your attention.”
Morgan’s cheeks burned Rudolph-nose red. She’d tried to keep her mind on taking photos of the kids with Santa, but Suzie was right. Unfortunately.
Suzie’s lips twitched. “Is it because firefighting fascinates you?”
Terrified her, was more like it. She couldn’t imagine running into a burning building rather than out...and she couldn’t bear to think of Greyson doing that someday. Still, she gave her son’s schoolteacher a tight smile.
“Something like that.”
“Right.” Suzie laughed, glancing toward where Andrew was chuckling at something Greyson was saying. “Looks as if you’re not the only one in your family who’s captivated. For whatever it’s worth, Andrew’s a great guy. Born and raised in Pine Hill. His parents had to travel a lot with work so they built next door to his grandparents. He practically lived at their house. He played football with Marty, was the team’s star quarterback, actually,” Suzie added as if that should impress Morgan. “He was valedictorian of their class. And if someone needs helps, he’s one of the first people to show up. Like I said, a great guy.”
Why was Suzie telling her Andrew’s life story? She wasn’t interested.
“Oh, and did I mention that he’s single?” Suzie teased.
Morgan didn’t want to know his relationship status. Okay, so she had looked at his left hand and noted that he didn’t wear a wedding band. It didn’t mean anything. And she definitely didn’t want the shaken-up-snow-globe flutters in her belly that knowing he was single had triggered.
“Not that it matters,” Suzie continued, eyeing where Andrew still talked with Greyson. “He’s a self-professed lifelong bachelor.”
“He doesn’t date?” Why was she asking that? She didn’t date.
“He dates, but never seriously. The moment he thinks a woman is getting attached, he calls it quits. Mostly, he just casually dates. My sister, Betsy, went out with him for a short while. He told her upfront that he’d never marry or have kids.”
“Why?”
Suzie shrugged. “He told her his life wasn’t ‘conducive to a serious relationship.’”
Morgan wished that didn’t intrigue her. It couldn’t be because of his job. Cole was a firefighter and seemed happy dating Morgan’s cousin, Sophie.
“He’s a bit of an adrenaline junkie,” Suzie added. “Rides a motorcycle and jumps out of planes. That kind of thing.”
Morgan’s stomach plummeted. Of course, he was an adrenaline junkie.
There must’ve been some DNA sequence malfunction that alerted her whenever a thrill seeker was in the vicinity. Maybe that’s why she’d kept looking toward him. Because on some level she’d recognized that within him, and it had reminded her of Trey.
“Everyone thinks he’ll take over if and when Chief retires.” Which meant he’d be a lifelong firefighter. “But it’s going to be a lonely life for him if he sticks to that pledge to never settle down.”
“Interesting,” Morgan mused, still mulling over the possibility of whether her rattled response to him was because he was similar to Trey’s love of danger. “I’m sorry if your sister got hurt when he wasn’t willing to commit. But at least he was upfront with her. And honestly, good for him for meaning what he said. We have that in common. Although, I don’t plan to date at all—seriously or casually.” Especially not a firefighter who unnerved her. “Maybe I’ll reconsider after Greyson is older, but for now, he’s my priority.”
Morgan’s gaze went to where Andrew listened intently to whatever Greyson was saying. Were they talking about Greyson’s dream to be a firefighter again and swapping stories? She knew that she should direct her son back to his seat, , ,but she didn’t have the heart to interrupt. Not when today was the most excited she’d seen him in a long time. They had fun together with just the two of them, and he’d warmed up to Grampy George and Grammy Claudia, but the move hadn’t been easy on him.
