Page 70 of Steel

Both laughing.

There was something special when a child was concerned for his mother. I briefly thought about how lucky Axe was in becoming a father. In lifting my gaze, I saw so many emotions in her eyes, the kind that had me wanting nothing more than to be that special man in her life.

“He’s a handful,” I mentioned, rubbing the scruff on my face as I did.

“He’s very protective. I’m sorry about that.”

“Don’t be sorry. He has every reason to be protective of his mother. I’m glad to see it. He’s got a good head on his shoulders.”

“Yeah, well, you might not think that if you know how naughty he can be.”

“Worse than setting fires?”

“Oh… yeah.”

Every time she wrinkled her nose, I wanted to grab it like my mother used to do when I was a kid. How strange. “My mom could tell you some stories about when I was a kid.”

Her eyes lit up. “Really? Maybe hearing a few would help.”

I pointed my finger at her. “You’re not going to ask. Period.”

“Now I really need to meet your mother.”

“Oh, no. I’ll make certain you don’t.”

“You’re terrible. Just terrible.” She brushed hair behind her ear and I could tell she had something on her mind. “I need to talk about something.”

And wouldn’t you know it, my phone rang. When an early call came in, that usually meant there was a fire or an issue. “Hold on a second.” When I pulled my cellphone into my hand, I groaned. “Cap’n. What’s wrong?”

“Since you didn’t respond to your email last night, I thought I’d give you a call.”

“Sorry. I was busy.”

“No problem. The chief of police and the fire chief are swinging by in about an hour. They need our help in a situation.”

“A situation? What’s going on?”

“I honestly don’t know. But you need to be here. All hands on deck.”

I glanced at my watch. “I’ll be there.” With the call ended, I shoved the phone into my pocket. “I need to get out of here and head to the base.”

“A fire?”

Chuckling, I shook my head. “Nothing that dramatic. Just a required meeting.”

“I really need to talk to you about something.”

“Don’t worry, Violet. I already know what it is. You don’t want Damon to become too attached. I got it. But tonight is still on. Right?”

Her entire face scrunched up. “Yes, tonight is definitely on.”

“Good.” I moved toward the door, stopping long enough to take another look.

Damn, the woman could easily manage to slide under my skin.

That wasn’t allowed to happen.

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