Saxon's Savior (Protect and Serve #3) - Pandora Pine Page 0,49

to the hook and ladder truck when I set her down.

“Hello, little ladies!” Ozzy’s voice boomed from inside the station.

“Ozzy!” Sophie pulled my hand toward the inside of the firehouse.

I could see Lola hanging back and waiting for me. These people were virtual strangers to the girls. Everything we did was going to take patience on both our parts. “Here we come!”

Lola’s eyes lit up as I came toward her. I took her hand and led her toward Ozzy. Other members of the firehouse were starting to gather around. Maxine waved from the back of her ambulance.

“Hi, Ozzy. Here we are, reporting for duty.”

“You look so pretty today, Sophie.” Ozzy knelt to her level, giving her dark curls a twirl.

“Me too!” Lola demanded, shooting Ozzy the stink eye.

“Yes, you too! What a pretty dress.” Ozzy was laughing as he talked.

“Fank you!” Lola’s dark eyes darted back and forth between me and Ozzy. “Vroom! Vroom!”

“Oh, do you want to go see the truck?” Ozzy asked Lola.

She nodded her head so hard, it sent her straight hair flying.

“Will you hold my hand?” Ozzy offered his giant paw to her.

Both girls headed off with Ozzy, leaving me standing alone at the back of the truck. Now would probably be a good time to call Mandy and ask about pediatricians.

“Hey, the girls look great this morning,” an all-too-familiar voice said from behind me.

I knew it was Dallas. He looked like shit. His eyes were bloodshot, and he hadn’t shaved. “Yeah, your Mom left those outfits for them. I don’t know what I would have done without her help, both of the girls were wearing shoes that were too small.” Thinking about Lola’s feet being crammed into those shoes brought all my emotions back.

“It’s okay.” Dallas wrapped his arms around me. “They’re never going to wear too small shoes again. You’ve got this, Saxon. You’ve got them.” He pulled back with an unsure look in his eyes.

“Things aren’t going to be okay for a long time.” I shook my head.

“Come up to the kitchen with me. There are some things I want to talk to you about.” Dallas wore an eager look in his green eyes.

I wanted to say no. There were ten other things I needed to do, especially in these moments when Ozzy had the girls. The last thing I should be doing was talking to Dallas. “Okay, I could use a cup of tea.”

His eyes lit up before he started up the stairs. “Two sugars, right?” he asked as I took a seat at the kitchen island.

“Right,” I agreed. I’d been so busy making breakfast for the girls I hadn’t had time to make myself a cup of coffee.

“Mom is the real expert on how to function with a house full of kids, but I know her first piece of advice to you would be to get a coffee pot with a programmable timer.”

“My Keurig has that feature. Thanks.”

“Mom also gave me this for you.” Dallas reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope with Mandy’s neat handwriting.

“What is it?”

“A list of things you’ll need, pediatrician, lawyer, places to buy the best shoes.” Dallas shrugged. “To be honest, I think it’s Mom’s way of getting us to talk.”

I wasn’t quite sure how I wanted to handle this. Should I walk away, like Dallas did last night, or did I sit and listen. “Talk about what?” I hoped I wasn’t opening a can of worms in the middle of a work shift.

“I was an asshole last night, leaving the way I did.”

“I’m not sure I’d go that far.” I was damn proud of myself for listening and not jumping to conclusions. Aside from Dallas running away last night, I really liked him and wanted to hear him out. “What happened?”

“You know about my mom’s drug problem and the way she raised me. I got scared.” Dallas met my eyes. “What if I check out like that on Sophie and Lola? What if I can’t support you the way you need me to?”

“Those are really good questions.” I meant every word. “To be honest with you, I wondered the same things myself when we were driving to the hospital. We didn’t grow up that differently, aside from the fact there were three of us and you were an only child.”

Dallas nodded.

“Just because I got my act together and graduated from the fire academy doesn’t mean I’m qualified to handle parenthood.” The only difference between Dallas and I now, was that one of us