Page 70 of Starting Back
Buck said that I had to fight for her, and I was more than ready to do battle today.
“Yes, it is. Oh, so you’ve met?”
“We have,” I replied to Mary, my eyes still locked on Kristina’s. “I offered Emma a quick tour before they opened the festival to the public. And I think she’s a little excited.”
Emma giggled at my loud whisper.
“I see. Well, if you still want to meet Renee, come by our booth when you have a minute.”
I assumed Renee was her daughter, whom I didn’t agree to meet today. I had the feeling that was more for Kristina’s benefit and took the dirty side-eye Kristina gave the both of us as a great sign.
“So, Mary is peddling her daughter on you.” Kristina said as she watched Mary’s departure. “That sounds about right.”
“I think she was trying to, but I told her no. My interests are elsewhere.”
She didn’t ask about where my interests were because she had to already know. She nodded without a word, but I caught the hint of a smile.
“This is my eldest,” she said, her eyes full of love and pride as she pulled her daughter closer. “Chloe, this is Leo. He’s the reason why we’re all up an hour earlier today.”
“Nice to meet you.” I reached out my hand. “You could be your mother’s twin.”
She took my hand and met my gaze with a shy smile. She had the same dark hair and green eyes as her mother and was almost her height.
“People say that a lot.” She shrugged, her eyes focused on the ground.
“You should take it as a huge compliment,” I told her, my eyes on Kristina. It was easier to make my intentions clear back at Turtle Bay, where we didn’t have an audience, but I couldn’t resist pushing a little.
“Thank you.” Kristina’s voice was a shy whisper, like when we’d first met, both of us lost in our own ways until we found more than we expected.
Today, I would take one little win at a time.
“Leo is Mommy’s friend from Florida. They had a sleepover.”
Kristina’s eyes bulged as Chloe’s head whipped around.
I bit back a smile as I lifted Emma onto the truck while Kristina and Chloe spoke in whispers behind us.
“Can we put the sirens on, please?” she asked, her blue eyes wide with her lip jutted out in a pout as she slid her tiny hand against my palm.
“I think if we put the sirens on, people may get scared.” I picked her up, my resolve almost wavering a little at her exaggerated frown. “But I can show you everything else.”
I craned my neck over to where Kristina and Chloe were standing. “You guys can hop on too if you want.”
“It’s okay,” Kristina said. “We can see you, but we’ll wait out here.”
“Chloe was once on a fire truck in Girl Scouts, she said,” Emma told me with a shrug. “She maybe doesn’t want to see since she already did. I was in a police car once! Unca Jake’s friend Keith is the chief, and he let us ride with him one day and it was so cool when he put on the sirens.” Her eyes darted to the floor and then back to me.
“Nice try, sweetheart.”
She bunched her shoulders, gazing up at me with a sweet giggle. I’d bet she didn’t hear the word no a lot because she was a cute little conniver.
“Why do you have so much stuff?” she asked, wide-eyed as she surveyed the space and all the equipment.
“A fire truck is like a big toolbox. We never know what we’ll have to do for the next call, so we have to be sure we’re ready for anything. That’s why the hoses are different sizes and we have all those axes and tools.”
“Ah,” she said, tapping her chin. “Like Unca Jake’s toolbox when he fixes stuff. He said sometimes he uses all the tools, and sometimes just one.”
“Exactly. You’re a smart girl.”
