The Firefighter Daddy. Margaret Daley

a few months ago when my mom needed help with my grandmother. We all work in the salon. Snip and Cut. It’s been in the family for three generations now.”

      “Where were you before that?”

      “Tulsa. How do you like Buffalo?”

      “I haven’t decided yet. I lived in Dallas all my life and love a big city.” Liam stopped at the corner and waited while the girls checked both ways before crossing the street.

      “My house is the white brick one with pink shutters almost at the end of this block,” Sarah said as she and Liam trailed his nieces to the other side.

      Madison twisted around and walked backward. “I love that house. Pink is my favorite color.”

      “Mine is purple,” Katie said over her shoulder. “I hate pink.”

      “I don’t have a favorite color. I can’t make up my mind,” Sarah said in spite of the glare Katie shot her way.

      When Katie halted, Gabe did, too. “He stopped! Good boy.” She petted his head then whirled around, her ponytail whishing. “I thought everyone had a favorite color. Why don’t cha?”

      Sarah shrugged. “I guess I’m the exception. I love all colors.”

      Liam wondered what else she was the exception to. Too bad he had little time to get to know Sarah. She seemed nice. But with his job and raising his two slightly rebellious nieces, he didn’t. He’d always wanted to have children, and this would be the closest he would come to having a family.

      “Uncle Liam, what’s your favorite color?” Katie asked as she resumed walking.

      “Blue.”

      Madison giggled. “No wonder. You’re a boy.”

      A boy? He hadn’t been one for years. At thirty-five he’d left his childhood behind in more ways than age. In his job he saw a lot of tragedy and was still trying to make sense of it. Look at all the deaths the two girls had dealt with in their short lives.

      Sarah slanted him a look. “You okay?”

      “Yeah. I was thinking about the last time I felt like a boy. Even as a kid, I was the man of the house. My dad was a firefighter, who died in an apartment fire when I was seven.”

      “And you wanted to follow in his footsteps?”

      “Yeah. I knew I would be a firefighter when I first rode on the ladder truck as a kid. Even after Dad died, the guys from his station would come around and help Mom as much as possible.” And he’d become a firefighter at that very station. When Terri had walked out on him, his buddies had been there to help him pick up the pieces.

      “Girls, this is my house,” Sarah called out and then turned to Liam to ask, “Would you all like to come in?”

      Liam started to decline, thinking about the dish he needed to make before he and the girls left for the single dads’ meeting at Colt Remington’s ranch. But before Liam could answer, his nieces both said, “Yes.”

      As the others started toward Sarah’s house, Liam hung back. He missed the guys from the fire station in Dallas. He hoped the Single Dads’ Club would fill the void he’d experienced since coming to Buffalo. Even with Aunt Betty’s assistance, he was alone, raising two girls who hadn’t come with any instructions.

       Chapter Two

      When Sarah entered her childhood home, Gabe barked then loped toward the kitchen, where his food, water and bed were located. She showed Liam and his nieces into the kitchen while Gabe settled himself in his doggy bed. She checked the garage and wondered where Mom and Nana had gone. It was probably for the best her mom wasn’t here. One look at Liam and she would try to figure out how to match them up. Her mother wanted grandchildren. Sarah wanted children. She’d been pregnant almost five months—until she miscarried after the car accident.

      “Have a seat at the table. I have lemonade or iced tea. Which would you like?” she asked as she closed the door to the garage.

      “Lemonade,” Katie said while Madison replied, “Iced tea.”

      Sarah glanced at Liam, sitting across from the girls, a look in his golden-brown eyes—perhaps sadness—that made her wonder why he’d given up everything to move to Buffalo instead of taking his nieces to Dallas. It couldn’t be easy becoming the guardian of two girls and also dealing with his brother’s death and a new town and job. “How about you?”

      “Thanks, but I’m fine. We can’t stay long. I need to make something for dinner.”

      “Sure. I’ll get their drinks then go find the photo.” She turned to the refrigerator for the lemonade and iced tea.

      Liam McGregory had the same color hair—dark brown—as the girls, but the similarities stopped there. Their eyes were a crystalline blue, his a warm brown. His facial features were angular and hard, while theirs were soft and delicate. She peered back at him, intrigued by what little she’d learned today.

      A minute later as Sarah set their glasses in front of the girls, she caught Liam studying her. She hurried from the kitchen before he saw her blush. Since coming home to Buffalo, she’d avoided her mother’s attempts to fix her up with a son of one of her friends. Sarah wasn’t interested in dating, especially when memories of Peter bombarded her everywhere she went in town. She hadn’t thought about that when she’d quit her job at a high-end salon, left her friends and returned home. Maybe that was why she felt a connection with Liam. He had to be going through some of the same problems she was, since he’d done the same thing when he’d come to Buffalo.

      When Sarah found the photo with Gabe, she made her way back to the kitchen and put the frame on the table between Madison and Katie. The photo was of her Lab standing in eight inches of snow next to her. “Mom took that six weeks ago during the last winter storm. Gabe loves to play in snow.”

      “Me, too.” Katie gulped down half her lemonade. “But I like swimming more.”

      “Yep, it’s only...” Madison held her hand up and said, “April, May—” a finger popped up for each month “—two months to summer vacation. I can’t wait.”

      “Not until I know you two can swim.” Liam slid the picture frame across the table, looked at it and then gave it to Sarah.

      She took it. “Did you know that the high school has an indoor swimming pool? In the evening, they have it open for swimming classes through their community outreach program.”

      Liam’s gaze snared hers. “At this time of year?”

      “Yes, especially now. A friend I grew up with runs the program. I can give you her name. You can check to see if there are any openings left. Her next eight-week session starts in two weeks. I help her out two nights a week. I love to swim. It’s better exercise than running.”

      Katie bounced up and down in her chair. “Can we? Can we?”

      “I’ll look into it when Sarah gives me the number, but you two know my crazy schedule.”

      “Ask Aunt Betty to take us.” Madison drained her glass.

      “We’ll see. We don’t even know if there are openings.”

      Although Madison didn’t say anything else, her mouth tightened, and she stared down at her lap. For a couple of seconds it appeared as though Liam wanted to say more, but when he didn’t, Sarah rose. “I’ll write the number down for you.” She moved to the desk under the wall phone and jotted the contact information on a piece of paper.

      Madison clapped her hands. “Oh, goody. I know how to swim, but Katie doesn’t.”

      “Yes, I do.”

      “No, you don’t.” Madison glared at her.

      The noise