His Holiday Family. Margaret Daley

slow-moving firefighter making his way toward them with a small white dog with a curly tail. His stiff movements coupled with the sight of his cast only reinforced why the man was in the pain he was.

       “Hello, Kathleen. Your sons came over to give me their get-well cards. I asked them to stay if it was okay with you. They assured me it was.” Gideon’s gaze swept from Kip to Jared, who had joined them in the foyer.

       Her younger son poked his head around Gideon. “He has a cast just like me. Isn’t that neat? We’re twins.”

       “And that is Butch. He’s so sweet,” Kip added, pointing to the dog near Gideon.

       “It’s time for you two to come back to Nana’s and get your homework done.”

       “Mooomm, can’t we stay for a while longer?” Kip’s mouth formed his classic pout that he had stood in front of the mirror one day to perfect.

       “Another time, guys. This is a school night, and you’ve got work to do.” Gideon tousled Jared’s, then Kip’s hair.

       Jared giggled then scooted out the front door.

       But Kip remained where he was standing. “Will you tell us some more stories about being a firefighter?”

       “Well, sure, anytime it’s all right with your mother.” Gideon flashed her a grin that melted any irritation she had toward her sons for bothering the man.

       “Great. Call if you need us to do anything for you. After school we stay with Nana until Mom comes to pick us up.” Kip raced past Kathleen and stamped down the porch steps.

       While her sons grabbed their bikes and rode them toward her mother’s house, Kathleen faced Gideon. “I know how tired you must be. Your body has gone through a trauma and needs rest, not my sons bothering you. I’m sorry—”

       He held up his palm to still her words. “I enjoyed their visit. I was resting on the couch, getting more bored by the second when they came and rescued me from my boredom. I hope you’ll let them come again.”

       She completely surrendered to the kindness in his eyes. Her legs grew weak, and she clutched the door frame to steady herself. “Only as long as they don’t pester you.” The pale cast to his skin spoke of the strain of standing. “Let me help you back to that couch.”

       He shook his head. “As much as I’d like a pretty lady to hold me, I can make my own way there.”

       “Are you sure?”

       “Yes. Do you need to watch to make sure I don’t falter halfway there?”

       She grinned. “I’ll take your word for it. Besides, I need to get home and make you a dinner, which I plan to bring you if that’s okay with you.”

       “Normally I would jump at the chance to have someone fix me dinner, but you should see my refrigerator. There is nothing like good ole Southern hospitality. I don’t think I’ll be able to eat half the dishes stuffed in it. The ladies at my church decided they would stock it for me, so I wouldn’t have to worry about what to eat for the next week. Well, more like several.”

       “Then I’ll wait until later when you’ve run out of their dishes. I know it takes a while for ribs to heal, and they can be painful.”

       “Like I said, I don’t usually turn down a home-cooked meal, so you’ll get no argument from me. When it’s my time to cook at the fire station, I’ve actually heard some groans from the other firefighters.”

       She chuckled. “If you need anything, I only live two blocks away. Down the hill and around the corner.”

       “On Bayview Avenue?”

       “Yeah, the yellow cottage. One of Mom’s rentals. Good night.” Which was the main reason she could save a little money to pay off her debt. Her mother didn’t charge her rent, but Kathleen had insisted on paying all the utilities and other bills connected to the house.

       He stood in his doorway with his dog next to him as she descended the porch steps. She felt his gaze on her the whole way down his sidewalk. Heat flared into her cheeks. She couldn’t resist glancing over her shoulder, only to find him staring at her, as she thought. He nodded, then swung his door closed.

       Kathleen hurried to the foyer to answer the door. When she opened it, her breath caught for a few seconds. Although she’d found herself thinking about Gideon several times since she’d seen him yesterday, she hadn’t thought she would see him this soon. “This is a surprise. What brings you by here?”

       He lifted two large pizza boxes. “I came bearing dinner. I couldn’t stand staying in my home another moment. I immediately thought of you and your sons. You were kind to want to fix me dinner. I thought I would beat you to the punch. I called earlier to see if y’all would be home and Kip said yes. I asked him if you had started dinner. He said you had to run next door and were behind schedule.” He handed her the boxes. “He was supposed to tell you I was bringing dinner.”

       “A minor detail he forgot. I wondered why he kept coming up with things I had to do before starting dinner. You didn’t have to bring pizza. I owe you a dinner, not the other way around. Remember?”

       “I’m not used to inactivity. It was a spur-of-the- moment decision. I figured the boys would like pizza.”

       She smiled. “Pizza and just about every other junk food there is.” Stepping to the side, Kathleen opened the door wider. “Come on in.”

       As Gideon entered the house, one corner of his mouth hiked up. “I was hoping you wouldn’t send me home with all this pizza.”

       “You may change your mind after being here a while.” She started for the kitchen at the back of the house. “I should warn you. My sons have been fighting most of the day. At the moment they are in time-out. And we’ve only been home an hour.”

       “Sounds like a few boys I have in my youth group at church.”

       “Youth group?”

       “I help out when I can with the group for eight- to twelve-year-olds. When I’m not working, we sometimes play a game or two of basketball in the evening at the park near the Hope Community Church. There are several courts there. By the time they go home, they’re too exhausted to fight each other. A couple of the dads have joined our little games, too.”

       “Is that Broussard Park on the Point?”

       “Yeah. I like to run there sometimes.”

       Memories intruded into her mind. Memories of happier times before her father had been killed in an accident at the shipyard. “When I was a child, my family used to go to the Point to watch the sun set and have a picnic dinner.”

       “Since I came here, I’ve seen some beautiful sunsets on the Point.”

       Kathleen went into the kitchen with Gideon following close behind her. After placing the boxes on the table, she peered over her shoulder at him. “Where are you from?”

       “New Orleans, originally. I’ve been here for five years.”

       “How long have you been a firefighter?”

       “Fifteen years.”

       “Why did you decide to become one?”

       He opened his mouth but a few seconds later snapped it closed. A nerve in his jaw twitched. Clasping his hands so tightly his knuckles whitened, he stared straight ahead at a spot over her shoulder. “Someone needs to fight fires.”

       Behind what he’d said there was a wealth of words left unspoken, but his stiff posture and steely expression told her the subject was off-limits. What was really behind him being a firefighter? On the surface he seemed open and friendly, but deep down she felt his need for privacy as though he were used to being alone and liked it that way. She could respect his need for that.

       She’d felt the same way when she’d discovered the extent