The Firefighter Daddy. Margaret Daley

quickly held one picture with the words “I am sorry” across the top of the construction paper in her left hand and the other in her right. “What a great idea! Thank you.”

      Katie thrust her shoulders back while Madison beamed.

      Sarah peered at Liam. “Can you stay for some cookies? Mom made chocolate chip when she came home from church.”

      “Yes!” the two girls said in unison.

      Liam chuckled. “I’d have a riot on my hands if I turned your invitation down.”

      Madison moved forward, her attention shifting between Liam and Sarah before she asked, “Can we play with Gabe?”

      “That’s for your uncle to decide.”

      “For a little while.” As Katie ran across the yard to pick up a tennis ball, Madison hurried after her while Liam added, “I didn’t mean for our visit to interrupt what you’re doing.”

      “The ground is ready. All I have to do is plant the impatiens. That won’t take long. Besides, they’re doing me a favor. Gabe could spend all afternoon running after that ball. After fifteen minutes my arm gets tired. This way everyone is happy.” She removed her garden gloves and started for the house. “I’ll bring some lemonade, too.”

      When she entered the kitchen, her mother was in the middle of the room, her hands on her waist, facing her grandmother. “Today isn’t a work day, Mama.”

      Sarah glanced at her grandmother, dressed in the hat she usually wore to the salon as well as one of her plain dresses that had become her uniform when at work.

      “Yes, it is, Tina. If we don’t hurry, I’m going to be late. I have a shampoo to do. I don’t like to keep Marge waiting.”

      “We went to church this morning. It’s Sunday.” Sarah’s mother’s voice rose.

      Nana shook her head. “We didn’t. I would remember that.” She pointed at the calendar on the side of the refrigerator. “I checked that. Today is Saturday, April 2.” She tapped the date. “See it hasn’t been crossed out yet.”

      “Nana, I forgot to mark off yesterday. Sorry.” Sarah took a black marker and slashed an X through the date. “A friend and his two nieces are here to visit. The same ones who rescued Gabe this week. Why don’t you come out and have some lemonade and chocolate-chip cookies with us?”

      For a few seconds confusion clouded Nana’s eyes before she switched her attention to Sarah’s mom uncovering the cookies. Chocolate chip was her favorite kind. “I guess so. If you’re sure this isn’t Saturday.”

      Sarah nodded. “I’m going outside on the deck. Madison and Katie are playing with Gabe.”

      “I need my floppy hat and to change into long sleeves. I can’t be in the sun too much.” Nana glanced once more at the calendar then left the kitchen.

      “I’ll bring it out, hon. Go entertain your guests.” Her mother reached into the refrigerator, pulled out the pitcher of lemonade and set it on the counter.

      Sarah started to protest, knowing exactly what her mom was doing—trying to put them together. Then she realized the uselessness in attempting to explain. She’d just met Liam, and he was dealing with a lot right now. He might not be the biological father of the girls, but he was a good father—the type she would like for her own children. She gasped. That thought came unbidden into her mind and took her by surprise. She certainly wasn’t hunting for a husband right now.

      “Is something wrong, Sarah?” Her mother retrieved some plastic glasses from the cabinet.

      Sarah crossed to the back door. “No.” Especially if she made sure to keep those kinds of thoughts to herself. That would be all she needed if her mother thought she was interested in Liam. If she’d learned one thing coming back to Buffalo, it was that her running away from her hometown after Peter had died had only delayed her dealing with his death.

      Outside she joined Liam, who sat on the deck steps. “By the time I came out of the church service this morning, you and the girls were gone.”

      “We would have gone to the early service with Aunt Betty, but Madison kept changing her clothes. She had to look a certain way. A lot of her friends attend there. Do you always go to the eleven o’clock one?”

      “Yes. I can’t get going much earlier than that.” As Sarah lifted her arms to rest them on her thighs, she touched Liam’s. Her breath caught. She should have sat on the bottom stair instead of next to him, but she hated having to twist around to talk to him and then back to watch the girls and Gabe.

      “I have to admit when I arrived at Aunt Betty’s at eight this morning, all I wanted to do was go home and sleep. We had to fight a fire in the middle of the night. I thought of having them just go with Aunt Betty, but after the stunt they pulled yesterday, she needed some time without them. We went home so I could change from my uniform, and Madison decided to change her outfit five times. I’m not sure if she was stalling or what, but I was determined we would get to church even if we went to the later one and I was exhausted. Gareth always took them and, when I’m not on duty, I try to do what he did.”

      “Did you get any sleep?”

      “An hour. I’ll be going to bed at the same time they do tonight. I’m still working on getting this daddy gig down.”

      She thought he was doing a good job, considering six months ago he had been a bachelor with no children. Taking on a ready-made family overnight wouldn’t be easy for anyone. When a husband and wife had a baby, they had nine months to prepare. Liam hadn’t had any time. “I could watch the girls for a few hours while you catch up on some sleep. I could have them help me plant some flowers, and then we could go to the park with Gabe.”

      “I can’t ask you to do that.”

      “You didn’t. I volunteered.”

      “But—”

      “I’d love to. Gabe enjoys them, and that way he won’t be pestering me to throw that ball all afternoon.” She gestured toward Madison and Katie taking turns tossing the tennis ball for her dog.

      “If I hadn’t been exhausted before this, I would be now watching him running after it over and over. How old is he?”

      “Seven years old. In his heart he still thinks he’s a puppy. When he crashes, he’ll sleep for hours then want to do it all over again. Much like a child, he wants attention, but Mom and I work often from eight to six, five days a week. When we come home after being on our feet all day, we’re tired, and he’s ready to play all night.”

      “That sounds like me when I have a shift where I work most of the time, like yesterday’s. All I want to do is crash onto my bed and catch up on sleep. Usually the kids are at school, but not when I work Fridays or Saturdays, which is every two weeks.”

      “What happens when the kids are out of school in a couple of months?”

      Liam rubbed the back of his neck. “I haven’t figured that out yet. Aunt Betty has been wonderful, but she is seventy-five. My girls can run rings around her.”

      She loved the way he referred to Madison and Katie as his girls. He might be their uncle, but he was settling into the role of being a father well. She wondered if he had ever been married. Instead she asked, “Was your brother younger or older?”

      “Younger by three years. I’m thirty-five, and I know better than to ask a woman her age.”

      She laughed. “If I can ask, then you can, too, but I’ll save you the bother. I’m twenty-eight.” When the sound of the back door opening announced her mother was joining them, she glanced over her shoulder, wishing she had chosen to sit farther away from him than she had. It didn’t take much to encourage her mom to matchmake.

      “If you’re sure about letting the girls stay, I’ll grab a cookie—” a twinkle sparkled his eyes “—or two