The Firefighter's Family Secret. Shirley Jump

unaware of the tension filling the restaurant, started chatting with Bobby. He gave Colton a half nod then turned his attention back to the people he was with. A second later the hostess gathered up a pile of menus and started waving toward a table on the far end of the room.

      A deep ache started in Colton’s chest. The father he’d always wanted, the father he had finally found, and despite the auspicious beginning they’d had at Jack’s wedding, Colton could tell Bobby still looked uncomfortable with the idea of welcoming his illegitimate son into the family fold.

      It was a small town, after all, and that meant they would inevitably run into each other. Colton told himself he hadn’t expected a warm, familial welcome, but—

      He had. He’d hoped for some Hollywood reunion, with his father trotting him around town with pride, telling everyone that Colton was his son.

      A son who let two of his best friends die in a fire? Did you really think he’d want to spread that news?

      Colton shook off the thoughts. If he let the guilt in, he knew it would take over every thought, and he’d be stuck in that limbo he’d barely climbed out of. He needed to move forward, make a new start. Not dwell on the past and choices he couldn’t undo.

      “I’ll let you ladies enjoy your dinner,” Colton said, then got to his feet. He crossed over to Bobby and Della as they made their way through the room, thinking maybe he had misread the look on Bobby’s face. But no, the closer Colton drew, the more Bobby’s face pinched, and the deeper the dread sank in Colton’s gut.

      “Hi, Colton,” Della said. She was a warm and welcoming woman with dark copper hair and a wide smile. Colton had liked her on the spot. If there was one word he associated with Della Barlow, it was grace. Despite finding out her husband had had an affair, and that the relationship had produced a child, Della had treated him as one of the family. For that, Colton was grateful.

      “Yeah, uh, hi,” Bobby said. The five of them had stopped in the center of the restaurant, twenty feet from the empty table. “Nice to see you again, Colton.”

      A tall, thin man with glasses as round as salad bowls looked over at Colton with a mixture of familiarity and confusion. “Come on and join us, son.” The man squinted. “Wait. Are you Mac?”

      “No. I’m Colton.”

      “Colton?” The man looked at Bobby. “Who’s Colton? One of the cousins?”

      “Yeah, uh, look, why don’t you go grab the table, Jerry? Della and I will be right there.”

      “Sure, sure.” Jerry and his wife took a seat at the table and accepted menus from the hostess. They sent over one more confused glance in Bobby’s direction.

      “How...how are you?” Bobby said.

      “Good. Pretty much the same as yesterday.”

      “That’s good.” Bobby shifted his weight. “Uh, you’re staying in town?”

      “For a few days, yeah.”

      He waited for his father to invite him over, to ask him to join them for dinner. Instead, Bobby glanced over at his friends then back at his son. “Uh, Colton, we need to...” Bobby waved toward the table across the room with that pinched look in his face again.

      One of the cousins, that’s what his father had agreed Colton was. If anything told Colton where he ranked in his father’s life, that did it. Why was he still here? Why was he still hoping for a miracle that wasn’t going to come?

      “Well, good to see you. Enjoy your dinner.” Colton turned away then fished a twenty-dollar bill out of his pocket, tossed it on the bar and walked out of the Sea Shanty. He’d been a fool for coming to this town and thinking he could manufacture a father-son relationship out of thin air. And an even bigger fool for thinking if he stayed any longer he might find all the things he’d been looking for.

      * * *

      Rachel watched Colton exit the restaurant and told herself she was relieved. She didn’t have time, after all, for a relationship. And especially not one with a man who wasn’t going to be here for more than a few days.

      “That was one delicious hunk of man,” Melissa said. “Tell me again how you met him?”

      “He came into my father’s store. Bought a fishing pole.” She shrugged.

      “Well, I think that’s an auspicious start already.”

      Rachel laughed. “Auspicious start? I wasn’t aware anything was started.”

      “Then you didn’t see the look the two of you exchanged.” Melissa arched a brow. “Definitely something started. And he’s interested in fishing—”

      “He bought one pole. A couple of things for tackle. Said he hadn’t fished in a long time.”

      “Close enough to interested.” Melissa leaned forward. “Did you give him all the ins and outs of pole handling?”

      Rachel laughed. “Did you really just say that? ‘The ins and outs of pole handling’?”

      Melissa grinned. “What? I’m stuck at home with kids all day. When I do get out, it’s like I got a free pass from the warden. I get in all kinds of trouble.”

      Rachel laughed. “Is that what we’re doing tonight? Getting into all kinds of trouble?”

      “Well, my trouble can only last till nine o’clock. Then this pumpkin has to haul her butt home because the baby will be up at the crack of too early.” Melissa let out a long sigh. “Anyway, enough about my pre-ball Cinderella life. How are you doing?”

      “I’m good.”

      Melissa arched a brow. “This is me you’re talking to, remember? You’ve had a lot on your shoulders lately, and I worry about you putting everyone else first and yourself at the bottom of a very long list.”

      “Spoken like an expert.” Rachel grinned.

      “True.” Melissa laughed. Her friend was always running her kids here there and everywhere, rarely finding enough time to go shopping or get her hair done. “I’m just as bad. The way I see it, all us kettles and pots need to stick together, since we’re all in the same boat.”

      That made Rachel burst out laughing. “That is the worst mash-up of trite phrases I’ve ever heard.”

      “Hey, everyone has to have a special skill.” Their food arrived, and while they ate, they exchanged small talk about Melissa’s kids, several friends they had in common and the hardware store.

      A little while later, Melissa glanced at her watch and let out a sigh. “Sadly, it’s time for this pumpkin to hit the road. Maybe we can grab coffee later in the week? Two of the kids are in a summer camp, which means I actually have freedom. Or at least as much freedom as a mom with a baby strapped to her hip can get.”

      “You love those kids and you know it.”

      A sweet smile stole across Melissa’s face. It was the smile of someone in a secret club, one where only those who had children knew the password and the handshake. For a second envy rolled through Rachel. How she wanted the same for herself, for her own life. Considering she wasn’t even dating, never mind married, that kind of thing was going to have to wait. Besides, she had enough on her plate, as Melissa had said, with her father and trying to run his business, while also stealing a minute here and there to keep her own afloat.

      They paid the bill and walked outside together. The fireman was nowhere to be seen, and Rachel told herself she wasn’t disappointed. But she was.

      Melissa gave her a tight hug. “Promise me you’ll take time for yourself this week,” she said.

      “I don’t have—”

      “You do,” Melissa said. “If I have five minutes for a little girl time and an extra-long shower, then you can find a couple hours to go out to dinner with a hot fireman.”