“Marly.”
Unable to help herself, Marly returned his smile. “Chief St. John.”
Mercy. Just passing by the man and his spicy scent had Marly wondering where on earth her head had gone. Hadn’t she scolded herself already? Physical attraction wasn’t something she could indulge in. But just because she didn’t plan on doing anything about this sudden onslaught of emotions didn’t mean she couldn’t appreciate the view of such a spectacular man.
“I want to sit in the front,” Willow said, taking a seat beside a little boy wearing his school spirit T-shirt. “This is my friend Alan. Just stand over there with the other moms, but watch me when I squirt the hose. Okay?”
“All right, sweetie,” Marly agreed.
She stepped aside, but not too close to the other moms. She was only here to see her daughter, help if needed and snap some pictures of her baby’s first field trip. What she wasn’t here to do was make friends with other moms or spend her time fantasizing about Chief Drake St. John.
But as she watched him interact with the children, she found herself softening toward this local hero even more. The children all stared up at him with wide eyes as he projected his strong voice over the young crowd. They were his captive audience as he discussed how firefighters rescued people when they were scared and needed help.
Within moments he had donned full firefighting gear to show them how they may look scary, but all the equipment was to keep them safe so they could help others in danger.
That instant, Marly found herself drawn deeper into his world. Whether she wanted to or not, she was mesmerized and hung on his every word...just like the children.
Great. Now what? The emotions were there. No matter how she’d tried to dodge and deny them, they were in the forefront of her mind. So what on earth did she do with that revelation?
* * *
Drake absolutely loved this part of his job. He loved the interaction with the kids, enjoyed seeing their smiling faces as he explained the different tools on the different fire trucks; he even loved letting them play with the fire hose.
But today, all of that faded in the background. Marly had a child—a little girl who looked exactly like her. Once his initial shock wore off, he realized he was staring like a fool.
Drake wasn’t sure if he was more shocked at the fact she had a child or the fact she was smiling so widely, so beautifully. He’d not seen her so happy before. Of course, he’d only seen her in her element at work, caring for Jeremy.
The second he’d spotted her, his heart had tightened, but when her face had lit up at the sight of her little girl, Drake had literally felt that punch to the gut he’d heard his brother Eli talk about.
Now that the children had gone through their tour and were starting to line back up for the bus, Drake realized Marly had pretty much stayed in the shadows. He’d caught her snapping photos of her daughter, and now she was holding the little girl, kissing her on the cheek. Drake lurched forward. He couldn’t let an opportunity pass him by.
“Would you like a picture together?” he offered.
Marly’s head whipped around. “Drake.”
“You know the chief?” Willow asked, wide-eyed and obviously impressed. “Why didn’t you say so? That’s the coolest!”
Drake laughed. “Maybe your mom could bring you back sometime. I’m sure I can find time to take you for a ride in the fire engine.”
The little girl’s mouth dropped. “If you’re kidding, Chief, I’m gonna be sad.”
Drake couldn’t help but reach out and give a tug on one of her long blond ponytails. “I would never kid someone so eager to learn about firefighting. But you have to promise one thing.”
“Anything,” she squealed and wiggled in Marly’s arms. “What is it?”
“You won’t try to take my job once you learn all this stuff.”
He forced his eyes to stay locked onto the little girl, which wasn’t a hardship because she was so adorable. But he could feel Marly’s gaze on him, and he wanted to turn and see those dark eyes of hers.
“I promise, Chief,” the little girl assured.
“Call me Drake.” He held out a hand for her to shake. “And your first name is?”
Her tiny hand slid into his and she squeezed. “Willow.”
“Nice to meet you, Willow. Your bus is loading, so how about I take a picture of you and your mom in front of the station so you guys can always remember this day?”
“Oh, Drake, you don’t have to,” Marly protested.
He cut his gaze to hers; thankfully he’d removed his sunglasses so he could see her with no barrier. “I know I don’t have to. I want to.”
Marly smiled as she handed over her phone. “In that case, we’d love a picture.”
Drake made sure he took a couple. He knew from experience that most women wanted options. Sweet Willow, with her golden pigtails, gave her mommy a big hug and scrambled down to race to the bus.
Marly waved goodbye and turned to Drake. “Thank you. You’re really good with children.”
Shrugging, Drake rested his hands on his hips. “Kids are great. You just have to know how to treat them.”
A shadow passed over Marly’s eyes. “Do you have kids?” she asked, raising her arm to shield the sun from her eyes.
He thought of Andrea, of the dreams they’d had. The family they’d planned.
“No,” he told her. “I’m an uncle to a beautiful baby girl, but none of my own yet.”
Sliding her phone back into her smock pocket, Marly started to pass him. “Well, I need to get back to work. Thanks again for being so great with all the kids, and especially Willow.”
“I meant what I said.” He turned to meet her stare as she started to walk away. “Anytime you see my black truck here, swing in, and if we’re not busy I’d love to give her a ride on the engine. I know she’d enjoy it.”
Marly studied him for a moment before a corner of her mouth kicked up. “You really do love kids, don’t you?”
Taken back by her odd question, Drake nodded. “What’s not to love?”
There it was again, that ghost of an emotion taking over, and Marly’s smile turned sad in an instant. “I agree. See you around, Chief.”
Drake watched until Marly was in her car and headed down the street. A hand slapped him hard on the shoulder, and Drake turned to see one of his men grinning.
“She’s a looker, Chief.”
Drake nodded. No sense in denying the truth.
“Gonna ask her out?”
Shaking his head, Drake laughed. “I have no clue what I’m going to do. No clue.”
And that was the honest truth. Because on one hand he wanted to see Marly on a personal level, but on the other hand she was scared of something—or maybe someone.
The pull Drake felt toward her, though, was only getting stronger. As much as he wanted to see more of the beautiful pediatric nurse, he also knew he needed to take things slow.
After all, he was still on shaky ground himself in regards to relationships.
Those piercing blue eyes had penetrated her once again. If Marly thought Drake a big man before, now that she’d seen him in full gear,