“I knew it. So, what does he do?”
“He’s a full-time firefighter. I haven’t really had much of a chance to talk to him, but that’s what I’ve been told. He worked for Chuck a night or two a week when he is off.”
“Oh! A firefighter? That just raised his level of hotness by like a thousand!” my aunt bellows, making me giggle.
“Says the woman married to the accountant,” I reply.
Aunt BJ stops and turns to face me. “Don’t let that fool you, sweetheart. Sometimes, the structured ones are the most…wild.”
I make a face of disgust, which causes her to giggle. “Don’t ever say that again!” I insist, wishing I could bleach my brain and remove the statement I’ll probably never forget now.
“I’m just saying,” she replies before returning to her painting. “Honestly, it doesn’t matter what their job is. Passion doesn’t care about professions, honey. Sometimes, complete opposites work out best of all. Look at me and Numbers, Jameson and Madelyn. Hell, even Jasper and Lyndee.”
I nod, understanding what she’s saying. The problem is, she’s thinking Collin and I are headed toward some sort of relationship, which we’re not. “We just work together, Aunt Beej.”
She smirks, and without breaking stride of the line she’s painting, says, “That’s what your parents thought.”
I don’t reply, because, honestly, there’s nothing I can say. I can’t deny that isn’t exactly how my parents’ relationship began all those years ago, when I was three. Dad had some rule about not dating where he worked, and it had worked for a while…until my mom came along.
I don’t remember a time when Dad wasn’t in my life, or my uncles for that matter. I’ve heard all the stories, seen the photographs. Four bachelor friends, all working and running a business together, and while most of them dated, it all changed the day Mom started working at Burgers and Brew. Dad fell hard for her, and with that, fell hard for me too. And my uncles? Well, let’s just say I was incredibly spoiled by a group of big teddy bear men who doted on me. They did everything and anything they could to help me and my mom out of a tough situation and made us all a family.
And look at us now.
They’re still right here, helping me.
“All I’m saying is keep your eyes open. Something amazing might come along when you least expect it,” she says, a soft smile on her lips.
“You mean like the unexpected guy who stops by to help you when your truck is broken down and ends up driving you home?” I ask, referring to how BJ and Numbers first…started out.
She barks out a laugh. “Exactly like that. I even let him try to look under the hood, as if I didn’t already know what was wrong with it. He was a true knight in shining armor.”
“You two are so cute,” I say just as my name is hollered from the living room. “Uh oh, I better go see what’s wrong.”
Carefully, I set my paint roller down in the tray and grab a damp cloth to wipe my hands off as I walk to the living room. There stand my two brothers, as well as my sister, and they’re smiling. “What’s going on?”
“Well, we know how uncomfortable it can be to sleep on an air mattress, so we brought your moving truck,” my brother, Duncan, announces.
“What? But…we were going to move all my stuff later in the week.”
Waylon shrugs. “Yeah, but we called the cousins to help finish loading your stuff, and now it’s all here. Mom said the apartment is about ready for some of it, so we thought we’d help you move in what you need tonight. Then, we can come back when you’re ready for more of it.”
My eyes fill with tears as I stare at my family. “Wow, thank you,” I state, walking over and giving them each a quick hug.
“And don’t worry about going back and cleaning the old place. We’ve got it,” Mom states, looking to Lyndee and Madelyn, who both nod.
“So, all my stuff is…here.”
“Downstairs,” Duncan confirms.
I glance around the apartment I’ll be calling home for the time being, and even though I want all my things brought up right this second, there’s still so much more work to do. I’m replacing the carpet and tile because what’s here is from the seventies and have a bit more cleaning to do. It’s all so overwhelming, especially when I partner it with the bar updates I’m making downstairs.
“If I may make a suggestion,” my dad says, stepping forward and placing a comforting hand on my wrist. “Let’s bring up your bed, and we can get that set up in the middle of the bedroom. This way, you can sleep there tonight and not on the air mattress. That’ll be easy to move when it’s time for the carpet in the bedroom.”
I nod in relief, grateful for his guidance.
“We can bring up the couch and TV too, because those are also easy to move out of the way to accommodate flooring. Your kitchen table can wait in the truck and the rest of your bedroom suite and living room stuff. We’ll bring up a few boxes with necessities too because most of that stuff you’ll need sooner rather than later.”
My eyes fill with tears once more. I feel like I’ve been on the verge of a good cry for days, as the emotion of what’s been happening threatens to overwhelm me. I see the flash of panic in my dad’s eyes as he watches me, waiting for a response.
