Another lot of guys from Hunt were helping another team with attacking the fire head on. Gene just radioed that the fire was sixty percent contained but they couldn’t get complacent. A wind shift could change the direction of the fire, which made the need for firebreaks so much more important.
He would’ve liked to have been working on the front line, but it was safer that he wasn’t. His mind wasn’t totally focused and the last thing he wanted to do was put anyone in danger.
The radio crackled in his ear and he paused, listening to Gene. “East team three, check for stray embers. Wind changed from north-northeast, to northwest direction.”
Brodie glanced up watching the trees sway. The wind had picked up. Shit. They needed to make sure this firebreak was completed and pray the wind didn’t strengthen. He tackled the area in front of him, determined that the fire wasn’t going to eat this area they were working on.
Two hours later they were dragging their asses back to the truck. The fire was now ninety percent contained and the windshift had worked in their favor. Another team from another county had come in to relieve them.
“You okay, Dice?” Eric asked when they were settled in the truck and headed back to Hunt. “You seemed a little out of it back there.”
Fuck, he’d hoped he’d hidden his distraction from his teammates so they wouldn’t notice. He’d kept his head down and done his job, but there had been a couple of times he’d stopped and had to go back to an area he’d completely missed clearing.
“Sorry. I’ve got some things I’m trying to work out.”
“Anything you want to talk about?”
As much as he’d love to work through what was going on in his mind, the situation was too personal, and he would bet that Cerise wouldn’t want her personal business talked about. “Thanks, but it’s not really something I can talk about.”
“Does it involve a woman?”
“Yeah, it does.”
Eric studied him a little longer and then a small smile teased his mouth. “Do you like Cerise?”
“Cerise? What makes you think it’s got anything to do with her?” They may have decided they were going to explore a relationship with each other, but they hadn’t actually talked about how or when they were going to go ‘public’ with it.
Eric chuckled and pointed to Brodie’s head. “You got glitter just by your ear. That shit really does stick, no matter what you do. Cerise may not live in Hunt, but I work with her. Plus, everyone knows she loves glitter. Do you like her?”
Brodie remembered when Cerise told Finn that if he saw some glitter on him, it was her way of saying she was with him. He liked that sentiment. “Yes, I do. I like her a lot.”
“What’s the issue then? You date and, if it works out, great. If it doesn’t, you move on.”
“True, but it seems too soon to be feeling the depth of emotions that I am.” Not to mention he’d suggested they fake a relationship for the social worker and lawyer to help with her case. He didn’t regret it, but he was wondering if he’d been a little hasty about it all. They hadn’t known each other for long in the grand scheme of things.
“Look,” Eric continued. “Sometimes when love hits, it’s a slam in the gut when you least expect it. Other times it’s a slow burn. You start out as friends and then you work out that you were meant to be together. Neither way is right or wrong, but what I can tell you, if you ignore it or doubt it, then you lose. You don’t strike me as the type of person who likes to lose.”
Brodie mulled over what Eric said as he leaned against the headrest, exhaustion threatening to pull him under. He’d never asked what his parents felt when they’d met. Whether it was a slow burn or a slam in the gut, like Eric talked about.
His brother wasn’t married, so it’s not like he could ask him. Then again, he and his brother weren’t the type to talk about their feelings. They were more than likely to get into an argument about which baseball team was going to win the World Series. Baseball was a serious sport in the Spelling household.
Could he imagine a future with Cerise and Finn in it? Imagining one without the other wasn’t really an option. In his mind, they were a team, unless Poppy came back for Finn. He hoped that didn’t happen.
There really was no point thinking anymore about it right now. They needed to talk. He’d dumped a bomb on Cerise and then he had to run out before they could really discuss it.
No way was he going to let her not consider his idea because, the more he thought about it, the more he embraced the vision of him, Cerise and Finn creating a family together. Maybe even adding another one or two children to the mix.
When he’d arrived at Alexander Dude Ranch, he’d never expected his life would start to fall into place like all the pieces fitting together in a puzzle. Everything was beginning to make sense in a way it never had before.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Checkingher phone again and seeing no messages from Brodie, Cerise controlled the urge to slam it down. When he left, he hadn’t said he’d text her, or even call her, but she hoped he would. Sleep had been challenging and her dreams had been of her and Finn separated from Brodie by a wall of fire. She’d woken early because she’d been too afraid to go back to sleep.
What did the dream mean? Did it have anything to do with the idea of them faking a relationship for the adoption process? She couldn’t deny that the more she thought about presenting a united front, the more she liked the idea. Brodie had said he’d want to date her even without Finn being part of her life. She would want to date him without Finn too.
But dating was a long way from a relationship involving an adopted child. And from a happy ever after.
Finn wandered into the kitchen, his hair sticking up again. It didn’t seem to matter if she made him brush his hair before going to sleep. It always looked like he’d spent hours in a windstorm when he woke up. “Morning, Finn. Did you sleep well?”
