Charlotte Maclay - Between Honor And Duty

Logan decided he’d wait for Janice and her children.

Getting up from the table, he wandered to the window overlooking the back of the station. Maddie was playing chase-the-dog’s-tail with Buttons; Kevin was hanging out with Tommy Tonka on Big Red, the 1930s-vintage fire engine the teenager was helping firefighters to restore. If all went well, the shiny rebuilt engine would lead the Founder’s Day parade in the fall. That was assuming they could find a new transmission or remake the old one.

He smiled as he saw Janice come out of the station. A breeze caught her skirt, molding it against her slender legs as she said something to her kids. A moment later, they all headed back inside. They’d be coming upstairs soon.

Silently he acknowledged he’d been unduly impatient to see her today. She might not be beautiful in the classic sense, but her genuine smile and the way her light-brown eyes lit up when she laughed had always tugged at something elemental within him. A reaction he needed to continue suppressing.

He met Janice and the kids at the top of the stairs.

“We get to eat lunch here with the firemens,” Maddie announced, as excited as most youngsters would be about a trip to McDonalds.

With mock formality, he bowed them into the dining room. “Step right up to the counter, ladies and gentlemen. All the ham and cheese sandwiches you can eat.”

Maddie giggled, Kevin swaggered ahead of his sister and Janice bestowed one of her heart-stopping smiles on Logan. He tried to remember she smiled at everyone that way and simply be glad he’d done something to boost her spirits.

Helping the trio get their lunches organized, Logan served himself last, then sat down at a table opposite Janice.

“How’d it go with the chief?” he asked.

“He’ll get me a check within two days, so the monkey is off my back for the moment.”

“Are we getting a monkey, Mommy?” Maddie asked around a mouthful of sandwich, mustard creasing the corners of her lips.

“No, honey. That’s just an expression.”

“Can we get a dog instead? One just like Buttons? I love him soooo much.”

From down the table, Mike Gables said, “My son’s dog Suzie is expecting, and we think Buttons could be the daddy. We’re looking for good homes for the—”

With a laugh, Janice held up her hand to halt Mike’s offer. “Why don’t we wait on that for a while?”

Formerly the most studly bachelor in the Paseo del Real fire department, Mike had recently married and settled into family life with an adopted six-year-old son and the boy’s former social worker. The youngster’s ragamuffin dog had been part of the package, a shaggy female of indiscriminate breed. Questionable morals, too, Logan thought with a grin.

“But Mommy, I’d love Buttons’ babies to pieces.”

“Yes, dear, I know.” Janice smoothed her hand over her daughter’s hair. “Eat your lunch now, honey. We’ll talk about getting a dog later.”

Kevin shoved his empty plate aside. “I’m all done, Mom. Can I go down the fire pole now?”

“You certainly may not! You know your father never allowed you to do that.”

“But, gee—”

Logan swallowed a chuckle. The pole that firefighters slid down to the fire engines when an alarm sounded was like a magnet to kids. During school field trips, a man was stationed at the doorway to make sure a youngster didn’t take an unauthorized ride down the pole—or inadvertently fall into the three-story-deep hole that surrounded it. But the children of firefighters generally sneaked a slide at least once as they were growing up. Kevin was plenty old enough to give it a try—but not when his mother was telling him no.

Coaxing Maddie to take a couple more bites of sandwich, Janice finished her own meal, then announced it was time for her to go. “I’ve got to take the children shopping for shoes. School starts next week.”

“I’m going to be in kenner-garden,” Maddie said proudly.

Logan smiled at her. “I bet you’ll be the smartest kid in the class, too.”

“I already know my letters and I can write my own name.”

“Good for you, sprite.” Collecting the empty plates before Janice could, Logan said, “Hang on a sec while I dump the trash. I’ll walk you downstairs.”

She waited, although the children didn’t. Kevin, wearing thick-soled, designer running shoes, the laces untied, thundered down the stairs with Maddie fast on his heels.

Janice followed more sedately, her hips moving with a natural grace. “I don’t know how my mother survived raising six kids. Those two wear me out.”

“You’re doing fine. They’re great kids.”

At the first-floor landing, she turned to look up at him. “Actually, my mother once told me that after three children, it becomes a crowd and they all entertain each other. I thought of us kids as a mob scene, but we did have some good times together.”

“Did you want more children?” Before the words were out, Logan knew he should have bitten his tongue. “I’m sorry. Under the circumstances, that was a really thoughtless question.”

“No, it wasn’t.” She shrugged. “I did want more children. Being a mother is one of the few things I do really well. But Ray wasn’t all that happy about Kevin—we hadn’t been married long—and then when I got pregnant with Maddie…” She let the thought dangle.

Logan frowned at that. He’d like to have kids of his own, but without a wife that wasn’t likely to happen, and he couldn’t imagine a man not being thrilled by any child that was his. “I’d say if Maddie hadn’t come along, then both you and Ray would have missed out on something special.”

Her wistful smile nearly undid him. “I know,” she said softly. “I told him that the day Maddie was born.”

As they stepped through the doorway into the bay area, her gaze scanned past the parked fire engine to spot her children. Kevin was back to the restored fire truck, turning it into a jungle gym. Maddie was nowhere in sight.

“Maddie!” Janice called. “It’s time to go.”

“Maybe she’s already out at your car,” Logan suggested.

“More likely she’s discussing puppies with Buttons.” She cupped her hands and shouted for Maddie again.

This time the child appeared from around the back of the fire station, Buttons faithfully at her side. The guilty look on the little girl’s face was as obvious as if someone had painted a big letter G on her forehead.

“What have you been up to?” her mother asked.

Maddie hung her head. “Nuthin’.”

“And what are you hiding behind your back?”

Slowly, the child extended her hand. “A pencil.”

Logan stepped forward to retrieve the item. It wasn’t a pencil but rather a thick purple felt pen like the ones the department used for white-board sessions. Harmless, he thought, until he examined Buttons more closely.

“Janice, I think you’d better come take a look at this.”

Cocking her head to the side, she scrutinized Buttons. “Oh, Maddie, what have you done?”

The child puffed out her lower lip. “I liked Buttons’ spots and I thought he’d look nice with more spots.”

“Purple spots?” Janice choked out, barely able to contain her laughter.

Logan was in the same fix. His stomach muscles ached from holding back a howl of his own.

The fire tone shattered the lighthearted moment. Over the loudspeaker the distorted voice of Emma Jean, the dispatcher, announced, “Engines 61 and 62, Ladder 67. Structure fire, Broadway and Twenty-fifth—”

Before the directions were finished, Logan had turned away. But the quick touch of Janice’s hand on his arm, as soft as a butterfly landing, halted him. He glanced back, seeing the echo of fear in her soft, brown eyes.