Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 57675 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 288(@200wpm)___ 231(@250wpm)___ 192(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57675 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 288(@200wpm)___ 231(@250wpm)___ 192(@300wpm)
Ranger nods.
“It’s good to meet you, Bobby. Yeah, my uncle said that you guys got up to a lot of hijinks back in the day. But yes, my business partner and I are looking to start up a non-profit which would provide free facial plastic surgery to qualified candidates, who would mostly be children. We thought it’d be a nice touch if post-op, the kids could have a party here to celebrate what they’ve achieved.”
Bobby chortles, his big belly shaking.
“Well, a fire station is definitely the right place for kids. How old will they be?”
“From infants to about seven years old,” says Ryder. “They’ll love that fireman’s pole you have there,” he says, gesturing to a gleaming gold pole leading from the ground floor to the second floor.
Suddenly, a blaring alarm fills our ears, and I look around with bewilderment. Danny comes scampering my way, burying himself in my arms.
“Mama!” he cries, “Mama, Mama!”
“Sorry folks,” calls Chief Bobby over the raucous noise. “We’ve been called out to duty. But make yourselves at home!” he says. “There are some benches in the back where the kids can have cake, and they can even practice putting on some of our helmets and fire resistant gear,” he adds while stepping into a huge yellow coat and swinging an axe over his shoulder. “I wish I could stay around longer to give you a tour, but duty calls!”
It’s true. The firehouse is now teeming with men who seemingly appear out of nowhere. They rush to and fro, donning gear and bright red hats while simultaneously prepping equipment. Hoses are lifted in big coils and attached to the truck, when suddenly the monster zooms to life. Chief Bobby hauls himself into the cab along with the other men and waves at us.
“See you later!” he says. “Take a look around, and then shut the door behind you, will you? It’ll lock on its own.”
Ryder gives him a salute, while my son lifts his head to take a quick peek at the departing fire truck.
“Mama! Mama!” he squeals. “Emeh-gency!”
He waves to the firemen, who wave back as the truck pulls out onto the street, does a dangerous left turn, and then takes off with the wail of sirens.
The silence afterwards is deafening. We’re left alone in the cavernous space, and the four of us look at one another.
“Wow,” I murmur. “That was a real humdinger.”
“Well, this is a real fire station,” adds Ryder humorously. “Plus, it’s good to know our tax dollars are doing their job. Those guys are going to be saving lives.”
I take their hands. “Just like you,” I say in a tremulous voice. “You’re so good to be doing this. You’re going to be making a huge difference in these children’s lives, and I couldn’t be more proud.”
The men grasp my hands.
“You’re the one who inspired us to start this,” they say. “You got the ball rolling. You mean everything to us, Bethie, and you’ve changed our lives just by being you.”
I’m on the verge of crying or laughing, I’m not sure because my heart’s overfilling with love, but then there’s a little tug on my pants.
“Mama, Danny tired,” says my son before letting out a huge yawn. “Sleep.”
Ryder laughs as Ranger lifts the little boy in his arms.
“How about taking a nap in your stroller?” Ranger growls while holding my son close. “Would you like that, little man?”
My son nods sleepily, and tenderly, the huge alpha male lowers his small form into the waiting green stroller. He pulls a blanket up over my son, and within seconds, my boy’s completely asleep.
“The excitement must have worn him out,” remarks Ryder, peering under the hood to look at my son. “He’s so relaxed when he’s snoozing,” he adds. Sure enough, Danny’s arms are flung out and his cherubic face is already slack with sleep.
“It’s easy now,” I add somewhat ruefully. “When Danny was a tiny baby, he’d be tired but he didn’t know what to do about it. He’d cry and cry and cry because he was so tired, and it would drive me crazy.”
Ranger looks thoughtful.
“Yeah, kids who are really young don’t have a sense of what to do when they’re tired. You’d think it would be second nature to just close your eyes and sleep, but they don’t know that. How interesting.”
I nod.
“And now that you have this non-profit, you’re going to be dealing with even more children, all the time. How do you feel about that?”
The two men look at me, their blue eyes flashing.
“We’re ready,” Ryder says. “We love kids, and didn’t we settle on six children together? Or was it seven?”
Ranger interrupts.
“I seem to remember something along the lines of twelve kids,” he says. “Which means we should get started asap.”
I flush all the way to my hairline, even as my pussy moistens.