“Stop before you make me cry,” I say with a sniffle.
“What, you mean again?” he teases. When I meet his eyes, he pulls out the same charming ‘butter wouldn’t melt’ grin his father has shot me a few times. “Am I good enough for lava cake?”
“I dunno. You didn’t say you wanted to become a chef. That would’ve earned huge brownie points.”
He smirks. “Oh, I do this for fun. I figure if I learn how to cook, then the chicks will dig it. Hey, maybe you should do a video called ‘Food Men Can Make to Impress Their Dates.’”
Bumping him with my shoulder, I shake my head, trying hard not to laugh but ending up doing it anyway as we get back to the task of finishing lunch.
No kitchens or food items were harmed in the making of the meal, and not only did I get to watch Jake have a blast cooking with me, but it also gave me a new video idea—maybe even a whole new business idea—which I make a mental note of to brainstorm later: online cooking lessons for kids. Maybe a home economics course aimed at teaching the basics and working up to making things like pie and lava cake.
To make a good afternoon an even better one, Jake further proved just how great he is when he not only cleared the dishes away, but also announced he was walking to his grandparents’ house three blocks over and wouldn’t be back for a few hours, giving us even more unexpected adult alone time.
Something Rhodes did not waste any time on making the most of.
Chapter 15
Rhodes
I keep checking the clock all shift, which is never a good thing to do on a twenty-four. But today’s a little different, because in a few hours, Jake is going to be taking his driving test at the DMV.
He’s been working toward it for months. He’s studied and practiced, and if anyone deserves to pass with flying colors and get his permit, it’s my son.
Unfortunately, his appointment clashed with my shift, but my dad, Don, and Lily’s dad, Connor, are taking him together, and Jake promised to call me as soon as he gets out, whatever the outcome.
Little does he know, we’ve got something planned for him. Dad and Connor are acting as wingmen in our endeavor, because if we’re on a callout when he finishes, they’re going to bring him to the firehouse. And if we’re not, Marco and I have arranged with our Captain to run an errand that just happens to take us past the DMV office. Because nothing short of saving lives and property will stop me from being there for this next important milestone in Jake’s life.
Marco, our friend and colleague, Zach, and I are all sitting in the big open space living/dining/kitchen area of the firehouse when Scotty walks into the room, four big white bags in his hands, and a bunch of giant blue balloons trailing behind him with the strings tied around his wrist. “Scotty, what’s with the balloons?” I ask.
After dumping the bags on the dining table, he shifts the strings from his wrist to a chair then grins at me. “You only get your license once, right?”
“That’s if you get it the first time, yes . . .”
“Well, Jake’s a hell of a lot smarter than me.”
“That’s a given,” Marco calls out, earning the middle finger from Scotty, who rolls his eyes at his lieutenant and turns back to me.
“Therefore, if we’re gonna congratulate him, it’s gotta be big. Most of us have watched him grow up. You’ve gotta let us all celebrate this too.”
He’s not wrong. I was already working here when Jake was born. Marco and I met at the academy, and Scotty wasn’t that far behind us, joining the CFD a few years later. Zach has been here about eight years, but all of us at the station are like family. And our partners, girlfriends, wives, and kids are all part of that family just as much as our blood relatives are. When you put your lives in each other’s hands every single call we attend, you get close. Even Scotty.
I get up and cross the room before reaching out and opening one of the bags. My mouth drops open at the sheer amount of streamers and party horns and hats, and a shiny foil sign that says it’s fifteen feet long on the label. Quirking a brow at him, I nod at the bags. “I said a few things, not the whole shop, dude.”
“Hey. Some of us don’t have sixteen-year-old sons, and we’re living vicariously through you. This is a big moment in a teenager’s life. First you get facial hair, then your voice breaks, and then you get your license and then you can get laid.”
I groan, Marco whistles through his teeth, and Zach throws his head back and laughs.
“Stop right there, Scotty. I thought we’d kept Jake away from you so he wouldn’t be corrupted,” Marco says, joining my side.
“Hey. I resent that,” he mutters as he spreads all the different party supplies over the dining table. “I actually learned a lot of things at the shop yesterday.”
“You did go to the party shop, right? Not the sex shop next door?” Zach muses, walking over to join us, taking in the loot, and shaking his head. “Dude, you got a piñata. This is a celebration, not a five-year old’s birthday party.”
Scotty grins and holds up a papier-mâché Tiki. “Now hear me out. Nothing says congratulations like hitting a cardboard vessel full of candy with a stick more than this.”
“That piñata is a tiki. This isn’t a luau.”
“Not my fault they were out of unicorns.”
My eyes are nearly bugging out of my head, but I let that little nugget of goodness go and move on. “Again, I appreciate you helping me out with
