Page 27 of Controlled Burn
Caleb: As you could probably tell from the name, it’s about pirates.
Keith: Yeah, I figured. How was the rest of your day?
Caleb: It was pretty normal. You’ll be glad to know I stopped at the store after work and grabbed some food.
Keith: Good boy.
Friday Morning
Keith: Morning, baby boy.
Caleb: Morning, Daddy.
Keith: I’m on shift today, which means I’ll either be bored silly or I’ll be so busy I won’t have time to text.
Caleb: We’ll hope for the former then.
Keith: I’ll have time to finish the book and maybe try Black Sails if that happens. I need to get going. Cap has us doing some crazy ass training drills this morning.
Caleb: Okay, be careful.
Chapter 11
Caleb
I handed Mrs. Simpson her books and gave her a warm smile. She was one of my favorites of our library patrons, and I hadn’t seen her for a few weeks.
“Here you go, Mrs. Simpson. I’m glad you’re feeling better.”
“Oh, I am, and I’m really looking forward to reading these new mysteries.”
My phone buzzed on the counter next to me, but I ignored it, not wanting to be rude.
“I haven’t read that one yet, so you’ll have to let me know how it was. I can’t wait to find out if Clover chooses Jeffery or Thomas.”
“Thomas would make the most sense because he’s so supportive of her and her sleuthing.” She picked up her book bag. “Which probably means—” She paused, waiting for me to finish the sentence.
“She’ll pick Jeffery.” We both chuckled.
“I’ll see you next time, young man.”
I waited until she was far enough away and picked up my phone, flipping it over to see a text from Keith telling me he was going out on a call.
My heart sped up, and I took a couple of deep breaths. He would be fine. Firefighters went out on calls all the time. He was good at his job, and he knew what he was doing. What on earth was I thinking, getting mixed up with a firefighter?
But I’m not mixed up with him. I had to remind myself. This is just a temporary thing for me to see if I wanted a Daddy or not.
I wasn’t my mother. I wasn’t setting myself up for endless nights of worry. At least no more than I already had worrying about my dad, and I already struggled enough with that.
“What’s wrong with you?” Giles asked.
I glanced around to make sure no one was close. “Keith sent me a text saying that they were going out on a call.” I shrugged.
“You mean Daddy Keith sent you a text,” he teased.
“I told you he isn’t really my Daddy,” I hissed, looking around to make sure no one could hear us. Giles had been the first call I’d made after Keith left my house the other night. His reading preferences leaned more towards sci-fi than romance, so he hadn’t joined the book club, but he was still one of my best friends in Vesper.
“If you say so, but seriously, Caleb, he’ll be fine. This is what he does.”