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knew where that came from.
    He also wondered how he would answer her. “I’ve outraced a fire or two.” And that was the truth.
    “Fires are very dangerous. They hurt people, even kill people.”
    Okay, the kid had just ventured into very uncomfortable territory. He wasn’t a dad; heck, he wasn’t even an uncle. He had no clue how to reply to her. Especially since she was referring to her poor deceased father.
    “You’re safe here. We’re not going anywhere,” he offered.
    Lexi glanced up at him, her wide green eyes drinking him in. “I guess I believe you. You seem nice. And you smell good.”
    He laughed. Ah, the blunt honesty of children. “You sure I don’t smell like turnouts and smoke?”
    She shook her head and her nose wrinkled. “What are turnouts?”
    “The yellow coat and pants firefighters wear over their clothing when they fight fires. Turnouts protect us. But they have a particular smell that some people don’t like.” His mother had never cared for it, always griping at his dad to take a shower when he’d come home from work.
    One of the many reasons why his dad had finally left—he couldn’t handle the constant nagging. His parents’ terrible marriage had left an indelible mark on him.
    “I don’t think you’re stinky.” She said it with authority, as if her word mattered and nothing else. And then she did exactly what he’d hoped for: her lips curved into a small yet genuine smile and one little hand reached out to grasp the lower curve of the steering wheel. “I like it up here. I thought it was dumb boy stuff but it’s not. Maybe you could take us for a drive someday.”
    “I could probably take you for a short drive around the station grounds right now if your mom doesn’t mind.” His heart constricted a little at the understated joy he saw on the girl’s face, and he wondered at his instant reaction to her. He’d never given kids much thought. Yeah, he liked them all right, but he wasn’t one of those guys known as being “good with children.” He never really thought about getting married or starting a family—the idea was just too foreign to him.
    His life had been torn up enough by the divorce of his parents when he was eight. Why inflict that sort of torture on his own innocent children? The 50 percent divorce rate didn’t instill any positives in his already negative beliefs on marriage. It didn’t work. No point giving it a try when it was set up to fail.
    “That sounds fun.” Lexi scooted off his lap but didn’t move too far from his side. “Let’s go!”
    Chris had a feeling this little family could take him for quite the ride. And he wasn’t sure if he was up for the adventure.

Chapter Two
    “How was the fire station?”
    “You went to the fire station? Why on earth would you do that?”
    Jane looked from Mac to her mother and decided to answer her brother first. “It was…good. Logan loved it and Sophia didn’t really care, but even Lexi opened up to the experience.”
    “What did you think of Chris?”
    She studied her brother, wondered if there was more to his question beneath the surface. And what would his reaction be if she answered truthfully? How would her mother react?
    Christian Nelson was good looking. Tall and big with bulging biceps that had rippled with his every movement. She’d found those biceps fascinating. Found her daughter’s reaction to him even more fascinating. Lexi hadn’t stopped talking about him the entire car ride home. She’d listed off all of his good qualities—he was tall, he smelled good, and he was nice. So, so nice, Lexi had emphasized.
    Jane realized then and there that maybe both she and Lexi had developed a little crush on the fire captain. And immediately felt guilty for it, too. It was too soon for her to be attracted to someone. She hadn’t given enough grieving time to Stephen yet.
    She needed to give more time to her children, too. They needed her more now than ever.
    “He was good with the