A Special Kind of Love (8 page)

Tanner
cleared his throat. “We better get a move on. The parade route will be filling
up and if we don’t get there soon, we won’t be able to get a good spot.”

“Okay,
we’re ready. Let me just gather up all our stuff and we can head out.”

Tanner
followed her into the kitchen and watched her gather up supplies and
stuff
them into an oversized tote bag. Bottled water,
protein bars, and sunscreen disappeared into the satchel. She pulled a roll of
aluminum foil out of the pantry and headed over to the counter next to the
stove. That was when Tanner noticed two loaves of fresh bread resting on a wire
rack.

“Wow,
you made homemade bread?”

“No,
Aaron did.”

“I
made it.” Aaron answered at the same time as Sharon. “It’s Irish soda bread.
It’s really good. There are no eggs in it.”

“Awesome,
I can’t wait to taste it. I don’t suppose I could have a little taste now?”

“No,
it’s for the dance.” Aaron scowled at him.

“I
was only teasing, Aaron. It looks and smells really good.”

Sharon
looked from Aaron’s face to Tanner’s, she seemed nervous and uncertain. Tanner
put his arm around her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. He wanted to make her
relax. He wasn’t upset. He knew Aaron wasn’t being rude, it was just his way.
He leaned close to whisper in her ear,

“Relax,
it’s all good.”

Sharon
looked up into his face. Her eyes were shining with emotion. He couldn’t
resist. He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. He kept it brief
because Aaron was in the room. When he pulled back, Sharon’s eyes were closed
and a small smile graced her lips.

Tanner
smiled too. He could really get used to this.
A beautiful
woman in his arms, smiling up at him, with what just might be the start of love
shining in her eyes.
He sure hoped he was reading her right because it
seemed he was falling fast.

Sharon
finished wrapping up the bread and added the loaves to the Mary
Poppins
tote bag. He wondered if she had an umbrella and a
parrot in there too. She looked around the room. She walked over to her purse
on the counter and pulled out her wallet, cell phone and sunglasses, adding
them to the bag. Finally, she turned to face him again.

“Ready
to go?” she said.

“Let’s
hit the dusty trail.”

“I
don’t want to hit anything. I want to go to the parade,” Aaron said.

Tanner
bit the inside of his cheek to keep his laughter in check. He was really going
to have to get used to how literal Aaron was.

“That’s
what I meant, Aaron. It’s an expression. It means ‘let’s go’.”

“Oh,
okay. Let’s go.”

Tanner
took the tote from Sharon, placed his hand on the small of her back and led her
toward the front door.

Tanner
had brought his fire department vehicle, a white SUV with the Gaines Fire
Department logo on the door. Aaron’s eyes lit up when he saw the vehicle. He went
to the door and ran his hand over the logo.

“It’s
just like your belt buckle. I want one. Can I get one? Can I get a buckle like
yours? Momma, can we get these things on our car too?”

Sharon
started to answer, but Tanner interrupted.

“I’ll
see what I can do about getting you a belt buckle, Aaron. But I am the only one
who gets a car with the FFD symbol on it. I’m the fire chief, and the sign lets
people know who I am and what I do.”

“I
want to be the fire chief.”

“Uh-oh,
first you call me ‘pretty’ and now you are after my job? Maybe you can take
over when I retire, but you’ll have to become a firefighter first.”

“Okay.
I’m going to become a firefighter,” Aaron said looking at his mother.

Sharon
shook her head and gave Tanner a wry look. “Thanks so much. Now he has a new
obsession. I hope you’re ready for this.”

Tanner
laughed. Actually, he couldn’t be happier. If Aaron was interested in
firefighting it would give them a way to connect.

“We
have a junior firefighters program, but you have to be fourteen to sign up. I’d
be happy to show you around the station and introduce you to the guys. Would
you like that?”

Aaron’s
eyes were as big as saucers. He nodded his head vigorously.

“Can
we go now?”

Tanner
laughed again. He couldn’t remember when he had laughed so much in a single
day.

“No,
not right now, Aaron. We’re going to the parade and the dance, remember?”

Aaron’s
face fell for a moment, and then brightened again.

“Oh yeah.
The parade, and then I get to meet some
new friends at the dance, right? And play games, and then see fireworks.” At
the last word his expression changed again.

“Do
you want to see the fireworks, Aaron? We can skip them if you want.”

“I
want to see them…I like watching them. I—the noise…”

“The
noise bothers you, right?”

Aaron
sheepishly nodded his head.

“I
keep earplugs in my ‘go kit’ in the car. Fires can be really loud. You could
wear a pair during the fireworks if you want. Maybe that would help?”

The
look on Aaron’s face made Tanner’s heart swell. He felt ten feet tall.

“Really?”

“Sure.”

Tanner
glanced up to find Sharon watching him. He could swear he saw tears glistening
in her eyes. Was she really so unused to simple kindness from people?

“Thank
you, Tanner. That’s a wonderful idea.” She stood on her tiptoes, and kissed his
cheek.

The
three got into the SUV and headed downtown to the parade route. Tanner parked
at the fire station, as the parade passed right past the station. They were
just in time. People were gathering along the street, but there were still good
spots available. As they exited the car Tanner said, “I stashed some folding
chairs in my office for us. Why don’t you two pick us out a spot and I’ll go
and grab them.”

“Sounds
like a plan,” Sharon replied. “Come on, Aaron, let’s get a good spot. We don’t
want to miss anything.”

He
had never felt this way before a
parade,
he was flying
as high as the helium balloons. Somebody better grab his feet or he was going
to float right down the parade route.

Tanner
found them waiting at a great vantage point. No trees or telephone poles in the
way and a clear view for several hundred yards in both directions, He set up
the chairs and they settled down to wait for the parade to start.

Chapter Four

The
parade passed in a blur of excitement. The marching band proudly played the
American classics, complete with booming drums and clanging cymbals, and
surprisingly, Aaron handled it well. Folksy and patriotic floats with lots of
red, white and blue bunting added vivid splashes of color. It was like a Norman
Rockwell painting come to life. As each group marched by her chair, Sharon fell
a little more in love with the town of Gaines.

The
sun was just beginning to lower in the sky when the Mayor, in his clichéd
convertible rode past. Flags flying on all corners of the car and a smiling
beauty queen at his side, the Mayor waved to the cheering crowd.

As
the parade ended, the revelers lining the street began to disperse. Chairs and
children were gathered and the crowd seemed to melt away like ice cream on a
hot summer day. Sharon stood and stretched. She looked over at Aaron and
couldn’t help but smile at the joy and excitement written on his face.

“Did
you like the parade?”

“It
was awesome! Did you see those girls twirl those flags? That was really neat.”

“Yes,
I did. They were really good, weren’t they?”

Aaron
nodded so hard she thought his ears would fall off.

“What
was your favorite part, Tanner?” Aaron asked.

Tanner
pushed his hat to the back of his head and scratched his forehead.

“I
think I liked the cheerleaders the best.”

Sharon
laughed. “Well, there’s a surprise.
A man who loves
cheerleaders.
Who’d have
thunk
it?”

Tanner
looped his arm over her shoulder and whispered in her ear, “None of them was as
pretty as you.”

Sharon
nudged his side with her elbow and gave him a
yeah right
look. But she couldn’t stop the smile from spreading
across her face at his words.

“We
have a little bit of time before the dance starts. Since we have to take the
chairs back to the fire station anyway, do you want to take a quick tour while
we’re here, Aaron?”

“Yeah!”
Aaron exclaimed. “Awesome.”

They
walked the short distance to the fire station and Tanner led them inside. To
the left of the entrance was a small office with windows overlooking the bays
that housed the fire
trucks.
Tanner leaned the chairs against
the wall and dug in his pocket for his keys. He opened the door and ushered
them in.

“This
is my office.”

Sharon
looked around. The space was simple, but comfortable looking. A small oak desk
sat facing the windows. Photos, plaques and awards lined the wall behind the
desk and a small sofa sat off to the right. Sharon walked over to the
photographs and zeroed in on the one of Tanner, resplendent in his dress
uniform, shaking hands with some dignitary or another.
Man, he is handsome in his uniform.

Sharon
looked up at Tanner and smiled.

“It’s
a lovely office.”

“Thanks,
we’re a small station, but I’m really proud of all we’ve accomplished.” He
clapped a hand unto Aaron’s shoulder. “Are you ready to see the rest of the
place?”

Aaron
nodded.
“Oh yeah.
Can we go see the fire trucks?”

“You
betcha
.”

They
entered the large bay and walked over to the big red engine. Tanner opened the
driver’s door.

“Climb
in big guy, and you can get the view from the cab.”

“Really?
I can go inside?”

“Sure,
take a look.”

Aaron
clambered inside and Tanner leaned in the open doorway. He pointed out all the
controls. He showed Aaron how to operate the lights and sirens, though he made
sure not to turn the sirens on. He pointed out the controls for extending the
stabilizers and the ladder extension.

Sharon
stood off to the side and watched Tanner interact with her son. Aaron’s eyes
were glowing like stars in a night sky. Tanner seemed to be enjoying sharing
his passion with her son. Her heart swelled and she fell just a little bit more
for the man who seemed to be stealing her heart a little piece at a time.

“Aren’t
you scared of the fires?” Aaron asked.

“Fire
is very dangerous. But I have special equipment I wear to protect me from the
heat and smoke, and I am always very careful. We have radios and we talk to
each other all the time. We even have sensors on our uniforms that will send
out an alarm if we stop moving for too long. That way, my friends will know if
I’m in trouble.”

“I
know all that. But that’s not what I asked. Don’t you get scared?”

Tanner
crossed his arms and stared at Aaron, his face serious.

“When
I’m fighting a fire, usually I have so much adrenaline running through my
system I don’t have time to be scared. I am thinking about what I need to be
doing and about the people I’m helping. After the fire is over, sometimes I am
scared. I think about all the things that
could
have happened.”

Sharon
raised an eyebrow. She was surprised to hear Tanner acknowledge his fears. She
would have expected a macho fireman to bluster with bravado and swagger. Tanner
seemed to surprise her at every turn.