8. Bronson

brONSON

It had beena walk in the park.

Stormi was adorable, funny, and easy to take care of. It was clear to see that even as young as Lake was when she had a child all alone, she was an exceptional mother.

I hadn't been around many kids until Lyric had started inviting me to spend time with him, the rest of the guys, and their families.

I'd definitely surprised myself when I offered to take care of Lake's daughter. But I was more than shocked when she said yes.

"Ready or not, here I come," Stormi chanted.

My large frame was tucked under the kitchen table where I'd been thinking about the evening as Stormi counted. I hadn"t a clue where to hide and only had ten seconds to find a spot.

The two of us had grabbed pizza on our way home, which we devoured while we watched themovie Frozen. That was a first for me but listening to the little girl as she sang along to the songs had me smiling. After that, we had one scoop of ice cream. I abided by Lake's rules so she didn't bust my chops, something I knew without a doubt she'd have no issue doing.

Then, Stormi had insisted since it was later and starting to get dark outside, that we play hide-and-seek in the house. So there I was, doing my best not to laugh as she walked around pretending to look for me, even though I noticed she'd spotted me right away.

"Oh no, where could he be?" she said, over and over, her voice full of mock uncertainty.

She was quite the actress.

Just as she was about to make another round through the house to draw out the game, my phone rang in my pocket.

Stormi spun around and looked at me, then yelled, "Found you!" After she raced my way and moved a chair back from the table, I crawled out.

"I think your mama gave me away," I told her as she giggled.

Lake had called me a million times already—which I didn't mind at all and understood—to check on her daughter, so I was sure it would be her again. When I pulled my cell out and looked at the screen, I chuckled at how right I was.

Hitting the accept button, I answered. "Hello."

"Is Stormi okay?" It had been the same question she'd asked me every time but something in her tone put me on alert.

Each time she'd called before, I could tell she was worried. That was to be expected, she was a mother. But this time her voice was clipped and laced with a franticness that screamed something was not right.

"Lake, what's wrong?"

"Bronson, please tell me my daughter is fine, and do it now!"

I grabbed Stormi's hand and moved us to the couch as I spoke. "She is right here and perfectly fine. We were just playing hide-n-seek inside."

A rush of breath whooshed through the line.

Knowing her daughter was safe beside me may have appeased her some but I could still feel the tension she was experiencing through the line, which was causing my own to rise.

"Talk to me, sweetheart. What's going on?"

Lake sucked in air and I realized that it probably had something to do with the endearment. She acted the same way when I had used her nickname the day before. I knew she was probably shocked that it came from me and also uneasy about it as well.

Can you blame her after how you treated her? I thought to myself.

"Have you noticed anyone outside or around the house while you were there?"

Her question had me standing and I instinctively pulled Stormi up into my arms with me as I went. The sweet girl"s face tipped down into a frown as if sensing something wasn't right. She had good instincts because my gut was screaming the same thing. I didn't want to scare her though so I gave her a smile.

"Nobody," I answered to settle her nerves, but that didn't mean I wasn't going to check it more thoroughly once off the phone and I had Stormi settled. Lake had to be asking for a reason and there had already been conversation that someone had been snooping around her place previously.

"I think this sweet girl here would like to talk to you and then once I have you back on the line you can explain better." Handing the phone to Lake's daughter, I settled her back on the couch to talk while I checked the locks on the door and took a quick peek out the windows.

I vowed right then and there, she was getting cameras and an alarm system put up as soon as possible. Hell, I was even going to pay for it. Lake wouldn't be happy with that decision, but she would just have to live with it.

When I wandered back toward the couch, I could see that Lake had done a good job of releasing that tension I'd felt grip Stormi's body when I was holding her. She was laughing at something her mom had said and when she looked at me, she had a twinkle in her eye.

Then she said, "He eats a lot, won't sing, and he's so big it's hard for him to find a hiding spot. But it has been so much fun hanging out with him!"

A deep chuckle rumbled up from my chest as I shook my head at the little turkey. Stormi smiled at me, laughing along with me. Then she cupped her small hand around the phone and whispered into it.

But I could still hear her.

"I think he'd make a good daddy instead of an uncle."

Holy shit!

I could hear Lake's gasp through the phone from where I stood, it was so loud. Me, I'd sucked in a gulp of air and my heart was beating at warp speed. Lake must have said something else but did it so quietly I didn't hear.

"Here you go." Stormi jumped from the couch and handed me the phone. "Mom needs to talk to you and she said I could watch one episode of Paw Patrol before I need to go to bed. But you have to read to me before I go to sleep," she announced nonchalantly as though she hadn't just dropped a bomb of a comment a few seconds before.

Taking the cell from her on autopilot, my mouth still slightly hanging open in shock, I put the phone to my ear. Stormi grabbed the remote. She began quickly and flawlessly moving through the apps to find what she was looking for.

"Bronson, are you there?"

Lake's voice filtered through the line, grabbing my attention. "Yeah, I'm here."

I wondered if I should tell her that I'd heard what her daughter said, but she seemed to know.

"From the shock I can still hear in your voice, I'm guessing you heard what Stormi said." Lake let out a sigh. "I'm sorry if that made you uncomfortable. She is just a little girl who probably sees what other kids have and wishes for the same thing."

Fuck. I could hear the defeat in her tone. She wouldn't want her daughter to miss out on anything, especially something as monumental as a father when she knew it was what Stormi hoped for.

"It's okay, cupcake. I understand."

And I did. I was a child when I lost my mom and although I was an adult when I lost my father, I still wished I had them both back in my life. The hole they both left was still there. While Stormi didn't know what it felt like to have a father at all, she still could see she was missing something the other kids had.

"Now tell me why you called in a panic," I told her, changing the subject.

Lake let out another sigh that filtered through the line. "I got a strange and creepy call. We'd just come in from a call and some man phoned the fire station. One of my co-workers answered and is sure it was the same person who called previously, asking when my next shift was."

My body went rigid.

I looked over at Stormi from where I was standing behind the couch as she watched her show. She was enthralled with what was going on and not paying any attention to me, but I still wanted to be careful with what I said in case she heard. I didn't need to freak her out.

"Tell me what was said and then I'll let you know how we'll handle things."

Lake scoffed. "You'll tell me how things will be handled? That's hilarious that you think you get a choice in the matter."

That had gotten a rise out of her rather quickly. And while I knew why that was, she seemed to have forgotten just who I was and how stubborn I could be. There would be no stopping me when it came to making sure both girls were safe. It may not have been my place according to Lake, but I was making it mine.

There was a reason Lake came back into my life, bringing Stormi with her.

And I wasn't walking away again.

"What did the guy say, Lake?" I asked again in a stern, no-nonsense tone.

She seemed to relent the argument that she was about to unleash about what I did and didn't have a say in, but not before she made it clear one more time. And her words stung.

"You walked away. I don't know why I have to keep reminding you of that, Bronson. So you lost the right to try and tell me or my daughter what we have to do. But since I don't have time to hash this out again with you, I will tell you what you need to know as it was made clear last night that we could use some help."

"Thank you," I said softly.

"On my terms," she added.

Lake was tough and I admired her grit. It was fucking sexy as hell. In high school I had to tamp down my reaction to her just for this reason, so she and everyone else didn't notice. Why? Because like a dumbfuck I had it in my head she needed to live a full life. If I had told her how I truly felt, I knew she wouldn't go on and do that, but wait for me instead.

"Got it," I said to appease her. "Now talk."

"God, you're still the same bossy ass," she said, causing me to laugh.

When I looked over at Stormi, she was still watching her show, paying me no mind.

"So, this guy calls and asks for me," she starts. "I haven't been in when he has called before so I decided to see who the hell it was. He didn't sound right, Bronson."

Lake paused as if getting her bearings and I had to do the same because I knew I wasn't going to like what's next.

"He doesn't beat around the bush, he just tells me that I am supposed to save lives and I fucked up when I didn't listen to him. Then he proceeded to say I was going to learn what that meant and that he'd be watching."

My grip on my phone tightened and I took a deep breath while working to not lose my shit at what I just heard.

"Bronson?" Lake inquired at my silence.

"I'm here." I rolled my neck a couple of times to ease the tension. "I promise your daughter is safe and I'll do everything needed to make sure you both stay that way. I'm going to call some people."

"Our Fire Chief already called the police. Someone is coming by to talk to me. If it wasn't for that and the fact that I don't have anyone to cover my shift, I would already be on my way home to Stormi."

My gaze scanned Stormi again. If anyone hurt one hair on her or Lake's head, they were going to answer to me.

"Listen. I'm going to have one of the guys come check the perimeter just to be safe. I won't leave Stormi alone at all. Then I'm going to have someone escort you home."

"Bronson—"

I didn't let her finish because I knew she planned to argue about the escort.

"Don't argue. I'll let you know who will be there when your shift is over when you call me next."

There went another sigh. She'd done that a lot during our conversation, but I also knew it meant she was caving.

"Fine. Thank you."

"Now was that so hard?" I teased.

It may not be quite the moment for it but if I didn't do it, I might have put a hole through the wall instead. And it made her laugh.

"More than you know," she bantered back.

There were a few seconds of silence as we both seemed to take everything in.

"Lake?"

"Yeah?"

"Be careful if you go on a call, okay?"

I knew she wouldn't be alone, but I didn't like it one bit. She seemed to be thinking along the same lines as I was.

"I won't be alone. Dave is always with me and usually some of the firemen too depending on the situation. Trust me when I say you don't want to cross some of those men. Huntley is ex-military like you and a badass."

Hearing the affection and admiration in her tone over the guys had an odd feeling swarming through me. I was pretty sure it was jealousy. Then I recognized the name she threw out, one that I didn't hear a lot.

"Wait. I think your fireman friend comes into No Surrender to workout, train, and shoot," I told her. I mean the name, fireman, and ex-military all made sense. "The odds are damn good it is the same guy and if so, he's a good guy."

He was in fact a very cool dude and a badass as she called him. Then a thought occurred to me. Was there anything between Lake and Huntley, or any of the guys for that matter? It wasn't the time to bring it up so I held the questions running through my head at bay.

"Wow, small world. All this time we knew some of the same people but we never ran into each other." Her voice was strong and full of wonder until her next sentence. "But you could have changed that if you wanted to," she whispered.

Her sorrow-filled tone shredded my heart.

"Lake—"

"No. Please don't say anything. I need to get back to work and can't handle any more right now. I'll call soon. Thanks for keeping Stormi safe. Bye."

Before I could say another word, let alone goodbye, she'd hung up.

I ran my hand down my face.

She was scared to trust I wouldn't leave again.

But Lake was just going to have to give me a second chance to prove I wouldn't.