Colorado Fireman. C.C. Coburn

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      “I heard you’d come back to town. Just as well, or that dog might not have survived. Brave boy.” She patted his cheek.

      Adam resisted the urge to groan. His older brothers’ friends still acted like he was a kid. And they all wondered why he couldn’t wait to get out of town once he’d finished high school. If they’d known the truth, they sure wouldn’t think he was so heroic.

      Lucy listened to his chest and nodded. “Keep breathing,” she said, and put the mask back on his face.

      “Thanks. I intend to,” Adam said with a note of gentle sarcasm as Lucy did a thorough exam under the watchful eyes of the toddler’s mother. He thought again that she looked way too young to have so many kids. She resembled Meg Ryan—skinny legs, flyaway blond hair—and she seemed so vulnerable that Adam experienced an unwanted but overwhelming urge to protect her.

      He wondered where all her kids were now. Had she managed to misplace one of them again? And where exactly was her husband?

      Lucy departed with a promise to return again soon. Adam closed his eyes, then jumped as something wet and slimy collided with his cheek. He opened his eyes. Louella, Mayor Frank Farquar’s pet pig, was standing over him. He wiped the slobber with the back of his hand. What the hell was Louella doing at a fire?

      She grunted at him and went to shove her snout against his face again, but Adam pulled away in time. That was when he noticed Louella’s feet. She was wearing bright red rubber booties.

      “What the hell?”

      “Who knew old Lou doesn’t like the feel of snow between her dear little trotters?” his brother Will said from behind Louella.

      “A pig in rubber boots. Now I’ve seen everything,” Adam said. Could this day get any weirder?

      “You did good, little brother,” Will told him. “Lou was only showing her appreciation.”

      Adam groaned. Will and Louella had, in Adam’s opinion, an unnatural relationship. Will didn’t mind hanging out with Louella and, stranger still, she didn’t mind hanging out with him.

      He and Will were opposites. Will loved everyone and they all loved him. So did their animals. Adam had always found social situations difficult and preferred his own company, much like his older brother Luke, who ran the family ranch.

      A camera flash went off in his face just as Louella swooped in again. “You put that in the paper, Ken, and you’re dead,” Adam growled through clenched teeth.

      “Hey, your ugly mug will be all over the paper tomorrow,” Ken said. “Human interest, you know.”

      “Or porcine …” Will said with a grin.

      “Go away. Both of you,” Adam said. “And take her with you.”

      “Come on, Lou. I’m sure we can find someone who appreciates your affectionate advances.”

      Adam watched as Louella trotted off behind Will, her bright red boots contrasting with the snow. She paused and glanced back at him. “Don’t even think about it!”

      Louella snorted and turned to follow Will.

      “Darling!”

      It was his mom again. Adam sighed. “Spare me from women,” he begged skyward.

      “You don’t like women?” the mother with too many kids asked. She was holding one of her kids—the toddler he’d rescued. He was perched on her hip, but looked way too heavy for someone as small as her to be carrying around.

      “He comes from a family of brothers,” his mother said, completely ignoring the fact that Adam was about to answer for himself. “Unfortunately, he doesn’t relate to the opposite sex very well.” She offered her hand to the woman. “I’m Sarah O’Malley, by the way.”

      Adam wasn’t about to tell her he related perfectly well to women. Just not to bossy ones. Like his mom. And Lucy. And now this nosy woman with black spit all over her sneakers.

      “Carly Spencer,” the woman said, giving her own hand to his mom to shake.

      “So nice to meet you, dear, in spite of the circumstances,” Sarah said. “Of course I blame his father,” she continued. “The male decides the sex of the baby. After five boys I said enough!”

      Lucy had returned to check on Molly, since the vet hadn’t arrived yet, and chuckled at his mom’s remark. Adam saw Carly Spencer’s mouth turn up in a smile. She’d be even prettier if she smiled more often. Still, she didn’t have much to be happy about, since her home had just gone up in flames.

      “Ouch!” he yelped as Lucy reached over and prodded him.

      “She’s only trying to help, darling,” his mother pointed out. “If you can’t be more civil, you’ll never find anyone to marry you.”

      “Sometimes your conversation defies logic, Mom,” he muttered through the mask. He pulled it away from his face so she couldn’t mistake his words. “And I’m not looking for a wife,” he said, hoping she’d go away. And take the Carly woman with her.

      “Oh, my God, you’re gay!” his mom said, as if this was a revelation that explained everything—his unmarried state, his aversion to moving back to his hometown, possibly even the cause of global warming.

      “Not that there’s anything wrong with that, of course,” she added quickly.

      “I’m not gay.”

      “You’ve never had a relationship.”

      “Trust me, Mom, I’ve had relationships.”

      “With women?”

      “Of course with women! Mom, seriously, you’re acting weird.”

      “I just want to ensure the continuation of the O’Malley line.”

      “Last count, you had seven grandkids. The O’Malley line is safe.”

      “But …”

      Adam forced himself to sit up. “Once and for all, Mom. I am not gay!”

      Everything seemed to freeze—the chattering of bystanders, the whine of emergency vehicles, even the sound of water gushing from the fire hoses.

      Heads swiveled in Adam’s direction. His colleagues, several of whom had stood down now the blaze was under control, turned toward him and stared. Louella snorted.

      The television crews zeroed in on a developing human interest story. The Carly woman shifted her kid to the other hip and smiled.

      Adam groaned.

      His mom looked as if she wanted to argue further. Adam lay back down, replaced the oxygen mask over his face and closed his eyes.

      Moments later, he heard his mother huff and go off in search of someone else to pester.

      “Your mom seems concerned about you.”

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