Big Daddy Sheriff (Big Cedar Daddies #1)

Chapter 27

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Back in Big Cedar, Walker, Cane, and Austin had the tall garage doors open at the firehouse. The truck was parked in one slot, but the other bay was empty, allowing them to use the space as a makeshift gym.

“Fifteen,” Austin said. He lightly took hold of the bar—though Walker was still doing most of the heavy lifting—and helped set it back in place. Their daily workout routine was Austin’s favorite part of the day. They mixed it up, being careful not to overwork the same muscle group, but he had a particular fondness for chest day.

Walker sat up and worked his arms forward and then back, already feeling the soreness from the bench press.

“That weight is a new record,” Austin noted.

“Sure feels like it, too,” Walker said.

“Well, you need to bulk up if we’re ever going to find our babygirl,” Austin said. “Your lack of muscles are probably what’s holding us back.”

Working the punching bag nearby, Cane laughed.

The bag swung on the chains that secured it to the pole it was attached to, moving with each hit.

In reality, Walker had plenty of muscles. They all did. That much was evident as the sweat glistened off their shirtless torsos. But they’d still rib each other about it. It was what they did.

None of them took it personally.

They were more than best friends. They were brothers. Share and share alike was their motto. They planned to continue that practice when they found a Little, too.

Walker walked over to a shelf against the nearby wall, grabbed a towel, and wiped his brow. He then took a pull from the reusable water bottle and was about to speak when Daisy poked her head in the garage and interrupted him.

“I’m off,” she said. “I have the system set to forward. You’re up tonight, Austin.”

Austin nodded, pulled out his cell phone, and made sure the volume was up. Any after-hours emergency calls would be routed to the device. Not that there would be any. Things were pretty quiet around those parts.

So quiet, in fact, that some might think a full-time fire department wasn’t needed in a town as tiny as Big Cedar. But those people would be wrong. With the thick timber, a forest fire would be devastating. In those situations, seconds counted. They had to have someone constantly standing watch, at the ready in case the dreaded specter materialized.

“Thanks, Daisy,” he said. “We’ve got it. Have a good evening.”

“Y’all, too,” she said.

But she didn’t turn to leave immediately. Her gaze lingered a bit longer than it should have. Her eyes darted between the three, too. It wasn’t lost on any of them.

As if snapping from a trance, Daisy smiled and added, somewhat hastily, “I, uh, better get going. Goodnight.”

She spun around on her heels and hurried toward her car. The guys waited until she was well outside of earshot before they laughed.

“Y’all saw that, right?” Walker said. “If you ask me, that girl is a Little just looking for a Daddy.”

“Maybe,” Cane said. “But is she looking for three Daddies?”

Before Walker could answer, Austin stepped away from the open garage door where he’d gone to watch Daisy as she walked to her car, ensuring she got there safely. With all the talk about predators lurking about, he wanted to be careful. Plus, any extra time with his eyes on that cutie was fine by him.

“Guys,” he said.

Sensing the urgency in his voice, Walker and Cane hurried toward him.

“She okay?” Walker said.

“She’s fine,” Austin said. “But as she was pulling away, I noticed a car driving down Main Street. Rolling kind of slow. Windows down. Looking around. Two guys.”

That wasn’t entirely unusual, Cane thought. People drove through all the time, usually tourists on their way to one of the area lakes. Those mountains brought in folks from all over the region. But, with everything going on, it was best to take a look.

“Where’d they go?” he asked.

“Kept driving right past the café,” Austin said.

“Hmm,” Walker mused. “Probably just passin’ through. But I’ll stay here and keep watch. If they come back by, that’ll be suspicious. Then we’ll follow them.”

“In what?” Austin scoffed. He jerked his head toward the fire engine. “That’s not exactly inconspicuous.”

“I’ll pull my pickup around,” Cane said. “We’ll have it ready just in case.”

Austin was glad. Maybe he was just on edge, worrying about Alyssa. She wasn’t his Little, sure, but he’d do whatever he could to protect her. Plus, folks in Big Cedar took care of each other. It was just the right thing to do.

His gut was saying danger was lurking about, though. Maybe it wasn’t coming from the men in the car he’d just seen, but his gut told him it was coming.

And from his past military days and current job as a first responder, he’d learned one thing.

Always trust your gut.