Nate nodded. “They should gas up their trucks, too. We don’t want anyone heading up to Scarlet on an empty fuel tank.”
“Good point.” Jack raised his radio.
While he made the call to his foreman, Nate motioned them inside. “Come say hello to Janet. I think she’s got fresh lemonade waiting for you.”
Janet, Jack’s wife, was a former FBI special agent who’d met Jack when he threw her off his land. They’d fallen in love despite the age difference—Jack had been sixty-three when they’d gotten together and Janet forty-five—and now they had a little girl, Lily, who was three weeks younger than Jackson.
As Sophie followed Nate inside, Tessa came up beside her and spoke for her ears alone. “Don’t worry about Marc and Julian. They’re with the sheriff. He’ll make sure they’re safe.”
That wasn’t what worried Sophie. She knew her husband—and Julian, too. They were the first to step up in any crisis, the first to put themselves on the line to help others. In Denver Police Chief Irving’s words, the two of them were “shit magnets,” always ending up in situations that put their lives at risk.
But Jack had said it was a small fire.
Sophie prayed it stayed that way.
Vicki parked,grabbed the diaper bag, and walked with Caden in her arms to Robin’s front door. “You get to spend the day with Grandma Robin.”
Her mother-in-law was waiting for them. She took Caden from Vicki and kissed his chubby cheek. “I see your daddy dressed you this morning. I think that’s his favorite T-shirt.”
Vicki set the diaper bag on the floor inside the door and shut the door behind her. “Did you hear about the fire?”
“Fire?” Robin’s expression changed from happiness to worry. “Where?”
“It’s west of town. Eric got toned out just after breakfast. He said it’s a small fire, but he’s worried because it’s not far away and the weather is supposed to change.”
Robin settled Caden on the floor with his favorite magnetic blocks. “Try not to worry about Eric. I know it’s not easy, believe me, but my son has good instincts. He listens to his gut, and he always puts safety first. He loves you, and he wants to come home to you and Caden. He’ll be careful.”
Vicki nodded. “I know he will.”
Then she remembered. “I have some happy news.”
Robin’s attention was on her grandson. “That’s great. Let’s hear it.”
“I’m pregnant.”
“Oh!” Robin’s gaze jerked to meet Vicki’s, her eyes wide.
“I just did the test this morning. I think I’m about five weeks along.”
Robin drew Vicki into a hug. “Congratulations! I’m so happy for the two of you, for all of us. Another grandbaby! What does Eric think?”
“He’s excited.” Vicki told Robin how she’d surprised Eric with the news.
Then it was time for her to go.
She kissed Caden goodbye and drove into Scarlet, passing the roundabout where dear old Bear often stood preaching. He wasn’t there, but then it was still early. She parked behind Knockers and headed toward the staff entrance, carrying a white chef’s uniform on a hanger.
If someone had told her ten years ago that she’d end up married to a fireman, living in a tiny Colorado mountain town, and running a deep-dish pizza business, she’d have thought they were insane. She had loved her life in Chicago and her job in the fast-paced world of public relations and marketing—until she’d met Eric.
She’d come to Scarlet Springs to try to talk her best friend, Lexi Jewell, into dumping Austin Taylor and coming back to Chicago. Eric was Austin’s best bud, so Vicki and Eric had gotten off to a bad start. But then she’d come back to be Lexi’s maid of honor when Lexi and Austin had gotten married. Eric had kissed her, and that had been it.
Now she couldn’t imagine living anywhere but Scarlet Springs. She’d traded her career to be part of a shared business venture with Joe Moffat, or Caribou Joe, as many of the locals called him. He owned Knockers, the brewpub, and she operated her pizza business in his kitchen, offering authentic Chicago-style deep-dish pie to his customers and home delivery to the residents of Scarlet. She wasn’t making nearly as much money, but she was happy.
She stepped through the kitchen entrance to find Rico, Joe’s kitchen manager, head cook, and unofficial bouncer, already hard at work doing prep. A giant of a man with a bald head and bushy red beard, he looked intimidating, but he was a big teddy bear. He’d done time as a teen for stealing cars and had learned to cook while behind bars. Joe, big-hearted man that he was, had hired Rico, hoping to give him a fresh start.
“Hey, Rico. How’s it going?”
“Can’t complain.” Rico looked up from the celery he was chopping, hairnet over his beard. “Hey, Vic. How’s the little guy?”