It made Nat feeldesirable.
Like he was something special.
And Nat hadn’t felt that way in a very long time.
Mallie shrieked, suddenly. They jerked away from each other and turned to the kids.
“I saw a moonfly!” she said, pointing at the trees.
Something pale fluttered from tree to tree. Duke grinned, striding over and scooping both Mallie and Teddy into his arms. “Where is it?”
“There!”
Duke carried them over to the trees. Nat checked his phone and winced, jogging after them. He waited for Mallie and Teddy to be distracted, before bumping lightly into Duke’s side.
“You’re due at the station soon,” Nat murmured.
Duke grimaced. “Thanks.”
He looked at where Mallie was pointing, but it was obvious that he wasn’t fully engaged with the children anymore.
It was hard, Nat could imagine. Choosing between time with his kids, and helping with the wildfires.
Duke sighed. “Mal, Ted, I have to go save the town.”
“Aww.” The kids pouted. “Aren’t there other firefighters who can go?”
“They’re already there, fighting fires. And the ones that aren’t there yet, they’re preparing to take over. It’s not as though the fires will stop when there are no firefighters around.”
The children sagged; Nat felt bad for them.
“Nat will play with you like he promised,” Duke said gently. “You like raccoons, don’t you?”
They cheered up. “Yeah!”
Duke set them down and slipped away; Nat tried his best to hold their attention. This time, they played How To Be A Moonfly.
Nat had just sent them off to collect ten leaves each, when Duke reappeared next to him. Nat jumped.
His boss was in a Cartfalls Fire Department T-shirt—it hugged his chest and biceps, and Nat couldn’t help staring.
“I don’t think you need tailoring on that shirt,” he said.
Duke rolled his shoulders, his smirk growing when Nat followed the movement with his gaze.
Mallie skidded to a stop next to them. “Oh! You should’ve seen the time we spilled paint on Duke,” she said. “He got it all over his face, so Teddy and I painted him even more!”
Duke laughed, his eyes crinkling. “We will paint outside the house next time.”
Nat shuddered. “I can only imagine the cleanup when you didn’t.”
“It’s not so bad when you can call in some help.” Duke hugged Mallie and Teddy. Then he turned to Nat, and paused.
Nat wished he were getting a hug too.
“Bye, Mr. B,” he said with a small wave.
Duke huffed and tugged him close in a one-armed hug. “Be good, all of you.”
