Home > Life Changer (Chicago First Responders #2)(8)

Life Changer (Chicago First Responders #2)(8)
Author: B.J. Harvey

I hang the white one back on the rail and start working the buttons of my ruined shirt. “Okay. Is he a serial killer?”

Skye’s head jerks back, a smirk curving her lips. “Unexpected opener. I like it, but nope. Not to my knowledge.”

“Is he a stalker?”

Skye’s brows bunch together. “He’s rather enamored with a certain YouTube food vlogger, but nope. No stalking in his history. He’s new to this dating thing—as in, a newborn.”

That’s surprising. His flirting the other day was far from rusty.

“But the important thing of note is that you’re the first person to capture his interest in the past few years.”

“Good to know we’re on a level playing field then.” I slip the black shirt over my shoulders and turn to face the mirror as I do it up.

“You really are. He’s a single dad, and you’re a single mom, who just happens to live with her ex-husband and have a weirdly healthy, productive, and civil relationship with him.”

“Flynn and I didn’t end our marriage because we didn’t love each other.”

“You just weren’t in love, right? I get it.”

“Is that weird? Will Rhodes have a problem with that?”

“Rhodes Anderson can be like a bull in a china shop if he’s pissed off. He can be quiet and withdrawn if we have a bad outcome at a callout. He’s staunchly loyal, will do anything for anyone, has a heart of gold, and a soft spot for those close to him. But I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that he is not close-minded. He lost his wife five years ago and has raised possibly the best teenager I’ve ever known. So, no, Dee, you have absolutely nothing to worry about when it comes to whether Rhodes is a good man—a hot man.”

I nod at that assessment before I can stop myself.

“And he may be shocked as hell that you’re his blind date, but he will not be even one little bit disappointed.”

A knock at the door stops me from asking anything else, but after Skye’s ringing endorsement, I think I know enough. Skye pushes herself to her feet, shooting me a wry smile before looking me up and down and nodding with approval. “Come in…”

“Y’all better be decent,” Ezra says, making me laugh.

“Yes, Dad,” Skye replies sarcastically, just as my brother pops his head in.

“Always a smartass, aren’t you, Skye?” He glances my way and does a double take. “Looking good, Dee. And right on time, because they’re here.”

My chest gets tight and those butterflies aren’t just fluttering—they’re damn near causing a tornado in my stomach. “This is weird. You’re all being weird. A setup. At a firehouse BBQ. Who does that?”

“We do,” Skye and Ezra reply in unison.

“Take a deep breath. Be your charming self and get down there before your son subjects Rhodes to a Spanish Inquisition, the ten-year-old edition.” Ezra’s smirk broadens as my eyes widen and my mouth drops open.

Then my brother is jumping out of the way, and I leave a laughing Skye and chuckling Ezra in my dust as I rush out of the room and make a beeline for the backyard.

Unfortunately, I’m too late. As I burst through the French doors leading outside, Harvey’s mini-alpha-in-training voice reaches my ears as he looks up at an amused-looking Rhodes, a look-alike teenager who could only be his son, and another couple next to them. What’s equally amusing and surprising is that my son seems to have recruited Jamie Cook’s son, Axel, to have his back and join his little welcoming committee. And everyone else in the backyard have all fallen quiet, all attention now on the show that’s playing out in front of them.

I jerk to a halt and brace myself for whatever Harvey is about to say, because Flynn and I don’t filter ourselves around our son, and Harvey is just as protective of his mom as my ex-husband, brother, and the Cook brothers. I can never predict what is going to come out of his mouth so this could go either way.

“Hello. I’m Harvey. I’d like to know what your intentions are with my mom.”

I’d be shocked if I wasn’t slightly mortified, given that he hasn’t addressed the question to Rhodes. He’s asking the guy who could only be Marco, and it’s probably because he’s wearing a CFD T-shirt and Harvey knows Rhodes is a firefighter. The actual man I’ve been looking forward to seeing all week is wearing a nice button-up shirt and jeans that hug his hips—and likely his nice butt I couldn’t help but ogle the other day. His hair is messy in a styled way, and there’s a light smattering of stubble covering his jaw that makes him look all the more handsome.

Marco chuckles and holds out his hand to my son. “Sorry to say, bud. But the man you’re looking for is this guy.” He claps Rhodes on the shoulder. “But definitely grill him. A man should always look out for the women in his life, right?”

“Yeah, sir. My dad says it’s my job to keep my mom happy and make sure everyone else in her life makes her happy too.”

Then my not-so-blind date for the evening steps forward and leans down to hold his hand out to dwarf my son’s one. But my little man stands his ground and looks Rhodes straight in the eye.

“Hey, Harvey, I’m Rhodes. I’m not sure I’ve met your mom yet, but you’ve certainly made me want to if she raised a fine, protective son like you. This is my son, Jake. The man wearing the CFD T-shirt here is Marco, and that’s his girlfriend, Renee.”

Holy swoon, Batman. All my nerves evaporate, because without knowing I’m here, Rhodes has just proven he’s as genuine as the man who stepped in to help me the first time we met.

“Oh,” Harvey murmurs, his little head switching between the four adults standing in front of him. Axel puts his hand on my son’s shoulder and says something I can’t hear before Harvey looks back at his new best friend and nods. “So, Mr. Rhodes, please make my mom happy. She’s the very best mom and my favorite person in the entire world—apart from my dad . . . and maybe my uncle . . . oh, and my dog—and she cooks yummy food, and she’s always looking after me, and I need to make sure you’re not gonna make her sad or cry, because then I’d have to do what my mom and dad say I shouldn’t do.”

Rhodes’s lips twist to one side as he quirks a brow. That sexy, half-puzzled, half-amused look on a man should never be underrated. “And what’s that, Harvey?”

“Kick you in the balls,” he deadpans. And suddenly the backyard erupts into laughter as my mouth curves up with pride. God, I love my kid.

To his credit, Rhodes doesn’t dismiss Harvey’s words or not take them seriously. Instead, he holds out his hand and shakes my son’s hand again, meeting his gaze. “Okay, Harvey. I love my mom too, so I appreciate you looking out for your mom and making sure she is treated well. Is she here? I think I’d like to meet her now to tell her what a fine man she’s raising.”

Before Harvey can reply, Jake’s eyes lift and inadvertently meet mine. He stills, his mouth agape as he closes his eyes and shakes his head before opening them and staring back at me. He flashes me what can only be described as a shit-eating grin, teenager style. Then he’s elbowing his father in the side and whispering in his ear.

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