Free Bear My Soul (Fire Bears Book 1) by T. S. Joyce

her and Cody.
    “Oh man, this is too much,” she murmured.
    “You said to get what I’m having,” Cody said with a shrug.
    “I didn’t realize you required the food of six people.”
    “I’ll finish what you don’t eat.”
    Rory stared at the twin stacks of overflowing food. “Seriously?”
    “Just wait until Aaron hits his first growth spurt,” Gage said from across the table, his plate stacked as high as Cody’s. “He’ll eat you out of house and home.”
    She glanced at the half eaten donut that still sat on Aaron’s plate and shook her head. Getting him to eat had always been a challenge. “I’ll believe that when I see it.”

Chapter Seven
     
    “Are you sure you’re up for this?” Rory asked.
    Stomachs full of breakfast, they were in line at the train depot, waiting to take a long track around the countryside. The old-fashioned engine behind them hissed steam around their ankles, and Aaron clapped and cheered with the other waiting passengers. He was sitting on Cody’s shoulders, high above everyone else, sporting a beaming grin.
    Cody, on the other hand, looked utterly exhausted. “I have four more days with you guys, and I don’t want to miss anything.”
    He pulled her against his side with one arm, holding Aaron’s legs steady with the other. He leaned closer and murmured, “We had a lot of calls come in last night, and I didn’t get any sleep. Usually after the two-day shifts, I go home and sleep the first day away, but I’d rather be with you right now.”
    Rory wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her cheek against his sternum. “You’re a good man, Cody. And a strong one. You aren’t invincible, though.” She looked up at his tired eyes and the two-day blond stubble on his jaw. “I could go for a nap after this, and Aaron will sleep like a log after the morning he’s had.”
    “Woman, are you seducing me into a family nap with you.”
    “I am. Is it working?”
    The smile dipped from his face, and tenderness filled his eyes as he looked down at her. “I like that you worry about me.”
    “I like that you forgive easily.”
    He frowned. “What do I have to forgive you for?”
    “For waiting five years to come back.”
    He rolled his eyes and pulled her toward the loading platform with the other passengers in line. “Ma gave me an earful when I tried to complain to her. Said you were just the right kind of woman for being that protective of your cub.” His eyes widened, he looked around, and then lowered his voice. “I mean child. I thought on it, and she’s right. You struggled being a single parent for his safety. You’re a good mother to my boy. What matters is you came back.”
    “You aren’t mad you missed his firsts?”
    “Not mad, Rory. Sad. There’s no use cryin’ over spilt milk, though. It’s done. I can punish you and me both for what happened, or I can try to enjoy the time we have together. And that’s what I aim to do.” He pressed his lips against her temple, then pulled the train tickets from his back pocket and handed them to the conductor.
    Inside, they picked a bench seat in the last car. Cody’s hands never left Aaron’s back as the boy jumped up and down on the seat by the window. Rory could tell he liked his son by the way he looked at him with a soft smile between amused laughs. He didn’t act forced around him or uncomfortable. It was as if he’d been a part of them all along. And it was clear Aaron adored Cody, too. Already, he’d said he wanted to be a firefighter when he grew up.
    She was digging through her purse, looking for a package of trail mix she’d put in there in case Aaron got hungry, when an older woman with kind eyes patted her hand. “You sure have a good lookin’ family there,” she said.
    “Thank you,” Rory said, feeling breathless.
    She stopped her snack search to watch Cody point to someone working on an adjacent track and explain what he was doing to Aaron, who was waving frantically. Life felt so