Chapter 5
“SORRY ABOUT your apartment,” Carol said as she left class.
Apparently stories about the fire and the fact that Willy had been caught in it were all over the college.
Many of his students had said how sorry they were, and a few had asked if he needed anything.
It was nice that they cared and made some of the blackness of the loss seem less dire.
He headed down the hall and was joined by a colleague.
“Do you have a place to stay?” Evelyn asked as they stopped in the lounge for a cup of coffee. He poured her a mug and got one for himself.
“Yes. After my classes I need to see about some furniture. I also got a message from the insurance company that some money was on the way, which is a big relief.”
“Where are you staying now?” she asked as she took the mug he offered her.
“One of the firefighters took us in. He’s put me and the kids up for a few days.
But I don’t want to impose on him, and I really think it’s best if we are all able to get on with our lives, you know?
” He sipped the coffee and closed his eyes, thinking instantly of Kevin.
It would be so easy to get used to having him around.
The kids liked him already, and Willy wasn’t sure if that was good or not.
He didn’t want them getting hurt if things didn’t work out.
Evelyn’s mouth hung open for a second. “So you and the kids are who my nephew took in. I didn’t draw the conclusion right away.”
“Kevin is your nephew?” Of course they were related.
How many Messiers could there be in a town this size?
“Then yes. He took us in. Grant and April have already adopted some of his dogs, and I think it’s going to be a fight to get them to bed without Elsa and Benjamin after we move into the new place.
Your nephew is quite a person. The night of the fire, he rescued the three of us from the building, and then when the Red Cross was running out of space, he offered his extra rooms so the three of us wouldn’t end up in a shelter. ”
“That’s Kevin. He was always kind and caring.
I was thrilled when he became a firefighter, though my brother tried to worm his way back into Kevin’s life and convince him to go to business school and work on Wall Street or some such thing.
” She shook her head. “Anyone could see that Kevin was a born firefighter.”
“He told me the story,” Willy said.
“And those dogs…. He rescued each of them in one way or another.” She set down her mug and leaned over the table. “Kevin has a huge heart, but his taste in partners is terrible. He dated Delia while he was in college, and man, she was awful.”
Willy swallowed. “I see.”
Evelyn shrugged. “They lasted about six months. Then he started dating Jeff, which pissed Clair off to no end, but he was no better than her. Jeff was a track star and had to be the center of attention, so whenever Kevin was in the spotlight, Jeff would make a scene or tear him down. It was not a good time.”
Willy couldn’t help listening and wondered if she should be telling him all this. “Maybe Kevin should be the one to tell me about his past.”
“My point is that he has bad taste in the people he dates.” She watched him over the mug as she sipped. “I’m wondering if a certain colleague of mine might have captured his interest.”
Willy huffed. “I’ve known Kevin for, what, four days? Don’t go playing matchmaker or trying to push us together. Kevin is a good person and he helped us out a lot, but….”
Evelyn grinned. “Kevin is super hot, isn’t he?”
“He’s your nephew!”
“And I’m not blind.” She smirked. “You know I’m right.”
Willy huffed and shook his head. “What you are is incorrigible, and you know it.” He finished his coffee and checked the time.
He still had half an hour before his next class.
Willy thought about going to his office, but he didn’t want to blow Evelyn off.
He just wished she would change the subject.
“Sure I am. But I also have eyes, and Kevin is very easy to look at. I know you noticed,” she teased.
It was time to put this conversation to a stop.
“Let’s talk about something else, okay? I like Kevin, and I think he and I are becoming friends.
But I’m not going to jump into a relationship with anyone, no matter how hot he is.
I have two kids to think about, and what I do affects them too. ” He hit her with a stern look.
“So you did notice he was hot,” she said and then broke into laughter, with Willy joining her. “So is there anything you need for your new place?”
“Are you kidding? The kids have two outfits each, and the landlord is helping with a couple of bed frames, and she says she has a few pieces of furniture. But other than that, we have nothing. After class I’m going to the consignment shop in Mechanicsburg and the used furniture store on Bedford to see if they have anything that isn’t hideous. ”
“I thought so. I went through what we got stuck with from my mother-in-law, and she had some nice kitchen things. There’s dishes, silverware, glasses, and pans… all that sort of stuff. It’s boxed, and I’d dearly love to get it out of my basement.”
“Oh gosh….” He swallowed hard. “I’d appreciate all of it. I mean, I don’t know where I’m going to sleep, but the kids will have beds and rooms of their own. As long as they’re safe and happy, that’s what counts.” He went on to explain where his new place was. “The plan is to move in tomorrow.”
“Then I’ll have Dennis load the boxes, and we’ll bring them over.”
Willy checked the time again. “I need to get ready for class, but I’ll see you,” he said and took care of his mug before leaving the room. He returned to his office, got his materials together, and went to the classroom to set up for his lecture.
BY THE time his class and the afternoon faculty meeting, which actually accomplished very little, were over, Willy was exhausted.
His head ached, and he didn’t even have time to work on the data for his latest research project.
All he wanted to do was get out of there.
After checking the time, he raced to the daycare facility and arrived five minutes before late pickup cutoff.
Both kids were ready and waiting. He thanked each of their teachers and got them back to the car.
“Daddy, are you going to marry Kevin?” Grant asked. “The teacher for Blue Turtles is marrying his boyfriend in two weeks, so are you going to marry Kevin?” Sometimes he was way too smart for his own good.
“No. Kevin and I are just friends.” Yeah, Kevin was a friend that he happened to have dreams about. Dreams that he was not going to even mention to the kids. Hell, he shouldn’t even be thinking about those with the kids in the car. “Did you have a fun day at school?”
“Yes. We learned our ABCs.” He then proceeded to sing the song out loud and proud.
He did great until he sang “elephant-o-p.” Willy corrected him gently, all the while trying to stifle his laughter.
Grant then proceeded to try to teach it to April, who did her best to follow her brother.
It was so funny, and the sound of their joy and happiness filled his heart with hope that they wouldn’t be scarred by what had happened.
His worst fear was that the fire would affect them emotionally.
The kids sang all the way to Kevin’s, and then they had to sing for Kevin… and then the dogs.
“What’s the plan?” Kevin asked once the kids were at the table with their dinner.
“Well, Ellen said she’d have beds at the unit tomorrow, so I figured we’d go ahead and move over there. I thought about looking for furniture after dinner, but I’m worn out.”
“Can you do it in the morning?” Kevin asked.
“I’ll have to. All I need is a few basic things.
Maybe I can head to Target and find some big throw cushions.
The kids can use them to sit on the floor.
I also thought about going to pick up a television and stand.
” It just seemed like there weren’t enough hours in the day to do everything.
“One of the other profs, who happens to be your aunt, has a bunch of kitchen stuff that she said she’d bring over. ”
“Okay,” Kevin said gently. “I should have known you worked with Aunt Evelyn. I just never made the connection.”
“Did you want me to make us dinner?” Willy asked.
Kevin shook his head. “It’s all set. Our dinner is in the oven and will be ready in about an hour. Once you get the munchkins fed, I figured you could get them bathed and into bed. Then you and I could have a quiet dinner.”
“That sounds amazing.” He was so relieved.
“Go on upstairs and get cleaned up. I’ll sit with these two and get them to eat and stop feeding the dogs.”
Kevin was truly a godsend, and Willy lightly kissed him without thinking about it before going right upstairs.
He jumped into the shower and washed quickly without giving things too much thought, because if he did, his attention was certain to turn to Kevin, and he didn’t have time to let his mind wander to all the wicked places it would certainly like to go.
He got out of the shower, dried off, and dressed in a pair of sweats and T-shirt before going downstairs to find his kids playing “toss the food to the dogs.”
“No,” he said firmly. “That is for you to eat. And the two of you are going up for your baths and then to bed in a few minutes. And if you don’t eat, you aren’t getting a cookie before bed.
” He definitely knew how to motivate his kids, and both of them returned their attention to eating.
Once they were done, Willy took both of them upstairs and got them in the tub and then their jammies.
He gave each a cookie before bed and then got them to brush their teeth.
Each of them wanted a story, so he read to them while the dogs got comfortable.
Once both were settled, he returned to the kitchen, which smelled amazing. “What’s this?”