Chapter 8
CADDO
It was only a few weeks after the TRO hearing in court that his shift had their camping weekend at Calaveras Lake Park.
The woman beside him in his truck had made a transformation during that time. Not only had his friends been stopping by the diner to see her and get to know her, but some of the other women connected to the firehouse had picked her up if they were headed to Station Seven for a visit.
And at home, May March from across the street had invited Seaton over to work in her garden and that meant Seaton had a regular supply of flowers and greens to brighten up her table.
Well, their table. If he wasn't on shift and she wasn't working at the diner, the two of them would eat together and sleep together.
No, they hadn't even kissed, yet, but that didn't matter to him.
His heart was filled with her and at night, his arms were.
That was enough for him.
Being with her, sharing her life, was incredible.
And seeing how she was growing in confidence without Daryl's shadow hanging over her, was a true joy.
Driving to the lake, he was treated to an amazing view.
It wasn't just her pretty face smiling ear to ear, she was wearing a pair of shorts that left a lot of her legs on display.
Sam shook his head as he saw goosebumps pop up on her thighs. Reaching over to the center console, he turned on the heater.
Seaton turned her head toward him, pouting a little.
Again, Sam smiled. A few weeks ago, she would look at him before she reacted to things, or shortly after, always worried about his reactions to things.
Now, he was seeing her natural reactions to things and enjoying it.
"Why did you turn on the heater?" There was a hint of humor in her tone.
"The heater?" He chuckled at the question. "Your legs... It looks like you're cold."
She reached back and picked up her jacket and draped it over her legs.
Now, it was his turn to pout a little. "I just thought you were cold. You didn't have to cover up."
She folded her arms over her chest. "Keep your attention on the road."
Sam reached over and put his hand on her jacket covered knee, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I am. I just like driving with you."
"So you say," she teased. "You also like doing dishes with me. Doing laundry with me."
He nodded. "It's all good."
"Good," she echoed back, "because beyond those chores, I'm not all that exciting."
Oh, he smiled as he thought about it, Seaton was exciting all right. He just hadn't had a chance to show her just how exciting he thought she was.
He hoped it would happen, but he wasn't going to push for it.
The way things had been developing between them was pretty amazing all on its own.
"I know that we're not heading into the water on this trip," she sighed, "but I'm planning to enjoy the views."
He looked over for a quick second and nodded. "I'm going to enjoy the view, too."
Seaton laughed out loud at that and he joined in.
She was different now.
Freer with her emotions.
He was proud of her and everything she'd accomplished, including scheduling her first craft fair as a vendor.
He was proud as he could be of her every day.
She was just that incredible.
When they reached the park, it was easy to find the campsite for Station Seven.
There were several campsites, actually. They'd reserved everything in the area south of the lake.
The cars and trucks were all backed into the parking lot and as he turned the truck to back in like everyone else, he heard Seaton hum a little.
It wasn't like humming a song, that kind of hum meant that Seaton was thinking hard on something.
Once he put the truck in park he looked at her. "What were you thinking about just now?"
"Thinking?" She frowned. "Oh... I was wondering why everyone backs into their parking spots here and at the station?"
He nodded, smiling at her question. "It's a thing we do to make things faster when we leave someplace.
"At the fire station, we back the truck into the parking area inside the station.
It's what we call the apparatus floor. We back it in so when we're in a hurry to leave on a call, we're not backing things up while we're anxious.
"When we come back to the station from a call, we generally have an easier time.
No rushing around. So we take the time then so we can speed out when we have an emergency.
Same thing here at a park. If something happened and we were asked to vacate quickly.
We can put everything in our trunks and head right out. "
Seaton sat forward on her seat and looked left and right at the other vehicles. "Huh." She smiled. "I see. That makes sense. It just looked a little..." her mouth pursed a little while she searched for the word, "finicky?"
He chuckled at that. "I can see that."
Rush walked up to Seaton's window with his daughter Gia in his arms.
Gia waved her hand and accidentally hit the window glass leaving a streak of something that looked like peanut butter on the glass. "CeeTee!"
Sam watched as Seaton put her hands on the glass and looked out at the little girl.
"Gia!! Hey, pretty girl!"
Gia clapped her hands, a big grinning smile on her face.
Sam caught a glimpse of Rush smiling, too.
"I wanna play, CeeTee!"
Seaton's shoulders sagged a little. "Sorry, sweetie. I have to help set up my tent!"
When Sam saw Gia's lower lip quiver, he rushed in to head the possible melt down off at the pass.
Putting his hand on Seaton's shoulder, he leaned in against her back so Gia could see his face next to Seaton's. "Hey, Gia!"
"Unca Caddo!"
"That's my smart girl," he grinned. "Seaton... I mean CeeTee can play with you if I can borrow your dad to set up our tent. How about that?"
"Yes!" Both hands flew up over her head, almost landing a punch on her dad's nose by accident.
Sam saw Rush's loving sigh even though he couldn't hear it.
"Okay, Gia. I'm going to come and open CeeTee's door."
"Back up, daddy! Back up! Beep Beep Beep."
Sam jogged around the car and added his own, "Beep Beep..." when he walked past father and daughter, making Gia laugh even louder.
He opened Seaton's door and gave her a hand to help her down.
When she landed in front of him, he leaned in and whispered to her. "Have fun, CeeTee."
"I will," she turned, likely to give him a kiss on his cheek, a normal occurrence that happened almost every day, but someone called his name and Sam turned his head.
Their lips touched and he felt Seaton gasp in surprise.
She leaned away just enough for their lips not to touch each other and he opened his eyes, trying to hold onto the unexpected moment.
When his gaze met hers, he could see how surprised she was, too.
"Uh, sorry about that," he lifted a hand and felt the heat of the skin at the back of his neck.
"Sorry?" She blinked at him, her face showing how stunned she was.
"Yeah. Someone... someone called my name and I turned."
"Oh," she seemed to be just as shocked as he was about the kiss. "I wasn't trying to..."
Gia's giggles turned both of their heads. "Kissy later! Play, now!"
Rush gestured at his daughter with his free hand. "She speaks her mind."
Seaton seemed to recover first, stepping forward, her arms out. "Gimmie my Gia!"
"My CeeTee!" Gia's arms shot out like Seaton's did and Gia launched herself at Seaton.
Sam heard Rush's pained grunt and looked to see his friend holding his hand against his ribs.
"My daughter has quite the kick."
Sam agreed. "Are we thinking soccer?"
Rush shrugged. "Ballet is what she says she wants. Thora suggested gymnastics, but I don't know how I feel about her flying through the air even with big pads on the floor."
Sam and Rush watched Seaton walk away with Gia giggling in her arms. "I dunno, Rush. Even if she takes to tumbling, you won't have to worry about her on the uneven bars for a few more years. Why not try both?"
Rush turned to look at him, with one eyebrow raised over a hard look. "You tell me that when you have a little girl. Then we'll talk."
Sam burst out laughing. "No danger of that any time soon."
Rush laughed out loud, startled Sam. "I guess you haven't seen the betting pool at the station."
"Betting pool?"
Rush held up a hand and ticked off the bets that his coworkers were making. "How soon you drop down on one knee. Whether or not you'll be expecting before the wedding. Oh, the guys are heavier in favor of that than the woman."
"Things are slowly moving with me and Seaton," Sam explained. "Her ex did a number on her. Even her mom was in no danger of winning parent of the year. I'm letting things go on their own time frame. So there might be quite a while before those things happen."
"Sure, buddy."
Rush's look said he was calling bullshit on Sam's words.
"No, really." Sam shook his head. "We're taking things slow."
"Things will happen when they happen, Caddo. You'll see."
"Whatever." Sam moved past his friend and grabbed the drawstring bag from the back of his truck. "Here." He tossed the bag at his friend. "You said you'd help me put up our tent."
Rush gave the bag a little toss and frowned. "This looks like it's tiny. Are you sure two people can fit in here?"
Sam nodded. "I pitched it in my backyard to test it. It's a good size."
Rush looked down at the bag and shook his head. "The bag for our tent is like three times the size."
"Well you've got kids and all of the stuff that goes with them. It's just me and CeeTee."
Rush tucked the bag under his arm and started walking toward the other tents that were set up on the grass. "You said you tested it in your backyard so it's not up to me, but you might have to squeeze in there with Seaton tonight."
"That's what I'm hoping for."
Rush stopped walking and stared at him. "That's what you're... Caddo!"
"What? She sleeps in my arms the nights when we're both home. I won't do anything unless she’s fully on board so..."