Up in Smoke (Hotshots 4)

“Rich says you’re a saint for putting up with it.” Brandt smiled at her, even as his gut turned more caustic at her words.

“I am.” She didn’t laugh. “Standard nine-to-five daycare isn’t going to work for you. A nanny might help, but this is going to be difficult no matter how you slice it. Single parenthood and smoke jumping may not be compatible.”

“I’ll make it work.” On that, Brandt was determined. Shoulders tensing, he sat up a little taller. He was a smoke jumper. It was in his blood, and the only family he knew was in the wildfire fighting community. “I’m not walking away from this kid, but I’m not giving up my life either.”

“Maybe Shelby will make it back,” Shane offered, but there was no real hope to his voice.

Cameron nodded. “In an ideal world, the mom will return and be an acceptable primary parent, and I’ll get you an equitable visitation schedule, but ideal rarely materializes.”

“Don’t I know it.” This whole damn thing was so far from ideal he had no idea what he was even hoping for anymore.

“And I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you that right now, at two months, the baby is highly adoptable, especially if we could get Mom on board quickly. Private placement. Find an open situation with some visitation—”

“No.” Shane cut her off before Brandt could, a pained sound that echoed in Brandt’s soul.

“Yeah, no way. That’s not gonna happen.”

“All right. Then we’ll work on that custody order and get a rush on the paternity test results. Now, Uncle Shane, what are your plans if the paternity test clears Brandt of responsibility?”

Shane blinked repeatedly, baby deer caught in the headlights, needing someone to bail him out. “I...”

“You can stay with me while you figure it out.” Brandt was so far from maternal it wasn’t funny, but no way was he going to watch Shane flounder. Not when he could do something about it. “You’re willing to help me out. The least I can do is return the favor. I don’t want you to rush into a placement simply because you don’t think you’ve got options.”

“Thanks.” Shane swallowed audibly and his eyes shone with relief. Like the night before, a current passed between them. An acknowledgment. They might be all the baby had, but they were also all each other had. An unofficial team now. Partners of sorts, simply trying to find a way forward.

“We’re going to make it through this.” Brandt forced some conviction into his voice, saying the words they both needed to hear. And maybe he didn’t quite believe it yet, but he’d made it out of deadly no-win situations more than a time or two. Surely one little baby wasn’t going to be his undoing.

* * *

Shane almost missed Brandt coming back into the waiting area at the medical lab office where they’d gone for the DNA test. Giving a sleepy baby a bottle was a recipe for drifting off himself, but he managed to look up right as the door to the lab area swung shut.

“We need to go shopping.” Brandt was remarkably peppy for a guy who’d just had both a cheek swab and a blood draw. Jewel had only needed the cheek swab, but she’d protested that enough that Shane had taken her to the waiting area while Brandt got his needle stick.

“Whoa. What happened to you being the low maintenance one?” Shane joked to cover how much he didn’t like medical stuff himself. Brandt was much more easy-going in general, but especially about this sort of thing. Damn good thing they hadn’t needed Shane’s blood. Passing out on Brandt would be embarrassing, especially since he’d been far nicer than he needed to be, saying Shane could stay even if the paternity test showed Brandt wasn’t the dad.

“Not shopping for me. For the little diva.” Brandt gestured at the baby. “Cameron gave us a list of what social workers look for if they have to do a home visit, and besides that, the baby didn’t exactly come with a lot of gear.”

“You poor guys.” The female med tech in blue scrubs who had followed Brandt out had evidently learned at least part of the story from Brandt, who was nothing if not chatty and charming. The woman even went as far as to pat Brandt’s arm. “If I were you, I’d hit up the used store down the street—tons of gently worn kids’ clothes and toys at a fraction of what you’d pay retail. And as a single mom, I can say to start with the basics. Don’t go nuts. You can always fill in as you go if the baby ends up staying longer.”

“Good tips.” Brandt turned the full wattage of his smile on the young woman, who blushed. His smile didn’t dim any as he turned back to Shane. “You up for it?”