Four Flames for Angela

Chapter One

Angela Kennedy sat on the porch of the house she shared with her young ward, Todd Weatherly. Todd was seven years old and the light of Angela’s life. He had already been through so much for a boy so young. They both had been unlucky in life. Now that they were a family, life was better. She could only hope and do her best for both of them. She’d known Todd for five years since she was seventeen. They had been in the same foster home before she turned eighteen.

Angela’s parents had been killed in a car wreck when she was fifteen, and the court had decided she was too young to live on her own. Her half brother Thomas had been in jail at the time and there was no one for her to live with, so she was put in foster care until she graduated from high school. In the third home she was placed in, she’d found Todd. Todd had been two years old when his parents were killed in a car wreck, leaving him an orphan. None of his family had been able to take care of him, so he was sent to foster care also.

Todd and Angela had bonded in that home, and when Angela was old enough to leave she’d sworn to Todd she wouldn’t leave him behind. It had been a lot of work and a lot of money, but she’d kept her promise and now Todd was living with her. There was still some paperwork to be completed, but she and Todd were a family.

Angela and Todd had been shopping earlier that day, and when they came out of the grocery store Todd called her, “Angie, come here! Look! Can we have one? Can we?” Angie walked over to see what had Todd so excited.

He was holding a puppy and looking into a big box. “There’s so many.”

Angie pushed the cart full of groceries over to where Todd was now sitting on the ground holding one puppy. “Can we have one? Can we?” he asked excitedly, and he put that puppy back and picked up another one. “The lady says they are free, and they are siblings. What’s a sibling, Angie? Is that like you and me?”

Angie squatted down next to Todd and reached to pet the puppy he was holding. “Sort of, honey. A sibling is a brother or sister that came from the same mother and father.”

“Excuse me, miss,” Angie heard a voice say and looked up to see four of the cutest firefighters standing beside her cart which was blocking the path. They were all tall with varying shades of red hair.

“Oh! Sorry, let me move that out of your way.” As she went to stand, she lost her balance and would have fallen had one of the men not caught her.

Angie felt a tingle in her arm where his hand was wrapped around it. She stood and turned to thank him, but he had released her and was walking toward the store. He turned his head and smiled before giving her a wink and little wave. Then he disappeared into the store.

Angie turned back to Todd. He handed her the puppy, and she snuggled it next to her face. A few minutes later, she, Todd, and the two puppies were on the way home.

Later that evening after dinner Angie finally gave in. “Just around the block and come right home. Hold the leashes tight and don’t run. Do you understand?”

Todd nodded. He had begged her to let him walk the puppies for hours before she gave in. She should have never let him go on his own. Now it was dark, and they weren’t home yet. Angela walked down the porch steps and looked up and down the block. She should have gone with them. Where could they be? She grabbed her phone, but who could she call? It hadn’t been long enough to call the police, had it? Would they even do anything? She paced back and forth and called for Todd, but nothing. Where would she even start looking?

After a few more minutes she saw a fire truck stop in front of her house. What now, she wondered as she walked toward the truck to see what was happening.

“Angie, Angie!” Todd yelled as he climbed out of the truck and ran up the sidewalk. “I got to ride in a fire truck! It was so cool. We couldn’t run the siren, ’cause it wasn’t a mergency, but they let me ride in the front and gave me this hat!” He held up a ball cap with the fire insignia and station name on it.

Four firemen walked up behind him. “Hi, ma’am. I’m River Tompkins. These are my brothers Rock, Sawyer, and Hunter.” He reached a hand to shake hers as three of the most gorgeous men she’d ever seen followed him up the walk. The man speaking wasn’t hard on the eyes

either. Two of the men were carrying puppies. While River was introducing himself and his brothers, Todd was talking as fast as he could and pulling on her leg.

She looked at them and they looked familiar. Where had she seen them before? “You were the guys from this afternoon?” she asked, looking at the four men.

“You were looking at the puppies?” River asked, smiling.

“Yeah, I was going to thank you, but you’d gone into the store.” Angie smiled back at him.

“Yeah, we were kind of on a mission. It was our night to cook for the station, and we had to get back. I’m glad we found you again. ” He tightened his grip on her hand which he was still holding.

“Hold on a minute, Todd,” she said as she looked down at the boy who was tugging on her other hand, trying to get her attention. “Todd, you’ve got to slow down. I can’t understand you. Why don’t we all go in the house and someone can explain what’s going on?”

“They saved Spot. He was stuck and the lady couldn’t get him and they saved him,” Todd said really fast and reached to take the puppy from the man holding him. “Isn’t that right, Spot? You got stuck.”

“Okay,” Angela said, still confused and looking at the firemen for help. “Let’s go in the house, Todd, and you can tell me more there.”

The man that was holding the other puppy offered him to Angela. “I think this is yours. I’m Rock, by the way.”

“Thank you,” Angela said, looking from him to the first man. “Are you two…”

She didn’t get her sentence finished when Rock answered, “Twins. River and I are twins. Sawyer and Hunter are both younger than we are.”

“I’m younger, too,” River butted in quickly.

“By two minutes. Yes, you are younger,” Rock replied to his brother, shaking his head. “We’d be happy to come in and explain if you’d like us to, ma’am.”

“I’m Angela or Angie. Angela Kennedy. Todd is my ward. Please come in, gentlemen.” She turned and opened the door, guiding Todd in with one hand on his shoulder, the other holding the puppy.

River reached around her and pulled the door open for all of them to enter.

They all entered the small living room, and Angela said, “Make yourselves comfortable. Would you like something to drink?”