The Firefighter Daddy by Margaret Daley Page A

Sarah joined Katie, still sobbing, Nana held four kittens in her lap with Gabe sitting in front of her. Katie had Blackie cradled against her chest.
    Sarah sat cross-legged on the ground next to the little girl and put her arm around her shoulders. She didn’t say anything as Katie struggled to stop crying.
    â€œShe’s mean,” the child said between sniffles. “I wish I didn’t have a sister.”
    â€œYou know, I always wanted a sister. It got kinda lonely being an only child. I had to play by myself a lot.”
    â€œYeah, we used to play together all the time.”
    â€œWhat happened?”
    Katie shrugged. “She’s always mad now.”
    â€œWhat about you?”
    â€œAt her.”
    â€œAnyone else?”
    Katie tilted her head toward Sarah, her forehead wrinkled. “This boy at school. He teases me on the playground.”
    â€œWhy are you mad at her? Anything else besides yelling at you today?”
    â€œShe’s always telling me I’m stupid.” Katie lifted her chin. “I’m not stupid.”
    â€œNo, you aren’t. When a person is mad, she sometimes will say things she doesn’t mean to someone she loves.”
    â€œBut why?”
    â€œBecause she’s upset about something.”
    â€œDaddy?”
    â€œMaybe.”
    â€œShe cries about him, especially at night.”
    â€œHave you told your uncle about that?”
    Katie shook her head. “She’ll get more mad at me.”
    â€œWhy don’t you try this? When Madison gets mad at you, ask Jesus to help her.”
    â€œWill He?”
    â€œYes. He doesn’t like seeing people hurting.”
    Katie grinned and cuddled against Sarah, whose heart swelled at the warmth from this sweet girl. In that moment Sarah realized how much Katie and Madison meant to her.
    * * *
    In front of Sarah’s house, Liam looked up and down the street. Where would Madison go when she was upset? Home? Aunt Betty’s? Then he remembered a place at the park she’d discovered on Monday while putting up posters and thought would be a perfect fort to play in. He would check there first then the other two places.
    Five minutes later he spied the large shrubbery and jogged toward it. When he reached it, he knelt and stuck his head through the opening. Madison huddled in a corner, her legs drawn up and clasped against her chest.
    â€œGo away.”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œI’m not gonna talk to you.” She set her mouth in a stubborn line he knew all too well.
    â€œThat’s okay.” Liam crawled under the vegetation, perfect for kids to fit through, not so much for a man six foot four. He hunched his shoulders and settled in the widest space across from Madison.
    She laid her head on her knees and peered away for five minutes before she straightened and gave him a glare. “Ever since you came, my life has been—” tears welled in her eyes “—awful. Daddy’s gone. Everything is different.”
    Liam sighed. Madison admitting this out loud was a step in the right direction. Usually she told him he wasn’t her father and stomped away. And each time his own grief over his brother’s death pierced his heart as it did Madison’s.
    â€œI know how you feel.”
    â€œHow? You aren’t me.”
    â€œSince I got the call about his death, my life has changed. Your daddy was my brother. I loved him very much. When we were kids, he was my best friend. He was only a couple of years younger—like you and Katie.”
    Madison chewed on her bottom lip. “She could have hurt herself bad today or...” She swiveled her head to stare through the branches.
    â€œWere you worried she’d die?”
    She nodded but wouldn’t look at him.
    Then he saw the tear roll down her cheek. “I imagine that was the way your dad felt when I knocked myself out doing tricks on my skateboard at the park. Good thing he saw me. He ran and