Mike knew where this was going. Chuck aimed to please his sister by fixing them up. Mike had no intention of dating the sister, cousin or any family member of one of his friends. That could get messy. Especially when the time came where he ended the affair and the partner had other ideas. He liked his friends and wanted to keep them.
“Tell her hi for me,” Mike said politely.
Chuck hesitated as if he was trying to decide whether or not he should say anything else.
“The reason I stopped you, I got those tickets to the Spurs game.”
Mike had forgotten about those. He breathed a sigh of relief.
“I’ve already got someone else asking. Still want them?”
Hell yeah. But I’m not taking your sister.
He concealed his excitement as he answered, “Sure do. Got ’em with you?”
“I’ll get them to you later. I need to stop by and see Shep anyway.”
Good Lord, don’t tell me Shep is on your sister’s radar. Not that she wasn’t attractive. She was just too risqué for a man like his boss. Speaking of Shep, Mike needed to get his ass to the firehouse.
“Sounds good. Am I free to go?”
Chuck smiled as he put on his shades. He stuck his thumbs inside his wide leather belt, drawing Mike’s eyes to the gun at his side. “You’re free to go.” Then Chuck gave him a two-finger salute, a grin that showed his perfect white teeth, and strode to his vehicle.
Mike glanced at his watch. Really late.
When he pulled up to the station, Laredo stood hosing down one of the trucks. Somewhere inside the bay a radio blared out rock and roll music.
“Hey, Laredo.”
“Hey, man. What are you doing here?”
“Covering for Jared.”
Laredo made an exaggerated presentation of displaying his watch.
“I know.” Mike should have left Cassie’s place the second Jared called. Then Chuck had pulled him over. Cap wouldn’t want to hear excuses. “Where’s Shep?”
“Inside. He may not even notice. He’s been locked up in there since he came in an hour ago. Ain’t said nothing to nobody.”
One of the most easygoing men Mike knew, Shep kept everyone else in the department sane. He expected his men to do their job to the best of their ability, so he left them alone unless they screwed up. His leadership skills were spot on and his friendly manner put his employees at ease. The best part, he supported his men and championed anyone backed into a corner. If you didn’t pull your weight though, he could skewer you on the spot.
Mike stepped inside and headed upstairs to the room where he stored his gear. He passed Shep’s office along the way. Hesitating, Mike listened. Normally, he didn’t spy on others, but Shep being secluded behind closed doors bothered him. Hearing nothing, he rapped twice, opened the door and stuck his head inside.
“Hey, Cap.”
Shep reclined on the couch with his arm flung over his head. Slowly, he sat up. “Come on in.”
Unusual to see his boss sacked out on the couch. “Everything okay?”
“Sure. Just clearing some of the cobwebs from my brain.” He stood and stretched. “I wondered if you’d come in today.”
“I’m filling in for Jared. He’s stuck at court.”
“Hmmm.”
Mike studied Shep, wondering if the guy even knew the time. Something was off. Mike figured it best to avoid asking if anything was wrong. If Shep wanted to talk about what was on his mind, let him bring it up. Mike wasn’t about to offer his head on the chopping block if Shep didn’t already have a beef with him being late.
“I got a call this morning before I left my house,” Shep said as he sat down behind his desk.
“Bad news?”
“Why did I have to hear from upstairs about your rescue last night?”
Ah, shit.
Upstairs meant the chief. Since Shep got up at five every morning and arrived at the station before six thirty, the chief must have called at the crack of dawn.
“It was nothing.”
“Not according to the morning papers.” Shep’s expression remained neutral, but Mike knew the man had a real talent for hiding his emotions.
“The paper?”
“You saved a woman from burning to death.”
“Part of the job.”
Shep pushed the newspaper across the wooden surface. “It says right here, the hero was off duty.”
A flash of heat raced up Mike’s spine. “Look, Cap. I don’t know how they got that. I never said a word to anyone.”
“Obviously, someone did.”
Mike glanced at the front page. A photo of him standing on the SUV. He glanced at the title. A stone of dread settled in his gut.
Hero.
“I look like a man gone wild.”
Shep removed his finger from the print and leaned forward, bracing his forearms on the corner of his desk. His eyes alight with interest. “Didn’t know you were the publicity type.”
“I’m not and you know it,” Mike growled. He flexed his hands and gripped the back of a chair positioned between him and Shep’s desk.
“Indulge me.” Shep gestured for him to sit in the chair. “And don’t gloss over the details.”
Mike released his grip and stepped around to sit. He related everything as he remembered it, including the fact that Jared had been with him. Intentionally, he never mentioned Cassie. Nobody’s business about his fantastic night of incredible sex.
“Did you get checked out this morning?”
“Not yet.” With Jared calling him to fill in and then with being late, he’d forgotten about going to the doctor.
“Make sure you do.” Again, Shep leveled his gaze on Mike. “I want a report before you go on any more runs.”
Hell. Shep meant now.
“Guess I better get going then.” As Mike put his hands on the arms of the chair, his boss continued.
“Jared said a female took you home.”
Mike noticed the glint in his boss’s eyes. He should have known Jared wouldn’t keep his mouth shut.
“Jared made that arrangement.”
Shep laughed. “He can’t make you do anything you don’t want to.” Then his face clouded over like someone kicked his dog. The same look he’d had when he’d risen from the sofa. Right before he’d masked it. Whatever bothered him, the conversation they’d just had hadn’t had a damn thing to do with it.
“The lady was persuasive.” At least Shep didn’t ask the lady’s name.
“The blonde from the Mexican restaurant?”
Christ. Did everyone know?
“Jared has a big mouth.”
Shep never stuck his nose in anyone business. He placed a high value on friendship. His door was always open and he kept a confidence like bearing a cross. The two of them had shared some personal things and for that reason, he felt safe poking at Mike.
Shep leaned back in his chair, lifted his arms above his head and propped his feet on his scarred desk. “So, tell me about it.”
Why not? Talking about her might oust her from his mind.
Sure.
“She took me home. Patched me up.” The clock on the wall ticked the seconds of dead silence in the room.
“That it?”
“Pretty much.” Mike wasn’t about to give details.
“She a one-night stand?”
Anger filled his chest so fast it caught him by surprise. He flexed his hands to calm his pulse, wondering at his quick reaction. Cassie was too good for a one-night stand. Too good for him. He scrubbed a hand over his face.
“Didn’t think so,” Shep said with a shake of his head. “What’s the problem?”
Mike glared. He hated talking about the problem. Forcing his uneasiness down, he settled back and crossed one booted foot over the opposite knee. Grasping his ankle gave him something to steady his hand.
Several moments passed before he glanced up. Shep had the patience of a saint.
“She’s great,” Mike sai
d in a gruff voice, barely controlling his emotion. “She’s perfect. But a one-night stand is all it can be.”
“Why?”
“I don’t do relationships. She’s the type to want one. You’ve never married. You won’t take the risk either.”
Shadows filled Shep’s eyes. “I’m not single for the reason you believe. Maybe I haven’t found the right woman. I haven’t rejected the idea of marriage completely.”
“You’re pushing forty. You can’t tell me this job has nothing to do with it.”
“I’m not there yet. And this job has everything to do with it. Not all women can handle being the wife of a firefighter.”
“Which I know all too well.” He’d confided his own personal skeleton to Shep a long time back.
“I said not all women.”
“She would still leave.”
Shep’s feet hit the floor with a thud. “That was your mother. You can’t judge all women by the actions of one. The balance is finding the right woman at the right time. You’ll never find out if you don’t give someone the chance.”
Give someone the chance to rip his heart out the way his mom had? No thanks.
“Hell, Shep. You’re not that much older than me. These days, guys don’t get married until they’re fifty.”
More than one emotion had flashed over Shep’s face during his little speech. He may have hinted on the thing that had weighed on his mind earlier. Could it be a female?
“Have you found someone?” Mike cautiously asked.
Shep’s eyes narrowed and he clammed up.
Who? Where? When? The guy never went out. He arrived at the office early and stayed late. Most of his time, he spent alone.
“No.” Shep stood, which was usually a sign of dismissal.
He had the gall to get Mike to spill his guts, but when the conversation turned to him, the damn guy got tight-lipped.
“No?” Mike echoed.
“Don’t turn this around on me. You have a classy lady at your fingertips.”
Classy, sexy. The woman sure knew how to kiss. And those delicate fingers did some pretty naughty things. He wanted them caressing and stroking him again. Heat filled his belly at the image of Cassie’s body spread open for him. He squeezed his legs together and willed his growing erection down. He cleared his throat and stood.
A hard knock on the door saved him from saying anything. The door opened and Cooper stuck his head in.
“Hey, boss. You wanted to see me?”
“Yes. Come in.”
Mike took this as his cue to leave. “I’ve got work to do.”
“Gee, Hoss. You gonna leave me high and dry?” Cooper rolled his eyes toward Shep. “What if I need back up, here?”
Mike slapped Cooper on the shoulder. “You’re on your own, pup.”
“Get to the hospital,” Shep commanded.
Cooper’s eyes grew wide as he swung his head from the Captain to him. “Thought you were okay. Did you get hurt?”
“A cut. A slight burn.” Mike shrugged.
“I want that report.” When Shep gave an order in that voice, you got your ass in gear.
“Yes, sir.”
Fuck. Mike headed to the hospital.
Chapter 10
The ER had been crowded with a dozen people in line before Mike. The waiting room was packed. For a Saturday morning, he didn’t know if this was the norm or if there’d been an accident close by. An elderly couple holding hands sat in one corner. Next to them sat a woman with her arms crossed and the man beside her looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. Two guys with their heads together gave him the impression they were partners. On the other wall, Mike spotted an empty chair beside a boy about ten or twelve years old. Since Cap had insisted he bring back proof, Mike had to wait.
He took the seat next to the kid. As soon as he sat down, he noticed blood caked on a rag tied around the boy’s calf. From what he could see, the kid’s sock had soaked up a good portion and it looked like the injury might still be bleeding.
“Hey, sport. What happened to you?”
The woman next to him, who Mike figured was his mother, turned with fear in her eyes. Yep, she had to be the boy’s mom.
“Fell out of a tree.”
Mike pointed to the bloody piece of cloth. “What did you land on?”
“A saw.”
Jesus Christ. What the hell was this kid doing with a saw? What kind of saw? Electric? Did he have supervision? Mike thought back to when he was a kid. Hell, he’d done a lot of things without his dad knowing.
“Tough break,” he said with a calm voice so as not to excite the kid, or the mom.
“Don’t think I broke it, but it sure did bleed.”
“A lot of blood,” the nervous woman chimed in. She fidgeted in her seat and her eyes darted about, following the activity in the room. “They’re taking so long.”
“Are you his mother?”
“Yes.” She looked like she was ready to jump out of her skin. “I’m Donna Williams.”
“My name is Mike. I’m an EMT with the fire department.”
Her eyes lit up like she’d won the lottery.
“Are you a fireman?”
“I’m a firefighter,” Mike answered the boy with a nod. “What’s your name?”
“Todd. My dad said it should be Evel Knievel.”
Mike laughed. Then noticed the bright red oozing down the boy’s leg. “You should have that propped up. Did you say you landed on a saw?”
“Yeah. I’m building a club house. Well, actually adding on to it. My dad built me a tree house a long time ago, but now that I’m bigger and my friends have grown up, we need more space.”
“Your father told you not to use the saw while he was gone. And you shouldn’t have taken it out of the garage.”
“Aww, Mom.”
“Don’t you aww Mom, me. Wait till your father gets home.”
Mike had heard other people say that, but not at his house. It had been just him and his dad.
“I’ll be fine by the time Dad gets back,” the boy told his mother.
“I called him. He’s on his way to the airport to catch a flight home today.”
“Aww, Mom. You didn’t have to call Dad.”
The woman looked at the boy as if he’d suddenly grown horns.
“Of course, I called your father. You could have cut off your leg.”
The boy wilted under his mother’s stare. Mike wondered what kind of man his dad was. Mean? Harsh? If he called the kid Evel Knievel, he couldn’t be but so bad. Maybe the mother was overreacting.
Worry filled the woman’s anxious gaze. “What’s taking them so long?” The woman would wear out her seat. Mike understood her worry, but if she kept that up, the boy would get nervous too. They didn’t need that. Although the kid looked pretty tough. And he seemed pretty casual sitting there waiting for his turn.
“Let me have a look at that, sport.”
Mike pulled the knot loose and tried to hide his reaction. The cut was deep and there was blood still seeping from the wound. He quickly rewrapped the cloth. “Sit tight, buddy.”
Mike rose from his chair and walked to the ER check-in desk. “Excuse me.”
“Mike? What are you doing here?” He spun at the sound of his name.
“Hey, Tracey,” he said, relieved that he’d found someone he knew. “There’s a kid over there who should be seen right away.”
“Which one?” she asked as she turned, scanning the group of people.
“The kid with the bloody rag on his leg.” It wasn’t hard to miss the anxious mom sitting beside him. “They’ve been waiting. The mom is antsy.”
Tracey spotted Todd and headed in his direction. Mike fell into step behind her.
“Hello there. My name is Tracey,” she spoke to Todd, then smiled at his mom.
“Hi. My name is Todd and this is my mom.” Todd spoke right away. His mom smiled in greeting.
“He fell out of a tree. I’m not sure where el
se he might be hurt. He walked into the house with blood running down his leg and nearly gave me a heart attack.”
The kid fell out of a tree, cut his leg, deep, and walked into his house on his own? Mike had thought the kid strong—he’d had no idea.
“Give me just a moment and we’ll take a look at your leg.” Tracey glanced to Mike with a silent message in her eyes. She’d noticed the fresh blood, too. “I’ll get a wheelchair.”
Mike didn’t want to waste time. “No need for that. Come on, champ.” He scooped the kid up.
“Awesome. I can walk, but this is more fun. I want to be a firefighter.”
Mike chuckled. The kid had spunk. Not one complaint or moan of pain. The cut had to hurt. He marched to the examining room behind Tracey.
“Bet it’s great to ride in a big fire truck.”
“Tell you what, sport. You get fixed up and then one day, get your mom to bring you to the firehouse. Station Eight. I’ll let you see one for yourself.”
“Wow. Do you mean it?”
“Sure do. Remember. Station Eight.”
“I’ll remember. Hey, Mom. Mike said I can go to his firehouse and see a real fire engine.”
He didn’t think the mother’s eyes could get any brighter with tears glimmering in them, but her smile only made them glow more. He read the appreciative gleam and that gave him all the thanks he needed.
Tracey led them to a private room. Inside, Mike put the boy down and stepped back. Tracey removed the wrapping and cleaned the boy up. He never moved. Never let out a peep. Definitely needed stitches. A man entered, wearing scrubs, a stethoscope hanging around his neck.
“What do we have here?” The doctor’s smile put Todd’s mom right at ease. She was lucky to have such a trooper for a son.
While the doctor talked with Todd’s mom, Tracey pulled Mike to the side.
“I heard you pulled a woman from a burning car last night. While you were off duty.”
News traveled fast. Word had a way of spreading like fire among the emergency crew.
“Yeah. That’s why I’m here.”
Her forehead creased in a confused frown.
“I, uh, need to get checked out.”
“Did you get hurt?” Tracey asked, tugging him into the next room.
MIKE The Firefighters of Station 8 Page 9
