Maybe her mother had taken her home with her instead. The crew had everything in hand, as always, following procedures to the letter. At this stage, it was mostly hosing down the area around the building because he could tell at a glance no part of the building could be saved. The roof glowed on a second side and the square around the pool was filled with smoke. He turned to leave. He’d go to a payphone on Main Street and check the phone book for her mom’s number, just confirm for himself that she was there. But he couldn’t bring himself to leave. Something tickled at the back of his mind, a knowing he’d never experienced before. She was there. He would have sworn on a stack of Bibles that she was. Maybe she’d been in the shower or had the radio on loud. Somehow, she hadn’t heard the knock.
Pacing closer, he eyed the stairs. The ones on the opposite side already had collapsed, as had part of the walkway that circled the third floor, but in front of her house it remained in place. He had to check for himself. He couldn’t leave without doing it.
Glancing around, he could see the men in sight were fully occupied. He had no gear with him but he didn’t plan to fight the fire. Just to go up and knock on the door to make sure Tina wasn’t in there. Springing up the steps, he raced across the walkway and banged on her door. No answer. Flames now spread to the two sides of the square adjoining hers, but so far, this section remained untouched. He pounded again. “Tina!” The fire’s roar made it hard even for him to hear his voice, but peering through the window, he thought he saw movement in the hallway. “Tina!”
The fire grew faster and faster, but he knew for sure now she was in there. Yanking off his jacket, he wrapped it around his hand and punched out the window glass. A shriek came from inside just as a roar obliterated everything else. It came from down below and toward the front…where he suddenly remembered seeing the paint and supplies. Hadn’t the crew scoped out the area? Perhaps too much smoke had already accumulated to see it.
Putting a leg into the broken window, he climbed inside and ran toward her bedroom. She was there, curled under the covers, with a hand tucked under her cheek. She looked sound asleep…so who or what had he seen in the hallway? Just shadows? It didn’t matter. He scooped her up and ran for the door. Through the broken window, he could see the flames encroaching on this, the final section of the building. Tina woke and struggled until he set her on her feet, but he held tight to her hand.
“Stay with me and we’ll get out of this. Okay?”
“Yes. Why is everything on fire?”
He opened the door and drew her out onto the walkway. “It’s on fire because the bastard who developed this place couldn’t be bothered to make sure the dried grasses weren’t right up against the outside walls. I think also because there were building violations, but the investigators will have to decide that. For now, we just need to get out of here.
The stairs were out of the question. They remained in place, but were right in the fire. He shouted through the smoke, hoping one of the guys could hear and cursing himself for stupidity at coming up here alone. He’d been maddened by the thought of Tina trapped in the flames.
He hollered until he was hoarse, but the figures moving below never looked in his direction. And why would they? He stood in the single place without flames, but smoke would obscure them almost entirely.
Finally, he had an idea. Maybe some other noise would carry better. “Tina, can you whistle?”
“What?” She stared at him as if he’d lost his mind. And he didn’t blame her.
“Whistle, like you did earlier.” He lifted her hand and held it by her mouth. “Whistle!”
To her credit, she kept her head better than he did and leaned forward, fingers between her lips. Before she could issue a sound, the railing cracked and she began to fall forward. Mac grabbed at her, catching her at the waist. Roaring and crackling filled his ears, but he dragged her back against him and hissed, “Do it.” If the firemen didn’t hear it, he didn’t have another plan.
But she did it. Despite the smoke and fear and possibility of burning alive, Tina McIntosh blew a peal so loud, one of the yellow-suited men looked up and gaped. Then he waved and disappeared. In less than a minute, two firemen returned with a ladder. And then it was all over but the chewing out he’d be getting from the chief for the multiple breaches in procedures he’d managed while not even on duty.
But he’d live with that. Following Tina down the ladder, Mac led her out of the fire zone and over to his car. He lifted her and set her inside despite her protests she’d dirty the upholstery. He opened the driver’s side door to get inside, completely lacking in the energy it would take to hop in.
“I thought I’d lost you tonight.”
She looked at the building and back at him. “When I got home, I thought I’d lost everything. Mr. Harrell, by now, thinks I’m in the family way and is rushing to void my contract based on the morals clause. Without the job, I can’t pay any of my bills, and if I’m fired for morals, no other district will have me. I’ll be dispensing soft serve at the Dairy Queen if I’m lucky. My mother was angry, and the town thinks I’m a slut. It was a pretty bad situation.”
He began to speak, but she laid a finger over his lips.
“I was going to tell you to go away, but now that I really have lost everything, even my new dress and go-go boots, I don’t want to do it. I’ve known you a day and a half and, in that time, my life has come entirely unraveled. So why am I happy? Why am I smiling at you like a fool instead of crying my eyes out because I have nothing?”
In the chaos of the firemen doing their job, the fire consuming the building, and over the pounding of his heart, he asked, “Why are all those things true?”
“Because I met you and every time I look at you I feel different. Like none of those things matter. I do have to work to eat, but if I can’t work at the school, I’ll do whatever I have to. I was going to tell you to run as far and fast as possible from me for your own good, but I can’t do it. Life’s too short to make bad decisions.”
He lifted her hand, still wearing the emerald. “My grandmother’s ring looks good on you.”
“Oh.” She reached for it, but he stilled her hand. “I’m sorry. I need to give this back.”
“I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I’d be proud if you’d leave it on. If we end up hating each other, you can give it back, but I don’t think that will happen. I am afraid I’m obsessed with you already. Let’s set a wedding date.”
“No, we—”
“A year or so away,” he finished. “We’ve done this backward so far and, despite some odd moments, it’s been the greatest adventure of my life. We can set the date out far enough that nobody can claim we rushed it due to a child on the way.”
“And if we learn it was just infatuation and maybe a little bit of lust?”
He chuckled. “I know those feelings and this isn’t that.”
“No,” she sighed. “I don’t think so either. But I didn’t want my fake pregnancy to trap you. I-I didn’t want you to hate me. I couldn’t stand the thought.”
“Let’s do this one step at a time.” He stroked her hand. “First, we get engaged, then we date, then we fall in love.”
“I think I’ve already messed up that order.”
Mac cupped her cheek as he had the day he met her. Two days before. And he kissed her with all the hopes for the future he’d begun to feel. She still kissed like an angel and put others first. The disasters had, so far, all worked themselves out.
He could see only blue skies ahead. “If we can survive everything life has thrown at us so far, I think it sets a great precedent.”
“How romantic,” she murmured. “I’m so proud of us.”
“Real adventurers.”
“And lovers,” she said. “Don’t forget that.”
“I don’t think that’s possible. Being with you is unforgettable.”
Chapter Eight
Present day…
The walls were crumbling, beams falling about
him, the voice of the woman getting weaker and his determination to save one more victim stronger than ever. He’d made it to within a year of retirement and rarely entered burning structures anymore. But he’d been first on the scene and had to act.
When lives were at stake, he did what he could to save them. Each one of the people who he’d saved over the years meant as much to someone as Tina did to him. Each one was someone’s mother, sister, father, brother…lover. Each one mattered more than he could ever express.
Ducking under another sagging beam, he plunged deeper into the smoke and found her. She was in the bathroom, a heavyset woman huddled in the tub, twin tear streaks cutting through the soot on her cheeks. No way could he get her back through the living room to the way he’d come in. There was a window, but it was small and high, and despite his training and good physical shape, he was still a grandfather and, in order to get this woman out the window, he’d have to lift her over his head. He wasn’t sure he could do it. Or if she’d even fit. But he would do it or die trying. He wouldn’t leave her there.
Guiding her to her feet, he bent to make a stirrup with his fingers for her to step into. Maybe, just maybe, he could propel her out. He was holding her up, hands trembling, praying for strength when he heard the voice in his earpiece.
“We can do this together, Chief.”
Rusty. The lieutenant stood at his side and, together, they were able to boost her through the window. Rusty gave him a leg up next, and then he reached back inside to help the lieutenant out. No sooner had they vacated the structure than the roof gave way completely.
The victim was led away by the EMTs to get checked out while he yanked off the mask and tried to catch his breath. “I’m too old for this, Rusty.”
The lieutenant slapped him on the back. “No, sir, you’re not. But you take too many chances with your own life. You’re our chief.”
“Every life matters, Rusty. If I can’t save them I am no good to the citizens who count on us. I moved back here from Dallas thinking I’d be bored in Cedar Valley, but over the years I’ve been honored to save many lives, starting with my beloved wife’s, and I wouldn’t change my life for any amount of money or adventure.”
“What will you do next, sir?”
“Well, my granddaughter, Kat, will be out here to inspect this property. I don’t know what started this fire yet, but I do know poor construction when I see it, and she will get to the bottom of the situation. My grandson Aiden, as you know, is teaching future firefighters at the academy in Sacramento. Brigit, my other granddaughter is probably on the way with her chopper to drop a load of lake water on this blaze. When I retire, my Tina and I will strike out and see the world together, but we will do so secure in the knowledge that our family is still protecting the citizens of Cedar Valley.” He slapped the lieutenant on the back and headed for his truck. “Our first stop will be Dallas so I can visit Station 58 and show my wife where I got my start. But I’m not retired yet and, as soon as we get this wrapped up, I’ll have to go home and face the woman who thinks I don’t have enough care for my own safety.” He turned back and winked. “But once she’s finished chewing me out, she’ll show me how glad she is I made it home safely.”
“She’s quite a lady, sir.”
“Yes, she is. And she deserves this trip around the world for all the years of worry. And for all the years of making me feel like a hero.”
“You are a hero.”
“So she says.”
Kate Richards
Kate Richards divides her time between Los Angeles and the High Sierras. She would gladly spend all her days in the mountains, but she’d miss the beach…and her very supportive husband’s commute would be three hundred miles. Wherever she is, she loves to explore all different kinds of relationships in her stories. She doesn’t believe one-size-fits-all, and whether her characters live BDSM, ménage, GLBT, spanking, or any other kind of lifestyle, it’s the love, the joy in one another, that counts.
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Also by Kate Richards
Finally, My Love
Demons Love Cinnamon
Christmas Afternoon Delight
The Vampire’s Bard
Pirate Lady Holiday
Spanking Ms. Whitman
Dungeon Time
Switch, The Trainer
Confessions From the Carnivore Club, Dave and Nancy’s Story
Sierra Seduction
Sensual Delights A Cookie Club Romance
One Night on the Beach
Avalon for Christmas
The Virgin and the Playboy
The Virgin and the Best Man
Two Men and a Virgin
Two Men
Virgin Under Ground
Gale Force Passion
Trail of Hearts
The Milkman Cometh
Madame Eve’s Gift
Frontier Inferno
An Apple Away (The Wiccan Haus)
It’s Just Love
Kimmy
For Ben (Corbin’s Bend)
Her Cowboy (Corbin’s Bend)
Roy and Teri’s Accidental Staycation (Corbin’s Bend)
Honey’s Sexy Surprise
Haunting Suspicions
All’s Fair
Lily in Chains
Terci in Chains
Felicia’s Chains
Sweet Christmas Kisses Anthology
Taming Marguerite
The Soviet Connection (Omega Team)
Spurs (Omega Team)
Shifters and Spice Anthology
Floating Hearts (Melody Anne’s Billionaire Universe)
The Foreman and the Lady (Lone Star Burn)
Wolves and Bears and Foxes, Oh My!
An Evening at Animals
An Evening at Crossroads
Topaz’s Trials (Red Petticoat Series)
Dallas Fire & Rescue: MacKay's Fire (Kindle Worlds Novella) (MacKay Destiny Book 2) Page 7
