A Firefighter's Ultimate Duty

by Beverly Long

  He heard a car slowing and looked outside. “The girls are back.”

  “Don’t tell them what’s going on,” she said quickly. “I don’t want Sophie to know.”

  She can handle it, he wanted to protest. But what if she didn’t? Daisy would never forgive him. She wasn’t asking to hide it forever. “We’ll tell them you’re getting a rental because the garage is still working on your car. They won’t be that curious as long as there are wheels.”

  Raven and Sophie came in, talking a mile a minute. It was a half hour later before he or Daisy got a word in edgewise. “Sounds like the two of you had a lot of fun,” he said. “And speaking of fun, we’re thinking about a trip to Seattle tomorrow. Daisy has to do some dress shopping. You two in?”

  Sophie and Raven exchanged look. “For sure,” Raven said.

  “Then homework gets done tonight,” Daisy said, looking at her daughter. “No arguments.”

  “Fine,” Sophie said.

  “You, too,” Blade said, looking at Raven.

  “Gathering up my books as you speak,” she said, doing just that.

  When both girls were upstairs, Daisy looked at Blade. “Oh, my God. I couldn’t even look at you. You don’t think they have any idea what their parents were just doing?”

  “No,” he said. “They’re high on school play buzz. Nothing else is registering.”

  Daisy rolled her eyes, but she smiled. “They’re both really sharp. We’re going to have to be on our toes.”

  “You want to do it on your toes?” he asked suggestively.

  “Stop,” she said, holding up a hand.

  “Just don’t lock the bedroom door tonight,” he said.

  * * *

  She did not lock the door.

  He did not turn on a light.

  The bed did not squeak, thankfully.

  He had the foresight to have a hand ready to clap over her mouth when she came.

  And afterward, he held her for a nice long time before he pulled on his pajama pants and quietly slipped from the room.

  Chapter 17

  They left midmorning for Seattle. Blade drove, and Daisy enjoyed the opportunity to see some of the countryside without having to worry about the road. The girls sat in the back seat, sometimes chatting, sometimes quiet while they looked at their respective phones.

  Daisy had looked up stores online the night before and identified a few possibilities that were all in the same mall. The address was already in Blade’s GPS. When he pulled into the crowded parking lot, Raven let out a squeal. “Dad, you hate shopping. I can’t believe we’re doing this.”

  Daisy turned to him. “I’ll make you a deal. You take them to lunch, and I’ll shop while the three of you are doing that. Once you’re done, I’ll take over and go to a few stores with them while you head that direction.” She pointed toward a sign for a Pratt Sports Spot store. “Fair?”

  “You’re trying to make this absolutely painless for me, aren’t you?” he asked.

  “I appreciate the ride here. It was fun to just look around, see more of the countryside. I just want to repay the favor.”

  “Mom hates to shop with other people,” Sophie offered from the back. “She would never go with her friends in Denver.”

  “What, is this true?” he asked.

  “I am better on my own,” Daisy admitted.

  He shook his head at her in mock sadness. “You have no shame. You were letting me think that it was all for me. Just for that, we’re having dessert with lunch and there will be none for you.”

  They separated inside the big mall, making a plan to meet in ninety minutes. Daisy practically ran to the first store. Ninety minutes was not a very long time to find a perfect dress.

  She found it at the third store, after trying on six other dresses at the previous two stores. She walked in, saw it on the rack and knew. She looked at the price and decided it would be worth packing her lunch for a month.

  She tried it on and studied herself in the three-way mirror.

  The dress really was pretty great. She paid for it and left the store, her purchase carefully wrapped in tissue paper and folded in a pretty shopping bag. She bought herself a cup of coffee on the way back to the meeting spot. She was there exactly six minutes before they showed up.

  “Have you been waiting long?” Blade asked.

  “Nope.” She smiled. “What’s that?” she asked, looking at a familiar box.

  “Your cheesecake. Sophie said the French vanilla was your favorite.” He handed her the container.

  “I thought I didn’t get dessert,” she reminded him.

  “Cruel and unusual punishment has never been my style,” he said. “So you got a dress?”

  “I did.”

  “Show us,” Raven and Sophie clamored.

  No way. Then Blade would see. “Later,” she said. “Don’t you guys want to see a few stores?”

  “Yes, yes,” they said, her dress forgotten.

  “I gave her money,” Blade said, looking at Raven. “She knows her limits.”

  “Okay. We’ll meet you back here in an hour,” she said. “Let’s go, girls.”

  * * *

  He watched the three of them walk off. Daisy in the middle, Raven on the right, Sophie on the left. They were laughing and talking and he felt a sense of peace.

  He and Daisy could make this work. He just needed to convince her. She was worried right now about introducing more change into Sophie’s life. What he had to do was make her see that it really wouldn’t be that big of a deal.

  He was outside Pratt Sports Spot when his cell rang. Marcus returning his call. “Hey,” he said.

  “Sorry it took us so long to connect,” Marcus said.

  “How was the wedding?” The previous evening, Marcus had been attending a wedding with his latest female friend who had been a bridesmaid.

  “There was an open bar.”

  “That made it worthwhile,” Blade said.

  “That and a few other things. But Darcy kept saying don’t you just love weddings, and finally I had to tell her that I really didn’t.”

  “Buzzkill. You could have lied.”

  “Nope. Not starting that. Tell me what you found out about the car?”

  “Well, oddly enough when my dad got there to tow it, it started right up, as if there had never been a problem. He wanted my mom to look at it. She thinks somebody might have removed and then replaced two of the spark plugs.”

  There was silence on the other end. “Gutsy to do that on Main Street. I mean, I realize it was an ugly night but still.”

  “Kind of like it is sort of gutsy to break into one business by kicking in the back door and then do it again just a few nights later to a store two doors down.”

  “Yeah,” Marcus said. “But nobody, not one person, recalled seeing Posse.”

  “Maybe somebody doing his dirty work for him. Daisy said he was a leader of some type of commune.”

  “It’s possible. You’re still keeping a close eye on Daisy?”

  “Yeah. We’re in Seattle shopping for a dress for the Spring Spectacular.”

  There was silence on the other end. “I think we might have a bad connection,” Marcus said finally. “I thought you said shopping.”

  “She wanted a dress.”

  “And you wanted to make her smile?”

  “Yeah, pretty much,” Blade admitted.

  Marcus sighed. “I like her. I really do. But I’m not confident that she’s not going to bring trouble into your life.”

  “Me, either,” Blade said. “But if she does, it will be worth it.”

  “You took her to bed, didn’t you?” Marcus said.

  “I really like this woman,” Blade said. He’d almost said love, but he wasn’t ready to have those confessions over the phone with his fri
end. Certainly not before he’d told Daisy.

  “She’s got a crazy ex-fiancé,” Marcus reminded him. “Now you’re mixed up in that.”

  “You and I both work in jobs where we see people in all kinds of situations. Lives are complicated. I don’t know why I’d expect mine to be different.”

  “Complicated and dangerous have two different definitions,” Marcus said. “But if you’re happy, then I’m happy for you. I’ve been telling you to date more. You just took my advice a step further.”

  A step further. Hell, more like he’d run real fast and leaped off the rim of Headstone Canyon. “We’re not telling our daughters or anyone else.”

  “Jamie?” he asked.

  “Not yet. If I get a chance, I will.”

  “I’m playing handball with him tonight. I could always mention it.”

  “You’d do it just to throw him off his game.”

  “Got to have something up my sleeve. Why does the guy have to be good at everything?”

  * * *

  Once they got home from shopping, Blade had only an hour before he needed to be at work. He was covering for a coworker who needed some time off to attend his mother’s eightieth birthday party. Daisy sat at the table, going through her mail that they’d picked up at the post office in Seattle on their way out of town. There was nothing of great importance and nothing that suggested Jacob.

  Blade intended to drop Raven off at her mom’s house on his way to work, leaving Daisy and Sophie alone in his house. She could tell that bothered him. He had already reminded her to lock the bolt locks about five times.

  “We’ve got this,” she said. Both girls were still in Raven’s bedroom, so she felt safe to lean in and kiss him soundly. “Think about that instead,” she said.

  “I think too hard about it, and it might make for some embarrassing situations at work. I’m perpetually turned on.”

  “That’s nice,” she said.

  “Easy for you to say. But seriously, I need to know that you’re safe.”

  “Sophie and I have no plans to leave here today.” Her rental car had been dropped off that morning and was sitting in Blade’s driveway. But she didn’t feel the need to go anywhere. “I’m going to post more photos, highlighting the hazardous materials training. I got a couple of great ones of the firefighters in full gear as they were practicing escaping from an enclosed space. And I know Sophie has a ton of homework.”

  “You have Marcus’s number in case something happens. And 911, of course. And if you change your mind and go anywhere, you need to be very careful that you’re not being followed.”

  “I know. Now, go. By the time you drop Raven off, you’ll be late. By the way, have you told Sheila yet that Sophie and I are staying here?”

  “Yeah, I called her yesterday morning before we went shopping. I think you were in the shower.”

  “You didn’t want me to hear.”

  “I... Yeah, not really. I was pretty sure she’d be cool about it, but sometimes I don’t guess right. But she was really sweet. When I told her that someone had broken into your house, she said that you definitely shouldn’t be staying there.”

  “She didn’t say I should definitely be staying with you?”

  He smiled. “Uh...no. But she didn’t say that you shouldn’t.”

  Her phone buzzed. She picked it up. Read the message. “Oh, my God.”

  “What?” he asked, clearly concerned.

  “You’re not going to believe this. That was Hosea. He’s giving a ten-day all-expense-paid trip to Paris as his silent auction item.”

  “Wow. That beats the week at baseball spring training I got from the emergency room docs.”

  “It beats everything. Paris. Oh, I’m going to be so jealous of the winner.”

  “You want to go to Paris?” he asked.

  “You don’t want to go to Paris?” she asked incredulously.

  “I never thought about it. I guess it would be okay.”

  She held up a finger. “I’ll get there someday. I may be old and gray and part of a senior citizen tour, but I’ll get there.”

  They heard the girls come from their room. “I’ll see you later,” she said.

  Once Blade and Raven were out of the house, she looked at Sophie. “How you doing?” she asked.

  “Okay. I mean, this is kind of weird, us being here. But I’m not sure I want to be at our house until they figure out who kicked the door in. Do you think it was Jacob, Mom?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t have any reason to. But I don’t want to be foolish with our safety. I don’t trust him. You should not trust him.”

  “Do you think everybody lies?”

  That was a philosophical question that she wasn’t sure she was prepared to answer. “I think there are degrees of lying. If your best friend gets her hair cut and wants to know if you like it and you don’t, I think it’s okay if you fudge the truth a little. But I choose to believe that most people are truthful when it comes to bigger things.”

  “How do you tell?”

  “Well, I didn’t do a good job with Jacob,” Daisy said. “I’m sorry about that. I put us in a bad position.”

  “He fooled everybody. He should be an actor. He’d probably win an Emmy or an Oscar.”

  Daisy leaned over and hugged her daughter. “You are going to win an Emmy or an Oscar. Wait, you’re going to win both of them. Maybe a Tony, too.”

  “That would be so cool,” Sophie said. She did a little dance around the kitchen. But then stopped, her face somber. “I don’t think Blade lies. I don’t think he’s pretending to be something that he’s not.”

  Daisy could feel her throat close. Her daughter was very young at times but at other times, so mature. “Do you like him?”

  “Yeah. We had fun at lunch. I thought it would be weird without you, but it was a good time. He told us how he and his friends Marcus and Jamie put goats on the high school roof. And that they used to go sledding on refrigerator doors that they pulled behind pickup trucks. Then he said that if either one of us did anything remotely similar, there would be big trouble.”

  “Do as I say, not as I do,” Daisy said.

  “Yeah. I think it’s pretty cool that he’s stayed so close with his friends. I think that says something about a person.”

  Daisy nodded. “It says a lot.”

  “Once we move out of here and the Spring Spectacular is over, do you think that you and Blade will still hang out?”

  “I don’t know,” Daisy said honestly. “We sort of got thrown together. We’ll just have to see how it works out.”

  Sophie picked up her backpack, which was on one of the kitchen chairs. “Raven says that Blade works out every day. He has to because of his job. He’s really strong. If Jacob came around, maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing.”

  The idea of Blade and Jacob getting into a physical altercation made her feel queasy. Would there be no end to the people who would be hurt over her inability to see Jacob’s evilness? “I don’t want that to happen,” she said.

  “Just saying, I think Blade could take him.”

  * * *

  On Monday, Daisy took a late lunch and drove her rental car to Gertie’s Café. As Blade had requested, she watched the other vehicles around her carefully. But nothing seemed out of place. When she got inside, she saw Cheryl.

  “By yourself?” Cheryl asked.

  “Yes. Maybe I’ll just sit at the counter.”

  “Okay. Coffee?”

  “Yes. And I’ll have your soup and a side salad. Can you let Gertie know that I’m here? I just want to touch base about the Spring Spectacular.”

  “Will do. I voted for the pot roast with potatoes and carrots. It’s to die for.”

  Daisy smiled. “Lots of people are weighing in on their favorites. Voting will get cut off in just a couple
days, which will allow Gertie time to order the necessary food and supplies from her vendors.”

  “Don’t worry about Gertie.”

  Daisy was halfway done with her soup and salad when Gertie took the empty stool next to her. “Feels good to sit,” she said. She had a cup of coffee in her hand.

  “Lunch is delicious,” Daisy said. “I came for that and also to tell you that tickets for the Spring Spectacular are going fast. We’re at three hundred and eighty-two guests.”

  “Wow. I’m glad to hear it, but I think I may need some more help. I’ve got my regular team, but for big events, I supplement with some high school students. They can do everything but pour the wine. I think I’m going to need a few more.”

  “I could ask my daughter, Sophie, to help. And maybe Blade’s daughter, Raven, too. They might have some friends who are interested.”

  “Perfect. Tell them it’s fifteen bucks an hour and all the food they want.”

  “What do they wear?”

  “Black pants and a white shirt. And a smile. That’s the most important thing.”

  “I’ll see what I can do. I feel sort of responsible for creating this monster.”

  “It’ll work out. Have a good day, Daisy,” Gertie said, sliding off her stool.

  * * *

  She called Jane on her way back to the office. “Are you busy?” Daisy asked.

  “No, just eating a late lunch at my desk. What’s going on?”

  Daisy told her about the car, about finding her front door kicked in, about Blade offering a place to stay.”

  “You could have stayed with me,” Jane said.

  “I slept with Blade,” Daisy said.

  “Oh.” Then silence. “Well, that wouldn’t have happened at my house.”

  Daisy laughed and laughed. “Thank you,” she said, when she got her breath back. “That’s exactly the response I needed.”

  “Did you think I would lecture you?” Jane asked.

  “I don’t know. You know me. You know it’s out of character for me to do something rash. But I wanted to have sex with him. I really wanted it, and I didn’t take very much time to think of consequences.”