With Hearts Aflame: Valentine's Day Box Set

by Maren Smith

  Charlie had just received word on the radio that a chopper was coming in from Good Samaritan and went to set up the trauma room. As she turned the corner of the nurses' station, Vin was standing there. He was in full uniform, hat in place, hand on his gun belt.

  "Oh, hi," she managed to say.

  "Hi, Charlene."

  "Charlie. Please, just Charlie. What are you here for? Can I help you with anything?"

  "No, I came in with the Domestic Abuse in four. They just finished up and I'm heading out. Are you okay? You look flustered."

  "No, I'm just tired. It's been a long day and we have a chopper bringing in an elderly man. He's coding. They are working on him. I have to set up the room for his arrival." She walked ahead into the trauma room. "I have a little time to chat, but come in here so I can get ready at the same time." He looked really good. Yummy, Miranda would say.

  "What time does your shift end? I thought you worked the day shift." Vin followed her, stopping in the doorway.

  "Midnight. And I do normally work days, but I'm working for a friend so she could go out with her husband for Valentine's Day." She checked the plug on the IV pump and moved to the defibrillator before glancing over her shoulder to Vin again.

  "I'll be done around ten tonight. Would you like to grab a cup of coffee or something? I could pick you up." His question threw her, or if not the question itself—his lips uttering the question. She couldn't help but stare at those tempting lips.

  No. She needed to think hard about this man. She was so confused by the feelings he stirred up in her. "It probably isn't a good idea. I've been here all day and I have to be here again at six in the morning. I need to just go home and crash." Charlie pretended to check the IVAC VS monitor, anything to keep her eyes off him. He made her feel things she didn't understand. She was going to need the defibrillator if he kept looking at her with that hungry look.

  "Yes, of course. Maybe tomorrow? What time do you get off?"

  She stood at the counter awkwardly; she'd run out of things to keep her busy. "I…" She didn't know what to say. Was he coming on to her?

  "I could pick you up, and we could grab something to eat. I have to work tomorrow, too. It doesn't have to be something grand. Unless you want it to be. I mean you will be tired, I'm thinking." A date… He was talking about a date.

  "I wouldn't want to go somewhere in my work scrubs." She looked down at her black scrub pants and a pink top with the Breast Cancer Awareness ribbons on it. That was as close as she got to the cute pink things that everyone else wore for the god-awful holiday. Now Christmas, that was a holiday she could get into. She had cuter Christmas-patterned scrubs than anyone.

  "I have to get my dog home anyway. We could just pick something up or order in. You want to go to my place and meet my dogs? Order pizza maybe?" He had dogs? She was in love.

  "Um… Yeah." She smiled hesitantly. Why was she worried? She had a date!

  "You didn't tell me what time you get off."

  "Oh yes, at four. But I'll be on the other side at the Urgent Care. That's where I normally work. I only work over here when they need me."

  * * * * *

  It was a good thing it had been slow all day, what with the little bit of sleep she'd had the night before and then spacing out and daydreaming about a certain cop. Thank goodness she didn't have to deal with the trauma cases in the ER and being in a state of emergency readiness at any given time. They still had some serious cases come through Urgent Care, but not nearly as often. Usually they got the high fevers or common viruses. She liked working there even if it wasn't as fast-paced as the emergency room. Unfortunately, the calm that allowed her to feel confident she'd done her job well under the sleep-deprived condition had also made the day drag by.

  More than most of her was excited about her first real date in forever—at least since her Senior Prom—but the other smaller part bordered on worry. What kind of guy would ask someone like her out? It wasn't like they had met on the best of terms. She was obviously a liar. Look at how they had met…

  Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit. Charlie pulled into the parking lot of an abandoned building, reached for her gear shifter and placed the small car in park as her eyes found the cop in her rearview mirror. He was marching toward her, tall and fit, the light on top of his police car flashing red and blue behind him. She reached for her scarf and wiped the tears from her eyes as she pressed the button to roll the window down.

  "Are you all right, ma'am? You know why I pulled you over, don't you?"

  "I—" She wiped her tears away again. Dang it. She was so stupid. "I think I must have been going too fast… maybe…" She was sweating under her wool pea coat, and a glance in the mirror showed that yes, her face was not only red from embarrassment, but mottled from crying. She hadn't even been running late. Why the heck couldn't she just drive the freaking speed limit?

  "Yes, and you passed right through that yellow light without a thought or a glance either way. Are you okay, miss? Is there some emergency?" Emergency? Why hadn't she thought of that? If it would save her from Alex's disappointment once again, it would be worth a little lie, wouldn't it? But what?

  She sniffled and looked up at the concerned officer through her wet lashes. What constituted as an emergency? She brushed her hair back and sighed, but it came out as more of a sob. "It's my mom; she's sick."

  "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Is she in a hospital?" His warm brown eyes looked sympathetic.

  "Yes, that is where I'm headed." Not a lie—she was going to work.

  "You need to slow down. I'm really sorry your mom is not well, but it won't help her if you are in an accident because of speeding." His voice was deep and stern and yet still laced with sympathy.

  She couldn't help it; the rest just bubbled out, "She's not going to make it." It wasn't a lie, really, because her mom didn't make it. And her butt wouldn't make it through the whipping she would get if she brought home another ticket.

  He looked away briefly and she wiped her face again. "What hospital is she in?"

  Shit. She didn't want to tell him her hospital, the one where she worked. But she also didn't want to tell him another one, she was going the wrong way to give him the name of another hospital and she was only a block from hers. "St. John's."

  "Good, you don't have far. You are in no condition to be driving. I shouldn't do it, but I'm going to let you go. What is your mother's name?"

  She couldn't stop thinking about it. She was so confused. Maybe she should cancel. She had looked at her watch again for probably the thousandth time when she looked up and he was coming through the double doors in the lobby of the main waiting room. He smiled when his eyes met hers.

  "Are you ready?"

  Would she ever be?

  Chapter Five

  "Yes." She reached for her purse under the counter and then followed him out of the clinic. "Why do you get a truck or SUV? What do you call that?" They had come up to his police vehicle and he opened the passenger door for her.

  "It's an Explorer, and I have it because of Tango, my partner. We're a K-9 unit." He flipped his thumb back directing her attention to the large dog in the rear. He closed her door and she looked over her shoulder at the dog sitting in the back while Vin walked around the truck.

  "German shepherd?" she asked as he sat down in the driver's seat.

  "Belgian Malinois. Similar. Of course, I'm willing to bet that he doesn't notice a difference at all." He flashed a smile over his shoulder at his partner. "He just wants to go home and be done with work for another day." She watched his giant hand clutch the key in the ignition and start the vehicle.

  "Well, I can't blame him there."

  "I only live about four miles from here. Did you want to pick something up or order in?" He pulled onto the road and glanced at her again.

  Her mind went blank. "I really don't care. I'm not picky."

  "Then let's just go home and take care of the dogs. We'll make Peter take care of supper." He smiled at her. "Have
you met Peter and had his world famous Romanian pizza?"

  "Peter?" She felt like she should know Peter. It was a familiar name.

  "He is another one of the cousins."

  "Oh, right, the cousins. How many cousins do you all have, anyway?" Charlie asked, remembering Jenna's and Alex's wedding.

  "A good deal, probably more than we know or could count. But here in the area we have about twenty-three. Then in Chicago about the same. Back in 'The Old World' that is where I lose count. Anyway, Peter owns a Romano's Pizza franchise." Vin snorted and shook his head. "He's such an idiot. He bought into it saying that he wanted it because it was Romanian like our family, and his children would have a piece of our culture. He wouldn't listen to anyone. It wasn't until he bought the place and went through the franchise orientation that he learned about the background and found out it was indeed Italian."

  "Oh my gosh. And he kept it? How long ago was it?"

  "A good ten years."

  "Why has he kept it? I'm sure if what I've seen of your family holds true you guys probably give him terrible grief about his blunder," Charlie giggled, shaking her head in disbelief.

  "He's making money. It's not a bad place. He's done well with it." They were in an older neighborhood and he'd slowed down and turned into a drive.

  "I didn't know you could bring your cars home. I mean, my Dad didn't and neither does Alex." She didn't know why it hadn't occurred to her to ask earlier.

  "K-9 unit. We're privileged. We get to work sixty-hour weeks, too." He winked at her as he shut off the truck and reached for his door. When he saw her reaching for her own he spoke again, "Wait, and let me get the door for you."

  She'd watched her father get the door for her mom many times over the years; Alex did it for Jenna. She didn't know if she would have said it was important, but she brushed by him as she climbed out and thought it was very nice indeed.

  He opened the door for Tango next and introduced them like they were both people. "Tango, this is Charlie, the girl I spoke to you about. Charlie, my partner and good friend, Tango." The large dog sat down in front of her and lifted his paw to shake.

  She took it with a smile. "Nice to meet you, officer." She turned to Vin. "May I pet him?"

  Vin laughed, a low rumbling sound that was both sexy and fun. "He'd love that, Charlie, but thanks for asking first. A lot of people think of him as a pet and not a working dog."

  She patted the dog on the head and scratched him behind his ears. Tango moved closer; she knew just what dogs liked. She rubbed under his chin, too, and he wagged his tail and licked her hand. "This is most likely what Alex wanted when he said he wanted me to get a dog or something to protect me. I knew what he meant and I still might do it. I love dogs."

  "So you got your little dog to spite him? Come on, Tango, time for dinner." The big dog took off and Vin held out his hand to her.

  "You mean Brinks, my home security system?" She gave him her best innocent smile and batted her eyelashes. "No, I just always wanted a Yorkie. Mom hated dogs. Dad never could talk her into letting us have one, so when a friend of mine at work had a litter of puppies, I got one as soon as I could."

  Vin was leading her around the back of his house. There were two huge kennels there made of metal chain-link fencing. Tango was wandering around freely and another dog that looked very similar to him, only maybe larger and darker, was in the other kennel wagging his tail and barking.

  "Hey, Bruce." Vin opened his other kennel. "This is Bruce, my retired partner. He's too old to be a police officer anymore, so Tango took his place, right, Bruce? But you're a good boy." He patted the dog and the dog clearly smiled at him before running off to the other four-legged friend.

  "That would be so cool—to have a dog as your partner."

  "Like all things, it has its ups and downs." He turned back to the dogs. "Tango, Hier. Zwinger." The dog ran right into the kennel and Vin closed the gate. "Tango, So ist brav. Bruce, come. Let's go inside." He reached for her hand again.

  "Do you use German or something with them? Is that so criminals don't know what command you gave them?" She turned to see Bruce close to his master's heels.

  "That is what a lot of people think, but no. See, Tango came from Austria, and he was taught in German. That is the way with most of the good police dogs. So we don't change the language they were taught. It's not really to keep anyone from understanding; it's to keep from confusing the dogs."

  The house they entered seemed older than hers, if that was possible, or built around the same time. At least her mother had done some updates. This one had terrible peeling wallpaper and cracks the size of the Grand Canyon running across the one wall, leaving the mesh wire exposed in the plaster, and it was an eyesore to say the least. Dark paneling that had holes in it had been patched with white drywall compound. What were they thinking?

  Before she could even take it all in or comment, he began to explain. "I'm renting this hovel from one of the cousins. I needed a place that I could bring all of the dog equipment and not worry about the landlord. Normally rentals are a no-no for K-9 officers. But I was able to get it approved because of the eight-foot privacy fencing, the family relationship and most importantly because it is temporary. I have to find a house to buy fast." He led her to the couch. "Would you like something to drink? I have milk, orange juice and beer."

  She laughed as Bruce climbed on the other couch and rolled over, wiggling back and forth as if trying to scratch his back, and then rolled back over and curled up, making himself comfortable. "What? Drink? No, I'm okay, really."

  "What do you like on your pizza? I'll order it first and then go change."

  "I really don't care. I'm not picky. Whatever you order that I don't like, I'll just pick off."

  A little while later, Vin told her that she was the pickiest-not-picky eater he'd ever seen. "You've taken off the green peppers, croutons, olives and most of the cheese from your salad. Then your pizza—you should have just told me you only eat cheese, or maybe you should have told me you don't like pizza! You've taken off everything but the cheese."

  "No, I ate the mushrooms and I would have eaten onions or even red peppers if there had been any. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be…" Her lip quivered. She could never please anyone.

  "I'm just teasing you. Don't worry about it. Next time, you are going to tell me what you do like, though, instead of trying so hard to please me." He winked at her and something fluttered in her chest, in her tummy. She'd already lost her appetite, but she would love to taste him, and those damn smirking lips.

  She wanted to change the subject. "Why do you let Bruce in and not Tango? Or are you going to let Tango in later?"

  "Bruce is retired. When they are working, they are not my pets. Bruce can be my pet now. Tango can't. It's a whole different dynamic when they are working dogs. Does that make sense? But I do try to make Bruce think he is still working sometimes so he doesn't get depressed. He did get really sad for a while, until I started taking him for rides again and to the park for 'training.'"

  "Aw. That has to be hard to not be able to treat them equally." She sipped at her water, having declined the Pepsi he'd ordered with the pizza.

  "Yes, it was really hard when Bruce was an officer, because he started out as my pet. When he retired, the department assigned Tango to me." He scooted out and picked up their plates, his empty and hers with more than half of the single piece of pizza still remaining.

  "Wow. Was that here or in Chicago? I mean, didn't you just come here or something?" She followed him toward the kitchen.

  "It was all in Chicago. I came here to help Detroit with their K-9 department. Theirs is surprisingly lacking." He set their plates on the counter and turned back toward her. "I'll take you with me sometime to watch the training in our dog gym. I've just gotten it set up. In the past, most of the training here was only done in the summer. There was some done in the winter, but not nearly enough. Anyway, if you want to come, it's interesting."

  "I'd lo
ve it. Maybe you could help me pick out another dog soon. That would make Alex happy, and me. I do want another dog. I just feel bad because I work so much."

  "I'd like that. I actually know of a few that would work nicely right now. Do you want some coffee? I could make some and we could sit and talk, or we could watch a movie, or I could take you home if you're tired?" He'd stopped in the doorway like he'd forgotten why he'd come in the room to begin with.

  "I don't care, really."

  "No, we're not doing the pizza thing again. Choose." There it was again, that somewhat deeper tone to his voice and the slightest set of his jaw. She looked down to his chest instead of his dark eyes. That was a mistake, too. His chest was broad and muscular and every single movement showed through the black Under Armor shirt he'd changed into.

  "This is nice, the talking. So, maybe coffee?"

  * * * * *

  He was bent near the hearth, setting the fire up. It looked to be going well by Charlie's standards. As much as she loved to have the fire lit, especially on these cold winter nights, she could not start them very well. They'd gotten together a couple times that week and Charlie loved Vin already, but they were going to Alex's for dinner again and she was starting to get a little worried.

  "I was thinking about what I said to you the other day, you know when we saw each other at the hospital." She set the steaming mugs on the coffee table and sat down on the shabby orange sofa. He turned and looked at her, raising a brow. "You know, about working the double and all that, well about you even seeing me there at all… Alex is really stubborn. Actually, he is quite ridiculous about things like that, so I wondered if you would mind not mentioning it to him or Jenna that we saw each other there. I mean when you talk to them about us."