by Reina Torres
Pilar was wordless as she looked at the room she was standing in. The walls were all wood, painted with a perfect coat of primer.
“I haven’t decided what color to make the walls, maybe you two can give me some input. I picked up a book on Victorian colors at the library sale a few months ago. I found a house that’s basically the same layout as this one, which isn’t too weird after I found out that a lot of these houses were cookie cutters from plans people bought.
“I used those colors on the outside. It ended up looking just like the picture, but now I’m worried that I’ll mess up the inside.” He stepped further into the room. “This is the multipurpose room. Kitchen, dining, and living room. It’s not very big, but it gives you full sized kitchen appliances.”
“That’s great.” Pilar sighed with a smile. “I’m lucky if the microwave in my room doesn’t short out when I’m trying to reheat something.”
Gibson reached a hand up and set it at the nape of his neck. “Well, I don’t have microwaves here, but if you want one-”
Pilar waved him off. “No thanks. I think I’m done with those for a while.”
After she’d seen the bedroom and bathroom of the apartment, and heard the cost of rent, it didn’t take more than a heartbeat for Pilar to blurt out, “I’ll take it!”
Vitalia wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. If she’d given her a hug, Pilar would never have seen Gibson’s silent question that went almost over her head.
Are you sure?
“Hey,” she looked up at her friend, “what’s going on?”
Her gamine friend blushed all the way to her temples. “Nothing you have to worry about.”
Pilar wasn’t going to let it go. She gave both Vitalia and the otherwise imposing firefighting mountain a ‘don’t’ look.
Gibson looked at Vitalia with a shrug that said, ‘it’s up to you.’
Blowing out a breath. Vitalia leaned up against the wall in the bedroom and grinned. “It was supposed to be mine. I was going to move out of my parents’ house, but when you told me where you were living, I was ready to flip! That whole neighborhood is scary. When I saw it for myself, I knew I had to let you have it. This place is going to be so awesome. Gibson’s making the apartments available to first responders as a priority.”
Gibson agreed. “Women first. It’s hard enough to work your schedules. The least I can do is offer a safe place to live.”
Pilar was twisted up inside. She wanted the apartment with a passion, but how could she take it away from someone else?
“Hey now, I know that look.” Vitalia stepped up and took her by the shoulders. “I have a great place to live. I was just thinking about moving out to give myself a little space. There is no way that I would take the apartment knowing that you’re living in that roach motel.”
“Besides, as long as Lia doesn’t mind climbing up some stairs, she can have one of the upstairs units when it’s done.”
“Really?” True to her name, Vitalia was full of life and jumped up on Gibson, wrapping her arms and legs around him like a koala. “That would be so fricking amazing! Oh,” she climbed down and didn’t seem to notice the red of his cheeks that almost matched his hair, “that would be awesome. Like a first responder sorority.”
Gibson audibly groaned. “That’s not quite what I had in mind.”
Vitalia waved him off. “Whatever. I’m not talking about PJ parties or stuff like that. Relax big man.”
Gibson shook his head in disbelief. “Whatever, Curly Sue.”
Vitalia lifted a hand to her head before she remembered that she’d pulled her hair into a ponytail at the nape of her neck. “That’s the problem,” she explained to Pilar, “when your dad’s a Fire Captain and you basically grow up around firehouses, everyone is bound to see some ridiculous photos of you on your dad’s desk.”
Gibson grinned. “And on his walls. All over his walls.”
Vitalia shook her head. “And when I started as a candidate after the academy, my first Lieutenant and Captain greeted me with, ‘You’re Aldo’s girl!’”
Pilar smiled. “True. I had a version of that. ‘You’re Vincente’s little sister.’ It didn’t help that I’m a little vertically challenged, but the ‘little’ stings.”
Laughing, Vitalia shook her head. “Did they forget you pack a pistol?”
“I guess I’m not all that scary.”
Gibson’s face blanched. “I don’t know about them, but standing here with the two of you, I’m pretty scared.”
As they all broke into laughter, Pilar felt something pass between the three of them. An understanding perhaps. Or maybe just a moment of camaraderie between people from different backgrounds who shared the same call to service.
Pilar felt like her little circle of friends in Center City was widening and she liked it.
A lot.
A U-Haul pulled up to the curb behind Gibson’s truck and they turned to look.
When the passenger door opened, Pilar felt her heart swell. “Holy-”
“Hotness,” Vitalia finished for her.
Roan Ashley was smiling at her and shaking his head. She couldn’t hear anything through the rush of sound in her ears, but it looked like he was laughing.
A moment later her Sergeant stepped up beside him with a silent question on her lips. When Kate followed his gaze and stopped at Pilar, she smiled too. Pilar was left wondering what was so funny.
She just hoped no one else noticed how she hadn’t been able to breathe since she’d seen him. She could only hope that she wouldn’t pass out from lack of oxygen.
Then again, maybe having a doctor around might be a good thing.
Gibson grinned. “That’s Kate Turner. She’s moving into the other first floor apartment.”
Oh, great.
4
Roan had looked through enough lenses to understand what it felt like to be under a microscope. And his sister had a kind of inquisitive expression on her face that made him feel like a rat in a cage. It had started as soon as they’d gotten out of the moving truck and he’d seen Pilar, and it hadn’t let up since.
It didn’t help that Pilar and her friend Vitalia had stayed for a bit to help take boxes out of the back of the U-Haul.
There was nothing at all curious about the way he’d opened the door ahead of the ladies, or when he’d almost set his hand on Pilar‘s back when her foot had slipped on a piece of packing paper in the kitchen.
And there certainly wasn’t anything wrong with him walking the two out to Vitalia’s car.
He had been raised a gentleman from birth in Charleston. His mama had maybe been a little more successful in her lessons with him. Walker had his moments, but he’d always been the one to test the boundaries.
“Take your time!” Kate didn’t have to sound so damn cheery as she stood on the top step and waved at Pilar and Vitalia. “I can spare Strawberry for a bit.”
He should probably check with Walker first, but he was pretty sure that strangling his over-bearing sister wasn’t a punishable offense.
He saw Vitalia turn around and look back at him and then at Pilar who he was happy to say was walking just far enough ahead of him that he could see her gorgeous face and her stunning body.
“Okay, spill. What’s this ‘strawberry’ thing?”
Pilar shrugged and looked up at him. “I didn’t ask before. I figured it was a sibling thing.”
Vitalia’s expression soured. “I’ve got about fifty of those.” Her face suddenly brightened. “Oh! Is it like the nicknames we give fire eaters?”
Now it was his turn to wince. “Fire eaters?”
“Firefighters. It’s just another nickname.”
Pilar looked up at him with a smile. “It’s a firefighter thing. Don’t fight it.”
That made him laugh. “I don’t want to get on the bad side of people who walk through fire. Or eat it for that matter. But,” he looked at Vitalia, “to answer your question, Strawberry is Kate’s nickna
me for me.”
They didn’t have to ask him to explain. The curious look on Pilar’s face was enough to make him talk. Finding a reason to spend time talking to her was enough of an inducement.
“My mother and her father fell in love about five years ago. When we had the first get together with all of us, it was at our family’s farm just outside of Charleston. It turned out that Kate’s father, my stepfather, was a big fan of horses and classic westerns. Apparently, he hadn’t made the connection the first time he met me, or maybe it was the combination of horses and the humidity of the Low Country, but Winston started singing the tune to ‘The Strawberry Roan.’ He’s just lucky that he makes my mom really happy.”
“So, Kate’s just trying to get under your skin.”
He saw understanding in Pilar’s eyes and liked the way it felt to have that connection to her.
“She’s a great sister. If she’d cut out the jokes, she’d be an awesome one.”
Pilar smiled and he saw the bridge of her nose wrinkle. “I’d thank my lucky stars if I was you.”
He heard the certainty in her voice as she opened the Jeep door and climbed in. It was only then that he noticed Vitalia was already in the driver’s seat.
He felt bad for taking up their time since the firefighter had just finished a day-long shift, but he felt Pilar’s eyes on him. He remembered her warning, and he asked her about it. “Why would you say that?”
As she spoke, he helped her with the seatbelt, handing it to her so she could put it on.
“Walker has to work with her. In the same precinct. Sure, she keeps it totally professional… for the most part. Still, I think she worries about how intense he gets sometimes. Some of the officers give him a wide berth like they don’t know what to think about him.”
“But not you?”
He saw the soft look in her eyes when she thought about it, and wondered if Pilar might have an interest in Walker. Just the thought made his stomach twist a little.
“No. I think your sister knows what she’s doing. She hasn’t been wrong yet. Even when I was sure I’d end up hating Crois, she told me to stick it out. That he’d end up being not just a good partner, but also a good friend.”
He wanted to continue talking to her, but he saw Vitalia reach across Pilar with a paper between her fingers. “What’s this?”
Vitalia wiggled it. “Take it.”
When he did, he saw a phone number on it. Before he could fumble an objection, she laughed at his confused expression.
“Look, I’m sorry, but I’m about to turn into a pumpkin. I need food and sleep. Keep the number, call Pilar in a couple of hours, and I bet she’ll let you take her out to dinner tonight.”
He saw the open-mouthed shock on Pilar’s face, but he also saw a pretty blush warming up her already warm complexion. “What do you say? Should I call you in a few hours?”
She dipped her chin down for a moment, but as Vitalia started the Jeep’s engine, Pilar looked him straight in the eyes.
“Yes, call me.”
And then they were gone.
Before he could move his feet and walk back to the apartment, a savior in the form of Martin Ferris, pulled up to the curb. After setting the parking brake with a decided thunk of sound, Martin leaned across the bench seat of his 1953 Chevrolet Truck and narrowed his eyes in Roan’s direction. “Which one are you?”
Okay, so Martin wasn’t exactly a sweet kind of guy most of the time, but he was still a good guy. So, Roan smiled and pointed at his own chest. “Roan. The doctor.”
“Ah,” Martin nodded thoughtfully, “sawbones.”
Yeah, Martin was a throwback to another era entirely, which made his interest in Kate as confusing as it was endearing.
So far.
“Your sister here?”
Smiling even more, Roan gestured at the house. “She’s inside.”
“Okay.”
Martin unclipped his seatbelt and got out of the truck. He went around the back of the truck and took out a lift belt and some fingerless gloves. “Did I miss the heavy lifting?”
Roan thanked the heavens that they had more help. Roan had been dreading some of the larger pieces in the back of the U-Haul, but where he was athletic, Martin was almost a mountain of a man like Gibson Brawn. Only Martin’s mountain was topped with silvering hair, Gibson was red headed.
He watched Martin as he wrapped the lifting belt around his middle and cinched it up.
Roan was already regretting the lack of lumbar support that he had and almost offered the firefighter from Station House 51 a hundred dollars to borrow the belt for the rest of the day. Kate had told him that the other firefighters called him ‘Rock.’
Scientifically, Roan understood. With a last name like Ferris, it made a lot of sense, but all someone had to do was take a good look at the man’s muscular frame and Rock was appropriate on a number of levels.
Gesturing at the house, Roan took a couple of steps back on the grass. “Come in and say hello.”
He turned his head to take a look at the trailer. “I might as well get started.”
Shrugging, Roan followed after the other man on the way to the back of the U-Haul knowing that with Rock helping out, his sister was going to keep quiet about Pilar. She knew that Roan would give her as good as she got, and with Pilar gone, the only other ‘interest’ hanging around was Rock.
Kate may grumble and grouse about his high-handed behavior and his caveman ways, but Roan had never seen her do it in front of the man.
Maybe he was getting a break after all.
“Hey, help me with this!”
Roan stepped up to the back of the truck and inwardly groaned at the tall oak bookcase. He had to admit that it would fit the apartment well. Victorian homes had the most amazing high ceilings, so even though they’d nearly scraped the ceiling when they’d taken it out of Kate’s old apartment, they wouldn’t have to worry about it in her new apartment. “Okay, I’ll take one end.”
He helped Martin walk the bookcase out of the truck and up onto the grass. They were halfway across the grass when his sister ran up beside them. No, she didn’t appreciate Roan carrying half of the monster slab of wood, her eyes were fixed on Rock.
“What are you doing here?”
The man probably had a good ten… fifteen years on Roan, but he looked like the bookcase was as heavy as a card table. Roan wouldn’t be surprised if the big man didn’t carry the bookcase the rest of the way with one hand alone.
Rock gave Kate one of his snarly-smiles and nodded at the bookcase between them. “I’m helping you move your stuff, babe.”
Roan kept his gaze focused on the bookcase and the grass behind him. While his sister was glaring at the fireman, she certainly wasn’t paying attention to anyone else.
“Did you just call me ‘babe’?”
Adjusting his end of the bookshelf, Rock took on more weight and Roan gave him a thankful look.
“You don’t have any problem hearing me, do you?”
Kate turned on her heel and started walking beside Rock as they continued across the grass. “Well, you’ve got a problem with reality, caveman. I didn’t ask you to come.”
The noise that rolled out from Rock’s throat sounded like an ursine growl. “Don’t think I don’t know that, Katie. I heard Gibson talking about you moving into one of his apartments, and I got the time and other information from him. I don’t understand why you wouldn’t want me to help. I’ve got muscles.”
Roan wished he hadn’t seen the look that Kate shot Martin at his words. Sure, there was anger, but there was also a heat that seemed to curl between the two that made him feel like he was somehow intruding.
By the time Roan felt the shadows from the eaves of the house, he knew there was no way to escape the argument. The only respite he had was when Walker arrived to help, they were both trapped in the tractor beam of his sister’s frustration.
He shared a look with Walker and he knew that they were going to have a talk l
ater. They’d both had a feeling that something was up with Kate, but this wasn’t what either of them had expected.
“Babe?”
Roan could see the wide-eyed shock that crossed Walker’s face for a moment.
“You’re going to have to move.”
Kate threw her hands up in the air. “I am moving!”
“Move your ass to the side, babe, or this bookshelf is going to take out the corner of that freshly painted wall.”
They both heard Kate’s string of curses as she stalked past them and pushed the door open. “Men!”
Walker was the one who actually said something to Rock. Smiling, he helped Roan maneuver the bookcase so that they had a straight line to the front door. “You do remember that she carries a gun.”
“Oh, I know.” Rock’s smile looked a little too much like a snarl for Roan’s peace of mind. “But it’s all just guff right now. She’s fighting her attraction to me. Once she gets over this idea that she’d rather kill me than let me take care of her, it’ll all be fine.”
Roan could see his brother’s similar wince out of the corner of his eye.
“She doesn’t need someone to take care of her.” Walker’s tone was a little tight.
Hefting the bookcase to turn it on its side, Martin shrugged as if he didn’t have a care in the world. “You’re right, she doesn’t need that at all, but when she finally gives me a chance, she’s going to want me to.”
“Oh. Okay.”
Roan knew that tone. Kate was as independent as they come. The fact that she’d become a Sergeant in the CCPD in record time showed just how driven she could be. If Martin thought he could change her mind about him, he was welcome to try.
Even though they weren’t twins, Roan and Walker seemed to share quite a bit of thoughts with the other. That was on full display as they walked the bookcase through the front door and Walker spoke words under his breath that seemed to come straight from Roan’s mind.
