The Fire Inside (18 page)

“It’s small now, with the baby, so we’re
moving. We’ve built a house just inside Hidden Cove, closer to Evie
and the Academy. We’re keeping the condo, though, as a summer place
for us and the Callahans.”

“I can see why. If you ever want to sell it,
let me know.” She was thinking ahead these days? When had that
happened?

“So, you’re staying in town?” His eyes
twinkled. “I thought you might.”

“You were very convincing. And then, of
course, Sabina’s medical issues made me realize I wanted to be
here, for a while at least.”

“Good for you.”

Lisel came in carrying a two-year-old girl,
dressed in pink pajamas. “Oh, wow, aren’t you beautiful.” Her blond
hair and gray eyes bore a strong resemblance to her dad’s.

“Thank you.” Lisel hugged the baby close.
“Say hello, Evie.”

“`ello.”

“This is Tess.” Lisel kissed the baby’s head.
“We’re going to say good night to everyone before we go to
bed.”

“I’ll walk out with you,” Tess told her. She
picked up a cookie tray that she’d arranged.

“Dad-dy!” Evie yelled when Lisel started to
walk away. The girl squirmed and twisted to see her father.

“Okay, sweetheart.” He nodded to the
chocolate ice-cream rolls. “Bring that out, love, and I’ll carry
the tyrant here.”

The
tyrant
was all smiles when she sat
on Daddy’s lap. Ian looked up at Tess. “This is what I meant when
we spoke last week. The fire department is
not
my life.”

“I can tell. I envy you.”

“Do you? Then, go after it.”

Which was why, when Cory Cameron asked to
take her home, then suggested she come to his apartment for a
nightcap, she accepted. Tonight, she’d take a chance.

o0o

The last day of the work weekend was gloomy
and overcast, the complete opposite from the previous one. Workers
prayed it didn’t rain. Just in case, Mitch and Megan were making
lists for tasks they could do inside.

The rain held off all morning. Jack was in
the middle of hauling brush to the road at the entrance to camp
when the downpour began. With it came a cold breeze off the lake,
chilling the air.

“Shit,” he said, pulling up the hood on his
sweatshirt. He started down the path to the open pavilion where
they met in the morning and for lunch. The rain was slanted and
spit right in his face. His feet slipped on dirt which was quickly
becoming mud, and he fell on his butt. A greasy brown mess
splattered on his face and chest. “Fuck!” he said aloud.

From the corner of his eye, he saw someone
carrying an umbrella leave the enclosed social hall off to the
left. She picked her way over to him. “Hey, you okay?”

Jack smiled up at Stacey Sterling Evans.
“Yeah, if a bit wet and sore.”

“We’ll go down to the pavilion together under
the umbrella.”

Managing to get to his feet, Jack ducked
under the canvas. “Hey, Stacey. How you feeling?”

“Super. The second trimester’s a lot easier
than the first.” She placed her hand on her just-bulging belly.
“Twins, like yours.”

“Ah, you’ll have your work cut out for
you.”

“I can’t wait.”

They headed down the path. The ground was
getting muddier and muddier. Stacey went ahead of him when the
space to walk narrowed. Something began to niggle at Jack. “Hey,
Stace, I think we should stop. Wait this out in the infirmary right
over there.”

“You’re probably right.” When she started to
turn, though, her foot slid out from under her.

She pitched forward.

Jack grabbed her around the waist to keep her
upright.

He stumbled backward, and let Stacey go so
she wouldn’t fall with him.

He hit the ground with a thud, and blistering
pain shot through him.

In seconds, blackness came.

o0o

Tess huddled by the infirmary with the rest
of the workers. Zach and Casey Malvaso and one other paramedic were
inside with Jack. Word had spread he’d fallen and hit his head
because he saved a pregnant woman from toppling over. Thank God
Stacey Sterling was all right. And how like Jack to have kept her
safe at his own expense. But his type of injury sent Tess into a
tailspin.

Next to her, Mitch slid an arm around her.
“You okay?”

The rain stopped as suddenly as it had come,
and a bright sun peeked out of the heavens, warming everyone but
her. “Yeah, sure.” She wasn’t, but she refused to take the
attention off the people involved in the accident.

“Hell of a thing, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know Stacey.”

Mitch smiled. “She’s a recent addition to the
fire department family. You’ve met Nick Evans, right?”

“Yeah. He’s a firefighter. He must have been
scared to death when he found out what happened.”

“She was a mess. Did you hear she slid on her
butt all the way down to the pavilion so she wouldn’t fall, but she
had to get help for Jack?”

“No, I didn’t know that.” Tess had trouble
following the course of events. He
hit his head hard
was at
the front of her mind. “What, um, what were they doing
together?”

“They were both working near the entrance to
the camp. Stacey came in to cook and serve, to do her part for
Hale’s Haven, while Nick was cleaning gutters.” Mitch nodded off to
the side, where Stacey cuddled into Nick’s chest, her eyes wide and
frightened. “She went out to get him, under the umbrella. When she
slipped, he caught her, but they pitched backward. He let go and
she stayed upright, but he went down.”

Tess bit her lip.

“What’s wrong? I know you don’t like Jack,
but…” His voice trailed off. Mitch slapped his forehead with his
palm. “Hell, honey, I didn’t make the connection. But you did.”

Tess cleared her throat to keep the emotion
at bay. “It’s never far away, anyway.”

“Joey’s head injury in the skiing accident
was a lot worse than what happened to Jack just now.”

“You don’t know that, Mitch.”

“I watched when they brought him in. He was
already coming around.”

“The same was true for Joey. They said it was
just the bump on the head that killed him.”

Tugging her close, he kissed her head. “We’ll
wait it out, kiddo.”

As she had with Joey. She’d never forget her
blinding panic on that freezing slope while she waited for the
medic crew to get to her brother. He’d hit a tree because he was
goofing off. Tess saw the whole thing because she’d gone down right
behind him. Then, at the hospital, the hours had ticked by at a
snail’s pace and she went from hope to devastation every few
minutes. She’d been alone when she got the brutal news. At
twenty-seven, she could barely cope. And she’d never been the same
again.

Again, time crawled by. Finally, Casey came
out of the trailer. “He’s gonna be all right, everybody. We cleaned
the wound, stitched it up and gave him a shot for pain. We’re
taking him into town for X-rays.”

A sweep of profound relief made Tess weak in
the knees. She had to grab on to Mitch to stay upright.

Casey skimmed those gathered to hear news
about Jack. Her gaze landed on Tess and she threaded her way
through the crowd. “Tess, Jack wants to see you.”

“Tess? Why?” Mitch asked.

“I have no idea. He just does.”

Not looking at her cousin, Tess followed
Casey into the infirmary cabin. Jack was stretched out flat on a
cot. He was covered with mud, and the place smelled of it. She gave
him a weak smile.

He said, “Can you two leave me alone with
Tess?”

“What for?” Zach asked.

Casey pulled at his sleeve. “None of our
business. We’ll be outside. Call us when you’re done.”

“Thanks.” When they left, Jack said in a
gravelly voice, “Come here, Teresa.”

Her eyes misted. She’d been really worried
about him. She crossed to the cot and knelt down beside him. He
took her hand. He said, “Hi.”

“Hi.” She kissed his grimy knuckles. “You’re
a hero, you know?”

“I was scared for her, Tess. I was afraid
she’d fall on her stomach.”

“So you sacrificed yourself.”

“Hardly. I hadn’t planned to slam down
backward.”

With a shaky hand, she smoothed his muddy
hair from his face. “I…I’m so glad you’re all right.”

“I thought you’d be worried, so I asked for
you.”

“It was public. My cousins can’t figure out
why.”

“Yeah, about that. I want to tell them about
us.”

She should try to convince him that there was
no
us
. But when she saw him, bruised and hurting, she
couldn’t lie to herself. She cared about this man.

“I—”

“Don’t decide now. I’ll text you when I get
home from X-raying my head. You can come to my house.”

“Tonight?”

“Um-hmm. Make something up about why you’re
going out. We’ll talk about all this then.”

This time, Tess let her heart decide. “All
right.”

Jack’s head hurt like hell, and he did have a
mild concussion. So the FD doctor insisted he not spend the night
alone…

“I have someone coming over,” Jack told the
man. Zach and Casey had been with him.

“Who? ‘Cause one of us can stay with you.”
This from Zach.

“Thanks, but I have it covered.”

Zach snorted. “You got a squeeze we don’t
know about, Doc?”

“None of your business. Just take me to my
house. I’ll make arrangements to get my car from the camp
tomorrow.”

“Maybe your girlfriend can drive you…”

Now, at home, he waited for Tess to arrive.
He’d texted her from the hospital and she’d said she’d be over as
soon as she could.

Lying on the couch, he closed his eyes and
thought of her. The ice pack on his head was cold and he ached all
over, but his heart stirred at the thought that she’d acquiesced.
To coming over, at least. But he’d seen something in her eyes
tonight that made him think he could convince her to pursue a
relationship with him and conflict of interest be damned.

The doorbell rang.

He righted himself and stood. Uh-oh.
Dizziness swamped him. Grabbing on to the back of the sofa, he
waited for his brain to adjust, then limped to the door.

And there she was, outside on the front
porch. The rain had come again, and her hair and shoulders were
damp. Her eyes were still filled with concern. “You okay?”

“Yeah. It’s a mild concussion. But my head
hurts like hell. So does the rest of me. Come in and nurse me?”

A half smile formed on her face. “You’re
something else. But yes, I’ll nurse you. I owe you this.”

She stepped inside his house and circled to
face him. He noticed she’d changed into plain blue pants and a red
T-shirt, over which she’d thrown a cotton hoodie. “You’re a mess,”
she told him.

“I know. I’m dirty from the rain and mud and
my hair’s grimy.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t tell me. You need
help bathing.”

“Fair’s fair, darlin’.”

“Zach could have come home with you and
helped you.”

“I didn’t want Zach. I want you, Teresa.”

Her eyes widened. She was remembering what
happened after her shower all those months ago. Good. His words had
an intentional double meaning.

“Don’t get ideas. No funny stuff with a
concussion and a wound that required stitches.”

A sudden bout of fatigue came over him. He
steadied himself with a nearby chair. “Truthfully, honey, right
now, I just want to feel clean and get some rest.”

“Of course, Jack. I didn’t mean to
tease.”

She glanced around from the foyer. He tried
to see the house through her eyes. The one level structure sported
cedar siding. The inside matched the rustic exterior with wood
everywhere, high ceilings and windows. “This is beautiful.”

“Yeah, I like it. The kids didn’t want to
move out of the house where they grew up, but when they left for
college, I put our old place up for sale.”

“Where’s the bathroom?”


“There’s three. Mine’s off the master
bedroom.”

“Do you need help getting there?”

“Yeah. Wrap your arm around my waist.”

Because he was leaning heavily on her, she’d
know he wasn’t in as good shape as he pretended to be. But he
couldn’t help it. He
was
weak. They did a slow walk down the
long corridor to his wing, which contained his den and the master
suite. The kids’ rooms were on the other side of the large kitchen
and spacious family area. They needed privacy, and so did he.

“Wow, Jack, this is lovely.” High wooden
ceiling, skylights, lots of windows and a lake of a bed. “Thanks.”
He nodded to the bathroom. “In there.”

They entered another large space. “Double
wow.” This, too, had a high ceiling, a wall of windows, under which
sat a Jacuzzi. There was a separate shower. “I did some of the work
myself.” He sat down on the john. “How shall we tackle this?”


“A bath with the jets will do wonders for
you. Can you get up the two steps?”


“Yeah, but you might have to support me. I
think maybe you’ll have to get in with me. It seats two.”

Tess bit back a smile. “Let’s get you out of
those clothes.”

“I hope this isn’t uncomfortable for
you.”

“I’ve seen it all before. But if I have to
get into the tub, I’m keeping my undies on—again.” Her reference to
her modesty when she was hurt made him chuckle.

After turning on the tub facet, she drew his
muddy T-shirt over his head. He lifted up and she slid down his
dirt-caked jeans, his dark blue jockey shorts. He watched her for
her reaction to his nakedness, but her face remained impassive.

“I think we better wash off the dirt in the
shower, otherwise you’re going to have a mud bath.”

She ran that, too, and he leaned against the
wall under the hot spray and let the dirt sluice off him. She
waited nearby, with the door open. When he was clean enough and the
tub filled, the jets on, she led him over to it.