“I wonder what that’s about.” Charlie opened the door and moved to the sidewalk. The commotion had pulled many of the local business owners out of their respective buildings. “Girl, I don’t see it yet, but I can smell the smoke from here.”
“Hey Stan! You know what’s going on?” Charlie yelled to the guy who owned the cupcake shop across the street. When he just shook his head, they both looked back toward the intersection where the emergency vehicles had turned.
Dread began to fill Louise’s stomach as she stood beside Charlie on the sidewalk. Keeping quiet, she reached into the waistband of her yoga pants where she kept her phone tucked.
No calls.
No messages.
Nothing.
Not like she really expected Nix to text her or anything, but Winter and Jazz usually gave her a heads up if the guys were out on a call. Winter had even invested in a police scanner, so that she could keep tabs on what was going on without bugging her friends at the station.
Before she could stop herself, Louise sent a simple text to Nix.
Hey babe, saw the department fly by the studio and want to make sure everything’s ok. Text m e when you can.
“Anyone call you?” Charlie asked.
“No, not that I really expected them to.” Louise tried to smile. “I just sent a quick message to Nix, but if he’s on a call he won’t answer right away. Not that I would expect him to.” She shrugged, trying to act calm and cool. “I’m sure everything’s fine. Winter or Jazz would have called if something bad happened, right?”
Charlie was nodding before she stopped speaking. “I’m sure. Oh, look. Here comes a couple of ladies for the next class.”
Louise gave a small wave to the women in the crosswalk as they carried their coffees toward the studio. “Hey ladies.”
“Good morning, Lou,” they greeted and continued chatting away without a care in the world.
“Go ahead and get your mats set up, and we will start in fifteen,” Louise instructed as she held the door open for the cluster of women walking into the studio.
Charlie eyed the coffee cups in the hands of the women entering. “Now I want a coffee. I think I’m going to run down to the corner before your class starts. Want anything?”
“Nah, I’m already on edge from the cup I drank on the way here.” Louise waved him off. “Hurry up though because I need to start on time if I want to have a break before the next session.”
Charlie blew her a kiss. “I’m going to get you a cookie though. You look like you need a cookie.”
As she watched him strut away, her phone vibrated in her hand.
Incomi ng call: Winter
Well fuck. She had a feeling she was going to need a whole lot more than a cookie.
Chapter 20
Louise looked at her phone for a few more moments before answering, “Hey! Give me a second okay?”
Without waiting for Winter to reply, Louise hustled her class into the studio scheduled for her classes to use for the day. “Get your mats ready and feel free to run through some stretches. I’m just going to wait for Charlie to get back before we start.” She was on pins and needles wanting to know if Winter had any idea of what was going on with the fire call, yet she didn’t want to talk in front of her class.
Louise closed the door. Moving back to the front desk, she kept her eyes trained on the large windows that lined the front of the yoga studio. She tried to keep her voice purposefully free of worry when she finally spoke into the phone again, “What’s up?”
“Crap, I forgot you had class today. Sorry, Lou,” Winter apologized.
“No worries. Whatcha need?” Louise brushed it off, still watching the traffic outside.
“I was just wanting to know if you wanted to grab some lunch today.”
Louise was stunned for a moment. Winter’s cheery voice and lunch invite was not what she was expecting at all. “Oh, ummm…”
“I thought maybe around twelve thirty or so?” Winter continued to talk even though Louise wasn’t responding. “Wait, what time are your classes? Jazz has today off since she’s working Saturday, and she might want to join us. Who am I kidding? She’ll skin me alive if she doesn’t get invited.”
“Lunch sounds great.” Pacing back and forth behind the large check in desk, Louise blew out a gust of nervous air. “Have you listened to the scanner this morning?” She chewed on her nail waiting for an answer.
“No, I’ve been running errands all morning. Why?” Winter sounded tense now compared to the bubbly start of the conversation.
Louise looked up just in time to spot Charlie moving swiftly across the crosswalk, carrying both a bag and a large cup.
“Lou?” Winter spoke again when she didn’t receive an immediate answer.
“About ten minutes ago there was an engine that flew by as well as a few other emergency vehicles. I was just curious if you knew what was going on?”
Charlie walked around the front desk and handed her the bakery bag. “Who are you talking to? I got the skinny on the fire.”
“Hang on, Winter. Charlie just got back from getting coffee and said he found out what happened.” Louise put her phone on the desk and hit the speakerphone icon.
“So, I was ordering when that group of little old ladies who walk in the morning came in,” Charlie said, setting up the story as if it were his normal gossip circle. “You know, I don’t know why they go to the trouble of walking when they end up stopping every morning and grabbing donuts—”
“Charlie!” both Lou and Winter yelled at the same time, startling their friend.
Lou took a calming breath before continuing, “Please just get to the point.”
“Well, damn bitches. Y’all don’t have to scream at a man,” Charlie said defensively and tossed her an offended look that she was more than familiar with. “So, they were walking down Ninth when they noticed it smelled like someone was burning brush. The one with the pink velour suit, you know which one I mean?” Charlie paused only long enough for Louise to nod. “Anyway the one in the pink said that they looked around and noticed that the old Chinese place that closed down last year had some smoke coming out of the back. When they peeked through the front windows, they were able to see flames even though the windows are blacked out.” Charlie dramatically put his hand to his chest as if he had been personally there. “So, Martha called the police while the rest of the women went to let the yarn store owner know there was a fire right next door.”
“Damn,” Louise whispered, a sound that was echoed over the speakerphone when Winter spoke as well.
“Good thing they did that too. There was a knitting club meeting there this morning and half the women inside use walkers. There’s no way they would have been able to get out quickly if the fire had spread to Knitters Not Quitters. That place is bey ond flammable.”
“Okay, here’s the plan,” Winter said, now sounding as worried as Louise felt. “I’m going to see if I can find out what’s going on using the scanner at home and check the news.”
“Okay.” Louise nodded even though Winter wasn’t there to witness it. “Can you call me once you find out what’s going on?”
“Sure thing,” Winter agreed. “I’m sure everything is fine and not a big deal at all. What time is your break today?”
Louise looked at Charlie who in turn looked at the schedule of classes posted on the desk. “Twelve forty-five.”
“Want to plan on meeting me for lunch at the Tinderbox?”
Louise calculated her class load for the rest of the day versus how long lunch out would take. “Sure. That’s after my hot yoga class so I’ll be a mess, but as long as you don’t mind, I’m there.”
“See ya there!”
Louise stared down at her phone even when it showed that her friend had hung up already.
“You going to be okay, girl?” Charlie took a huge sip of his coffee and watched her closely.
“Yep, why wouldn’t I be?” Louise asked, trying to act like she wasn�
�t worried.
“Umm, maybe because that hottie you’ve been seeing is probably fighting that inferno as we speak. Right?”
Louise glared at her coworker and now ex-friend. “Damn it, Charlie! Why did you have to say it like that?”
“Because you’re standing there pretending you aren’t worried, and I know you’re just putting on a brave face. You can be worried, Lou. It’s a valid emotion in this case.” Charlie patted her on the back.
“Damn, have you been watching Oprah reruns again?” Louise joked, knowing that she was simply trying to distract herself.
“Keep acting like you don’t care,” Charlie said. “If you need to talk though, just let me know. Okay?”
Louise smiled at him, before stuffing half a cookie in her mouth. “I’ve got to get my class started.”
Charlie folded his arms across his chest and shook his head at her. “I’ll keep my eyes and ears open and let you know if I find out anything else.”
Louise handed over the rest of her cookie in an unspoken thank you before jogging into her classroom. “Good morning, everyone. Let’s get started today with some warm-up poses.”
Since this was one of her midlevel classes, those attending didn’t need to be coddled. They knew the poses and the flow and followed along almost effortlessly. While calling out poses, Louise let her mind drift and her thoughts calm. Before she knew it, the clock was signaling time to wrap up.
“Everyone, make sure that you sign up for classes next week using our new online system. The paper sign-up will be phased out by this Friday, and everything will now be online with options for text reminders,” Louise informed her class, grateful when nobody had questions regarding the new procedure. Holding the door, she chatted with some of her students as they walked out with their mats and bags.
“See ya, Lou!” With one last wave, Louise said good-bye to her last student before walking back to where Charlie was playing on his phone.
“Hear anything yet?” Louise questioned the minute she was within talking distance.
“Yeah, local news is saying that two men were injured and taken to the hospital, but they haven’t said if they were firefighters or just someone that got caught up in that mess,” Charlie relayed. “And your phone buzzed a couple times, but since you have a passcode I wasn’t able to see who it was.”
Louise picked up her phone before he was finished and unlocked the screen, instantly seeing that she had unread texts from Winter.
9:45 Working on containing the fire, no other news.
10:00 Two guys down when part of the roof collapsed. Unable to find out who it was.
10:09 Will called. Nix was hurt but not serious. Chief is making him go to hospital to g et checked out.
10:20 Call me when you r class is out.
Hitting call before she even realized what she was doing, Louise waited impatiently for Winter to answer.
“Hey, so I guess you got my messages.”
“Yeah, any more news?”
“Not really. Butler was working today, and he’s the one that took Nix to the hospital. Apparently, Nix and Dale were inside when part of the roof caved in. The next thing he saw was Nix carrying Dale over his shoulder from the building.”
“Holy cow,” Charlie whispered, his eyes wide.
“I figure that means you don’t want to meet for lunch, right?” Winter asked, even though she knew the answer.
“Yeah, I’m going to run to the hospital over lunch and see what I can find out.”
“Gotcha, I would do the same thing,” Winter said. “Let me know that everything is okay.”
“Will do,” Louise murmured before hitting the end icon.
Charlie was studying the schedule with a panicked look on his face, “Lou, I’m sorry, but I don’t have anyone to cover the next two classes. Are you going to be okay working until your lunch break?”
Louise nodded, already knowing there was no way she could cut out early. “Yeah, don’t worry about it.”
“Well, you have about fifteen more minutes before your next class so why don’t you call the hospital and see if you can find anything out. If you run into trouble let me know, I used to date one of the nurses in the ER and might be able to squeeze some information out of him if I have to. Go on to the back room so you have privacy, and I’ll check everyone in for you,” Charlie ordered, already shooing her away.
Ten minutes and three hospital employees later, Louise didn’t know anything at all. Not that she blamed them. It wasn’t their fault they couldn’t give her any information.
Walking back to the front, Louise saw her classroom was full, and everyone in place. Before moving into the room though, she found Charlie outside cleaning the glass on the door.
“Hey, I wasn’t able to find anything out. Can you call that hot nurse you dated and see if you can sweet talk some info out of him?” Louise asked with a pleading smile.
Charlie tossed the rag he was using to wipe the door down on the rug and let out a huge sigh. “I will, but only because I love you. If he ends up asking me out again, you guys may need to double with us. There’s only so much Nurse Phillip I can handle, and that comes in small doses.”
Louise nodded sagely, remembering the stories that she had heard while Charlie was in the midst of his whirlwind courtship with the nurse in question. “I appreciate it.”
“You better,” Charlie grumbled before reaching for his phone.
“I have to get started if I want to finish on time.” Louise walked into the room, greeted the ones who were ready for class, and hoped the next forty-five minutes went by just as quick as before.
* * * *
“You couldn’t find anything out?”
One hour later, and Louise was still in the dark about Nix and how he was injured.
“Nurse Phillip wasn’t working today.” Charlie frowned, tapping his fingers on the desk. “What if you call and say you’re his wife? That always works in the movies, right?”
Louise rolled her eyes. “I’m not going to lie and tell them we’re married.”
“Well then what are you going to do?”
“I guess I’ll go down there on my break and see if I can find anything out in person.”
Charlie simply stared at her like she was stupid.
“Gah! I don’t know what to do.” Louise had raised her voice. The words echoed in the large entry to the studio.
“I still say to tell them you’re his wife,” Charlie said again, as if repeating his idea would convince her to try it.
“No,” Louise said again.
“Just think about it,” Charlie insisted before walking to the studio space that was exclusively used for the hot yoga classes. “I’m going to make sure that everything is ready for your next class. You may want to start hydrating now.”
“Fuck, I forgot I had a hot session next.” Louise grabbed her water bottle from the desk and started chugging.
She had a feeling the next class was not going to be fun at all…and she was right.
* * * *
Opening the door after class, she was hit with a gust of cooler air from the lobby. It felt almost orgasmic as it rushed over her sweaty body.
“Have a good day everyone,” Louise said huskily. Her mouth felt like the Sahara.
Charlie walked up and handed her a full water bottle. “It sucks, doesn’t it?”
“You don’t even know,” she whispered between sips as water dribbled down her chin and soaked the collar of her sports bra. “Never. Again.”
“Tell me you love me,” Charlie demanded, catching Louise off guard.
“Uh?”
“Tell me you love me,” he ordered again.
“Why?” Louise stared at him, trying to figure out if she was delirious from heat exhaustion.
“Nurse Phillip did me a favor and ran into work today,” Charlie explained with a flourish. “He was able to find out about your man on the inside.”
“Really? What did he say? Is Nix okay?” Louise aske
d, feeling suddenly energized.
“He was admitted for a possible concussion, but he was later discharged with no concussion. He does have a broken foot,” Charlie explained. “How he didn’t know his foot was broken is beyond me because I heard that shit hurts.”
“He was already discharged?” Louise asked, even as she started texting Nix again. Now that he was out of the hospital, maybe he’d had a chance to get his phone from the station.
Heard what happened. Are you okay ? Are you home?
“Yes, ma’am. He was discharged with a script for pain meds and told to follow up with a specialist. I guess they may need to put screws in or something.”
Louise grimaced, knowing that procedures like that were not necessarily extremely painful, but still not a walk in the park. Her phone buzzed in her hand.
Nix: Hurt my foot. Have t o take it easy.
Louise read his text, surprised at the abruptness of his message. “What the frak?” After typing out a quick reply, she hit send.
I’ll be over tonight with dinner as soon as my last class finishes. Do you need anythi ng before then?
Nix: Don’t worry about me. I’m going to take a pain pill and hit the sack. I’ll cal l you tomorrow.
“What’s his deal?” Charlie asked, reading the text messages over her shoulder.
“I don’t know,” Louise answered honestly. “Maybe he’s just tired after all that happened.”
“Are you still going over there tonight?”
“Hell yes, I am.” Louise glared at the phone, waiting for something…anything else from Nix to let him know that he needed her. “Even if he doesn’t want me to.”
“You get him, girl.”
Louise chewed on her lip trying to think of a way to respond after his last text. He hadn’t really given her an option to reply after telling her he would call tomorrow.
Pfft.
There was no way in hell she was not going to check on him, and if he thought that was even a possibility then he didn’t know her at all.
Chapter 21
Louise grabbed the bucket of chicken and bag of sides from the passenger seat, which she had picked up on her short drive over. Parking behind Nix’s truck, she blocked him in. It’s not like he would need to be driving anywhere soon if he had a broken foot anyway.
Taming Fire (Braving the Heat #2) Page 15