Well, what did you expect, anyway? asked the sarcastic voice inside her head, the same voice that frequently reminded her that she was fat and unattractive. Of course someone like him is going to have a girlfriend!
A pretty, slim girlfriend.
Oh God. What he must have thought when I kissed him! Steffi felt doubly mortified. She'd made a real fool of herself around Evan, and he'd been amazingly gracious and kind in response.
When he had finished talking to the officer, he pointed at Steffi.
That's her, officer. The one sitting on the bench over there, dressed in nothing but a blanket, Steffi thought, suddenly conscious that her curly hair probably looked like a Halloween fright wig.
The female officer crossed the street and approached Steffi. She was in her late twenties or early thirties, and she had a very friendly smile along with a cute sprinkling of freckles across her tanned cheeks.
"Hi there," said the blonde. "I'm Mary Jacobsen, with the Bearpaw Ridge Police Department."
Steffi tried not to squirm guiltily. "I'm Stephanie Tristan, but everyone calls me Steffi, officer." And I'm really sorry that I just tried to make out with your boyfriend.
Royce lifted his head briefly to sniff at the hem of Officer Jacobsen's trouser leg, then flopped back down.
"Please call me Mary," said the officer. "I understand that someone tried to abduct your baby tonight?"
"I don't understand how they knew I was here!" Steffi blurted. She bit her lip, uncomfortably aware that she sounded like a crazy person. "I told my parents and my boss I was driving to Bearpaw Ridge, but no one else!"
Mary put up her hand. "Hold on a sec. Do you know the people who, uh, approached you just now?"
Steffi shook her head. "I don't know them, but I think they're same people who tried to abduct Olivia a few days ago in a park near my condo."
Mary's body language changed. She suddenly looked more alert. "Wait—there was a previous abduction attempt? Did you report it to your local police?"
"Yes. Um, just a sec…" Steffi fumbled in her purse and drew out the card of the Cupertino police officer who had come to the park. "The officer wrote the report number on the back of the card."
See, I'm not crazy! Steffi bit her tongue to keep from saying that part aloud. It wouldn't help.
"Hm," said the blonde officer as she looked at the card and copied the information over to her notepad.
She handed the card back to Steffi. "So someone's after your baby, but you don't know who? You're sure it's not a custody issue?"
"Huh?" Steffi looked blankly at the officer for a moment, then realized what she was asking. "No, uh, this isn't my daughter. She's my niece, and I'm taking care of her right now, because her parents—" She swallowed hard against the sudden, painful knot of grief in her throat. "Her parents were on a business trip to Alaska, and their plane…disappeared. We're still waiting for news."
"I'm so sorry." Mary looked her up and down, compassion in her eyes. Her gaze stopped on Olivia. "This wouldn't happen to be Patrick Swanson's daughter, Olivia, would it?"
Steffi blinked in surprise, then remembered Patrick's stories about how fast news spread in a small town. Everyone here had probably heard about the plane crash by now. "Yes. Patrick's my brother-in-law."
Mary took a seat on the bench next to Steffi, notepad at the ready. "Okay, Steffi, why don't you tell me what happened just now?"
"I think I need to start a little earlier than that," Steffi told her. "It all started when my dad called to tell me that Jessica and Patrick's plane had gone off the radar in Alaska…"
She went on to describe the frightening encounter in the park back home and how that had led to her subsequent decision to accept Margaret Swanson's invitation to visit Bearpaw Ridge so that Margaret could meet her granddaughter.
Steffi carefully edited out the part where Olivia freaked her out by turning into a bear cub. Twice.
She wondered if Evan or Dane were going to tell anyone about that part. And what was she going to do if they did?
Then Steffi moved on to detailing the night's adventures, beginning with waking up to the smell of smoke in her hotel room.
"So you were staying at the Bearpaw Ridge Inn?" Mary indicated the burning building with an expression hovering somewhere between distaste and incredulity.
Apparently she shared Evan's opinion that the hotel was a dump. Having been inside, Steffi really couldn't argue.
Steffi nodded. "Those firefighters over there—Evan and Dane—rescued us. We owe them our lives."
"They're good guys," Mary said with a smile. "Firefighting's a dangerous job, and they're all volunteers here in Bearpaw Ridge."
She looked down at Royce.
"So you're the hero who bit the bad man?" Mary grinned and reached down to pet his head, rubbing him behind his floppy ears. "Well, if that bad man tries to go to any of the hospitals or urgent care clinics around here, I'll make sure we're notified."
In response, Royce rose from his place on top of Steffi's bare feet. She instantly regretted the loss of that warm body when the cool air of early morning hit her toes.
He leaned against Mary's leg and gazed soulfully up at her.
"He likes me!" Mary said, evidently delighted.
Steffi shook her head wryly. "He likes pretty much every woman he meets. He isn't hostile to men or anything, but he definitely prefers women."
Mary laughed. "Funny. He sounds just like Evan."
Steffi smiled politely, trying to hide her curiosity about the firefighter who had just saved her life. Twice. "Are you, uh, Evan's girlfriend?"
Of course she's his girlfriend, you idiot, said her snarky inner voice. Did you see the way they just kissed?
To Steffi's surprise, Mary's smile faded as she looked across the street to where Evan and his companions were still spraying down the smoking jumble of beams and walls.
"That's a hard question to answer, when everyone knows that the g-word is guaranteed to send Evan running for the hills." She gave a short chuckle. "Literally. He's a wildlife biologist, and he tends to disappear on research trips out into the wilderness for weeks and months at a time."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be nosy," Steffi said.
Mary's expression turned wry. "Everyone here knows that Evan loves women, loves to date. But he seems to be totally phobic about making any kind of commitment." She sighed. "Don’t get me wrong…he's a great guy. And the best kisser I've ever met. I'm willing to be his 'friend with benefits' for now, but a girl can dream, can't she?"
"Yeah," agreed Steffi, returning the smile. "It's a pretty nice dream, huh?"
Mary laughed, but her glance in Evan's direction was wistful. "To be fair, in the beginning, I did tell him that I didn't consider him marriage material. So I guess I should enjoy what I've got instead of wanting something I can't have." She shook her head. "I've known Evan for years, and I know he isn't the type who wants to settle down." She shrugged.
Steffi didn't know why she was so disappointed to find out that Evan Swanson was a player.
Not that someone like him would ever give her a second look. Especially not if he was dating someone like Mary.
Steffi told herself that the spark of attraction she had felt earlier had been one-sided, and that amazing kiss had probably just been a fluke.
Whatever you do, don't behave like a pathetic stalker, Steffi. You've spent years being invisible to attractive men. You should be used to it by now.
Mary stood up to leave.
"Well, I'd better get going…in addition to that hospital alert, I'll put one out for a big silver GMC Suburban," she assured Steffi. "We have police department volunteers all over the area who'll keep an eye out for any vehicles matching the description you and Evan gave me. It's a small town, so they won't be able to show up here again without someone noticing and calling it in."
Chapter 6
The dark sky was beginning to lighten to gray in the east when the Bearpaw Ridge Inn collapsed in on it
self with an earthshaking roar and groan.
The unshaven, unhappy-looking man who had checked Steffi in at the hotel was sitting on the sidewalk nearby, his back braced against a parked car.
He looked up, mouth agape in horrified wonder, as charred beams buckled and broke, and the hotel's remaining windows shattered. The back half of the hotel building collapsed, leaving the smoke-stained clapboard façade standing against a mass of charred, smoking rubble.
A moment later, he buried his face in his hands. "Gramma Elsa is going to kill me!" he moaned.
Steffi knew she shouldn't feel sorry for the man who had abandoned her in a burning hotel room, but she did.
And then Steffi remembered that she had parked her car in the hotel's parking lot, which was located behind the building. Just about where the biggest tangle of smoking wooden beams and charred panels now lay piled up…
"Oh, no," she whispered, struck by the realization that she had just lost everything—clothes, crib, and car.
Everything except her purse…which she owed to Evan's quick thinking.
As the first rays of the sun illuminated the smoking ruins of the hotel, Steffi sat on the bench, feeling numb and sick. She tried to tell herself that it wasn't a complete disaster.
Thanks to Evan, this second attempt at kidnapping Olivia had been foiled. And Steff had her ID and credit cards.
And—most importantly—both her niece and her dog were safe.
But still, whoever was trying to abduct Olivia had managed to follow Steffi here. That was terrifying.
How had they known? Had someone close to Steffi told them where she was going? Or did they have access to her credit card information, so that they had been able to track her by her gas station transactions and motel stays?
But it could have been worse. A whole hell of a lot worse. Steffi looked down at Olivia, who had fallen back asleep, and at Royce, sitting patiently at her feet, and tried to feel grateful for her good fortune.
But somehow, she just felt lost. And she could still feel the imprint of Evan's lips against hers and the vivid, overwhelming shock of arousal, as if every nerve in her body had suddenly come alive.
* * *
A little while later, just as the firemen were finally finishing up, a vivacious-looking woman came walking up Main Street. She was carrying a large insulated jug of coffee and a huge handled paper bag with Cinnamon + Sugar printed in pink curlicue font on the outside.
The newcomer was just as curvy as Steffi and wore checkered chef's pants and a bright turquoise chef's coat liberally dusted with flour. She had long, braided strawberry-blonde hair tucked under a floppy beret the same color as her coat.
The firefighter that Evan had introduced as Dane broke into a huge smile when he spotted the woman.
Steffi watched with astonishment as he swooped in and gathered the redhead up for hearty kiss.
In Steffi's experience, the men willing to date a big girl like her only did so on the down low.
This fact had been driven home during her last relationship, when Bradley had never included her in his circle of friends and never acknowledged her as his girlfriend on social media. In fact, the whole time they were together, he'd acted like he was embarrassed about being attracted to someone who wasn't thin and conventionally beautiful.
In the end, Steffi had broken up with him because she realized that he was never going to change, never going to stop acting like dating Steffi was some secret, shameful kink, no matter how much he seemed to like sleeping with her.
The redhead returned Dane's kiss with obvious enthusiasm, setting down the big bag so that she could wind her free arm around his neck while deftly balancing the insulated coffee pot in her other hand.
Steffi noticed how the other woman was glowing with happiness when Dane finally pulled away from her. She stroked the tall firefighter's stubbled cheek as she said something to him.
Dane in turn smiled down at her, his expression tender and loving.
Something twinged in Steffi's chest as she witnessed their interaction.
I want that, whispered her heart. I want someone who will look at me like that, and kiss me in the middle of the street, and not care who sees us.
Evan, who was standing next to Dane and busily coiling up hoses to put back on the truck, looked around. His eyes met Steffi's, and once again she felt that odd jolt of connection as he smiled at her.
He said something to the redhead and pointed at Steffi. Dane nodded and added something that Steffi didn't hear.
The redhead immediately turned to head across the street, but was waylaid by Dane, who reached into the bag and extracted an enormous cinnamon roll. Evan quickly snagged one too, and the two remaining firefighters jostled for their share as well.
The predawn breeze brought a waft of freshly baked pastries to Steffi's nose as the redhead finally freed herself from the tangle of hungry firefighters and crossed the street.
Steffi's mouth watered at her approach, and Royce came alert with a soft whine.
"Hi, are you Steffi?" asked the redhead when she was close enough that the mingled scents of vanilla, cinnamon, and warm yeasty bread coming from the bag were almost dizzying.
Steffi nodded, and the redhead looked down at Olivia, who was still asleep. "And that must be Olivia. What a sweet little girl! How old is she?"
"Nine months," Steffi answered, wondering who this woman could be. She exuded warmth and cheerful friendliness. "I’m sorry, I didn't catch your name."
The redhead chuckled and sat down. "I’m Annabeth, Dane's wife. I own the Cinnamon + Sugar Bakery, located just down the street. I came by because I was hoping the fire was finally under control, and I figured you all might be wanting some breakfast just about now."
"Breakfast sounds great," Steffi exclaimed.
Annabeth reached into the bag and offered Steffi a paper coffee cup from a stack tucked inside the bakery bag. Then she paused to study the smoking ruins across the street. "That looks awful. Was anyone hurt?"
"I don’t think so," Steffi replied. "There were some other guests, but they got out too."
"Well, that's a relief. I hope Elsa had a good insurance policy on the hotel." She turned and proffered the fragrant bag to Steffi. "Do you like cinnamon rolls?"
"Oh God, yes, and whatever you've got in there smells wonderful," Steffi said, with wholehearted sincerity.
That made Annabeth chuckle again. "Tell you what—why don't we trade? I'll give you the bag and the coffee pot and I'll hold the baby for a little while. That'll give you the chance to eat."
Steffi hesitated, wary about handing Olivia over to a stranger…but Annabeth was part of Olivia's family, wasn't she? And she was sitting right there…holding a bag filled with delicious-smelling pastries.
As he had with Mary, Royce gave Annabeth his seal of approval by sniffing at her knees, then leaning against the side of her leg and giving her his best "starving dog" look.
Before handing over the bag and the insulated jug, Annabeth poured a generous slug of hot, dark coffee into the cup that Steffi held.
Steffi bent her head into the cloud of fragrant steam and inhaled deeply. It smelled heavenly.
"Thank you," she said with genuine gratitude.
She waved away Annabeth's offer of creamer and sugar and took a sip. The coffee tasted every bit as good as its fragrance had promised.
Then Annabeth put the bag down on the bench between them and held her arms out for Olivia.
The baby didn't stir as Annabeth settled her on her lap.
"Dane and I have a little boy of our own," she confided, smiling down at Olivia. "He's seven months old. Maybe he and Olivia will make friends when they're both a bit older."
Steffi helped herself to one of huge cinnamon rolls from the bag and bit into it.
It was…amazing. And still warm. She fought the urge to moan with pleasure as she chewed and chased down the bite of sweet heaven with a cup of strong, delicious coffee.
"That's the best thing I
've ever eaten," she said.
Annabeth dimpled. "Thank you. Those buns are the most popular item at my bakery."
"With good reason. I bet people drive for miles to buy them," Steffi said. "What kind of marketing are you doing? TV ads? Facebook?"
Annabeth gave her a blank look. "Um…neither?" she said tentatively. "Should I be? I have almost more business than I can handle right now, especially now that we're into wedding cake season."
"Sorry," Steffi apologized. "I work in product marketing. It's kind of a compulsion to look at everything through the lens of a possible marketing campaign."
Annabeth laughed. "Well I wouldn't say no to any good marketing advice," she said. "That—and doing the paperwork—are the most difficult parts of running my own business."
As Steffi downed the coffee and finished off the cinnamon roll, Annabeth sat back. With a contemplative expression, she studied the scene playing out across the street. The slanting beams of sunlight highlighted the streams of smoke rising from the collapsed interior of the hotel.
"You've had a rough morning so far, Steffi," Annabeth said after a short silence. "How are you doing?"
"Fine," Steffi replied automatically.
She saw one of Annabeth's red-gold brows arch up skeptically, and repeated, "No, really, I'm fine. No one got hurt, and everything else can be replaced."
Annabeth's gaze dropped down to the baby sleeping in her lap.
"Yes, I understand," she said gently. "But you've just been through a horrible experience. And believe me, I know exactly what it's like to be burned out and lose all of your stuff. So how are you doing…really?"
"I'm fine," insisted Steffi. "Everything's okay, honest."
Except we all nearly died. Plus, I've lost my car and all my clothes, and I just made a fool of myself in front of the most attractive man I've ever met.
To her horror, a sob welled up out of nowhere, choking her.
She tried to suppress it. She didn't want to cry right now, not out here in the street, in front of everyone.
And especially not in front of Evan. Even if he was taken.
But she couldn't stop it. The dam had broken on days of stress, shock, and grief that had begun with that terrible phone call from Dad.
Ignite: A Werebear + BBW Paranormal Romance (Bearpaw Ridge Firefighters Book 3) Page 6