Hot for Fireman

by Jennifer Bernard

  “As far as outfits go, we’ll have to go with a head and shoulders shot. Where did you get this blouse, a thrift shop?”

  “Yes.” Katie got all her clothes at thrift shops, and the black blouse she was wearing happened to be designed by Calvin Klein.

  “Well, it’s not bad. Tailored. And I suppose black is appropriate for the sad farewell to a local legend.”

  “Thank you,” Katie muttered. “So glad you approve.”

  “Just part of the service at the Sunny Side of the News.” One final tweak, then Ella spun her back around and propelled her to the microphones.

  Had Marie Antoinette worn lipstick to the guillotine?

  Katie marched grimly to the knot of microphones. About ten people waited for her. Three were on-air talent she vaguely recognized. Three others were sheltered behind their cameras. The rest must be random onlookers and passersby. She leaned into the mics.

  “Isn’t there anything else going on in San Gabriel today?” She jumped at the whine of feedback.

  “It’s July,” said the public access station’s reporter, who looked about twenty. “Ancient Chinese proverb. Nothing ever happens in the news in July.”

  A murmur of assent rippled through the crowd.

  “Well, thank you all for coming out to hear about the fires that have plagued the Hair of the Dog.” Good God, she sounded like Ella Joy. She shook her head in disgust. “That is to say, I’m here today to set the record straight about the tragic demise of the Hair of the Dog.” She made a face. “Blech. Can I start over?”

  “Until the little red lights go on, you can say whatever you want,” said a cameraman.

  Ella Joy waved her notebook. “How about this? I’ll ask you questions. All you have to do is answer them.”

  A storm of protests rose from the other reporters, but Katie nodded. “That sounds good. I’ll answer your questions.” Who cared about the other reporters? Only Ella Joy had fixed her hair and offered her lipstick. She touched her tongue to her lips, tasting the unfamiliar flavor of expensive makeup. It added to the surreal quality of the whole scene.

  This was it. The end of . . . something. The beginning of something else. Her big moment.

  She tugged the hem of her blouse down so she didn’t flash any skin on TV. Her heart raced at twice its normal speed. Sweat dripped down her sides. Maybe black wasn’t the best color for standing outside on a scorching summer day in front of a ravenous horde of reporters.

  All of a sudden a cameraman put his hand to his ear then lifted one finger. “We’re live in ten . . . nine . . .”

  The atmosphere switched from loose to utterly alert. The reporters stood at attention, the camera operators bent to their viewfinders, and Katie felt suddenly very, very alone in her spot in front of the microphones.

  And then the little red lights went on. Three of them, leering at her like tiny demons.

  “Three . . . two . . .” A pause, then he swept his arm down in a gesture that looked disturbingly like the fall of a guillotine. Katie stood, paralyzed. Ella Joy smoothly stepped into the breach. Her cameraman swung his camera toward her.

  “This is Ella Joy here outside what used to be one of San Gabriel’s most-loved watering holes. The Hair of the Dog survived a series of fires over the past couple weeks, only to finally succumb to an arsonist’s torch this past Thursday. With speculation flying over the identity of the firebug, the manager of the Hair of the Dog, Ms. Katie Dane, has decided to come forward with new information that she hopes will put the rumors to rest. Katie, do you know who set the fire that burned down your family’s business?”

  The camera swung toward Katie. At least that question was easy. “Yes. I do know.”

  “What can you tell the viewers of San Gabriel about this heartbreaking fire?”

  Katie took a deep breath and straightened her spine. “First of all, I’d like to say that Ryan Blake had nothing to do with it. He’s been a loyal employee and I’m so, so sorry about everything that’s happened since he started working for us. He is a hero who saved a little girl’s life, and anyone who says otherwise should be ashamed of themselves.”

  There. That felt good. Very good. Ryan might still never forgive her, but at least she’d given it her all.

  “If Mr. Blake didn’t do it, who did?”

  Katie took one frantic look around the crowd. What if Doug finally came through? What if he strode to the microphones, leaned down, and fessed up? She closed her eyes, waited a breath—giving him one last chance—then opened her mouth.

  “I have something to say,” someone interrupted from behind her.

  Her eyes sprang open. He’d done it! Doug had finally come to his senses! Except the new arrival sounded like Ryan, and when she turned toward him, she saw he looked like Ryan too. All the way down to the white cast on his leg.

  Her jaw dropped. “What are you doing here?”

  He ignored her and aimed his summery, charming, teasing, devastating smile at the newspeople. “I’m Ryan Blake, and I have an important announcement to make to the city of San Gabriel, something that’s going to make all of you pretty happy, I think.”

  A volley of questions bombarded him.

  “Ryan, did you set the fire?”

  “Are you here to confess?”

  “How’s your leg doing?”

  “Is your career as a fireman in jeopardy over the recent accusations?”

  “How does it feel to be suspected of arson?”

  Katie grabbed his hand. She wanted to throw rotten tomatoes at those newspeople. Couldn’t they see Ryan was hurting? Balanced on crutches that seemed to be too short for him, he had to hunch over to speak into the mics. His breathing sounded harsh and she caught a whiff of sweat mixed with hospital disinfectant.

  But even so, God, he looked good. A little paler than usual, his cheekbones more prominent, his hair a little shaggier, some stubble showing on his jawbone. It all made him look even more masculine and . . . seductive. She wanted to sigh and rub her cheek against his arm.

  But he was probably still angry at her. He’d probably shown up to yell at her on live TV. He was probably only holding her hand to keep from falling over. She squeezed her eyes half shut and braced herself as Ryan spoke into the microphones. He didn’t bother to answer any of the questions the reporters had flung at him. He spoke in an easy, conversational tone that held everyone spellbound.

  “As you might know by now, I’m one of the firemen of San Gabriel. I nearly got fired for bein’ kinda reckless, which didn’t do much for my pride. Worst of all, I let down my captain, Captain Brody over there. He trained me, and he trained a bunch of us crazy young kids. San Gabriel is known around California as the place to go if you want to learn things the right way. We have to turn away applicants right and left. Seems like a loss, to us and to anyone who doesn’t want their house to burn down.”

  A murmur of laughter sounded among the reporters, as well as the growing throng gathered on the sidewalk.

  “So I proposed something to the captain, and he thinks it’s a good idea, if we can get the funding. For that, we need to put up a bond in the next election.”

  Breathless silence punctuated his announcement. Ryan took a ragged breath before continuing. Katie gripped his hand tightly and felt his answering squeeze.

  “We’re planning to purchase this land from the Dane family. We’re going to build a training center for new recruits. We believe this will become the finest firefighter academy in the country. It’s close to Station 1, which makes the location ideal. Captain Brody will oversee the school and work with as many trainees as possible. And he’ll train other people to help him out.”

  “What about you, Ryan?”

  He held up his hand. “I’m not done yet. The centerpiece of the academy will be a mentoring program for troubled kids. Young people having a hard time at school or at home, we’ll pair them up with a fireman or a trainee. It doesn’t matter how good you are, if you don’t share what you know. I’ll be in charge of tha
t program.”

  Katie drew in a breath of sheer delight. “Ryan, that’s great.”

  “Does that mean you won’t be fighting fires anymore?”

  Captain Brody, holding Danielle by the hand, strolled to Ryan’s side. Katie felt pathetically grateful to him. He must have seen how tired Ryan was getting. Ryan shifted closer to Katie so she felt the warmth of his body. She put an arm around his waist to help him step away from the mics. His crooked smile shone down on her like sunshine.

  “I see some benefits to this whole cripple deal,” whispered Ryan.

  “You’re not a cripple,” she hissed fiercely. “Don’t even think that.”

  He gave a blue-eyed wink. “I will only if it gets attention from a certain hardheaded bar manager.”

  “Former bar manager. There’s not much left to manage.” A smile quivered on her lips. It felt so good to be next to him again, to be looking into his summer-sky eyes and sparring with those quick comebacks of his.

  “Ryan Blake has returned from his leave of absence,” Captain Brody was saying to the reporters. “I’m delighted he’s chosen to come back, even though we’ll miss him in the field. His main responsibility will lie with the new school.”

  “What will it be called?”

  “Don’t know yet.”

  The public access kid raised his hand. “Do you anticipate any trouble with the bond?”

  “No.”

  “Will the Dane family sell the land or try to rebuild?”

  Everyone looked at Katie. “I . . . I suppose that’ll be up to my father.”

  “What will you recommend to him?” Ella Joy asked. “Surely as the manager, he’ll listen to you.”

  Katie didn’t hesitate. “I’d recommend he sell the land to the fire department. And yes, I do believe he’ll listen to me.”

  “But what about the arsonist?” The question didn’t come from any of the reporters. It came from someone at the edge of the crowd, which had now spilled onto the street. Which just went to show how easily distracted the media was compared to regular people, thought Katie.

  Katie stepped in front of Ryan to reach the microphones. “About the arsonist . . .”

  “Yes, about the arsonist.” A hand waved wildly from the middle of the crowd. Melissa elbowed her way through the crowd until she reached the little ring of news professionals. “Do you have any comment on a reported confession from a Douglas Alan Atwell the Third?”

  “What?” Katie gasped. “No. I . . . uh . . . hadn’t heard about that.”

  “My informant says he left town earlier today in a Saab stolen from his father. But before he left he wrote a full confession in the form of a song and uploaded it to YouTube under the name Atwell the Outlaw. Any comment?”

  “Well, he’s a pretty decent songwriter.” Katie couldn’t come up with anything else to say.

  “Apparently it’s already been downloaded several hundred times,” continued Melissa, who seemed to be working very hard not to laugh. “The chorus goes like this. My my, sparks they fly, flames they burn and so do I. Apparently the song’s going viral.”

  Doug, an Internet video star. Worked for her, as long as a YouTube confession satisfied the investigators. “I have no comment on Doug Atwell. All I can say is the Hair of the Dog was a wonderful place and will be missed.”

  Ella Joy shouldered Melissa aside, which reminded Katie that they’d worked together in the past. “One more question, Katie and Ryan. I see you two are holding hands. Do you have any comment on that?”

  Heat flooded Katie’s face. She dropped his hand as if it were a burning coal.

  Ryan leaned into the mic. “Just one.” He handed one crutch to Brody, then turned to Katie and swept her into his free arm.

  “Ryan, your ribs!”

  “Shut up and kiss me, Katie,” he whispered. “Unless you stopped loving me.” Crystal clear, as if seeing right into his heart, she saw his nagging doubt, the fear that a kid like him, with a father like his, would never be good enough for . . .

  She wrapped her arms around him as gently as possible while still making her point. “I couldn’t stop if I tried.” She stood on tiptoe and tilted her face to his. Their lips met tenderly, deeply, their kiss a private communion, a public promise, and the most satisfying moment of her life.

  Chapter Thirty

  The reporters’ shouted questions pulled them from their kiss. “Does this mean another bachelor fireman is off the market?”

  “Has the curse been broken for good?”

  Katie peered from the shelter of Ryan’s arms. “Have we been live this whole time? The little red lights are off.”

  Ella Joy sauntered up to them, pouting. “No, they cut away for the mayor’s budget hearing. Talk about a snoozer. They missed all the good stuff, as usual.”

  “So why are they all still here? Just being nosy?” Ryan cast a glare around the ring of reporters. Katie noticed white lines around his mouth and a droopiness around his eyelids.

  “You should get back to the hospital.”

  “Hell no. But I wouldn’t mind some private nursing back at my place.” He winked. She let herself relax a little. He couldn’t be too bad off if he could still joke around. But still, she intended to keep an eye on him. Not that she could keep her eyes off him anyway.

  Captain Brody tapped on the microphones for attention. “I believe that concludes the absurd news media nonevent of the day. Thanks for coming out. You’ll be hearing more about the bond very soon.”

  “Hey,” protested Melissa, as she joined him and Danielle at Ryan and Katie’s side. “We nailed the Hair of the Dog arsonist, got you well on your way to getting your bond passed, and broke the Bachelor Curse again. I believe you owe the news media an apology.”

  “You’re so right. I always forget how much I owe the news media.” He handed Ryan’s crutch back to him. “Excuse me for a second, Danielle. I have something to say to the news media.” He swept his wife into his arms and kissed her full on the lips.

  Katie felt Ryan’s weight press more heavily against her. It could have been due to exhaustion, or affection inspired by Brody and Melissa.

  Ella Joy stuck her perfect nose in the air. “It’s a good thing someone hasn’t forgotten about work around here. That someone being me. And if someone—I mean someone else—doesn’t give me an exclusive on this whole story, I’m doing another Bachelor Fireman of San Gabriel piece.”

  Captain Brody broke free. “No.”

  “Don’t you dare,” said Ryan, simultaneously. “Besides, I’m exempt from the curse. I was on a leave of absence.”

  Ryan and Brody looked at each other, revelation dawning on their faces, one so stern and handsome, the other so golden and playful. Melissa caught Katie’s eye and winked. We got ourselves some gorgeous men.

  “I didn’t meet Katie until I left,” Ryan said slowly.

  “Ten thousand broken hearts, then you temporarily leave the force and meet The One.”

  “I never really thought much about the curse, but now—”

  “Wait. Ten thousand?” Katie interrupted with an appalled squeak.

  “Captain Brody, permission to tell you to shut up. The curse won’t be broken until we get married and I can’t have you scaring my girl.”

  “Married?” Katie was having trouble catching her breath.

  “Let’s get out of here before Ella Joy gets any more dirt for her story.”

  Ella looked up from her BlackBerry. “What? Did someone say Ella Joy?”

  “I was just saying how much I like that suit on you.” Ryan blinded her with a smile, then nudged Katie away from the Hair of the Dog toward her waiting Datsun.

  He stretched out on the backseat, his cast taking up most of the room. She drove carefully, watching out for every little bump and pothole. She angled her rearview mirror to keep an eye on him. Every time she looked at his reflection, her heart ached with love and worry. Whether from pain or exhaustion or something else, he looked older. Lines etched his face where s
he didn’t remember any. They didn’t detract from his good looks one bit, at least to her they didn’t. They probably wouldn’t for any other woman with a heartbeat either.

  The thought cast a shadow over her joy at being in Ryan’s presence again. She loved him, through and through, but wouldn’t he always have women trailing after him? Could she handle that? She knew ten thousand broken hearts was an exaggeration. It had to be. But who wouldn’t fall in love with Ryan, once they really knew him?

  “What’s the matter?” His head rested against the window, his eyes closed. She’d thought he was sleeping.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You got sad all of a sudden. I felt it.”

  “I was just thinking . . . nothing.”

  “Come on. Where’s that famous Katie Dane bluntness?”

  Apparently it had gone for a long walk around the block. Anyway, bluntness was one thing, exposing all her worst fears and insecurities was another. “I don’t want to upset you. You’re exhausted.”

  “Seeing you sad upsets me. Is it because of the bar? I thought I fixed it so your family would come out okay. We can’t pay a million dollars, but we’ll pay fair market value. A lot in the middle of town like that must be worth quite a bit.”

  “Yes. A hundred thousand dollars. I saw an appraisal.”

  “Will your family be happy with that?”

  “I think they will.” So Bridget wouldn’t get her own studio and Dad might have to cut back on his gnome acquisitions. And maybe they wouldn’t move to Baja. She didn’t want them to move, anyway. She wanted them to stick around, as long as she didn’t have to run any more bars.

  “That’s good.” He cranked open the window and turned his face to the breeze. “I missed this smoggy air in the hospital.”

  “You could have anyone,” Katie blurted out, then instantly turned red. “Lots of anyones.”

  Ryan’s eyes flew open and met hers in the mirror. “What are you talking about?”

  “Girls are always chasing after you. They always will.”