“I gave it a try one night,” Greg Turrick said, “and they told me to go back to my singing.”
“It must have been really bad if they were willing to suffer through your lonesome cowboy routine,” Logan countered.
The whole room burst into laughter at that, and Logan suddenly felt more at home than he had in the past two weeks moping around his own house. He’d missed Janice and her kids more than he’d thought possible.
But he hadn’t realized how much he’d missed the camaraderie of the fire station, too. The brotherhood. Jay Tolliver and Mike Gables had dropped by the house last week and told him they all understood he wasn’t to blame for Ray’s death, which had lifted another weight from Logan’s shoulders. Being a firefighter meant a hell of a lot more than simply drawing a paycheck.
“Tell you what, gentlemen,” he said, grinning. “If you volunteer to handle the clean-up, I’ll do clam linguini. And I’ll throw in dessert, too. Homemade apple pie.”
They all cheered.
Dodging friendly back slaps and a good many verbal jabs about lazing around on his days off, Logan worked his way down the hall to his sleeping quarters. He dropped his duffel on the bed and took a deep breath.
It was good to be back.
JANICE WALKED into Kim’s office, easing her way around a stack of magazines to the chair in front of her boss’s desk.
“What’s up?” Kim asked, lifting her head from the script she’d been working on.
“How do you feel about insurance for seniors to cover veterinary expenses?”
“I’d rather have them treated by MDs,” Kim said, straight-faced.
Grinning, Janice passed Kim an article she’d downloaded from the Internet. She’d been on the job a little over a week and she was really getting the hang of the computer and searching out topics that would work for Kim’s late-night talk show.
“Seems a congressman from Florida has learned that elderly people with pets live longer on average than those who don’t. So he’s proposing—”
Kim held up her hand. “Don’t tell me. A cat in every household.”
“Something like that. He’s concluded that some seniors don’t have pets because of the expense, so he wants Social Security to cover the cost of regular checkups for the seniors’ pets.”
“Seniors who just happen to make up a majority of his constituency?”
“That would be my guess.”
Twisting her lips into a wry smile, Kim said, “When I asked you to find a topic that fit in with National Pet Month, I had no idea. Obviously you have talents I haven’t yet plumbed.”
Janice basked in her praise. She couldn’t imagine a more perfect job, one she would enjoy so much. That she spent her nights missing Logan couldn’t be helped. For now, it was better she focus on Kevin and Maddie, and settling into their new townhouse. Soon they’d be adding a new resident to their household—Buttons’s offspring. Maddie was so excited she’d wanted to visit “her” puppy almost every day. Only by exerting great diplomacy had Janice been able to restrain her daughter to one visit per week.
Kim leaned back in her chair, knocking against the wall because there was so little room in her office. “Jay called a while ago. He said Logan came back to work today.”
Janice’s heart did a tumble, but she managed to keep a straight face. Obviously Kim knew Logan had rescued Janice’s son from the fire. “I’m glad to hear that.”
“Sounds like the guys coerced or bribed him into cooking his specialty right off.”
“Clam linguini,” Janice acknowledged softly.
“He’s also going to bake some apple pies.”
Intentionally, Janice continued to study the printouts in her hand. She didn’t want to talk about Logan. Even the thought of him brought a terrible ache to her chest, so painful she had trouble breathing. She’d missed seeing him a thousand different ways. Even Kevin’s soccer practices were depressing, knowing Logan wouldn’t be there.
“If there was a firefighter I wanted to see,” Kim said in a casual tone, “and I knew he was baking apple pies, I bet I’d buy a couple of gallons of ice cream and take it to the station house. Just to say thanks, you understand.”
Looking up, Janice saw understanding in Kim’s eyes—and sympathy. “Am I that transparent?”
“Seems to me that for a long time I thought something was going on between you two. Probably even before you knew it yourselves.”
“While I was married, I never once—”
“I know that. No one has ever suggested an ounce of impropriety between you and Logan. But since Ray’s death, maybe we thought something might, well, develop.”
Oh, it had, on her part. But she still wasn’t sure about Logan and how he felt.
“Why don’t you take some ice cream over to the station tonight? I know Jay loves pie à la mode. The rest of the guys probably do, too.”
For a moment, Janice rationalized she hadn’t properly thanked any of the firefighters for their part in saving Kevin’s life. Ice cream was the traditional way to celebrate any event in the fire department—a long-standing custom. It would be reasonable for her to drop by with a gallon or two.
Then she realized that was only an excuse for her desperate need to see Logan, if only for a moment.
Chapter Fourteen
“You missed your calling, Strong.” Danny Sullivan scooped up the very last drop of linguini from the second pan. “You should have been a French chef in one of those fancy restaurants.”
“Linguini’s Italian, bozo,” Turrick piped up, grinning.
Logan had already cleaned his plate and was enjoying the way the men scrambled to get more than their fair share of the double recipe he’d concocted. “Maybe I ought to start charging you guys extra for my talents.”
“No way!” Diaz said. “I’ve got too many mouths at home to feed.”
“Where’s that pie you promised?” Gables asked.
“Coming.” Logan shoved himself to his feet.
“Would you like to have your pie à la mode?”
Every head in the room swiveled toward Janice, who stood in the doorway holding two grocery sacks. An instant later she was surrounded by firefighters, all eager to help carry her load.
“If we get a run now,” Gables announced, snaring a gallon of ice cream, “I don’t care what building’s on fire. As far as I’m concerned, it can burn to the ground—unless it’s my own house, of course.”
Everyone laughed.
Everyone except Logan. He couldn’t even move. He was too stunned at seeing Janice, the spear of need and loneliness slicing through him so painfully he was barely able to breathe.
Letting the general chaos disguise his reaction, he stood back as the others swooped Janice into their midst, whirled her into the kitchen area where they sliced the pies and served them with big dollops of vanilla ice cream. She looked terrific. A summery skirt and a loose top, her dark curls casually framing her face. Her cheeks flushed with excitement, her soft laughter drifting through the room in contrast to the deeper voices of the men.
Logan couldn’t keep his eyes off her, tracked her every movement, relished every sound she made.
When the others had been served and settled down to eat their pie and ice cream, Janice brought him a plate.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
The only thing he was hungry for was Janice. “Thanks,” he said, taking the plate.
Her soft, brown eyes studied him. “I heard you came back to work today.”
“First day on the job.”
“Then you’re all right? Your hands?”
He showed her. “They’re fine. How ’bout you and the kids?”
“We’re good. My job’s going well, too.”
“That’s good.” They were dancing around each other, not touching, but checking for new boundaries, looking for the borders of their relationship since they’d backed away from being lovers. One night. That’s all they’d had together.
“Well, I wanted to thank you…ever
yone. For rescuing Kevin, I mean. I thought they’d appreciate the ice cream.”
“Sure.” They both knew C-shift hadn’t been on duty that day but it didn’t seem to matter. “It’s great.”
“I guess I’d better be going.”
Without having taken a bite of pie or ice cream, he set the plate on the table. “I’ll walk you downstairs.”
A faint smile lifted her lips. “I’d like that.”
He let her go first. So he wouldn’t touch her. So he could watch the sway of her hips, enjoy the subtle shifting of her hair at the back of her neck. Her sandals slapped on the stairs as they descended to the deserted bay where the fire trucks were all tucked in for the night, the lights dimmed.
She stopped at the back of Engine 61. “Did you ever see that movie Back Draft?”
“A long time ago.”
Without looking at him, she said, “Ray used to tell me it was every firefighter’s fantasy to make love to a woman on top of a fire truck like they did in the movie.”
Logan swallowed hard. “I’ve always figured it would be darn uncomfortable—the hoses aren’t exactly as soft as a mattress.”
She turned to him with a little smile. “You’ve always been practical, haven’t you?”
He was dumbstruck by the dark glimmer of need in her eyes, the same need that had been filling him for the past two weeks.
“Boost me up, Logan. We’ve both spent our lives being too practical.”
Unable to refuse anything she asked of him, he moved in closer, his hands finding her slender waist. She smelled of flowers, as fresh as her garden, and he boosted her to the bumper, followed her up, then lifted her higher to sit on the coiled rows of hose.
His hands trembled, he felt unsteady. “Sometimes fantasy doesn’t hold a candle to the real thing.”
She leaned over, kissing him. He drank in her sweetness, tasted her hot, honeyed innocence. He craved more, a deeper intimacy, a sense of coming home. He heard her sigh, the whisper of his name on her lips, and tried not to let the urgency building within him go too far.
He felt himself teeter on the edge, not on the edge of the bumper but on the edge of lunacy. He actually wanted to crawl up there with her, make love to her on the top of a fire truck. His natural caution had gone up in smoke. He was incapable of resisting the temptation of holding Janice again. Of loving her.
His hand found its way beneath her blouse. He palmed the weight of her breast, toyed with the nipple that instantly puckered in his hand. Rejoiced in the yielding of her flesh against his.
He planted his foot on a valve to push himself up.
The overhead lights flashed on, blindingly bright.
“Strong? Are you in here?”
Logan swore, gave Janice a helpless look, then hopped down just as Chief Gray rounded the end of the truck.
The chief looked at Logan, then up at Janice and shook his head, though his eyes had started to twinkle. “I wish to goodness they hadn’t made that damn movie.”
Turning, Logan helped Janice down with as much aplomb as they could both muster, given the circumstances. Her cheeks were flaming red; his were just as hot.
“I’m sorry, chief—” she began.
He held up his hand to stop her apology. “I’m the one that should apologize for my timing, but I’m glad I caught you both. That is…not that I’m glad I caught you at this exact moment, you understand.” Apparently as embarrassed as they were, he cleared his throat. “I’ve just come from a city council meeting, and I’ve got good news for both of you.”
“News, sir?” Logan asked, forcing himself back to some semblance of sanity.
“The city council, in its collective wisdom, has overridden the Civil Service Commission test results, and my guess is that there’s not a soul in the county who will object.” He smiled at Logan. “Congratulations. You’re number one on the promotion list.”
It took a moment for Logan to process the chief’s announcement. “For engineer?”
“Well, not for my job, young man. I figure I’ve got a few good years yet before retirement.”
“Yes, sir, I mean—”
“Logan, that’s wonderful!” Janice squeezed his hand, then remembering the chief had virtually caught them in the act, quickly let go. “Your father will be so proud of you.”
“There’s another thing you ought to know,” the chief said before Logan had a chance to react. “The whole department, everyone who worked on Big Red, took a vote last week. They want you to be the one to drive her in the Founder’s Day parade on Saturday.”
Logan gawked at his boss. “Me?”
Winking at Janice, the chief said, “Maybe Strong’s been playing those bagpipes too loud lately and it’s made him go deaf.”
“No, sir. I mean, I didn’t think—”
The chief cut him off. “The city council asked me to extend an invitation to you, Mrs. Gainer, and your children to ride Big Red in the parade, too. They’d feel it an honor if you’d accept.”
“Oh, Chief Gray—” Her eyes widened, and she looked as surprised as Logan had about being placed at the top of the promotion list. “That’s very kind of…” She glanced at Logan, smiling. “The children will be so excited, particularly Kevin. And Maddie will be in seventh heaven.”
“Good. That’s decided.” Harlan Gray slid his hands into his trouser pockets. “Seems to me I’m overdue at home, so I’ll leave you two to…to whatever you were doing.”
Logan stood at attention until Chief Gray vanished through the door to the administrative offices and so did Janice. Then she burst into giggles.
“I can’t believe he caught us,” she said.
“Neither can I.” In the most natural move he’d ever made, Logan pulled her into his arms. “I’m darn lucky he didn’t fire me on the spot.”
“What? The city council’s top man on the promotion list? He wouldn’t dare.” She kissed him lightly. “Congratulations, Logan. You deserve that promotion.”
Given that he’d missed the oral exam, he wasn’t so sure about that. He did know what he wanted, however, and that was Janice. But not here. And—now that a certain amount of reason had returned to his senses—not until he found a job that wouldn’t leave a woman terrified at the sound of every siren. Whenever she and her children were ready, he wanted Janice permanently—as his wife.
Framing her face between his hands, he kissed her again. “You’d better go, sweetheart. A man can only stand so much temptation. I’ll be seeing you Saturday.”
He watched her go out the back gate and waited until he heard the van pull away.
Despite the prospect of a promotion, he knew what he had to do. He hadn’t been willing to give up fire-fighting for Torie, his first wife. Maybe he’d been too young. Or hadn’t loved her enough.
Janice was different. For her, he’d surrender every dream he’d ever held.
A PERFECT California fall day greeted the residents of Paseo del Real for the annual Founder’s Day parade. The cloudless sky was Wedgwood blue, the high temperature expected to be in the mid-sixties. Along the parade route, liquidambar trees mimicked maples in their coats of red and gold leaves. Families lined the sidewalks with strollers and folding chairs, kids sitting on the curbs; clowns hawked balloons while members of the VFW passed out tiny American flags.
Logan shifted into second, easing Big Red in behind the high-school band. He’d driven the old fire truck around the block a couple of times yesterday and knew the transmission tended to grind. Even so he winced, glancing at Janice sitting next to him.
Amused, she smiled back at him. “Tommy assured me you’d get the hang of it soon.”
“Right. But he might want to take another auto shop class before he graduates.”
Tommy and his girlfriend Rachel, a pretty little redhead with a face full of freckles, were sitting in the back of the truck, the young man shyly holding her hand.
Kevin and Maddie were there, too, in the center of the rig, Maddie in charge of Suzie and he
r puppies. A proud papa, Buttons had perched himself right behind Logan where he could survey the cheering crowd.
Jay Tolliver and Mike Gables had gotten themselves vintage fire fighter uniforms from the local historical society and were hanging onto the back of the truck. Meanwhile, their wives tossed hard candies to the kids along the parade route—at least the candy that Mike and Kristin’s adopted son Randy hadn’t yet eaten.
Keeping Big Red rolling at the walking pace of the band, Logan relaxed and enjoyed the excitement of the crowd…and the pleasure of Janice sitting next to him. The twinge of regret he felt knowing he’d soon give up the fire department for another, less risky job was something he could easily ignore. Or so he told himself as they approached the reviewing stand where the mayor, members of the city council and other dignitaries waited to salute them.
Kevin climbed up beside Buttons and stuck his head between Logan and Janice. He had his father’s Medal of Valor hanging around his neck on a patriotic ribbon.
“This is really cool, huh?”
“It’s an honor for all of us,” Janice agreed.
“Hey, Logan, when are you and Mom gonna get married?”
The wheel jerked in Logan’s hand, and he snapped his head around. “What?”
“Me ’n’ Maddie have been talkin’. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out Mom misses seeing you. So it makes sense you two oughta get married.”
“Watch out!” Janice grabbed for the wheel. “You’re about to run over the pedestrians.”
Valiantly trying to keep himself as well as the fire truck under control, Logan turned back into line. “I haven’t exactly proposed yet, Kevin.”
“Why not?”
Janice cocked her brow at him, her eyes teasing. “Now there’s an interesting question.”
“Because I have some things to work out first.”
Half draped into the front seat, Kevin waved at some of his school friends. “Like what?” he persisted.
Logan scowled. “Like finding a new job, that’s what.”
“You’re kidding,” Janice gasped. “Why on earth would you want to change jobs?”
Looking over his shoulder, Logan said, “Kevin, how ’bout you getting back where you belong so your mother and I can—”
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