“From what I’ve gathered, he was hurt and needs to do something else while he’s recovering.”
“Interesting. So, why were you so anxious to get the Clapham place, again?”
“I might get my own show on HGTV. This time it’s a lot more solid than the last time. A producer I’ve known for years has been asking me to put something together for this new project the bigwigs are developing.”
Anne stopped chewing and looked at her. “Great. If that’s what you want, I’m happy for you.”
“You don’t sound happy,” Meg said.
“I just don’t want to see you get hurt again. I mean this guy, is he anything like that douche bag, Hollis?”
“No, he’s nothing like him,” Meg said. “He’s just a good friend who’s been tasked with finding new talent.”
“Sounds good. Have you told Mom and Dad? I know they were hoping you were back to stay. They miss you,” Anne said, tucking a strand of her strawberry blond hair behind her ear. “Apparently having their first born close by isn’t enough.”
Meg laughed, as she knew her sister intended her to. Though they both knew they were loved by their parents, they still played the Mom-likes-me-best game at times.
“I haven’t mentioned it yet. I didn’t want them to be disappointed for me if it fell through. What if I fail again?”
Anne got up and hugged her. “I don’t think you will. And if this show falls through, you’ll just find another one. Since you’ve been back, there is a new sparkle to you.”
She hoped so. She needed to keep focused. “Thanks, sis.”
“What’s next?”
Talking to her parents about the show and Rory about the fire. She was done with denying that she was attracted to him. A part of her wanted to compartmentalize the way she did when she was redoing a house.
But there was no way to keep her feelings for Rory neat and tidy. Today had confirmed that in her mind. She wasn’t about to keep him at arm’s length when she knew that she might not get another chance to be in his arms.
“I’m having dinner with Mom and Dad tonight. I know they will be supportive. Dad always called me his little shadow,” Meg said. “A lot of the skills I learned from him are the reason the producers are interested in me in the first place.”
“He’ll be very proud,” Anne said. “Tell me about the project.”
Meg’s phone rang and she glanced at the caller ID. It was Rory. “I’ve got to take this.”
“Go ahead, I can let myself out,” Anne said.
Meg walked into the backyard because she didn’t want to pace around her kitchen. It was hot, but the shade provided by a big oak provided some relief. She sat down on a swing that had been set up. “This is Meg.”
“It’s Rory. I need to talk to you about the fire today. What were you doing there?”
“Nothing. I just had to make sure you were okay,” she said. Maybe he’d somehow guessed that she needed something more from him than he wanted to give her.
“When did you get there?” he asked. “I have to put it in the report.”
“I’m sorry if I added to your paperwork. I got there shortly after the fire truck did. I saw the flames and I knew you were on shift . . .”
She realized she’d revealed more than she’d wanted to.
“Oh. Okay. They are going to be doing an arson investigation,” he said.
“Are you calling to rule me out as a suspect?” Meg asked with a slight chuckle. Her father had talked about procedure enough times for Meg to know that every bit of the circumstances around an incident had to be investigated.
“Partially.”
HE HADN’T BEEN able to think of anything but Meg sitting there in her car, staring at him with so much concern in her eyes. He’d gotten back to the fire station, filled out the paperwork and showered, but he was far from being back to normal. On the plus side, he now knew that he was more than capable of fighting a fire.
He hadn’t choked, he hadn’t panicked, and all of his old instincts were still sharply honed. And he’d learned something about himself while they’d been going through the house. The fear was still there in the back of his mind as he entered the house today. But maybe that was okay. How could anyone enter burning buildings and not be afraid? Maybe it was just part of being human.
But something had changed. The doubts that Natalie had planted in the back of his mind were starting to ebb. And he was committed to his desire to fight fires.
But Meg complicated that. He wanted her. But she kept shutting him out. Although, today he might have received a signal that things were about to change.
Whatever her reasons, he was glad. He couldn’t resist her any more. She called to him the way firefighting did. He couldn’t walk away from her and he knew it. “Partially?” she asked. “Why else would you have called?”
Still sassy, he thought. God, this woman just got to him on so many levels. He liked her spunky retorts, respected her gumption in not backing down from what she wanted and he just plain wanted her.
“Maybe I just wanted to hear your voice,” he said.
“Really? No one has ever said that before.”
He believed it. Men would notice those big eyes of hers and that curvy body first. “Good.”
“I like your voice too,” she said.
He laughed at the way she said it. Like she’d been taught to always return a compliment. It must be something Southern moms drilled into their kids. His mom had done the same with him. And because she’d died when he’d been so young, those lessons were the ones he clung to. In a way it made him feel closer to her.
“Well, I do,” she said.
“Why?” he asked, needing to know more about the way she thought.
“It’s smooth and deep,” she said. “Why are we talking about this?”
“You brought up my smooth, deep voice,” he said, dropping his tone even lower. He shook his head at his own antics. He should have been too old to try to impress a girl . . . but he knew he wasn’t. Especially one like Meg.
“Now you just sound silly,” she said with a laugh.
He laughed with her, realizing that this was a good day. He’d been searching for so long, feeling lost, but today, everything was clearer. Somehow, firefighting and Meg had become entwined together.
“Hey, are you free for dinner?” he asked. He was tired of pussyfooting around with her. He wanted to go out and see if there was anything between them besides this attraction. “We could try for date number three.”
“Oh. No. I’m sorry, I’m not.”
“Okay. No big deal. I was going to let you listen to my voice,” he quipped.
“I am going to my parents’ place tonight,” she said. “I can’t cancel on them. I need them to speak with the HGTV people. There’s a good chance I’ll get my own show, this time. I can’t thank you enough for backing down on the Clapham place.”
“You’re welcome. Thanks for hiring Pat,” he said. “Have you met him yet?”
“No. But we’re meeting tomorrow afternoon at the house.”
Silence buzzed on the open line. It was time to go.
“I’ll probably be at Riley’s Lakeside if you want to drop by after dinner.”
“In the bar?” she asked.
“Yeah, the guys and I like to blow off some steam after the rough day at work.”
“Your job scares me,” she said. “I don’t know how you do it.”
“It’s all I know.”
“I thought you were also an investment banker,” she said.
“I was. But that’s not like firefighting. Money’s not in my blood the way smoke and fire is. I can’t not do it. Is that a problem?”
“I don’t know. I don’t want it to be. I’m tired of waiting for everything to b
e perfect before I act.”
“Damn. I wish you didn’t have dinner plans. Or that I could back out of going to the bar, but the new guy had a tough time today.”
“You?”
“Not me. The other new guy. The rookie,” he said.
“What happened?”
He thought of that moment when he saw Tim disappearing into that hole in the floor. For a moment, Rory hadn’t been sure he’d be able to save him. And then he had. His arm was sore now from the strain, but it was a good soreness. The kind that came from doing what needed to be done.
“Just the usual stuff. I’ll be there if you decide you want to stop by. I hope you will.” He knew that he’d appreciate seeing her and maybe getting the chance to act like a normal guy.
“The usual stuff? I imagine it’s like the first time a new cop apprehends a suspect,” she said. “My dad has spent more nights at Riley’s than he has at home.”
“Really? My old man used to bring the guys home with him. But my mom wasn’t there and my oldest brother, Ian, was trouble from the start, so it got pretty rowdy at times.”
“My dad didn’t like to bring too many cops to our house. He was always trying to keep work and family separated,” she said. “A lot of times we weren’t sure if he was still working or if he was at the bar.”
The way she said it, he wondered if her father had a drinking problem. He knew a lot of cops who did. It wasn’t easy for a guy to put his life on the line. Yet, there were rewards, too. There was definitely something exhilarating about saving a life, putting out a fire and knowing that he’d faced the beast and won.
But this was the time it was hard to take. After it was done and the paperwork was filed and he walked out of the fire station by himself. Back to his regular life where the real beast was waiting. And it had nothing to do with the fires he’d been trained to fight.
No, his demons were the images he’d never be able to shake. Like seeing that poor woman who’d gone to bed smoking a cigarette and never woke up. That kind of thing stayed with a guy.
Tonight, Rory had hoped that maybe Meg could help him forget for a while. But she wasn’t his salvation. She probably never would be and he needed to remember that.
“See you,” he said, hanging up the phone.
He wasn’t sure why he’d called her. He’d already ruled her out as an arson suspect, but he knew the investigator would want to talk to her. Yeah, that was why he’d called her. But the hollow words echoed in his lonely soul.
Chapter Twelve
“SO THERE IT IS. The producer wants to talk to you and Dad,” Meg told her mother after dinner.
Her parents were happy enough to hear about the show, but as her dad sat at the head of the table and leaned back in his chair, she knew he was worried. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at her with the same serious gaze that she suspected he used to keep stupid teenagers from becoming felons.
“Are you sure you want to go back to New York?” her father asked. “That didn’t work out so well the last time.”
He didn’t have to tell her. She’d lived it. She’d experienced what it had been like to be twenty feet from stardom and working in an industry she claimed to love, but had still felt broken by.
“I know, but I think things will be different this time. Actually, I’m not going until I have a contract for my own show. I’m not going to leap without looking very carefully.”
“Sounds like you’ve thought this through,” her dad said. “But I was sort of hoping you’d be happy staying here and working on your projects.”
“I think this is going to be better. You guys are the only ones who know about it. My reasons for wanting the show this time are different.”
“In what way?” her mom asked.
“It’s not about being famous this time. I want to work on projects I love and show people the skills that you and Dad taught me.”
Her parents looked at each other. Finally, her dad said, “Of course we’ll talk to the producer, if it means that much to you. But just make sure you’re doing this because you want to and not because . . . well, because you want to prove something to all those gossips.”
“That is a side benefit, but not my main motivation.”
“We know that, honey.”
Later that night, after she left her parents’ house, she realized she felt a lot better. Hiding what she was doing from her family and friends hadn’t felt right. She didn’t like lying, even by omission.
And that made her think about Rory. She’d been so relieved that he hadn’t been hurt in that fire. But she still hadn’t figured out why he was suddenly so important to her. And she’d never figure it out until she stopped running from him. But she was afraid to take a chance on caring about a man again. Hollis had left her broken.
She knew Rory had his own issues to deal with. She’d heard it in his voice the few times he’d talked about his ex. And the last thing she wanted was to hurt him any further.
But she needed him tonight.
So, before she could rethink her decision, Meg drove over to the Lakeside Bar where she knew that Rory was.
She’d seen him at the fire earlier today. Understood he wasn’t going to walk away from his dangerous job. And she wouldn’t ask him to. Besides, she wouldn’t be in town for long. At best he could be her summer fling.
She hoped that would be enough for him. She knew he was rebuilding his life the same way she was. They both had different goals. Rory wanted to put down roots in Twin Palms.
She needed to use Twin Palms as a bridge to her future.
She put her head on the steering wheel. Why was she making this so hard?
She wanted him. He wanted her. It was simple. But nothing she’d really wanted had ever come to her easily.
And she really wanted Rory.
Just a summer fling, she thought again. No harm, no foul. Tonight, she’d told everyone important to her that she’d be leaving town. So she could have a no-strings affair with Rory. A wild, hot, sex-fueled thing that would ignite quickly . . . and then burn down to nothing just as fast.
She pulled down the visor and checked her makeup in the lighted mirror. She glimpsed a wildness in her eyes. That feeling was mirrored in the pit of her stomach.
Everything she wanted was within her grasp. All she had to do was reach out and take it. And for once, she wasn’t scared. She wanted it all and she was going to have it.
Starting with Rory O’Roarke.
RORY HAD SPENT more time drinking with his firefighter buddies than he had anyone else. It was part of the bond between them. They’d share a beer at night . . . and have each other’s back during the day.
Riley’s wasn’t much different from the other bars firefighters congregated at. It had a nautical theme, since it was located on the shores of the largest lake in the city. It also had a nice dock at the back and room for boats to moor.
He and the guys were sitting near the back facing the lake. The skies were clear and a full moon hung in the sky like a spotlight. Tim was a little drunk and was telling Frank how much he loved everything. It was sort of funny.
But Rory knew the guy needed to let off steam after today. He was still reeling from the realization that he could have gone through that hole in the floor and fallen to his death.
Rory was no stranger to close calls. When he’d been with Natalie, she’d used them as an argument for getting out of his fire gear and putting on a suit. He wondered what Meg would say. She’d grown up with a man who put his life on the line, so her perspective would likely be different than Natalie’s.
“Rory?”
“Huh?”
“I asked if you wanted to join me and some friends for some late night gator hunting. The guys spotted a few on the other side of the lake,” J.J. said. J.J. was close to Rory�
��s age and had been working at the Twin Palms firehouse for the better part of fifteen years. He’d grown up locally and had been a key player in their beach volleyball win against the police department.
“I’m not that drunk,” he said with a laugh. Besides, he’d asked Meg to stop by the bar and he knew he wasn’t leaving until she either showed up or they kicked him out.
“Me either, but sitting in the bar makes me itchy. I know that’s not the right word for it but . . . you know what I mean, dude?”
“Yeah, I do. But doing something dumb isn’t going to help,” Rory said.
“Maybe, but it’d get the memory of how we found Maeve out of my head,” J.J. said, then finished his beer with one long swallow.
Rory understood. But he’d learned to bury those images deep in his mind. Right now, he was thinking of Meg and the way she’d looked that day, standing in the rain. He clapped a hand on J.J.’s shoulder. “You got a girl?” he asked.
“Used to. Divorced two years ago. I haven’t found anyone since then,” J.J. said.
“I’m divorced, too. She gave me an ultimatum—the job or her,” Rory said. It was his stock answer. Part truth, part lie—none of it mattered any more. What he’d felt, who he’d been, was long gone.
“Mine couldn’t handle the drinking after a day at work. She always wanted me to come home. She’d said she should be enough,” J.J. said, lifting his hand to order another beer from the waitress who was clearing away the empties.
“Do you think she was?” Rory asked.
“Who knows? I only miss her on nights like this,” J.J. said.
“I was going to suggest you think about a woman instead of the fire, but I can see that might not be the best idea for you.”
“I sometimes concentrate on Bud and that works.”
“Bud?”
“My dog. He’s a bloodhound. About the ugliest dog you’ve ever seen. He was a rescue. His previous owners hadn’t been good to him, but he’s sweet as hell.” J.J. reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He flipped it open, showing Rory a photo of himself kneeling next to his dog.
In The Heat 0f The Night (The O'Roarkes Duet Book 2) Page 11