Sean's Reckoning

by Sherryl Woods

  “I’m Ruby Allen, the baby-sitter,” she said, regarding him seductively. “I’ve always wanted to meet a real, honest-to-goodness firefighter.”

  Deanna rolled her eyes at the provocative come-on. “You’ll have to excuse Ruby,” she apologized. “She’s basically harmless.”

  A lot of men would fall for Ruby’s sex-on-the-run attitude, but Sean wasn’t even tempted. His dates tended to be smart, independent types who weren’t looking for a future. Ruby had desperation written all over her. She might act as if she were looking for nothing more than a roll in the hay, but instinct—and Seth’s innocent remark—suggested otherwise.

  Deanna Blackwell was another story entirely. With her fragile features and huge eyes emphasized by dark curls that had been cropped very short in a no-muss, no-fuss style, she looked about as innocent as her kid. The stay-out-all-night playgirl mom he’d been anticipating was, instead, an angel with smudges of exhaustion under her eyes. That was a combination that could get under his skin. That was one reason he avoided the type at all costs.

  At the sound of a shout across the street, Deanna suddenly turned toward the house that had apparently been her home. The relief at having found her son gave way to a shock so profound, her knees buckled.

  Sean caught her before she fell, inhaling a faint whiff of some soft, feminine perfume that made his pulse leap. The skin of her arms was soft and smooth as satin against his rough palms. When he gazed into her eyes, they were filled with tears and a level of dismay that almost broke his heart. No matter how many times he saw people hit between the eyes by that sudden recognition of everything they’d lost, he’d never been able to steel himself against their pain.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, reaching for a fresh bottle of water inside the truck and holding it out for her. “Sit down for a minute and drink this.”

  She sank onto the fire truck’s running board. “I had no idea,” she whispered, looking from him to Ruby and back again. “I thought…I don’t know what I thought, but it wasn’t this. What am I going to do? We didn’t have much to begin with, but everything we owned was in there.”

  Sean exchanged a look with Ruby, whose helpless expression encouraged him to take over and reply.

  “But you and Seth are safe,” he said, dredging up a familiar platitude. It was a reminder he’d delivered a hundred times, but he knew it was small comfort to someone who’d seen everything they owned—all the sentimental keepsakes from the past—go up in flames. There was always a gut-wrenching sense of loss even when they understood that life was more important than property.

  He held her gaze. “You know that’s what really matters, don’t you?”

  “Yes, of course, but—” She shook her head as if something had confused her. “You said something about Seth?”

  “Your boy.”

  She turned to the child in question, an unexpected grin suddenly tugging at her lips. “Why did you tell him your name is Seth?”

  “Because I’m never supposed to tell my name to strangers,” he said dutifully. He slid a guilty look toward Sean. “I’m sorry I lied.”

  Sean was surprised at having been taken in by a pint-size con artist. “You’re not Seth?”

  The kid shook his head.

  “Then who’s Seth?”

  “He’s my friend at school,” the boy admitted. “I wanted to do what Mom said, but I figured you had to call me something if we were gonna be friends.”

  “At least one lesson stuck,” Deanna Blackwell said gratefully, then met Sean’s gaze. “His name is Kevin. I hope you won’t hold this against him. He was trying to do the right thing.”

  Sean chuckled at the clever deception. He’d deserved it for pushing so hard. Maybe she was doing a better job with the kid than he’d been giving her credit for. Maybe she was just a struggling single mom doing the best she could.

  “No problem,” he reassured both of them. “Look, if you need a temporary place to stay, there are services available that can help. I can make a call to the Red Cross for you. Your insurance will kick in in a few days.”

  She shook her head. “No insurance.”

  He should have guessed, given the sorry state of the building even before the fire. Anyone forced to live here probably couldn’t afford insurance. “The landlord probably has some,” he suggested.

  “On the building, not the contents,” she said. “He made that very clear when we moved in.”

  “Even so, if he’s found liable through some kind of negligence, he can be sued.”

  “You’re assuming I could afford a lawyer to handle the suit,” she said despondently. “I know what they charge, and I couldn’t even afford an hour of their time.”

  Sean desperately wanted to find something that would put some life back into her eyes. “What about your family? Can they help?”

  She shook her head, her expression grim. “That’s not possible,” she said tightly. “Look, this isn’t your problem. You’ve done more than enough just by keeping Kevin out of mischief, when there are probably far more important things you ought to be doing. We’ll manage.”

  “Stop worrying, Dee. You two can stay with me,” Ruby volunteered, giving Deanna Blackwell a reassuring hug. “It’ll be crowded, but we can make it work. You’re hardly ever home, anyway, and Kevin’s already with me every afternoon. I can loan you some clothes, too.”

  Sean tried to imagine Deanna wearing Ruby’s tight-fitting clothes, but the image wouldn’t come. Impulsively he reached for his wallet and peeled off a hundred dollars and tucked it into her hand. Before Deanna could protest, he said, “It’s a loan, not charity. You can pay me when you get back on your feet.”

  He saw pride warring with practicality, but then she glanced down at Kevin. That seemed to stiffen her resolve. She faced Sean. “Thank you. I will pay you back.”

  “I’m not worried about it,” he told her.

  “But I always pay my debts. It’s important to me. Where can I find you?”

  “At the fire station three blocks over most of the time,” he said, though he was mentally kissing that money goodbye. Years ago he’d learned the lesson never to lend anything if he couldn’t afford to lose it. He’d taken very few possessions with him when he’d left home, and since then he hadn’t bothered to accumulate much that had any sentimental value. As for money, it was nice to have, but he wasn’t obsessed with it. And he had few material needs that couldn’t be met with his next paycheck.

  “Bring my pal Kevin by sometime, and I’ll let him try out the siren,” he suggested, giving the boy a solemn wink.

  “All right!” Kevin said.

  Satisfied at last that Kevin was in better hands than he’d originally assumed, Sean jogged back across the street to check on the progress being made at the fire. Only an occasional wisp of smoke rose from the ashes. They’d be out of here soon and he’d be off in a couple of hours. Sleep beckoned like a sultry mistress.

  “Way to go, Sean!” Hank said, enthusiastically slapping him on the back. “I saw you with the only two females under the age of seventy in this entire neighborhood. Did you get the number of the hot blonde?”

  “Like I really wanted it,” Sean scoffed. “She’s your type, not mine.”

  Hank regarded him with disappointment. “How about the brunette with the kid?”

  “Nope.”

  “Two gorgeous women and you struck out completely?” Hank asked incredulously. “Man, you are slipping.”

  “I didn’t strike out,” Sean told him patiently. “I never even got in the game.”

  “Why the hell not?”

  Sean wondered about that himself. Maybe it was because one woman was definitely not his type and because the other one struck him as being just a little too needy and vulnerable, despite that streak of stubborn pride. It was one thing to rescue someone who’d just lost her home. It was quite another to allow himself to get emotionally entangled. He always tried to keep his protective instincts on a short leash.

  Hank sidled
up to him and held out a metal toy fire truck. “It’s not too late,” he consoled Sean. “This probably belonged to the kid. Hang on to it. Unless you’re a whole lot dumber than I think you are, something tells me one of these days you’re going to be looking for an excuse to see his mom again.”

  “No way,” Sean said fiercely.

  But even as he uttered the denial, he took the truck and tucked it into his pocket. He told himself it was a reflexive gesture simply to keep it out of Hank’s hands, but the truth was, his partner had him pegged. Despite all the alarm bells in his head, Deanna Blackwell’s vulnerability tugged at him like an invisible rope.

  He glanced back toward the spot where she’d been standing, but she was gone. He was surprised by the intensity of his disappointment.

  Then he caught a glimpse of the flashy blonde disappearing into a building across the street, and something akin to relief spread through him. If—and that was a really huge if—he ever lost his mind and decided he wanted to see Deanna Blackwell again, Ruby would know where to find her.

  He grinned as he considered whether Ruby would be inclined to give up that information, or whether, like Kevin, she’d choose to be tight-lipped. Only one thing to do if that happened, he concluded. He’d introduce her to Hank, who could wheedle information out of any female on earth.

  Now there, he thought with a chuckle, was a match made in heaven. Maybe one day when he was really bored, he’d get the two of them hooked up together just to watch the sparks fly. And if he ran into Deanna Blackwell in the process…well, that would just be an accidental act of fate.

  Chapter Two

  “That man was so into you,” Ruby teased Deanna as they climbed the steps to Ruby’s third-floor apartment, which was going to be home for who knew how long.

  “He was not,” Deanna said, grateful for the teasing because it was, temporarily at least, keeping her mind off the fire and her uncertain future. “No man ever looks at me twice when you’re around.”

  “This one did,” Ruby insisted, leading the way into her one-bedroom apartment with its tiny kitchen and a bathroom no bigger than a closet, which it probably had been before the house had been converted to apartments. She grinned at Deanna. “And you’ve got something I don’t have.”

  It was hard to imagine anything that the sexy, self-confident Ruby didn’t possess, especially when it came to the sort of attributes that appealed to men. Sadly, far too few of them took the time to look beneath Ruby’s flashy looks and impressive chest. It infuriated Deanna that they never saw the kind, generous woman who would do anything in the world for a friend, something she was proving right now by inviting Deanna and Kevin to stay with her.

  Deanna regarded Ruby with curiosity. “What on earth could I have that you don’t?”

  Ruby ducked her head into the refrigerator so that her reply was muffled, but Deanna had no trouble hearing her.

  “Kevin,” she said. She stood up, held out a soda and met Deanna’s gaze. “I watched the two of them together out there. Fireman Sean is definitely daddy material. Something to think about, don’t you agree?”

  Deanna sighed and accepted the soft drink. “Ruby, we’ve been over this a million times. Unlike you, I am not looking for a man to make my life complete.”

  Ruby scowled at her. “Not complete, just easier.”

  “I can take care of myself and Kevin,” Deanna insisted.

  “When it comes to being a loving, wonderful mom, you’re the best,” Ruby agreed. “But the way I see it, Kevin could sure use a daddy to replace that scumbag who left the two of you. Not that I don’t think you’re better off without Frankie, but he has left a huge hole in Kevin’s life. Even you have to see that. The kid asks a million and one questions about his dad on a daily basis. That one snapshot he has of Frankie is practically worn bare from his constant handling.”

  “I know,” Deanna admitted. If she hadn’t seen it for herself, she had Ruby to point it out with disgusting frequency.

  “Well then, don’t you owe it to Kevin to take another look at fireman Sean?”

  “I’m not getting involved with some guy just so my son has a father figure in his life,” Deanna said impatiently. “Besides, he has Joey.”

  Ruby nearly choked on her soft drink as she let out a hoot of laughter. “You want Joey Talifero to be your son’s role model? Are you nuts?”

  “There’s nothing wrong with Joey.” Deanna reacted defensively as she always did when Ruby said something disparaging about her boss. “He’s a perfectly respectable businessman.”

  “I’ll give you respectable, if by that you mean he probably hasn’t deliberately broken any laws lately. But he has a tenth-grade education, if that. He owns a two-bit restaurant and spends all his spare time betting on the ponies,” Ruby countered.

  “He has a heart of gold, and he and Pauline treat me like family,” Deanna retorted.

  “If you mean Joey overworks you and underpays you, I agree,” Ruby replied. “And I notice you didn’t mention your other boss as having hero potential.”

  Deanna and Ruby both worked at a small law firm in the neighborhood, Deanna as a full-time receptionist, Ruby as a part-time clerk. Their boss, Jordan Hodges, was not the kind of man who invited a lot of personal chitchat on the job. He was all business. Deanna wasn’t even entirely sure he was aware she had a son, and she did her best to make sure that Kevin didn’t interfere with her job performance. She needed that minimal salary and her tips from working at Joey’s in the evenings just to scrape by.

  “Mr. Hodges would be a great role model,” she said stiffly, “assuming he was the least bit interested in being one.”

  “Yeah, right,” Ruby scoffed. “Come on, Dee. Think about it. Don’t you think a friendly fireman would be a better choice in the hero department than either Joey or stiff-necked Hodges?”

  Deanna thought about the man who’d befriended her son that afternoon. Goodness knows, even covered with soot and sweat, he’d been the most handsome male she’d run across in years. Coal-black hair, blue eyes, square jaw, well-defined muscles. Definitely the stuff of fantasies. He’d been kind to Kevin. He’d even loaned her money. Beyond that, though, she knew absolutely nothing about him. How much could you really tell about a man’s character in a twenty-minute encounter? She’d known Frankie Blackwell for a year before she’d married him, and look how that had turned out. Better the devil she knew—Joey, or even Jordan Hodges—than the one she didn’t.

  Besides, Joey would never in a million years hit on her. His wife would strangle him. Deanna wasn’t so sure about this Sean Devaney. If what Ruby said about the way he’d looked at her was true—and Ruby definitely had reliable instincts where men were concerned—how long would it be before he wanted more from her than she was interested in giving? And how long after that before she made the second-worst mistake of her life by starting to count on him, just as she had once foolishly counted on Frankie Blackwell? Nope, the status quo was definitely safer. Since Frankie had walked out on her and their son, she’d learned to rely on no one except herself. Ruby was the one exception.

  Studying her friend’s tight jeans and stretched-to-the-limits tank top, Deanna understood why people got the wrong idea about Ruby. But Deanna knew better. She would trust Ruby with her life. She did trust her with Kevin’s safety almost every single afternoon and evening. Ruby had never let her down. Deanna counted herself blessed to have such a friend in her life.

  “I have more pressing things to worry about than a role model for Kevin,” she said, dismissing the entire uncomfortable topic. “In case it’s slipped your mind, I’ve lost my home and everything I own.”

  Suddenly the enormity of that had her knees buckling for the second time that day. This time there was no strong firefighter there to keep her from collapsing. Instead, she sank onto the sofa, blinking back the hot sting of tears.

  “Ruby, what am I going to do?” she asked, relieved that Kevin had stopped off downstairs to play with a friend. He clearly didn�
�t understand just how dire things were, and she didn’t want him to witness her distress. There were more than enough uncertainties in his life as it was, things she had no more control over than she did the rise and fall of the moon each day.

  “You’re going to do exactly what you always do,” Ruby said with complete confidence. “You’re going to draw on that unlimited reserve of strength that has gotten you through in the past, and I’m going to do everything I can to help you. We’ll manage. That’s what friends do in a crisis. You were there for me when my world crashed down around me. Now it’s my turn to return the favor.”

  Ruby’s reassuring words barely registered. Deanna was mentally calculating dollars and cents for the bare necessities. Even with Sean’s hundred dollars in her pocket and a tiny bit of savings in the bank, she was going to come up short. Way short. She sighed wearily.

  “I was barely making it as it was. How can I find a new place, pay a security deposit, furnish it and buy all new stuff for Kevin and me?” she asked, overwhelmed by the task ahead of her. “We don’t even have a toothbrush.”

  “Stop worrying. Kevin has a toothbrush here. He also has clothes and toys here,” Ruby reminded her. “And you wear those blah uniforms at Joey’s. At least one’s got to be at the laundry, right? You can pick up a couple of skirts for your job at the law firm with that cash Sean loaned you. And my blouses will fit you. You can borrow anything in the closet. As for finding a place to stay, we’ve already discussed that. You’ll stay right here.”

  “For a night or two, maybe, but you can’t have us underfoot indefinitely.”

  “Why can’t I?” Ruby asked indignantly.

  “For one thing, you only have one bedroom.”

  “So? We can share it, and Kevin can sleep on the sofa,” Ruby insisted, determinedly putting the best possible spin on the situation. “He’s been falling asleep there on the nights you work late, anyway.”

  “I’m grateful for the offer, I really am, but won’t that play havoc with your social life?”