I tucked the tiny rabbit under my chin, banishing the unhappy thoughts and did as Steve suggested. I wandered the store and looked at all the animals. Two giant tortoises—not for sale—ate lettuce in a giant pen in the center of the store. A cockatoo and two macaws watched my progress from their perches on a fake tree. I cuddled the bunny while I looked at fish, ferrets, hamsters, and snakes. A glass room held several puppies and kittens. Once I’d seen the whole store, I realized I’d have to give up my companion and head back out to finish my job.
On my way past the counter where Steve was ringing up a man’s purchase of several goldfish, Steve’s elbow knocked something off the counter. I bent to pick it up for him and gasped.
The customer left with his goldfish and change, and Steve turned to face me. “Thanks for grabbing that. I felt it go flying, but I didn’t want to drop the goldfish. That could get messy.”
I handed him the sketchpad, opened to a pencil drawing of Megan.
“She’s beautiful. Did she pose for you?”
He shook his head. “I’ve only seen her once.” He shrugged. “It’s just a sketch.”
“It’s very good.”
“Thanks.” He smiled. “You ready to buy that little guy?”
I laughed. “Yes. But really. I can’t. I’m staying in a hotel on business. I’m sure they’d frown on a baby bunny.”
He took my companion from me and placed him back with his brothers and sisters. “Well, if you change your mind, come on back.”
“Thanks for letting me cuddle him for awhile.”
He grinned. “Anytime.” He took off after a kid who was poking a finger at the cockatoo. “Hey, you don’t want to do that. She doesn’t like it.”
I left the store and finished walking the block. By then, I’d completed the circle of eight blocks surrounding the firehouse and had found four of the five matches reported to the Cupid department. I had only one place left to look.
I’d have to go back into the fire station for the last one. That suited me fine. I’d promised Oliver I would try to help his mom, anyway.
If I hurried, maybe I could finish all this up and be home sleeping in my own bed by tomorrow.
Chapter 15
I entered through the side door and walked down the hallway toward the rec room. Strange how I’d become so familiar with such an odd place.
This time, however, the rec room was alive with activity. Three men and a woman sat at the card table playing a noisy game of Monopoly. Reggie was back in the kitchen putting together what looked to be several large dishes of lasagna. Two women played pool while another guy leaned against the wall and watched.
Oliver sat at the table as he had the first time I’d seen him—backpack on the floor, schoolbooks spread across table, and a look of concentration on his face.
He looked up as I came around the corner and his face brightened. “Ellen!”
One of the men playing Monopoly half rose. “Can we help you? You’re really not supposed to be back here.”
The man next to him had his back to me. He turned to see who his buddy was talking to, and our gaze locked. Wyatt’s eyes were the darkest, velvety brown I’d ever seen.
It took me a moment to shake myself loose.
“I’m so sorry to interrupt. I’m a friend of Oliver’s. I was wondering if I could talk to him for a second?”
At least three people started to object, but Oliver stopped them. “She’s from my school. It’s okay.” He hopped out of his chair and came to stand with me in the hallway.
Wyatt looked thoughtful, and one eyebrow went up. “The school?”
Holy Pegasus feathers. I’d told Wyatt I was a volunteer cleaning the station. I bit my lip, wondering if he’d call me on it. I relaxed. Let him. Two things could be true, right? Even though neither one actually was. I could hardly tell him the truth, though.
“Don’t go far, Oliver.” Wyatt turned his chair so he could watch the hallway.
“We’ll stay right here, I promise.” I gave him a nervous wave.
Oliver led me a few feet farther away so we wouldn’t be heard. “You came back. Did you see? The rain cleaned it up.”
I nodded. “It cleaned up the flying stuff. But it didn’t undo the bad—I mean accidental matches. There’s one left. Anybody around here acting weird?”
He thought for a moment. “Jules and Ricki maybe. They’ve been whispering a lot. I don’t know.”
“Are they both here now?”
“Yeah. They’re playing pool.”
I thought back to the two women playing pool. They did seem sort of cozy. Should I leave them alone? “Is it against the rules for them to date?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“I’ll take a look. They might actually be okay to work it out on their own. Coworker stuff is pretty common with or without magic.”
He glanced down the hall past me. “What about my mom?”
“Well.” I frowned, thinking about Steve. “Has she been acting weird at all since you set off that bomb?”
“I don’t know. She always seems kind of sad.”
“More now than before?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“I think I may already have someone for her. She got hit pretty hard by the bomb, and I had to undo a match.” I chewed my lip. “But I’m beginning to think I need to put them back together.”
His eyes widened. “Really?”
I nodded. “There’s a guy at the pet store. I think he might be the one.”
He raised his small fist in the air. “Yes!”
“No promises. But I’ll try. Okay?”
He stood still, his face thoughtful. “I want to come with you to see him. Maybe I know him. I can help.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so. I need to check on this myself. Plus, nobody in there is going to let me walk out of here with you anyway. Just give me a little time to check him out.”
His eyes melted into that look puppies make on sappy greeting cards. “Please, Ellen? I can sneak out when they think I’m in the bathroom. I’ve done it before.”
“I really don’t want to know that, Oliver.”
He stuck his chin out. “I’m old enough to go across the street to the bookstore and look at comic books and stuff.”
“Then you need to take that up with your mom. I’m sorry, Oliver. I can’t take you with me for this. I have a job to do. You need to trust me on this.”
His shoulders slumped in disappointment. “Are you going right now?”
“In a few minutes. First, I have to check on this Jules and Ricki situation.”
We went back to the rec room together. I stood for a moment watching the two women playing pool. The vibrations definitely came from them. Their movements were subtle, a touch here, brushing a hair out of the other’s eyes there. But nothing overt. They weren’t behaving badly, and I saw no remaining pinfeathers poking out of them and controlling their actions. The feeling I got from them was like silk brushing against my skin. I decided to let them be.
I gave Oliver a quick pat on the shoulder. “See you in school, Oliver. Thanks for chatting with me.”
Wyatt pushed his chair out. “You’re leaving?”
I nodded. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.” There wasn’t enough air in the room. Talking to him made it so hard to breathe. I turned and bolted. “Sorry! Bye!”
Outside, I leaned against the building and tried to catch my breath. No man had ever affected me like that before. I hated feeling so out of control.
Vanessa’s laughter brought me back to myself. “What in Hades has gotten into you?”
“Nothing. I’m fine.” I stood away from the wall and smoothed my sweater.
She pointed at my outfit. “Nice. I like how you mixed the old with the new.” She narrowed her eyes. “How did the date go last night?”
I glared at her. “I think you know exactly how it went, smarty pants.”
She chuckled. “Neat and orderly turn out to be
a little boring?”
“He recited the names of cheese.”
Her mouth fell open. “Oh, that’s even worse than I thought it would be. I bet you were dying for a little Chaos in your life by then.”
I looked away from her in disgust. As I did, I caught sight of Oliver trotting across the street, alone.
Heading straight for the pet store.
Chapter 16
I darted across the street after him, nearly getting hit by several honking cars. More cars honked behind me, so I knew Vanessa followed.
As short as I was, my legs were still longer than a nine year old’s, and I caught up with him. “What are you doing?” I bent over, panting. “How’d you get past everybody?”
“Jules kissed Ricki, and everybody was really surprised, so I snuck out when they weren’t looking.”
Well, then that made two problems for me to fix. Apparently, Jules and Ricki weren’t as low-key and subtle as I’d thought they were. And now I had a small boy on the loose.
“Look, you need to get back in there. If you go missing, they’ll come looking for me, since I was in there talking to you before.”
“I just want to see him. Real quick.”
I hesitated, and that’s all the time he needed. He marched off without me. Vanessa caught up as I took off after him.
Before we reached the pet store, we passed the storefront being renovated. The glass from the big display window had been removed, and scaffolding stood both outside and inside the building. Power cords lay across the sidewalk and led into the building. The workmen were nowhere in sight and must’ve been on break.
Ahead, the door to the pet store swung open, held by the same kid who’d been poking the cockatoo. A beagle puppy raced out, ran toward the street, reversed direction and ran toward Oliver. Oliver ran to catch him and caught his foot on one of the power cords laying on the sidewalk.
Everything happened in slow motion from there.
A cord that was threaded through the scaffolding got wrapped around Oliver’s ankle. As he tripped and fell sideways toward the open window, the cord pulled the leg on the outside scaffolding askew, causing it to teeter. I ran toward Oliver, the scaffolding swaying above him as he tried to yank the cord off his ankle.
I had no idea where the dog went after that.
As the scaffolding collapsed, I grabbed him, yanking him loose from the cord, and we fell together through the window away from the falling debris outside while I attempted to shield him with my body. As we landed, I realized the scaffolding inside had been straddling an expanse of floor being rebuilt, but the realization came too late. The extra weight was all the half-built floor needed, and it gave way, dropping us in the basement on a pile of old cardboard boxes. With no floor to support it, the second scaffolding inside the building also collapsed, and everything—scaffolding, building materials, and rotten flooring—fell in after us.
I landed on my back with Oliver on top of me. Pain shot through my left leg, and the wind was knocked out of me.
Dust choked us, and the confined space we found ourselves in felt claustrophobic, though nothing solid actually fell on us. My leg throbbed as I struggled to catch my breath.
I coughed until the dust cleared. Oliver quit coughing before I did.
“You okay?” My arms were still around him, and we both worked one limb at a time to do a physical inventory of injuries.
“I’m okay. I don’t think I’m hurt.” He moved his arm behind himself and shoved away some debris. “Are you?”
I pushed away a loose pile of scrap wood, then felt above my head. There appeared to be enough space to sit up. I pulled myself up, but when I tried to move my left leg, pain shot through it and made me queasy.
“My leg is hurt. It’s probably not too bad.” It was bad, but there was no use scaring him.
“Are you guys okay down there?” The voice was familiar, but with an unfamiliar overlay of fright.
“Vanessa. Thank the gods. Go get help. We’re okay, but we’re going to need help getting out of here. I’m not sure I can put weight on my leg.”
“I’m on it!”
Oliver sniffled in the dark. “I’m sorry, Ellen.”
“Oh, honey.” My eyes adjusted to what little light we had coming in through the cracks between the garbage piled over us. I could make out Oliver’s form, and I touched his hair. “It was an accident. There’s nothing to apologize for.”
My bag had somehow remained attached to my body as we fell, probably because it was squashed between us. I reached in and pulled out my phone, lighting it up so we could see each other’s faces.
Oliver was crying silently. Fat tear tracks ran down his dusty face. Alarmed, I reached for him, patting his arms and legs. “Are you sure you’re not hurt? Where does it hurt, sweetie?”
He shook his head. “I’m fine.” The words stuck in his throat with a sob.
“Then what’s wrong? They’re going to come get us any minute. They’re just across the street. We’re going to be okay. We’re so lucky to be okay.” I understood being scared. I was terrified. But these were the tears of utter devastation, not fear. “Tell me.”
“I made a mistake.” And with that, he devolved into complete incoherence and shaking sobs.
I held him until he cried himself out. He sniffed, pulled himself upright from my chest, and wiped his face. “I opened all three bags for the LEGO fire truck and dumped them in a pile.” He wiped his face again and dropped his voice to a whisper. “You’re not supposed to do it that way. You’re supposed to sort the bags one at a time.”
“What?” I had no idea what he was talking about. “If they’re your LEGOs, you can do whatever you want with them.”
He shook his head, and his expression was haunted. “Dad got mad. He yelled. Then he went outside…and he never came back.” He glanced around, and his eyes filled with fresh tears. “This is so bad. Mom’s going to be so mad at me.”
I felt my heart shatter into a million pieces for this kid. “Oh, honey, no. Your mom loves you, no matter what. I promise. She’ll never leave you. Your dad was in the wrong, not you.”
I hugged him again, smoothing his filthy hair. My leg throbbed so much. But my heart hurt even more.
“You okay down there?” A male voice this time. “We’re going to get you out of there. Don’t worry.”
“Oliver?” The woman’s distressed voice had a hysterical pitch to it.
“Mom?” He craned his neck trying to see through the pile above us.
“Oliver! They’re coming to get you, baby! I love you!”
He looked at me and his lips turned up in a relieved smile. “I love you, Mom!”
“Ellen? Are you alright down there? It’s Wyatt.”
Of all the times to get butterflies in my stomach, now was the least appropriate. Yet there they were. “We’re okay. My leg is hurt but we’re okay.”
“Well, you stay put. This shouldn’t take too long to get you out. The scaffolding caught most of the debris.”
I realized he was right. The reason I could sit up was that the scaffolding had formed the skeleton of a structure around us, and the majority of the flooring and building materials had landed across the bars, almost like a makeshift shelter.
Chaos wasn’t done teaching me a lesson, it seemed.
Oliver sat quietly with his hands folded in his lap, and I wondered how a man could have walked out and left such a sweet kid so emotionally scarred.
And yet…his story wasn’t so different from my own family’s.
My brother, Josh, had been a little wild. Not too wild. But he didn’t always follow the rules Mom and Dad had set for us. One night, Josh missed curfew one too many times, and they kicked him out. No warning or anything. Left him a suitcase outside the front door with a note. That was it.
That was over ten years ago. I hadn’t seen Josh since before he’d left the house that night.
I’d never broken a single rule after that.
It was my turn to
sit in the dirty basement, buried in building supplies, and sob like a small child while fire fighters dug us out.
I cried for the little girl who wasn’t allowed to bring Charley the guinea pig home on the weekends. I cried for the teenager who was never allowed to date and was too busy studying anyway. I cried for the brother I hadn’t even looked for after I moved out of my parents house because I was afraid he’d hate me because I’d followed the rules he couldn’t.
I cried for the woman so eager to be the best at her job that she’d alienated everyone else in the office.
I wasn’t sure if my leg was broken, but something inside me was. Maybe it wasn’t too late to put it back together.
Chapter 17
Wyatt hadn’t lied. It didn’t take long to dig us out of the mess we were in. It felt like an eternity, and my leg throbbed painfully every time I made the slightest move. Oliver was incredibly brave the entire time.
He even held steady through my ridiculous crying jag brought on by a sudden epiphany of how messed up I was. No wonder the Chaos department sent someone to knock some of the structure out of me.
When I had cried myself out, Oliver patted my good leg and gave me a sympathetic smile. “We’re okay now,” he said. “I won’t tell anybody you cried if you don’t tell that I did.”
I held up my hand with my little finger curled. “Pinky swear.”
He nodded and curled his little finger around mine. “Pinky swear.”
To my surprise, the cellphone reception was great down there. We hadn’t fallen far, and the floor above us was mostly open, so it made sense. Oliver showed me how to download games, and we played Angry Birds while people above us worked to pull away the debris that blocked our rescue.
As they worked, things fell around us, but the floor of the scaffolding was directly over us, so anything that fell went elsewhere. An avalanche of dirt and dust cascaded over us, but we held our breaths until it was finished, dusted off the screen, and went back to our game.
Every two minutes or so, Wyatt shouted down at us. “Still doing okay down there?”
“We’re fine. These birds are super pissed off at those pigs, though.”
Dallas Fire & Rescue: Emergency Cupid (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Mt. Olympus Employment Agency: Cupid Book 1) Page 7