America's Bravest (7 page)

“I read Wellington’s post about being trapped
in the basement,” Cal put in. “Pretty scary.”

“We got through it all right.” He glanced to
the kitchen again and could see her in the window. Rising, he said,
“I’m gonna go get another hot dog. Want something?”

No one did.

Instead of heading to the grill, he detoured
into the house and found her washing pans at the sink. Her back was
to him and he admired the feminine curve of her spine, the toned
muscles of her calves. He remembered how soft and smooth all that
skin was. “Need some help?”

She glanced over her shoulder and swallowed
hard. “No. Go back outside.”

Instead, he leaned against the counter and
folded his arms across his chest. “Why?”

“You know why. It’s hard to be around
you.”

“Is it?”

She turned and seeing no one was nearby, she
faced him fully. “What do you want me to say, Captain? That it
kills me to witness how tender you are with your kids. How terrific
you look in that T-shirt. How I—” She stopped short. “Jesus. I’m
sorry.”

Acting on need and not thought, he moved in
closer but didn’t touch her. For a minute, he stared at the soap
dribbling from her hands to the floor. “At least you didn’t have to
watch while another woman put her hands all over me.” At Rachel’s
questioning look, he added, “God’s gift to women, Ryan O’Malley.
Hell, he couldn’t stop touching you.”

“Really? I didn’t notice.”

Gabe wasn’t going to back down. “This isn’t
working. The last three weeks, today, have been hell.”

“I know. What are we going to do?”

“Maybe one of us has to transfer.”

Her eyes turned hot. “That would be me. I
only moved to our house eighteen months ago. I’d be off the
affirmative action test case. I’d have to break in a whole new
crew.”

“I can’t leave.” He stepped closer still and
whispered, “If you did, maybe we could—”

She recoiled back. “Don’t even say it. If I
moved and we got together, everyone would know I transferred
because of you, that something happened between us. That would
confirm all the nasty things people say about having women in the
department. My public shame would make it hard for the rest of our
females to convince others that they’re serious firefighters, not
in the job to sleep around.”

He inched back. “Okay, I get it.” At her
still-fuming expression, he added, “Pardon me for trying to find a
way for us to be together.”

She shook her head. “I’m not going to
transfer, Gabe. We’ll have to work this out. We’ll be
stronger.”

“Yeah, well, good luck with that.” Giving her
his back, he walked toward the door.

The O’Malley twins sat across from Rachel and
her sister Alexis. The two guys looked like a million bucks. Well,
two million. They wore blazers, one gray, one taupe, that matched
silk T-shirts, and knife-pressed trousers. Were it another time in
Rachel’s life, she’d be drooling like most of the other women in
the Lakeside Restaurant who got a glimpse of them. She was glad to
see Alexis enjoying herself as Brody’s date.

“So, you think this is working, sweetheart?”
Ryan’s light blue eyes twinkled when he spoke. He’d asked Rachel
out last night after the picnic at her house, and given her state
of mind, she’d said yes. When he’d wondered if she had a girlfriend
for Brody, they’d decided an all-sibling evening would be fun. So
far, it was.

“Yep, Sergeant, I do.” She nodded to the
remains of Beef Wellington the four of them had shared along with
scalloped potatoes and a Caesar salad. “Super food.”

As they drank another glass of good merlot,
they told stories about growing up, though the O’Malley escapades
were a lot more interesting than the Wellington adventures. At one
point, Alexis laughed so hard, she attracted the attention of other
patrons. “You were fifteen and caught naked in the boathouse of
your parents’ cottage? What did your dad do?”

Ryan chuckled. “First he got rid of the older
women we were with.”

“Older women?”

“Yeah, two college freshmen who took a shine
to us when we crashed a frat party.” He grinned at his twin, as if
remembering. “They, um, didn’t know how old we were. After they
left, Dad gave us the
responsibility
talk.”

“And told us to respect women.” Brody’s eyes
narrowed. “Rach, don’t tell anybody about this at work. I’m already
considered a womanizer.”

Rachel sipped her wine. “Work’s off-limits
tonight. So vice versa. What happens here, stays here.”

What happened in the basement…

No, she wouldn’t think about that. Rachel
had
to forget about work and a certain captain; thoughts
of him were driving her crazy. Which was why she’d accepted Ryan’s
offer of a date tonight.

The O’Malleys told the rest of the story, and
Rachel was duly entertained. Later, after dessert of terrific Baked
Alaska that melted on your tongue, the guys suggested dancing at a
club over in Camden Cove, where Brody and Ryan had grown up. She
and her sister readily agreed. They stopped at the ladies’ room on
the way in and the brothers went ahead to get a table.

As soon as they finished their business,
Alexis pulled Rachel to a settee. “I wish you were having a better
time.”

“I’m having—” At Alexis’s knowing stare,
Rachel stopped the lie before it left her mouth. “Okay, I’m
trying
to have a good time. You don’t think Ryan noticed,
do you? He’s a nice guy.”

Alexis snorted. “He’s a player. Watch out for
him. He’ll try to get you into bed as soon as you’re back at your
house, no matter how preoccupied you are.”

“Oh, God.” The thought of another man’s hands
on her made her ill.

“Things no better at work?” Translated—with
Gabe.

Shaking her head, Rachel scanned the pretty
peach lounge. “Worse. We had a fight last night at a birthday party
at my house.”

“What about?”

She gave her sister the details.

“Hmm.”

“Hmm, what?”

“He offered you a way out of this, then.”

“Not one that I’d accept. I can’t risk what
an affair with a firefighter—my boss—would do to my reputation. To
the reputation of all the women in the department.”

Alexis got that
doctor look
on her
face. “I know firefighting’s important to you, sweetie. But there
are other things in life.”

“Lexie please, I don’t want to get into
this.” She stood. “Let’s go dance and have fun.”

Out on the floor, the O’Malley twins were
terrific dancers—of course. Ryan swept Rachel up into a swing,
which she knew how to do thanks to her mother’s insistence on
dancing lessons. Her short, royal blue halter dress swirled around
her knees, and she giggled at the dips and turns and antics of her
partner. When a slow song started, Ryan pulled her into his arms.
“So, who’s the guy?”

“Excuse me?”

“Who’ve you been thinking about while I’m
trying to work my magic on you?”

“Nobody.”

“I been in the game too long a time,
sweetheart, not to recognize moping. Who’s the lucky guy?”

“Not somebody I can have.”

“You sure? ’Cause if I can’t distract you,
something really serious is going on inside your head.”

She chuckled. “Can we drop it? I am having
fun.”

“Okay, I’m not one to talk anyway.”

“Never found anybody you liked enough to
settle down?” She knew he and Brody were six years older than
she.

“Haven’t tried. Besides, if you have to look,
you aren’t ready. It should just happen.”

A few minutes later, as the band played
loudly and the lights captured dancers in movement, two women
walked by. Ryan’s eyes gleamed, and when Rachel tracked his gaze,
she said, “See something you like?”

“They’re both gorgeous.”

“Don’t you know who they are?”

“Should I?”

“They work at our firehouse. Sands and White.
Sydney and Felicia.”

“Wow, they clean up good.”

“Wanna go talk to them?”

“Sure. Though White doesn’t seem to like me,
which I totally don’t understand.” He said the words so deadpan
Rachel smiled.

Her colleagues had stopped at the edge of the
dance floor. Felicia did look great in a one-piece, black clingy
thing, and Sydney had outdone herself in a short, ruffled, gray
dress that hit way above the knees. She wore it with stacked heels
so the dress seemed even shorter.

“Hey,” Rachel said, coming up to them,
holding Ryan by the hand. His palm was big and warm, but
not…Gabe’s.

Felicia rolled her eyes. “Oh, shit, we’re all
here and look girly.”

“Nothing wrong with that, darlin’,” Ryan said
as he touched the lieutenant’s arm.

Felicia gave him a scathing look until he
moved his hand. “Save it, O’Malley. I’m immune to your charms,
thank God. I’m only here because it’s Syd’s birthday and she wanted
to go clubbing.”

“Why didn’t we know about this at the
firehouse?” Rachel asked. “We always celebrate birthdays.”

Sydney shook her head, her dark hair shining
under the lights. “I didn’t want razzing about being only
twenty-three. I deal with enough rookie barbs.”

“How about if we all dance?” Ryan
suggested.

“Oh, Lord.” Felicia’s protest went unnoticed
as they dragged her to the floor.

They formed a circle, Brody and Alexis joined
them and the boys took turns twirling each of the women. Even sour
Felicia was laughing, though Ryan was right: it was well-known in
the department she didn’t care for him. She was close to Brody,
though.

Rachel was glad, at least, to have this
respite. Now if she could keep it up—for the rest of her life—she’d
be fine.

oOo

Gabe stood out on the deck he’d built for his
mother, staring at the backyard full of summer flowers, listening
to the nightly chorus of crickets, when he heard the sliding doors
whisper open. Angelica Martino joined him at the railing. She
carried a filled wine glass in her hand. “So,” she said in their
first minute alone tonight, “are you as embarrassed by all this as
I am?”

Despite the circumstances, he liked the
pretty, sophisticated woman. Angling his head toward the house, he
gave her a small smile. “You mean the fact that your mother and my
mother had to set us up at this stage in our lives?” Angelica was
nearing forty, about his age.

“Yep.” She rolled her pretty dark eyes,
compliments to her raven hair. Too bad Gabe kept thinking about
steel blondes. “Nothing against you, Gabe, but she wore me
down.”

“Back at ya.” He perused her pretty silver
dress and high heels, suddenly wondering what Rachel looked like
all gussied up. He’d never seen her dressed for a night out. “What
I don’t understand is why nobody’s scooped you up yet.”

She sighed. “Still carrying a torch for
somebody who didn’t want me.”

His jaw dropped. “That’s hard to
believe.”

“Cheating spouse. Dirt bag.” She shrugged
delicate shoulders. “But thanks for the compliment. My battered ego
needs them.”

Lifting his beer, he clinked their glasses.
“Let’s drink to something really rotten happening to the guy.”

“How about you? Why are you being set
up?”

“Divorced. It was rough. But a long time
ago.”

“So what’s your excuse for the long face
tonight?”

A beautiful woman I can’t have.
“I
can’t seem to meet anybody I like enough and is free.”

“Free of what?”

“Responsibility.”

“How enigmatic. Want to talk about her?”

“God, no.” He scowled. “I’m not good company,
Angie. I’m sorry.”

“We’re in the same boat. Don’t worry about
it.”

Turning, he leaned against the railing and
saw his mother at the sink, pretending to do dishes but checking
them out. “What do you think our mothers would say if they knew
what we’re talking about?”

“We’re wasting our youth. To get on with our
lives. I wonder if things were easier in the romance department in
their day.”

“They were certainly simpler.”

Her eyes sparkled. “What do you say we leave?
We can pretend we’re going out together and split up when we’re
away from here.”

“Well, dinner
is
over.”

“Deal?” She extended her hand.

He took it and held on. “Yes. And
Angelica?”

“Hmm?”

“I hope you find someone else who treats you
well.”

“Same here. For you.”

Gabe didn’t hold out much hope for that,
though. Since he couldn’t get his mind off a cute little
firefighter, there wasn’t a chance he was going to find someone
else he wanted to be with.

oOo

“Fuck this!” Brody O’Malley tossed out the
epithet from where he sat at one of the computers in the common
room at the beginning of their next tour on Monday.

From the couch where she sat watching
Jeopardy!
Felicia asked, “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Allen’s blog.
Make it Right,
my ass. Come look.”

Rachel frowned from the other end of the room
where she was reading a new edition of
The Heart of Hidden
Cove
, a magazine that came out quarterly and focused on the
positive aspects of the city. Their battalion chief’s best friend,
Max Delinsky, was its publisher and the rag had become wildly
popular. “We aren’t supposed to be using the Internet on company
time.”

“I don’t care. Come over here, too,
Rach.”

Ramirez and Syd sauntered in, so the five of
them huddled over the computer. The blog topic read:
Working
Hard? Cops and Firefighters Frolic on the Weekend!

Beneath the heading, several pictures had
been downloaded. Brody, shirtless and shoeless, hugging Sophia.
Felicia spiking a ball at Ryan. Gabe, bending down to talk to his
daughter. Hell, Sydney holding a beer and carrying a baby on her
hip.

“How the hell did Parker Allen get these
pictures?” Felicia asked. Her voice shook with barely controlled
rage.