Chasing the Fire (Backdraft, Fully Involved, Flashover) (21 page)

“So far we have the basketball throw,
paintball, remote-control cars, and a Christmas-ornament booth…”
She picked up the cards. “Can we walk the floor and pace out each
one? I brought markers.”

For an hour, they traversed the perimeter of
the gym, eyeballing where everything would be. Decorating and
game/booth deliveries wouldn’t happen until the second week in
December, but with Stacey’s cardboard, they could section off the
setup.

When they finished, Parker smiled.
“Obviously, we’ll need the whole gym area.” She turned to them.
“You’ve done a good job so far.”

Parker got a beautiful smile from Stacey that
made Nick wish she’d bestowed it on him. “Thanks.”

“What’s next?” Parker asked.

“We’ll assign people from House 7 to their
areas, along with community volunteers.” Stacey read from a pad.
“I’ve had a sign up at the store and several moms and dads are
interested in helping out. They’ll be responsible for setting up
and breaking down.”

Nick added, “All the planning will be done by
Thanksgiving.”

Parker socked him in the arm. “You balked,
Captain, but were obviously the right choice.”

“I guess.”

“Great.” Parker checked her watch. “I need to
go. I have to get home so the nanny can leave.”

“We’re done here, anyway.” Nick turned to get
his coat.

Stacey didn’t move. She called out, “Have a
great evening, you two. I’m staying to shoot some baskets and run
around the track.”

“You are?” Nick was surprised.

“They allow the families of firefighters to
use the gym when it isn’t busy. The guard who works here lets me
know when it’s free. He’ll close up when I’m done.”

“Have fun, then.” Parker looked to Nick.
“Walk you out?”

He should go with Parker, he knew that, and
Stacey wasn’t making any overture to ask him to play with her, even
though she knew he loved the game. Instead she started around the
outside of the floor to warm up.

Nick watched her. “I think I might stay a
bit, Parker, thanks.”

When Stacey reached him a few minutes later,
he blocked her way with an aggressive stance. “Parker left. Want to
play some one-on-one with me?”

She eyed him up and down and arched a brow.
“Think your ego can take getting trounced by a girl?”

“That’ll be the day.” He stood. “I got
workout clothes in the car.” He nodded to the court. “Better warm
up, sweetheart. I’m going to beat the pants off you.”

Her eyes widened at what she thought was
innuendo. He hadn’t meant it that way, but as he jogged out of the
gym, the idea was appealing to him, just the same.

Jesus, what got into him when she was around?
Instead of following his gut, he let his defenses down and threw
caution to the wind. None of this made sense.

oOo

HELL, SHE WISHED
Nick hadn’t used
pants off
in regards to her. As soon as he uttered the
common cliché, she had a sudden flash of him inching down her sweat
pants, right there in the Academy gym, taking her shorts and undies
with them, as he knelt before her. The images in her head would
have been an okay fantasy, but Nick was still acting remote and
unsure. Damn him.

As she took laps around the gym, she admitted
she’d been disappointed not to hear from him after their date and
even more so after Halloween night when he purposely sought her
out. Still, she hadn’t pressed, hadn’t called him. She could tell
he was as attracted to her as she was to him, and knew they liked
each other, but he was shying away from emotional closeness. Which,
she’d decided, was fine. She wouldn’t go after a man who didn’t
want a relationship. And she knew he was complicated. She’d decided
to give him space, which he rejected outright when he’d asked to
play ball with her.

Soon he entered the gym again. Forgoing a
sweat suit, he wore a plain white T-shirt with navy blue shorts
that hit mid-thigh. When he caught up to her, she appreciated every
single muscle of his torso that was outlined by the soft cotton.
How he ran with ease and grace. How he didn’t even get winded.

After two laps, he stopped. “Ready to
play?”

“Yep. Wanna shoot some first? I got two balls
out.”

“Sure. You probably need the extra edge with
me.”

She liked his cockiness. It was cute.

They each took a ball and began shooting and
rebounding. She made the first swish through the basket. Then he
made one. They continued for ten shots, neither missing, so she
said, “All right. Tell me your rules.”

“We play to eleven. Each basket counts one.
Gotta win by two. You can start first with the ball at the top of
the key. If you make a shot, you get the ball again.”

“Seriously? I play that if you get a basket,
the ball goes to your opponent.” She smiled. “I like your way
better.”

She dribbled to the top of the key and he
came up to her, but before he got into position, she darted around
him, did some fast footwork to the basket and sank an easy
layup.

“Ah, so that’s how it’s going to be?” he
said, commenting on her sneakiness.

“Uh-huh.”

Again, she took the ball out and tried to
pull the same stunt but he was ready for her. Leaping in front of
her left dash, he stopped her progress. She had to go right.
Dribble behind her back (he said, “Show off”) and surprised him
when she took the shot half-court. “Two…zip.”

Nick was a competitor. She could tell as he
responded to her first two plays. He finally got the ball away from
her, scored, then positioned himself again. This time he almost
plowed right through her, forcing her out of the way. He scored
easily. She had a harder time maneuvering around him on her third
possession. Finally, she managed to get to the basket, but he
blocked her shot.

He didn’t expect her quick rebound. And
follow up. “Yes!” she said, reaching her hand in the air when the
net swished again. “Still ahead.”

He mumbled something, but she didn’t hear the
exact words. Cranky looked cute on him, too.

A half hour later, the score was tied. Two
more points to go and the game would be over. They were also both
covered in sweat. This was so much
fun.

Her turn to take the ball out. She managed to
dribble to mid half-court and stop at the foul line. She lifted the
ball, went up on her tiptoes and let go—but the ball slammed back
down—right into her.

“Owww,” she said covering her face. Her eyes
stung and pain radiated from her nose to every part of her
skull.

“Stacey, I’m so sorry.” He jogged up to her.
“Your nose is bleeding. Sit down.”

She dropped to the floor.

“Lean your head forward but pinch your
nostrils.”

She obeyed, fuzzy headed now.

“I’ll get some ice.”

Slowly the pain subsided. But she knew she
was going to have bruising. Oh, terrific. Just terrific. For the
first time since Jess died, she was attracted to a guy and not only
did she pale in comparison to women like Parker Erikson, tonight
she’d look as though she’d gone a few rounds with Mike Tyson, when
she was hoping for him to commit to seeing her.

When he returned with the ice, she looked up
at him. His face was taut with strain and his body was stiff. So
she said, “Foul. I get two points for that. So I win.”

He laughed and sank to the floor. “You’re
something else.” She smiled around the ice, but the blood kept
coming. He yanked his T-shirt over his head and handed it to her.
For a minute, she froze. Despite the pain, she noticed—boy did she
notice—his bare chest.

Dear Lord in heaven. He was still tanned from
the summer. His chest was sprinkled in all the right places with
hair lighter than what was on his head. His pecs were perfect. His
biceps bulged. She had to close her eyes to keep from reaching out
and touching his skin.

“I’m so sorry, Stace. I can’t believe I was
so careless.”

But Stacey didn’t respond. Even with her eyes
closed, she could still see that magnificent torso. The view was
worth getting a bloody nose from him, that was for sure.

oOo

NICK WALKED INTO
Badges, the
firefighter and police hangout, next to Stacey. The walls were
decorated with photos and memorabilia of the local department, and
there was a big tribute to the firefighters who’d died in 9/11,
only an hour away from Hidden Cove.

Stacey had kept the ice on her nose a while,
and so far, the bruising didn’t look so bad. And he hadn’t thought
about Kelly’s call all night, so he gave in to the temptation that
he’d been fighting for days.

How about if I apologize by buying you a
drink?

You’re on.

In the entryway, they scanned the crowd. It
was a good one for a Monday night. “I didn’t think, Stacey. Will
this place make you feel bad?”

“What do you mean?”

“Because of Jess. You had to have come to
Badges with him.”

“I did; but no, Badges has good memories for
me. Just like fall does.” She socked his arm. “It’s possible to
concentrate on the good things, you know?”

Was it, for him? She seemed to enjoy life so
much. Would she bring him up with her or would he pull her
down?

They found a table off to the side and Nick
stood when she sat. “Want more ice for that?”

“Maybe in a bit. I kept the pack you got at
the gym on my face all the way over in the car.”

She asked for a Blue Light and he made his
way to the bar. Down the big mahogany slab, he saw three who were
from his group. They were laughing and talking, obviously familiar
with each other and as couples. He envied their camaraderie. How
different might he have turned out if he’d had friends like that?
Or even siblings? Would they have been around to protect Kelly more
than he had? All of them burst out laughing at something, and Nick
turned away. He was feeling…lonely. Alone.

When he returned to the table, he placed her
beer in front of her and dropped down across from her. “The
bartender says they have ice packs of all shapes and sizes in the
freezer. Seems a lot of cops and smoke eaters come in needing
ice.”

“I remember how banged up Jess used to
get.”

She took a hefty gulp of her beer. She drank
like a guy, not a girl, but she’d removed her coat and sweat
jacket. The damp, scoop-necked T-shirt she wore outlined her
curves. She’d also released her hair from its knot. The red locks
were a riot of curls down her shoulders and back. “Other than the
nose thing, I had fun playing basketball with you.”

“Same goes for me. You really are good.” He
stopped himself before he mentioned the firefighter-and-cop
basketball league started by the Malvasos, which started play soon.
If they were together, she could join them; if he stopped this
tonight, it would be a very bad idea for her to be on the
teams.

“You’re good, too. How come you didn’t go to
college and play there?”

For some godforsaken reason, he wanted to
answer her, tell her things about himself. He couldn’t stop himself
from talking. “My parents died suddenly when I was eighteen and
Kelly was fourteen. I wanted to be a firefighter all my life,
anyway, but I was going to college to study fire science. Somebody
had to take care of Kelly, so I joined up.”

He could still see his baby sister at
fourteen, hair and face like a goddess’s.

“Was it hard, raising your sister?”

Why the hell was he talking about this? No
one in Hidden Cove knew what had happened to her but Will
Rossettie. He felt himself close down. “I don’t want to discuss
that part of my life, if it’s okay.”

“Sure. Everybody’s entitled to secrets.”

The statement made him smile, made his
shoulder less stiff. “Yeah, like you aren’t an open book.”

“You know I am. My story’s simple—she marries
her high school sweetheart, has a great life for four years, then
her parents die.” She shrugged. “You and I have that in common. But
the story has a sad ending, because he dies, too.”

Her honesty drew him back in. “You’ve had
heartache.”

“Everybody has. It’s how we deal with our
issues that’s important.”

“Like I told you before, I’m afraid I haven’t
dealt with mine very well.” Fuck, had he said that aloud?

Reaching out, she touched his hand this time.
Instead of the quick chemical reaction he’d expected, he felt the
warmth of understanding fill him. He craved that and detested it at
the same time. Still, he didn’t draw away.

“Hey, Stacey?”

She dragged her gaze away from Nick and
looked up. “Jimmy. Hey, buddy.”

His boyish face darkened. “What the hell
happened to your nose?”

“An accident playing basketball.”

Jimmy looked to Nick. “You do this to
her?”

Nick sighed. He wasn’t up for a pissing
contest, if that’s where this was going. “We were having a friendly
game of b-ball and it got a little rough.”

He scowled. “Didn’t you ever hear you should
take it easy on women?”

“Now, wait a minute, Jimmy Curtis. You know I
wouldn’t want that.”

He looked from her to Nick. “How do you two
know each other?”

“We’re planning the Christmas party for the
camp.”

“Well, okay then.” Leaning over, he kissed
Stacey’s head. “Call me. And get ice on that.”

Nick got up and retrieved the ice for her,
then sat back down at the table. “You said you two were friends. I
get different vibes from him.”

“You know, I started to think that way the
night when we babysat Faith’s kids. Though I’m shocked. You should
have seen his wife.”

“What was she like?”

“As pretty and sophisticated as Parker
Erikson.” Stacey raked a hand through her hair, mussing it. “I
don’t know how women pull those things off.”

Damn it. By now he’d realized she had a thing
about not being sophisticated. “Actually, I don’t find her style
that appealing.”