Home Fires (6 page)

But she’d promised herself she wouldn’t look back. If she wasn’t successful, it wouldn’t be for lack of trying. Her days were spent trying to fit in, to make some sort of niche for herself. Oftentimes she went home from work tired beyond exhaustion, convinced her efforts had gone unnoticed.

Unnoticed? Obviously not. With Andy’s proposal, and now the Judge’s, she’d just received her second job offer in less than a week. Rose felt a silly smile spreading on her face. The irony of it all was too delicious.

“Am I to assume you think it a ludicrous proposal?” The Judge sat back with a look of dismay.

“Not at all,” she quickly replied. Her old friend and mentor’s discontent was unsettling. But he knew how she felt about this town. He was Jeff’s father. He had lived through the rumors just like she had.

So how could the Judge believe she would give serious consideration to any offer that brought her back to James Bay?

Yet maybe he wasn’t so foolish after all. The Judge wasn’t the type of man to resort to emotional blackmail. Or was he? If he chose to do so, it would prove difficult—if not impossible—to turn him down.

She owed him. Big time.

“There’s no need for a hasty decision,” he said as their dinners were served. “All I ask is that you give the matter some thought. We’ll talk about it again soon.” With a fond smile for her, he turned his attention to the food before him and began working his way through the platter of barbecued ribs.

Rose watched in fascination. The Judge’s appetite was voracious, yet somehow he managed to maintain an air of dignity and refinement even while licking his fingers clean. She stared in dismay at her hamburger and side dish of coleslaw, no longer hungry. With the Judge’s offer of a partnership on the table, she had some big decisions facing her. Could she accept Andy’s offer and continue sidestepping his overtures toward an inevitable romance? Would it be possible to come back and embrace the town of her youth? Did she really wish to sacrifice her life and career to be stuck again in this small town and all its painful memories?

Rose rubbed her head with the heel of her hand. This was no time to be making any life-altering decisions. She couldn’t remember when she’d felt so tired. The only thing she wanted was to crawl into bed and fall into a long dreamless sleep.

“Cecilia? Hello! I thought that was you.” A distinct, clipped voice, filled with pleasure, echoed near their table.

Rose hadn’t been away from town long enough not to recognize the voice that had haunted her since the first time she heard it in ninth-grade English class. She glanced up at the tall, spindly man with spiky brown hair and intense brown eyes. “Hi, Charles.”

“Welcome home.” Charles Kendall’s face wore a look of open admiration. “You look wonderful.”

“Young Mr. Kendall. How go things with the Fourth Estate?”

Charles Kendall’s pale face lit up in animation. “Things are flourishing at the
Journal
. I’m Editor in Chief now.” His proud announcement was made with a triumphant nod for Rose. “I have a staff of three and total editorial control.”

Rose mustered up a polite smile and curbed the stir of impatience festering inside. She’d spent most of her high school career trying to put some distance between them, but somehow Charles always managed to find her. If nothing else, he was persistent.

“Looks like we’ve both turned out to be success stories.” Charles beamed down at her. “You’re an attorney with a big firm and I’m making a name for myself in the newspaper business. You’ve probably noticed the articles we’ve been running about the recent fires.” His voice dropped in a low whisper. “I have it on good authority there’s an arsonist at work in James Bay.”

“Is that so?” Rose lifted her eyebrows in mild interest to hide her annoyance. Fire was the last subject she wished to discuss. The faint smell of smoke still lingered in her hair from the recent culinary disaster in her mother’s kitchen.

“Watch the paper,” Charles promised. “We’ll be featuring more about it in the days ahead.”

Rose cast him a thoughtful look. What exactly was he up to? Charles wouldn’t stoop to manufacturing evidence just to boost the
Journal’s
circulation. Or would he?

“We should get together while you’re in town. I assume you’re staying at your mother’s?”

“Correct,” she reluctantly acknowledged.

“Terrific. I’ll phone you. When’s a good time to call?”

Never
flashed to mind. And he didn’t plan on sitting down, did he? Charles already had one hand on the empty chair at their table. Its legs squeaked noisily against the scratched wooden floor. If he joined them, they’d be stuck sitting here at least another hour. There went her plans for a good night’s sleep.

“Mr. Kendall, I must ask you to excuse us. Cecilia Rose has had quite the day and we were just about to depart for home.”

Rose pressed her napkin to her mouth and hid a smile as she heard the Judge’s voice ring forth with the weight of judicial authority. He hadn’t sat on the bench for years but His Honor could still lay it on pretty thick when he wished.

Charles’s face flushed dark red as he pushed the chair back under the table. “Another time, then.”

Rose felt her heart soften at the discomfited look on his face. Charles had been an irritating presence long ago, but they weren’t in high school anymore. Now she merely felt sorry for him.

“I’ll be in town through the first week of August,” she said. “It probably would be better if you wait until next week to call. Mom should be home from the hospital by then and I know she’d love to see you.” As well as make a convenient buffer.

“Give her my best.” Charles backed away from the table with the earlier confident look once more on his face.

“Thanks for interceding,” Rose said to the Judge when they were alone again. “Charles can be a real pest.”

“No thanks necessary, my dear.” The Judge wiped the last remaining bit of barbecue sauce from his fingers. “I only told young Mr. Kendall the truth. You’ve been through a lot today and you need your rest.” He gestured for the bill.

“Please, let me take care of dinner tonight.” She reached for her purse. “You’ve already done more than enough for me.”

“Absolutely not, this is my treat. Besides, I’ll write off our little strategy session as a business expense.”

“Strategy session?” Rose stood up from her chair with a frown. She caught a quick flourish of bills as the Judge thumbed two twenties from his wallet.

“Strategy, negotiations, whatever you wish to call it.” He flashed her a brief smile. “Have you already forgotten? I’m in serious negotiations, my dear… with someone I hope will soon agree to be my new partner.”

Rose trailed behind him as they headed through the crowd toward the cash register. She wasn’t about to forget their conversation tonight. The Judge wasn’t about to let her.

The market was as small and cramped as she remembered. Rose wielded her grocery cart down the narrow rows of canned goods stacked high in jumbled confusion and untidy display racks crammed at the end of the aisles. It seemed the recent spurt of James Bay remodeling mania had yet to touch the town’s one grocery store. She steered clear of yet one more mini-traffic jam in the produce department and headed toward the meat display. Progress might be forthcoming in certain parts of town, but some things, like this grocery store, would never change.

“Hello there.”

Rose veered her cart to the left as she caught sight of Michael Gallagher in front of the meat counter. The last time they’d met, he’d been dressed in fire gear. This afternoon he sported crisp dark blue jeans and a clean white t-shirt with the name and logo of the James Bay Fire Department. Obviously he wasn’t on duty today. And had she merely imagined it, or had his eyes lit up as he caught sight of her?

She flashed him a quick smile and prayed he wouldn’t notice the blush she felt climbing high on her cheeks. Something about this fireman left her feeling awkward, knock-kneed, and tongue-tied.
Almost like being back in seventh grade.
What was wrong with her, anyway? She wasn’t in middle school anymore. She was a professional, accustomed to thinking and talking fast on her feet, in and out of the courtroom.

Rose glanced down at the package of steak in his hand. “Buying dinner?”

Too late. She groaned in silent mortification as she heard the words slide out of her mouth. Obviously he was buying dinner. Couldn’t she come up with anything better than that?

“Just shopping for some things I need at the fire station. I’m running low on supplies.”

“You buy your own food? But I thought the fire department would provide that…”

“You and everybody else in America. Nobody seems to realize firemen pay for their food and cook it, too.” His eyes crinkled in a smile. “Speaking of cooking, you must be staying out of the kitchen—911 has been pretty quiet for the past day or two.”

Rose’s blush spread even deeper. He was teasing, and they both knew she knew it. This fireman was proving real trouble.

“Sorry, I couldn’t resist,” he said. “My brother’s always telling me that my joking around will get me in trouble someday. He’s probably right.”

She hadn’t noticed that dimple in his cheek until now. It played hide and seek against the dark blond stubble on his face.

“By the way, how’s your mom?”

“My mom?” Reluctantly she pulled her gaze away from that intriguing dimple to meet his eyes.

“She did have surgery, correct?”

“Surgery? Oh, right.”
Get a grip, Rose.
Here she was, babbling like an idiot. Then again, he probably already thought she was borderline crazy, what with nearly setting the house ablaze by cooking that ancient teakettle.

“The surgery went fine, thanks. She’ll be home in another few days.”

“My dad had surgery on his shoulder last year. It’s hard, seeing your parents out of commission. Makes you stop and think about how lucky you are that they’re still around.”

Cute, courageous, and considerate, too. What more could a woman want? Memories from the past few days flooded her senses. A smoking car and a tall blond stranger coming to her mother’s aid. A hospital alarm with a possible blaze and a stalwart fireman with scuffed white helmet sounding the
all clear
. Sleep deprivation sparking a stupid mistake, and once again, this fireman had been there to save the day.

“I know putting out fires is your job, but I’d really like to thank you. Maybe we could have dinner? My treat.” Rose threw him a smile across the cluttered grocery aisle. “I’m free tonight, if that works for you.”

He looked startled. Almost as startled as she felt, hearing the unexpected invitation slide smoothly from her mouth. But his response time was immediate. “Sorry, it doesn’t.”

“Oh.” Her cheeks flamed as if they’d experienced a spontaneous combustion. “Never mind, it was just a thought.”

She gripped the shopping cart so hard her knuckles hurt. Whatever had possessed her to ask him out in the first place? It wasn’t as if she’d planned it. Now she had embarrassed them both. She gave the cart a sharp turn and veered to the left. Today’s shopping excursion was over. She didn’t need any more groceries. The only thing she needed was to get away from him, and fast.

But the shopping cart wouldn’t move. Something held it back. Rose glanced down and saw Mike’s hand gripping the handle, preventing it from veering even one inch.

“Wait a minute, okay?”

She took a deep breath and loosened her hold.

“I can’t have dinner with you tonight. I’m covering for the chief down at the fire station. But I’ll be off tomorrow. I could make it then.”

Rose’s eyes narrowed. More teasing? Did she dare trust that smile?

“Tomorrow night… would be fine.”

“Good.” He leaned back on his heels with a look of studied amusement. “So, where do you plan on taking me for dinner?”

“I… I hadn’t really given it much thought.” His question raised a valid point. Where
should
she take him? Not anywhere too expensive. This was only a thank-you dinner of sorts. She didn’t want to give him the wrong impression. It wasn’t as if they were going on a date.

“If you’re planning to cook, let me know. I’ll make sure the guys have a fire truck standing by.” He broke out in a sudden abashed grin. “Sorry. Just forget I said that, okay? I’ll try and watch myself from now on.”

Rose felt her stomach do a little flip-flop. He actually was very cute.

“I’m sure you’re a good cook,” he added in a quick aside.

“To tell you the truth, I’m not.” She returned his smile. “But then, you already know that, don’t you?”

His eyes riveted on her own. “I suppose I do.”

She hadn’t forgotten how to flirt after all! Suddenly Rose felt all lit up inside, tingling with excitement. They were flirting with each other and it was tremendous fun.

“So, I’ll see you tomorrow night, then?”

“I’ll make sure I’m hungry.” He released his grip on her cart. “How about I give you a call when I finish my shift?”

“I’ll wait to hear from you.” Rose wiggled her fingers in farewell as he steered his cart toward the checkout.

“Oh, wait!”

He turned with a patient smile. “Forget something?”

“You don’t have my phone number. Let me write it down.” She dug deep in her purse, scrounging for a pen.

“Don’t bother. I’ve already got it.”

“You do?” She glanced up with a frown.

“You called 911, remember? It’s all in the fire report. Telephone, home address, plus your name.”

Michael John Gallagher’s eyes sparkled bright.

“I’ll see you tomorrow night… Miss Cecilia Rose Gallagher.”

CHAPTER FOUR

FIRE LABELED DEFINITE ARSON

____________________________________

By: Charles Kendall

The James Bay Journal

____________________________________

JAMES BAY—Fire officials have determined last night’s fire that destroyed a large wooden shed on Martin Road was a definite act of arson. The fire was reported by Jim Bell, a local aviator who spotted the fire from his plane. James Bay firefighters were able to contain the blaze and keep it from spreading to the woods bordering Martin Road. “People need to be aware that this drought has intensified the fire danger,” said James Bay Assistant Fire Chief Michael Gallagher. “If that fire had made it into the woods and crowned in the pine trees, we could have had a real disaster.”