America's Bravest (45 page)

“They’re great. They live in the same area of
Hidden Cove as we do and pitch in whenever I need to travel. They’d
like even more time with Amber than they have.”

“That’s sweet.”

This time, he sighed. “They were destroyed
when Annette died.”

“You too, huh?”

“Yep. Oh, we had our problems like any
couple. But we were really close. I never thought I’d get over her
death.”

Thinking of Ken, she said, “It’s hard to lose
love.”

For a moment, he looked at her questioningly.
To cut off any personal inquiry, she spoke again. “Tell me about
The Heart of Hidden Cove
. I’ve seen the magazine around
the firehouse. It’s really good.”

He described his baby, the project that had
been his salvation after Annette died. All of the articles were
upbeat. And, some thought, superficial. But his subscriptions both
in print and online were huge.

“I started it when Annette got sick. She
loved Hidden Cove. Her family goes back to the founding fathers. So
that was my gift to her before she died. It’s become very popular
in the last three years.”

“That is so cool. What did you do before the
magazine?”

“I was an engineer for computer software. I,
um” —here he blushed— “I invented a chip for airplane computers and
it made me a lot of money—still does. I worked long hours in those
days.” His expression was faraway. “Because it was so successful, I
was able to quit when Annette got sick. After she died, I stuck
with the magazine so I could be around to raise Amber myself. We
aren’t rich, but we get by.” He smiled over her. “And that’s
probably more information than you wanted.”

“Not at all. I liked the story. I’m afraid
I’m a klutz on computers. When I write something, I erase it
without realizing what I did. Sometimes, things disappear and I
don’t know how to get them back.”

“How about I give you some basics?” He
glanced at his watch. “I could do it now.”

“That’d be great.”

As they stood, Amber came to the door,
holding Daisy. “Can we go out back, Sydney?”

“I like the sandbox,” Daisy said.

“Fine by me. I’ll get her a sweater.”

Amber looked to Max for approval, too.

“It’s okay, honey. I’m going to give Sydney
some lessons on the computer.”

His daughter rolled her eyes. “Good luck.
Once he gets into his geek stuff, you’re committed for hours.”

Sydney smiled over at him. God, he looked
good. Right now, hours with him didn’t sound too bad to her.

oOo

Like they did three mornings a week, Max met
Cal at the diner in town at six in the morning to run. They took to
the streets in companionable silence and jogged over to a park in
the center of Hidden Cove. The end of April had turned warm, but
there was a slight chill in the air, so both wore a light
sweatshirts over their shorts and T-shirts.

“You sure you’re up to this?” Cal asked.

“Uh-huh. It’s been three weeks since the
fire. I’m perfectly recovered.”

“Not a long time, after sucking black smoke
into your lungs. We’ll never know how much time elapsed after the
fire and while you were in there before Sydney got to you.”

Max noted Cal’s phrasing about the fire
department. He always spoke in terms of
we
and
us
, and at times, Max was jealous of that camaraderie. At
least he had Cal.

“We’ll go slow.” They took an easy pace,
which made talking manageable. Sometimes they raced each other,
sometimes they sprinted. He couldn’t remember how many years they’d
been running together.

“So, did Amber get to babysit for Sydney?”
Cal asked.

“Yeah.” He thought of dark brown hair and the
glow on her face when she talked about her kid. “That toddler’s a
doll.”

“So is Sydney. She’s one of the most
competent young firefighters we have. When an opening came up on
the Rescue Squad last year, she was the first one to come to mind
when we wanted to include a rookie.”

“A rookie? At her age?”

Cal shot him a puzzled look. “She’s
twenty-four.”

Shit. He’d guessed late twenties. He did some
calculations in his head. “Huh. So she got pregnant when she was
twenty?”

“Yes. She’d been a firefighter for two years.
She took a desk job, had Daisy and came right back to the line. She
got on the Rescue Squad a year ago. She’s the youngest there, hence
the rookie status.”

He was dying to know about Daisy’s father.
“Is, um, Daisy’s father in the picture?”

“Not that I know of. I try to stay out of the
personal lives of my squads. Her application does say she isn’t
married.”

“I’m surprised. She doesn’t seem the
type.”

Cal snorted. “Well, you and I know there’s no
typecasting women.”

The same sinking feeling Max always got about
this subject hit him in the stomach with more force than usual. For
a while, they ran in silence. “I’m looking forward to tonight,” he
finally said.

“So is Group 3. It’s nice of you to throw a
party for them.”

“They saved my life. By the way, there was no
arson involved in the fire at my business, was there?”

“No reason to suspect it. Best we can tell,
sparks in the basement caught the boxes you had stored there. The
fire started right below your office. You’ll be getting an official
report, along with the building owner and the insurance company.
Meanwhile, while you renovate, have the electrical utility check
everything.”

“I’m not renovating. I’m scouting for a new
place. But it looks like we’ll be all working from home for a
while.”

“Do the others mind?”

“No. It’s a change for all of us. Can’t say I
enjoy being by myself all day long while Amber’s in school.”

They ran a block before Cal spoke again.
“Annette’s been dead three years. You haven’t even dated. Maybe
it’s time to think about seeing someone again.”

A vision of light brown eyes with full, wavy
hair came to his mind. Nah, he thought as he picked up speed. She
was fourteen years younger than him. That was a gap too wide to
bridge.

Wasn’t it?

Sydney’s group arrived almost together for
the party Max was throwing tonight for them. As she watched Gabe
and Rachel enter holding hands, Brody and Emma, arms around each
other’s waists, Felicia and Ryan bumping shoulders, and Tony and
Sophia, attached at the hip, a pang of loneliness shot through
Sydney. Would she ever find the kind of love each of those couples
had?

“Do you need a drink?” Max came up behind
her. He’d brought Amber over to babysit, as he’d promised, and
picked up Sydney to drive her back to his house. Then he’d reverse
the process at the end of the night. She liked being
chauffeured.

She held up a bottle of Molson’s. “No, I got
a beer.”

He tracked her gaze into the family room,
where conversation buzzed and laughter rung out. “I have to say,
your group are some of the happiest people I’ve ever seen.”

“You know, they are. And they’re lucky to
have found each other.”

“I know the feeling.” Sadness drifted into
his eyes again.

“I’m sorry. You must miss your wife at times
like these.”

“I do.” He faced her. “How about you?” Every
time he watched her with those startling green eyes, something
shifted inside her.

“I’d like to have somebody to share my life
with.”

“You’re still plenty young.”

“Not a lot of men are interested in
three-year-olds.”
Even their own.

Leaning against the table in front of the big
window in the living room, where they were talking, he focused on
her. “Any guy who wouldn’t appreciate Daisy isn’t worth his salt.
She’s such a treasure.” He winked at her. “And you.”

Startled at the flirting, her heart kicked in
her chest. “Think you’ll find someone else, Max?”

“I don’t know. I have my work and Amber.
Maybe that’s enough.”

“At thirty—what are you anyway?”

“Thirty-eight.”

“Wow, an old man!”
Not.
Especially
tonight. Dressed up a bit, he wore knife-pressed slacks and a
long-sleeved, green shirt that made his eyes the color of the
grass. She’d gone the extra mile, too, and put on a fitted,
royal-blue dress. She’d noticed the others from her crew looked
especially nice, too.

“I
am
old. And you’re a young
thing.”

“I’m older than my years.”

Cal Erikson, without a date, crossed in front
of the window and Max straightened. “Excuse me.” He headed to the
door, but Cal opened it without ringing. Suddenly, Sydney felt
another kind of loneliness. She didn’t have a girlfriend who would
walk inside her house without knocking. She wondered what Max and
the chief talked about. Sydney had always found her boss a bit
intimidating.

After Cal got a drink and some food, Max
asked everyone to head into the family room and take seats. Dark
wood tables and comfortable furniture graced this area, but it
felt…heavy in here. Maybe because of the thick drapes on the
windows.

Max raised his glass and smiled. “I’d like to
propose a toast to the men and women of Rescue Squad 7. Thanks for
saving my life.” He turned to Sydney and bored her with an intense
gaze; she had to force herself not to squirm. “And especially to
Firefighter Sands who broke the rules and kept me alive.”

Joking and toasts all around.

“And I plan to pay it forward. America’s
Bravest has taken it on the chin the last few months from the
Hidden Cove Herald
and I’m going to counteract their
articles and blogs. The November issue of
The Heart of Hidden
Cove
is going to feature the fire department.”

Ryan O’Malley said. “That is super cool.”

Others agreed.

“I’ve drafted some preliminary things I’d
like to cover.” Bending down, he picked up sheets of paper and
passed them around. Sydney took one and began to read along with
him.

“First, I plan to do an article on my rescue.
I need to talk to all of you about what I don’t remember. Know that
I’ll include my heartfelt thanks and praise. Second, I want to
interview Noah Callahan and some battalion chiefs about the good
things happening in the department, including programs and other
information from your blog. I’m particularly interested in the
Affirmative Action you’ve got going on.”

“Oh, brother,” Brody O’Malley teased. “Why
does everybody like these chicks so much?”

“Because we’re so adorable,” Felicia
returned.

Max grinned, and Sydney’s stomach clenched.
“I’m also going to feature cameo bios on all of you, along with
photos. Since the issue won’t come out until November, I won’t
include anything about the arsonist, since I’m sure he’ll be caught
by then.”

Max explained a few more aspects of his plan
for the magazine, then smiled. “Last, I’d like to put Sydney on the
cover.”

“Oh, no,” she said immediately. “Not just me.
Our whole group, maybe, but not just me.” And she meant it. She
hated being the center of attention. Though the guys agreed with
Max, she would fight against that.

“All right, we’ll put the cover on hold for a
while.”

The crew cheered when he finished and clapped
him on the back when they milled around, got more food or drink.
Sydney waited until he was alone, then approached him. “You sure do
know how to impress a girl.”

His eyes twinkled. “In more ways than one,
I’ll have you know.” The suggestive remark was cute coming from
him, not sleazy.

“I love it all, except the cover part.”

“Even if we put you and Daisy on it?”

“No, really, I want the whole group.”

His cell phone rang and he fished it out of
his pocket. “It’s Amber…. Hello, Princess. Everything okay?” He
smiled at Sydney. “It is. Want to talk to her?”

“Yes.” She spoke briefly to Amber, who was
checking in, then she mingled with the others and ended up in the
kitchen. The scents of dough, marinated meat and beer comforted
her. Glasses and dishes had piled up, so she filled the sink with
soapy water began to wash them. This was a beautiful Colonial but
not her taste, which ran to modern. Sydney didn’t care much about
material things, except putting a good roof over her daughter’s and
mother’s heads.

She easily found the spots to put the glass
and dishware away, because of the glass-front cabinets. To reach
the soffits, where platters were stored, she pulled a chair over to
the cupboards, kicked off her shoes and climbed up.

Reaching down, she lifted a stack of the
oblong dishes. In a pile, they were too heavy and she lost her
balance.

“Hey, be careful there!”

The sound startled her, and the platters
tumbled out of her hands, crashing to the tile. Sydney fell, too,
but strong male arms caught her; instead of hitting the floor, she
landed right on Max’s chest. For one brief second, she leaned into
him, her heart thundering. From the near fall or from Max Delinsky?
Then there was a flurry of noise, and several people came running
into the kitchen. Looking up at him, she saw an expression in Max’s
eyes.

Pure male interest.

oOo

Max took care of his sexual needs himself,
but what he felt when Sydney Sands plunged into his arms earlier in
the night was different. And wonderful! The zinging need for sex
had shot through him, and that intense physical response to a woman
hadn’t happened in three years. Really, four, given how sick
Annette had been. As they drove to Sydney’s place at midnight, he
was still semi-hard.

Best remember she’s only
twenty-four.

Though she looked
very
womanly in
that dress that clung in all the right places, especially now that
she was seated close with her legs crossed. Her
nice
legs.
Very nice legs. And he’d felt her curves, intimately, when she’d
tumbled from the chair.