America's Bravest (6 page)

The question needed no answer verbalized.
That group would shun the blog, maybe even work against it.

“And this way,” Rachel put in, rubbing her
hand over the padded armchair made of nubby fabric, “It’s more
controllable.”

“I guess that makes sense. None of this will
be done on work time, right?” Gabe clarified.

“That’s what we said, Captain,” Rachel said
coolly. You’d never know how pissed they’d been at each other.

“What do you think, Cal?” Felicia asked Chief
Erikson.

“I think it’s worth a shot. God knows we’re
not getting good coverage in the
Herald’s
news section or
from Allen’s blog.” He nodded to Gabe. “They barely interviewed you
and Wellington about what it was like being trapped in the basement
of a burning building, thinking you’d die.”

“Not much to tell, really.” Rachel jumped in
to answer. “It was dark and scary. Your officer was brave and
stalwart.”

Gabe gave a half smile. For some reason, it
made her sad.

“All right. Go for it. I need to see that
first post, though.” Erikson’s brow furrowed when Felicia frowned.
“Is that all right?”

“Well, if you don’t trust me to oversee
this.” Felicia’s tone was glacial. Rachel was glad it wasn’t
directed at her.

“You know I do. Okay, you’re on your own. It
is okay if I check the blog when it’s posted?” His tone was
teasing.

“Of course, Chief.”

“Do you have a name for the website?”

Felicia tossed a sideways glance at Rachel
and Sydney. “Girls Gone Wild?”

“What the hell?” The question came out of
Gabe’s mouth before he realized the women were playing
gotcha
. They shared a laugh at his expense, which felt
good, then told him they’d chosen to label it Fire Belles.

“I objected to the frilly sound of the term
but got out voted.”

“It’s cool,” Sydney said, “and a great play
on words.”

The meeting wound down and the three women
left together.

“A word, Wellington?” Gabe called out as he
left the office, and Rachel walked a few feet ahead of him.

She sighed. Just being close to him bothered
her big-time. Sometimes, he’d sidle past her in the kitchen and
she’d catch his scent. And she’d remember smelling it on all of
him. Watching him after he’d showered, she wanted to tousle his
damp hair. And she had to resist the urge to run her fingers over
his pecs, even his bare arms, when he was within touching
distance.

“Yes, sir?” she said when they were alone, a
few paces down from Erikson’s office.

His dark gaze was intense, and the expression
in them made her recall another kind of heat she’d seen there that
afternoon in the cellar. “Does your compliment in there mean you’re
not still mad at me?”

She glanced over his shoulder and watched the
trees through the open side door. “Yeah. I lost my temper that day
in the workout room. I’m sorry. I plan to be better.”

“Good.” Relief shone on his rugged features.
“Then it’ll make working together easier. And for the record, you
were pretty brave down there, too.”

At least they’d formed a truce of sorts. It
should make life easier all around. She just wished she didn’t feel
so bad about their decision to do the right thing.

In the yard outside her condo, Rachel sipped
from a cup of beer and watched several little kids gather around
the two picnic tables she’d set up for them. The lake shimmered in
the background on this late July afternoon, and the warm air
soothed her frayed nerves.

Tony joined her, looping an arm around her
neck. His cheek was scratchy, but she liked his openness. He was
easy at affection and had great relationships with everybody. His
wife was one lucky woman. “Hey, lady. Thanks so much for letting us
have Miguel’s party out here. The kids love the lake.”

“I know. They had fun last summer when our
group came out for a picnic.”

He scanned the crowd, his dark eyes full of
joy. “I’m glad you invited the squad and their families.”

“We always seem to flock together, don’t
we?”

The joy in Tony’s eyes dimmed. “Sophia says,
too much.”

She drew him around. “Really? I had no idea
she objected to socializing with us.”

“
De nada
. She loves you guys. I
think all firefighter spouses feel left out where their group is
concerned. It shows more when the crew is together.”

“Well, I wouldn’t know much about married
life.”

Laughing, he poked her in the ribs. “You
gotta get yourself a man, Wellington. How old are you anyway?”

“Twenty-eight. So I got plenty of time for
babies if I want them.”

“Um, excuse me.”

She didn’t even have to look at the owner of
that deep, male baritone. Their captain had arrived. When she
turned, the expression on his face was intense, and his stare
wended its way inside her. Today he wore khaki shorts and a
red-striped golf shirt. The color highlighted his dark hair and
made his eyes look liquid.

“
Buenos Días
, Capitano.”

“Hey,
bombero
.” He gave Rachel a
nervous smile. “Hi, Wellington.”

“Captain.” Rachel peeked around Gabe. “Hello,
Lily, Joey.”

Gabe’s kids were adorable. At eight and nine,
they were dark haired and dark eyed, like their dad. She saw them
every so often when he had them after work or at a party like this.
They’d become good friends with Tony’s son and daughter.

“Thank you for letting us come here again,”
Lily said shyly.

“Me, too.” Joey asked his father, “Can I go
see Miguel, Dad?”

“Sure.”

Lily grabbed on to Gabe’s legs. He hunkered
down to meet her at eye level. His gentle way with his daughter
made Rachel’s throat clog. “Don’t you want to go with Joey,
sweetheart?”

The little girl shook her head.

Standing, Gabe gave his daughter’s shoulder a
gentle squeeze. “She’s shy.”

Tony held out his hand. “Hey, baby girl.
Mari’s been waiting for you to get here. The other kids are mostly
Miguel’s friends, but she invited you especially. Want to go see
her?”

“’kay.”

Tony looked to Gabe. “I’ll take her
over.”

Gabe handed Tony the two presents he’d set on
a picnic table off to the right. “Take these to the birthday
boy.”

Rachel shifted uncomfortably when they were
alone. Not only was the nearness of his body discomfiting, but his
scent—something dark and sexy—caught in the breeze and teased her
senses.

“Thanks for doing this for Tony. He and
Sophia need it right now.”

She cocked her head. “Something wrong?”

“Um, no, I don’t know why I said that.”

“If it’s private, Captain, say so.”

“Yeah, it’s private. And I only have a few
suspicions.” He nodded to the keg off to the right. “Need any money
for that?” For anything?”

“The O’Malley boys brought the beer.” She
nodded to the sandy beach behind her house. “They’re like kids
themselves.” Right now, the brothers were punching a volleyball to
each other over a net they’d also brought and set up. Both were
dressed in dark bathing trunks and no shirts and looked young,
healthy and happy.

“Don’t stare too long at them,” Gabe said
with an edge in his voice. “You work with them.”

“Not with Ryan.” She glanced at Gabe. His
brows furrowed. “Besides, I can judge for myself what to do and not
do.”

“You couldn’t three weeks ago.”

“Touché.” She sighed. “Let’s not fight. Or
talk about that.”

“In a minute.” His gaze darkened and he drew
her farther away from the crowd, pitched his tone purposely low. “I
heard you talking about babies.”

“Yeah, to Tony.”

“Hypothetically?”

“What do you…?” She could feel her face
flush. “Oh, yeah. I see. No, Gabe, don’t worry. I got my period
last week. No unwanted results of our basement thing.” She smiled,
but it was perfunctory. “I have to go check on the kids’ drinks.
Have fun today.”

“You, too.”

Son of a fucking bitch
, Rachel
thought as she left Gabe. It was a good thing that they didn’t talk
much. Every time she saw him at the firehouse, she wanted to jump
his bones. She expected her reaction to weaken by now, but it
hadn’t. What on earth would she do if she couldn’t get over the
feelings she had for him?

oOo

Gabe walked into Rachel’s house to change
into his swimming trunks. His mind was imprinted with how she
looked in her bathing suit, a sleek, black one she wore with a
pink-flowered skirt that tied around her waist and hit her knees.
The top showed off her beautiful breasts. Her skin had been kissed
by the sun, and a few freckles peeked out on her shoulders and
chest. His hands itched to touch her, and it about killed him not
to.

He made his way through the porch and sliding
doors to a state-of-the-art kitchen with gleaming appliances and a
parquet floor. He’d been to her home before, so he made his way
down a hall to the bathroom. He tried the knob.

“It’s me, Sophia, in here. Rachel said we
could use the bath off her bedroom, too.”

Oh, swell. Seeing her private space was just
what he needed. Still, curiosity got the best of him and he went
farther down the hall, where he found the door open. He stepped
inside, and immediately, her scent assaulted him. Along with it,
came the memories.…

His face was buried in her breasts.
Mmm,
you smell so good.

Bath gel my sister sent me from
Paris.

It makes me hard just smelling
it.

She’d cupped his neck in a gesture so tender
it caused his heart to beat faster and not because he was turned
on.…

Shaking himself free from the images, he
scanned the room. It was
her:
well-appointed but no
frills, no nonsense. A huge bed took center stage, covered with a
deep-rose-and-green—what was it called?—a duvet. He walked over to
it and ran his hand across the soft down. More gorgeous wood on the
floor and ceiling. A ribbon of windows faced the lake with a pretty
view. Walls were painted a deep green with white trim.

Disgusted with himself for devouring her
surroundings, he found the bathroom, a huge thing, with—oh, great—a
Jacuzzi tub. He swallowed hard at the vision of her and him in deep
sudsy water. On the heels of that came an unwanted thought. What
man—or men for God’s sake—had she bathed with? Worse,
would
she bathe with?

He focused on what he was doing as he slipped
into a black-and-white swimsuit and black T-shirt. He left the room
hurriedly, but the scents of Rachel followed him.

For a long time, he played with his kids in
the sand, squishing it between his toes with Lilliana and Mari,
then he took them into the shallow water while he kept a weather
eye on Joey, who swam out further with Tony and Sophia.

“You’re different with your kids,” he heard
from behind him.

Turning around, he found Sydney dipping her
feet in the lake. He glanced down. Syd had her two-year-old girl by
the hand. “Hey, Syd.”

“Captain.”

“Lily, look here’s Daisy.”

Lily and Mari both rushed to the baby. “Hi,
Daisy.” They nudged Syd back, and each took one of Daisy’s hands.
“Can we play with her in the sand, Daddy?” Mari asked.

Checking Syd’s reaction, he said, “Sure.”

“I’ll watch them, Gabe. I’ve been playing
volleyball while Rachel took care of my little one. Why don’t you
go join the team and have a little fun?”

He glanced out at the lake. “Joey’s still
in.”

“Tony’s out there with them. Go ahead, let
down some.”

That sounded good to Gabe right now, and so
did exercise, until he walked to the makeshift court. Ryan
O’Malley, along with a friend of his from high school and Rachel
played on one team. The other consisted of Felicia, a woman and man
he didn’t know and Brody.

“Hey, Cap,” Ryan yelled out, using the
familiar term because he was at the firehouse so much. “Come on, we
need a fourth.”

Wondering who was sending him this
punishment, Gabe ended up next to Rachel again. He didn’t know how
much he could take of being near her in a social setting and keep
his emotional distance. It had been a mistake to come to the
party.

oOo

The sun beat down on them as Rachel stood in
the server’s box, tossed up the ball and punched it over the net.
Felicia managed to slide in the sand and a pop it back. Brody sent
the thing hurtling over the net.

Not to be outdone, his brother dived for the
ball and lobbed it up; Gabe spiked it over so nobody had a chance
for a save. Damn, he was good at everything.

This feels wonderful, Gabe.
She’d
smiled.
You’re so good at this.

Even though she was trying hard, she couldn’t
stop the memories that came out of the blue, sensual ambushes,
which struck without warning.

“Hey, Rachel baby, where are you?” Ryan
asked. “You missed an easy shot.”

“Oh, sorry. It won’t happen again.”

Like her and Gabe.
It won’t happen
again.

Forcing herself to concentrate, she made two
saves and a spike on the next plays. After the latter, Ryan raced
over, picked her up and twirled her around. “Hey, there, girl,
you’re hot today.”

She hugged back. Over Ryan’s shoulder, she
caught Gabe’s stare. Intense and…jealous.

This wasn’t what she wanted at all.

oOo

Gabe saw her go into the house from where he
sat at a picnic table eating a hot dog with Cal, who showed up
late. “The blog’s going pretty well, don’t you think?” the chief
asked.

“Like gangbusters.” Gabe’s smile was genuine.
“Do you know they got a million hits last week? I have to admit,
some of their stories are funny.”

“And moving.” Brody was nearby. “Licia’s
account of the women involved in the 9/11 search-and-rescue
operation made me bawl.”