Small Town Girl (28 page)

The next thing Lauren was aware of was that voice in her ear, calling her name.

“Lauren! Lauren!”

She could not answer. She could not react physically. She could only listen to the voices. Hands were on her now. Strong hands. Strong arms were lifting her. The voices were frantic in the background.

“Did you find her? Is she in there? Caleb, get out of there. The whole top floor is full of smoke!”

Caleb. Her mind fixed on his name.

“I’ve got her!” Lauren heard the familiar voice. That dear, familiar voice. “I found her. I’m coming out! Get that medical oxygen ready now! I gotta breathe through the mask.” Lauren heard him cough once. She was aware of being carried, and just before she lost consciousness again, she felt the exquisite sting of the cool night air.

When she opened her eyes, she was lying on a blanket on the lawn. People were moving around her, and there were flashing lights everywhere. Something was over her face. She struggled up, up through the blackness, and pulled at it. A gentle hand closed over hers. A man’s hand. Caleb’s hand.

He bent close and whispered to her, “Shh, don’t struggle. It’s the oxygen. You’re going to need fifteen liters before we even get you to the hospital. Breathe, Lauren, breathe for me.”

She could see him now. She tried to focus her eyes on his face. Caleb had removed his helmet. His face was close to hers. He was smiling, but there was fear in his eyes. He still wore his firefighter’s jacket. The Scott Pack, that life-saving supply of oxygen that enabled the men to search through smoke and fire-filled buildings, was still strapped to his back. He was kneeling beside her, his soul in his eyes.

She reached up and touched his cheek. Two tears ran down the sides of her face. Caleb bent and kissed her forehead.

“It was a chimney fire,” he said. “The creosote build-up in the chimney caught fire. Must be a crack in the flue because the smoke got into all the upstairs rooms. You were lucky one of your neighbors was coming home late because he saw the flames coming out the top of the chimney and called nine-one-one.” Caleb’s voice caught just then, and he brought his hand to his eyes. When he lifted his head, he said, “You had a close call, Lauren. I don’t know what I would have done if anything had happened to you. Lauren, I love you. Breathe for me. I have to go up on the roof now. The fire’s out. We’ve got to drop chains down the chimney and shake the rest of the creosote loose. We have to assess the damage. You go with these guys. They’ll take good care of you. I’ll see you as soon as I can.”

She could hear his voice, talking about the roof or something, but her mind was stuck on the words “Lauren, I love you.” It was all she could focus on. It was all she wanted to hear.

It must have been several hours later when a nurse pulled back the curtain that cordoned off her bed in the emergency room at the regional hospital. Lauren had been sleeping, and the nurse’s voice woke her.

“I’m sorry, Miss Smith. There’s someone here to see you.”

“It’s me, Lauren,” said Caleb, stepping past the nurse.

“Oh, Caleb!”

“I’ll leave you two alone,” said the nurse, closing the curtain.

“Don’t talk if it hurts,” said Caleb. He sat on the edge of the bed. Lauren could tell he had come directly from the firehouse. He was unshaven and his hazel eyes were tired, but he was the most wonderful sight Lauren could imagine.

“I’m all right,” she said, smiling at him. She pushed herself up on her pillows. “I was sleeping, I guess. What time is it?”

“It’s nine o’clock in the morning. How does your throat feel?” He spoke a little awkwardly, as if unsure of her reaction.

“I feel pretty good, actually,” she said. “I’m glad you came, Caleb. Thank you for saving my life.”

“Lauren, I — I…” He stumbled on his words and was silent for a moment.

Lauren looked into his eyes, searching his face. Then, unexpectedly, he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her on the mouth. It was that same, warm sensual kiss that had burned its way into Lauren’s memory, firing her desire. Her own lips softened and pressed into his. She felt the moist warmth of his mouth. The tip of his tongue touched her lips, and she parted them, letting him in to explore her. Too soon, though, she felt him draw back. She gazed up and saw his brow slightly furrowed. He enfolded her then, in his arms, cradling her against his chest, her face under his chin, against the soft cotton of his T-shirt. Lauren felt him sigh, a deep, shuddering sigh.

“I was so scared,” he whispered. “So terrified. When I went into the house and it was full of smoke…I could only think — ”

Lauren pulled gently back from his embrace and put a finger on his lips. “I’m fine,” she said softly. “You came in time. Here I am.”

He smiled. “We got everything under control at the house. The damage isn’t as bad as I thought it would be, considering the amount of smoke. No flames broke through, so it’ll only be some cleaning and repainting. Drapes will have to be cleaned. Get rid of the smoky smell. The downstairs is pretty much untouched. The fire started up high, or, at least, that’s where the crack was.”

“I can’t believe I forgot to have the chimneys cleaned. Joan told me to do that, too!”

“Did someone say my name? Is someone talking about me?” The curtain was whipped back, and there was Joan. “Oh, you poor girl! You could have died!” she exclaimed, sitting down in the chair next to the bed.

“That’s what everyone keeps telling me,” said Lauren, ruefully. She leaned against Caleb, loath to pull away from that warm, muscular safety.

Joan held up a canvas tote. “I brought you some clothing,” she said. “I went to the house and rifled through and found some jeans, underwear, and this shirt. You can’t be going home in your nightie!”

“Oh, thank you,” said Lauren, truly touched. “How thoughtful of you.”

“Do you have a ride home?” asked Joan.

“Yes, she has a ride home.” Caleb answered the question.

“I see,” said Joan, smiling. “Do you know when they’ll release you?”

“I can remember the nurse saying after I woke up from my nap,” said Lauren. “So I guess any time.”

Joan stood up. “You take care of yourself. Don’t worry about a thing. We’ll see to the damage in the house, and I’ll keep those buyers interested until everything is cleaned up. I didn’t get Realtor of the Year for nothing!” She bent forward and kissed the top of Lauren’s head. “See you both later.” Then she left them.

Lauren and Caleb walked out of the hospital hand-in-hand. They crossed the parking lot and climbed into the big white pickup truck. Lauren pulled the seat belt around her and settled back, closing her eyes for a second.

“Are you okay?” asked Caleb.

“Yes,” Lauren assured him. “Will you go into the house with me when we get there? I’m kind of freaked out to see it alone.”

“Of course,” said Caleb, turning onto the main road. “I don’t plan on being very far away from you ever again.”

Lauren said nothing. She did not want to break the magic.

They swung into the driveway of the old house. The lawn was trampled, as were some of the shrubs and lilacs that grew close to the house. Shingles littered the grass. Caleb followed Lauren as she went through the gate and into the house.

She was thankful that the kitchen and the rest of the downstairs, where the bulk of her work had been done, were largely spared. There was a slight acrid smell of smoke in the air, but a good airing out would take care of that, she reasoned. She went into the hallway and looked up. Smoke stains smeared the ceiling and sooty patches blackened the corners of the walls. She took a deep breath and started up the stairs. She went into the bedroom where she had slept. Where she had almost died. Where Caleb had found her. The smell of smoke was strong here, and the soot was thick on the ceiling. Lauren threw open each of the windows. A breeze wafted in, doing its best to clear the odor.

Caleb stood in the doorway. Finally, he said, “It won’t take as long as you think to clean this up. We can get ahead of it in no time.”

Lauren caught the “we,” but she was afraid to acknowledge it, afraid to have her dreams dashed yet again. “I can see I have a lot of work cut out for me. Well, I planned on repainting and papering this room anyway. I guess it’ll postpone the sale, though.”

Caleb coughed. “The first thing to do is to get those chimneys cleaned and relined. These days, they drop a metal liner down them and, with proper care, they’re safe for a long, long time. Let’s go back downstairs. I’ll give you the number of a guy I know who works on chimneys. I work with him a lot when we install heating systems. He’ll come right away. Come on, you’re looking a little depressed.”

She gave him a grateful smile. He seemed to know everything about her. She followed him downstairs into the kitchen. Caleb wrote the name and number on her notepad. Then he turned and took her hands in his.

“I’m going to check in at work, but the day’s almost over. We need to have a serious talk, Lauren. We really do. You gave me a real fright. I’ll check in at the shop, and then I’ll pick up some Chinese food and come back this evening. We’ll talk then. Okay?” He dropped her hands and backed toward the door.

She yearned for another kiss, but she stood where she was.

“I’d love that,” she said. He winked at her and went out the door. Lauren thought of something and ran, calling after him, “Don’t forget the beer!” She could hear him laughing as he drove out onto the road. She couldn’t shake her uneasy feeling, that feeling of seeing him go away from her. Would he ever return?

He did return, at dusk. The evening chill had fallen, and the first stars were twinkling between the pale blue and the purple velvet of the darkening sky. After a long shower and putting on some clean clothes and make-up, Lauren was still upstairs, stripping the smoky smelling sheets off the bed and collecting all the clothes that would likewise have to be professionally laundered. She went into the little bedroom, where there was very little evidence that there had even been a fire. She made up the bed with fresh sheets. She would sleep there until she could fully restore the rest of the upstairs.

“Lauren?” It was Caleb, calling to her from the kitchen. Her heart soared.

“Here I am,” she answered, skipping down the stairs.

He was at the table, taking white cardboard containers of Chinese food out of a large brown paper bag. “Grab some dishes,” he said. “I’ll open the beer.”

They sat at the enameled table, eating take-out with wooden chopsticks, sipping their beer out of the bottle, and each enjoying the other’s company.

“Why did you walk right by me, last night, at the pub?” asked Lauren.

“I didn’t see you when I walked in,” Caleb answered. “It was crowded, so I just made for the corner of the bar and ordered myself a sandwich. I was just getting some supper before I had to go to the firehouse. When I saw you with Josh LaPlante, I was so angry and jealous I had to get out of there.”

“You know Joan’s nephew?”

“He grew up here. He was a year behind me in high school. Then he went off to college and law school, but he still comes around.”

“You were jealous?”

“Well, yes. He’s single, a good looking guy. A lawyer with a big firm in Boston. I figured I was screwed. I just got out of there.”

“Hmm,” mused Lauren. “When I saw you, I just wanted to touch you. I just wanted to leave that table and be with you.”

They ate in silence for a minute, each thinking about the close call they had experienced. Finally Lauren poked at her shrimp and Chinese vegetables with her chopsticks and made her decision. She might as well bring it out in the open. This was it. There were no holds barred.