Spring River Valley: The Spring Collection (Boxed Set) (9 page)

“It’s stupid.”

“Tell me. It can’t be dumber that sticking a dime up your nose.”

“Gary put me on probation.”

Tanner sat forward, wondering if he could hide his emotions from his partner. Their commanding officer, Gary Sands, had mentioned on a couple of occasions that he was concerned about Quinn’s penchant for getting injured on the job. Tanner had felt guilty about trying to downplay Gary’s fears in an effort to spare Quinn this type of action. Now he wondered if he’d done the wrong thing by trying to convince Gary he was worrying needlessly. “When did this happen?”

“Late last night, after you left. He stopped by to see how I was
, and he told me he was afraid I’m getting too reckless.”

“You
are
reckless, but what happened last night wasn’t your fault.”

“
I don’t think Gary believes that.”

“So how long are you on probation?”

Quinn sighed. “Six months. Not including my six weeks of recovery time.”

“Six months?”

“With no injuries on the job or I’m out of the corps.”

Tanner let out a long, slow breath. He’d expected Gary to caution Quinn but never to threaten his job. “Man, I’m sorry.”

“He’s starting to think I’ve got some kind death wish.”

“That’s ridiculous. And I don’t think he really believes that, even if he said it. He’s just worried about you.”

“Well, nobody needs to worry about me. I’m fine.”

“I know but—”

A knock on the door of Quinn’s room interrupted Tanner, and a second later, Gary walked in. The older man glanced at Quinn who only scowled in response. “Quinn, you’re looking a little better than last night. Tanner, I’m glad I caught you here.”

Tanner eyed the two men. He considered bringing up Quinn’s probation, but Gary didn’t look like he was the mood to defend his executive decisions. His features looked drawn and his jaw was tight. Clearly there was more on his mind than a reckless EMT. “What is it?”

Gary took a seat across from the bed. “I know you heard all this last night, but I wanted to make sure Quinn was aware that we’ve been asked to say nothing about the Stanton fire. There’s a police investigation going on to determine who rigged the gas leak and why. Not that I expect you to go running your mouths. I trust you, but there’s a lot of rumors around and a lot of reporters.”

Quinn’s bleary gazed bounced to Tanner. “Fill me in, guys. All I remember about last night was the room spinning and people shining lights in my eyes.”

Gary gave Quinn the sketchy details about the senator and the woman who was now reported to be his mistress. “You’ll both have to speak to the detective assigned to the case, but other than that, our department has no official statement on what happened. You know nothing and you answer no questions. Got it?”

Quinn shrugged. “Easy for me. The last thing I remember was going into the house, smelling gas. Then someone shouting my name in my ear until I woke up.”

“That was probably me,” Tanner said. “Gary, I don’t remember much myself, but I’ll tell the police whatever I can.”

Gary nodded and rose. “Thanks. Someone will be contacting you.
Quinn, get some rest and stay out of trouble. Tanner, can you pick up a couple of extra shifts?”

“Sure, whatever you need.”

With another pointed glance at Quinn, Gary rose and left the room.

Tanner sighed. “He’s just worried, like we all were yesterday. You’re not going to lose your job.”

Quinn gestured with his cast. “Six weeks sitting around at home, I’m more worried about losing my mind.”

Tanner grinned. “Stop worrying, you lost that a long time ago.”

Evie’s miserable morning stretched into a miserable day, which included a telephone mix-up with Mrs. Moriarty and missing the painting class she’d volunteered to cover for the adult education article due before the end of the month.

She spent her lunch hour studying the national newspapers’ accounts of the Stanton fire and the “senator’s suicide scandal,” as the tabloids were calling it. Most of the details seemed pretty sketchy to her when it came to so-called “facts” about the woman involved, Annette Drummond, and her up until now completely secret love affair with a married man. In fact, the only paper that seemed to be reporting real news, as opposed to wild speculation, was the
Herald
. Maybe real news didn’t sell as many papers as rumors and innuendo, but at least none of it would require a retraction or an apology later on when it proved to be false.

She kept thinking about what Tanner had told her at the hospital about the woman regaining consciousness and begging Quinn to rescue her lover. That didn’t seem like the action of someone bent on completing a suicide pact. The national papers contained a lot of speculation about what charges might be filed against Ms. Drummond, and she wondered if even the senator knew her first concern when help arrived had been to save his life.

With Janet’s complaints ringing in her ears, Evie began an article about the incident.

She didn’t use Tanner’s name, but instead wrote:
Sources at the scene of the fire reported a semi-conscious Drummond directing rescue workers to the upstairs bedroom where Senator Diele was later found unconscious from the fumes that permeated the modest two-story home.

After finishing the article, she toyed with some headlines.

Suicide or set-up?
No, that hinted at something she really had no facts about.

Senator’s mistress ditches pact moments before explosion.

Evie deleted that one immediately. Janet usually wrote the headlines for the front-page pieces, so assuming she approved the story, she would be—

“What the hell am I doing?” Evie dropped her head into her hands. The article she’d written was certainly a grabber, and it would put a new spin on the national story, but how was it any less speculation than the
tabloid-style stories?

She hadn’t interviewed Annette Drummond; no one had. Rumor was a family friend had whisked her out of the hospital only a few hours after her admission, and now her lawyer was refusing to allow her anywhere near the press. So, while she may have asked Quinn to save Senator Diele
’s life, no one knew for sure if it was because the gas leak was an accident or if she’d simply had a last-minute change of heart.

Evie studied her words, vacillating between deleting the article altogether or saving it to remind herself that she could write something just as sensational as
the national papers.

At
four thirty her cell phone rang, interrupting her troubled thoughts, and she cracked her first smile of the day when she saw the words
The Evil Twin
pop up on her caller ID. “Hey, where’ve you been all day?”

“At a seminar,” Tanner said. “And helping Quinn get settled back at his place.”

“It’s good that he’s home. He’ll be okay?”

“Physically
, yes. Keeping him from going insane from boredom is going to be a chore, though.”

“He’s not the type to enjoy any rest and relaxation?”

“Not for a minute. But speaking of R&R, I was hoping you could come over tonight. We can get some dinner and hang out.”

Nothing had ever sounded so good. A quiet evening alone with the man who made her heart race was just what she needed to forget her bad day. “What time do you want me?”

He laughed. “I want you all the time, but whenever you can get here is fine. I can order some Thai—I’m a passable cook, but I’m still at that stage where I desperately want to impress you, so no firehouse food yet.”

“I’m not picky. PB&J works for me too.”

“I’m out of PB, believe it or not. And J also.”

“I get that you don’t spend a lot of time at your apartment.”

“I’d like to change that.”

“We’ll start in half an hour. I’ll come over as soon as I’m done at the office.”

“See you soon.” Tanner hung up, and Evie hid her grin. Why did the thought of spending the evening in Tanner’s small apartment sound so appealing? She just wanted to hide away from everything and be with him. Maybe now was the time to start worrying about how serious her feelings were for someone she’d only just met. She’d promised herself she could keep this relationship light, and that was for her own good, but just the sound of his voice had her skin tingling and memories of their night together replaying in her mind.

She considered calling Bailey for some moral support, but her friend was less about reason these days and more about romance, not that she wanted anyone to talk her out of spending another blissful night with Tanner.

Jittery with anticipation, she quickly tapped the keys on her computer that would send her useless article to the trash bin and powered down, happy to put Janet and a front-page headline out of her mind for the evening.

* * * *

When his doorbell rang, Tanner practically flew across the room to answer it. He hadn’t been able to get Evie out of his mind all day, and ever since he’d called to invite her over, he’d felt like a bit of a slouch. He should have taken her out somewhere nice and shown her the type of evening she deserved, but all he wanted was to get her alone. He promised himself that on Friday when he’d set up the double date with Taylor and Evie’s friend Bailey, that he’d be ready to share her, but tonight he wanted her all to himself.

His huge grin faded when he opened the door to find a uniformed police officer standing there. Momentary panic had his heart thudding. Had something happened to Evie? But who would know she was on her way to his place?

“Tanner Croft?” the officer said, his no-nonsense tone designed to put the fear of God into anyone.

“Yes.” His next thought was Taylor. Since their family lived much farther upstate, he was also his brother’s emergency contact. “Is something wrong?”

“I’m sorry to bother you. I’m Detective Carl Hart, Stanton PD. If you have a few minutes, I’d like to ask you a couple of questions about the house fire on Adirondack Drive on Monday night.”

Tanner sighed, his shoulders slumping. “Sure, come on in. You had me worried for a minute there.”

“I actually called you about half an hour ago and left a voice mail. I was headed this way, and I thought I would just stop by. If you’re busy, we can reschedule, but it won’t take very long.”

“No, no problem. I was on the phone about half an hour ago, or I’d have gotten the call.” Tanner backed up to allow Detective Hart inside.

“I spoke to Gary Sands earlier, and I’ll be giving your partner Quinn Preston a call as well. I understand he was injured during the call.”

“Yes, but he’s fine. He’s recovering at home.”

“That’s good to hear. I appreciate your department assisting Stanton. We have a small staff to begin with, and when more than a few people are out, we’re in pretty dire straits.”

The bell rang again before Tanner could respond
, and he excused himself from Hart and swung the door open. Evie stood at the top of the stairs outside his door, looking sweet and sexy and perfect.

H
er brow scrunched up with concern when she saw Hart standing behind Tanner. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, come on in. Detective, this is my…ah…friend, Evie Prentice. We were about to have dinner. Do you mind if she stays?”

“Not at all. I’ve got a couple of questions, and I’ll be out of your way.”

“What do you need to know, Detective?” Tanner motioned for Evie to sit on the couch. She obeyed, her eyes on Hart.

The officer went over the events of Monday night in detail, asking Tanner to confirm certain things he’d already put in his own report, such as the time he and Quinn had received the call, the condition of Ms. Drummond when they arrived and, very specifically, if she’d said anything about there being another person in the house. Tanner answered all Hart’s questions to the best of his ability, and explained that everything that had happened after the collapse of the wooden porch was a bit fuzzy in his memory.

Apparently s
atisfied with Tanner’s account of the incident, Hart thanked him, bade them good night, and left.

“Gary said we could expect a visit from the Stanton police and probably some lawyers too,” he said once Hart’s squad car had pulled away
from the curb.

“It’s a major media event,” Evie said. “Have you read any of the papers?”

“Only the
Herald
. Quinn told me the national papers are treating it like the scandal of the century.”

“The only time it would have been bigger news would have been before the election.” Evie rose and joined Tanner at the window overlooking the street. “It’s certainly the biggest thing that’s happened around here in a while.”

Tanner put his arms around her and drew her back against his chest where she fit perfectly. “I hope it blows over fast. It might sell papers, but I don’t think treating this like headline news is serving any good cause.”