Читать книгу Firefighter's Christmas Baby - Annie Claydon, Annie Claydon - Страница 12

CHAPTER FOUR

HOWEVER HARD HE tried to put Callie into a box, she just seemed to spring straight out again. He’d thought her capable of steamrolling over him and his crew if he allowed her to, and then she’d shown herself to be sensitive enough to make a difference to the way Eve saw herself. Ben had tried to limit her to the role of observer, and she’d shown him that she wasn’t just that either.

Perhaps he had trust issues. It made no difference what Callie did, he couldn’t bring himself to trust the warmth that her mere presence sparked in his chest. Maybe he never would truly trust a woman that he was attracted to ever again.

When he knocked on Mrs Jacobs’s front door, he meant to stay on the doorstep, but she wouldn’t have any of it, ushering him inside and telling him that he couldn’t possibly compete with the mess that her two teenagers were capable of making. Callie was kneeling beside Mae, chatting to her, and looked up when he entered the sitting room.

‘Everything all right?’

‘Yes. The fire’s out and we’re making everything safe.’ He trusted his crew. He’d trusted Callie, back at the house, when she’d snapped suddenly into the role of paramedic. Maybe that was what he should remember, rather than the way her smile seemed to plunge his whole world into chaos.

‘The ambulance is on its way?’

‘Yes.’

Mae had turned her gaze up toward them, obviously following their conversation. By the simple expediency of cleaning her glasses and making sure that her hearing aids were seated correctly, Callie had wrought an amazing change in the elderly lady. Ben bent down, smiling at Mae.

‘How are you feeling now?’

‘Callie says I have to go to the hospital...’ Her voice was cracked and hoarse, but it was difficult to tell whether that was the effect of emotion or smoke inhalation. ‘On Christmas Eve...’

‘It’s best to be on the safe side. If it were me, I’d take her advice.’

He heard a sharp intake of breath behind him. Mae’s presence in the room had probably saved him from the humiliation of one of Callie’s put-downs.

Mae’s questioning gaze focussed somewhere to his left, and he turned. Callie’s smile was almost certainly for Mae’s benefit, but still it made Ben’s heart thump.

‘I’ll come to the hospital with you, Mae. We’ll find ourselves a handsome doctor in a Santa hat, eh?’

‘Thank you dear. You’re very kind.’ Mae managed a smile. ‘I’ll pick a nice doctor for you.’

Callie chuckled. ‘Make sure you do. I don’t want just any old one.’

He couldn’t do anything to help with the journey to the hospital but he could make things a bit better for Mae’s return. ‘I know someone who’ll board up the window for you. I’ll write their number down...’

Mrs Jacobs rummaged in a drawer and produced a pen and paper. Ben scribbled the number on it and handed it to Callie. ‘Tell them I gave you their details. They’ll liaise with the insurance company and help get things moving.’

Mae shot him a worried look. ‘How much will it cost?’

‘It won’t cost you anything. All part of the service, Mae.’ It wasn’t officially part of the service. The number was for a local charity. It had been Ben’s idea to contact them and set up a task force to help vulnerable people clean up after a fire, and he and a number of the station staff volunteered with them.

‘And when you get back from the hospital, you’ll stay here over Christmas.’ Mrs Jacobs sat down on the sofa next to Mae. ‘No arguments, now. Stan and the boys will go over to your place and help sort things out there.’

‘But...it’s Christmas.’ Despite her neighbour’s firm tone, Mae argued anyway.

‘Exactly. It’ll do them good to go and do something, instead of sitting around watching TV and eating. I’m sure Stan’s put on a couple of pounds already so he can do with the exercise.’

‘You’re very kind.’ A tear dribbled down Mae’s cheek. ‘All of you.’

‘It’s Christmas. We’ll all pull together, eh?’ Mrs Jacobs put her arm around Mae and the old lady smiled, nodding quietly.

Ben beckoned to Callie and she frowned. He glared back, beckoning again more forcefully, and she rolled her eyes and followed him into the hallway.

‘What? I’m busy.’

The tight-lipped implication that she was just trying to do her job and that he was getting in the way wasn’t lost on Ben.

‘I just wanted to know... How is Mae? Really?’

Callie’s angry glare softened slightly and she puffed out a breath. ‘I’ve checked her over the best I can, and she doesn’t seem to be having any difficulty with her breathing. But she has a headache and she seemed very confused earlier, and you can hear she’s a bit hoarse. She needs to be seen by a doctor. I’m going to stay with her.’

The thought that Callie might not come back to the fire station once she had finished here filled Ben with unexpected dismay. He had no one but himself to blame if she made that decision.

‘I shouldn’t have said that you were in the way earlier. It won’t happen again.’

‘I can take care of myself in these situations. I do it all the time.’

‘Got it. I apologise.’ Ben saw her eyebrows shoot up in surprise. Was that what she thought of him? He was perfectly capable of saying sorry when the situation warranted it.

But prolonging the conversation now while she was still angry with him probably wasn’t a good idea. He’d said his piece and he should go.

‘I’ll see you later?’ Ben tried not to make a question out of it, but his own doubts leaked through into his words. Callie gave a nod and he turned, making for the front door. He guessed he’d just have to wait and see about that.

* * *

The wait at the hospital hadn’t been too protracted, and after X-rays and lung capacity tests had been carried out, Mae was discharged. They arrived back at Mrs Jacobs’s house to find that the charity task force that Ben had put her in touch with had already boarded up Mae’s window.

She had no qualms about leaving Mae here. Two cups of tea and a plate of mince pies appeared, and a yelled exhortation brought Mrs Jacobs’s son tumbling down the stairs, a board game in his hand. He and Mae began to sort through the pieces together, and Mae finally smiled.

Mae’s Christmas would be just fine. Callie’s was a little more uncertain. The success of her project at the fire station depended on clearing the air with Ben, and there was no time to sit quietly and wait for him to let her in. She had to do something.

She took a taxi back to the fire station. He wasn’t with the others in the ready room and Callie found him alone in the small office with the door wide open. She tapped on the doorframe and he looked up.

Blue eyes. The most photogenic eyes she’d ever seen, flickering with warmth and the hint of steel. The kind of eyes that the camera loved and... That was all. The camera loved them but Callie was just an impartial observer.

‘Everything okay?’

‘Yes. Mae was discharged from the hospital and she’ll be staying with Mrs Jacobs over Christmas. The charity task force has been great.’

‘Good.’ His gaze was fixed on her face. ‘I’ve been thinking about what you might be wanting to say to me.’

Perhaps he was trying out a management technique. Put yourself in the other person’s shoes. Callie sat down.

‘Okay, I’ll play. What might I be wanting to say to you?’

‘That I’m not giving you credit for the experience that you have. You need access to be able to work and I’m being unreasonable in withholding it.’

Actually, that pretty much summed it up. Callie dismissed the rather queasy feeling that accompanied the idea that he’d been reading her thoughts.

‘And... I guess that you’d say in return that you and the others rely on teamwork. That kind of trust isn’t made over a matter of days and you’re not sure of me yet.’

The look on Ben’s face told her that she was right. More than that, he found it just as disconcerting as she did to hear someone else voice his thoughts.

‘I’ll...um... I’ll be honest. I wasn’t much in favour of you being here when the station commander first told me about it.’

‘Really? You hid that well.’ Callie risked a joke. Somehow she knew that he wouldn’t take it the wrong way.

He narrowed his eyes. Maybe he was taking it the wrong way. Then suddenly Ben smiled. ‘So we see eye to eye, then.’

Rather too much so. If he really could see what was going on in her head... Callie gulped down the sudden feeling of panic. Of course he couldn’t.

The awkward silence was broken by the alarm bell. Ben rose from his seat, making hurriedly for the door, and Callie followed him.

She took her turn climbing up into the fire engine and found Ben sitting opposite her. As the sirens went on and they started to move out of the fire station, he leaned forward, bracing his foot against the lurching of the vehicle and checking her helmet.

Callie frowned. He’d been the one to say it and he hadn’t even listened to himself. He was still double-checking everything she did.

‘If I get the chance, I’ll take you in as close as I think we can safely go.’ The light in his blue eyes kindled suddenly.

‘Thanks for that, boss.’

Ben’s eyebrows shot up as he realised that Callie was using the word ‘boss’ to make a point. Then he grinned. Maybe this was going to work after all.

* * *

The word ‘boss’ on Callie’s lips could hardly be anything other than a challenge. But they’d both risen to it. Ben had motioned her to stand next to him as he directed the firefighters in extinguishing a small blaze at the back of a shop. Callie had become like a shadow, never giving him a moment’s concern for her safety, and adroitly stepping out of the way of both equipment and firefighters.

‘I got some good shots. They’ll do you all justice.’ She waited until he was about to tell her that they were leaving now, catching his attention for the first time since they’d been there.

‘Good. Thank you.’ He smiled, and she smiled back. Then she turned to join the rest of the crew climbing back into the fire engine, leaving Ben with the distinct impression that his legs were about to give way under him.

It took some time to persuade himself that this evening would be nothing to do with wanting to spend more time with Callie but simply a matter of showing her another side of the job. But for once she made things easy for him. As the night shift arrived she hung back in the ready room, flipping almost disinterestedly through the photos she’d taken that day, as if she were waiting for something.

Ben dismissed the thought that it might be him. But then he found himself caught in her clear gaze.

‘I wanted to catch you before I left. To say thank you for this afternoon.’

‘My pleasure. You have plans for tonight?’ Ben tried to make the question sound innocent. He’d already heard Callie’s answer when Eve had asked earlier.

‘No, not really. It’s an hour’s drive home and I’ll probably just curl up with some hot soup and decide what I want to try and shoot tomorrow. You?’

‘I’m going carol singing. We have a decommissioned fire engine, which is kept at one of the other stations. It’s used for charity and public awareness events and this evening it’s parked up in town. You should join me.’

She gave a little shake of her head. ‘Are you ever entirely off duty?’

These days...no. Ben had always been immersed in his job but he’d known where to draw the line between work and home. But in the last year his work had been a welcome relief from worrying about what Isabel might do next.

He reached inside his jacket, laying two hats on the table. ‘Can’t really be on duty when you’re wearing one of these.’

Callie’s hand drifted forward, her fingers brushing the white ‘fur’ around the edge of the Santa hat and then moving to the bells around the edge of the green elf hat. A sudden vision of texture and movement and the feel of Callie’s fingers on his skin drifted into his head. He could tell she was tempted to accept his offer.

‘You get to pick. Elf or Santa.’

She smiled. ‘I’ll be Santa.’

Of course she would. He was beginning to understand that this was something they shared, and that she too never felt entirely comfortable unless she was holding the reins.

‘Okay.’ He handed her the Santa hat. ‘Play your cards right and you might get to drive the sleigh.’

* * *

Green suited Ben. No doubt red would have done too, but Callie had to admit that he made a very handsome elf. No doubt he’d be the one who got presents wrapped twice as fast, without even breaking a sweat.

After the bustle of the fire station and the cheery goodbyes of the crew she’d suddenly felt very alone. She’d had to remind herself that returning to her cold, dark flat was exactly the way she wanted it. No one to welcome her home meant that there was no one to pull the carpet out from under her feet.

She pulled on a down gilet for warmth and put on her coat and gloves, attaching her camera to a lanyard around her neck, ready for use. Tonight was about photos and not Christmas cheer, she told herself stubbornly.

The quickest and easiest way to get to the centre of London was by the Underground. They left their cars at the fire station and twenty minutes later they were in the heart of the city.

The fire engine was parked on the edge of a small square, flanked by bars and shops, and there were still plenty of people on the street. As they walked towards it through the crowds, Callie could see that one side of the vehicle had been decorated to turn it into Santa’s sleigh. There were carol singers and people were crowding around a warmly clad man in a Santa costume, who was helping children up into the driving seat.

Ben greeted the men already there and introduced Callie. Their names were lost in the music and chatter, but there were smiles and suddenly it didn’t much matter who she was or why she was here. She was just one of the team.

A bundle of leaflets was pressed into Ben’s hands and he set to work, wishing everyone a happy Christmas, in between singing along with the carols in a deep baritone. He placed leaflets in everyone’s hands with a smiling exhortation to read them on the way home.

Callie picked up a leaflet that had fluttered to the ground. On one side were wishes for a safe and happy Christmas from the London Fire Brigade. On the other side was some basic fire safety advice that was easy to read and follow.

‘So all this has an ulterior motive?’ She saw Ben looking at her and she smiled.

‘You could call it that. Although I reckon that having a house fire is one of the unhappier things that can happen to anyone, so it’s really just a practical extension of us telling everyone to have a happy Christmas...’

He turned for a moment as a woman tapped his arm, responding to her question. ‘Yes, that’s the British Standards safety sign. Always make sure your tree lights carry it.’

‘Okay. I’ll check mine when I get home.’

‘Great.’ Ben gifted her with the kind of smile that would persuade the angels themselves to switch off their heavenly lights if they weren’t up to safety standards and wished her a happy Christmas.

‘Can I take some of those?’ Callie pointed to the leaflets in his hand.

‘Yes, of course. Don’t you want to take some photographs?’

That was what she was there for but her camera was zipped under her coat and taking it out seemed like taking a step back from the circle of warmth and light around the fire engine. Realistically it was impossible to reduce the children’s delight as they were lifted up into the driving seat to just one frame, so instead she took the opportunity to just feel the joy.

‘Later maybe. I’ve got an interest in this, too.’ As a paramedic, Callie didn’t fight fires but she’d seen some of the of the injuries they caused.

He handed half his stack of leaflets to Callie. Ben didn’t say a word but his grin spoke volumes. No more fighting each other. The season of peace and joy seemed to be working its magic.