Читать книгу Spark Of Desire - Christa Maurice - Страница 5

Chapter 2

Kevin sat in his sweltering car looking at the bookstore and wondering what had possessed him to offer to help her. In sixteen years with the department, he’d never offered to help someone get in. The guys he’d helped study for exams had always been guys he already worked with. He didn’t know how to train a rookie, let alone tutor a hopeful.

Through the front windows he could see Jessica talking to the moody girl who did the magazines. Now that one was more his type, small and feminine. Or at least shaped like a girl. That one was pretty prickly under the wrong circumstances, though. Besides, she was married. Her left hand had a damning silver wedding band. Too bad. He did prefer the small curvy type.

Not like Jessica. Jessica was too tall, for starters. Nearly as tall as him. She had broad shoulders like a guy too. Plus, she was too young. No matter how old she claimed to be, she looked about twenty-two. How could he be attracted to a too-young tomboy? He liked women who were sophisticated and confident. Women who tended toward perfume, lipstick and dresses. Women who could turn him inside out with a well-timed smile.

But she had a great, infectious laugh. When she hugged him, it hadn’t been unwelcome either. He’d forgotten what a nice feeling it was to have a woman throw her arms around him. For a minute, he’d forgotten to let go of her hands. Her body was soft, and yielding, too.

Which it wouldn’t be in a few weeks.

Why was he sitting here in the parking lot with the windows rolled up, staring through the store windows at a woman so wrong for him? Too tall, too boyish, too exuberant. She’d just about knocked him over when she hugged him.

It had to be because Jack and Kate were getting married. It had to be. The last couple of months watching Jack pursue Kate had left Kevin a little jealous. Even when Jack had been unhappy, and Kevin had been on the verge of killing him, he’d noticed something different about his friend. Something he wanted. When Kate showed up at the apartment fire, Kevin could still see the joy on her face when Jack proposed. So what had he done? He’d latched onto the first woman to cross his path. Good thing the magazine girl was married or he’d be courting her now. It was probably for the best that she wasn’t available. Kevin had a feeling she’d work him over good, given the chance. No, he wasn’t attracted to the inappropriate Jessica Decker. He just wanted what Jack had.

As he watched, Jessica left the magazine section. Probably going to call her doctor. He remembered how excited he’d been when he trained for the test. That would be fun, at least. Sharing her enthusiasm. Watching her work for the goal. As long as he kept in mind that she wasn’t his type, he’d be fine. He had to learn to think of her as one of the guys. Like Bobbie down at eleven. He never imagined he was attracted to Bobbie, and he’d worked out with her before. Hated jogging with her. She could out-distance him. According to her, it had something to do with female anatomy, but he just didn’t run with her anymore. Maybe he could call Bobbie and ask her if she wanted to help him out with Jessica.

That might not be a bad idea. Give her another woman to talk to, and give him another person to distract him from Jessica.

Starting the car, he rolled down the window and put it in gear. The minute he got home, he’d call Bobbie. He needed another person between him and Jessica.

At home, he dropped into his favorite chair and dialed Bobbie’s number, priming to get her machine. While he listened to the phone ring, he looked around his house. Bobbie referred to the decorating scheme as guy chic. The walls were hunter green, the carpet navy blue. The furniture was all blue- and green-striped except for his favorite chair, which he couldn’t part with. That was tan.

“Hello?” Bobbie said.

“Hi, Bobbie?”

“Nobody else answers my phone. Who is this?”

Kevin frowned. He’d forgotten how abrasive Bobbie could be if she wanted to. “Kevin Marshall.”

“Hey, Marshall, what do you want?”

Kevin considered lying to her and finding someone else to help him train Jessica. Jack couldn’t help him. He was too busy being a newlywed, even though the wedding wasn’t for a couple of months. Dan wouldn’t be able to stop hitting on her, and that would drive Kevin nuts. Lew? No, he didn’t have the patience to deal with Lew and train Jessica at the same time. Besides, she’d be better off with another woman. There had to be stuff she’d need to learn from another woman.

“Marshall, do you usually call up people to daydream?”

“No, I was–never mind. Listen, I met this girl today—”

“And you want dating tips?”

“No.” Kevin dug his fingers into the arm of the chair. Arden had one other female firefighter, but he didn’t know her very well. Not well enough to call her up today. “She wants to join the department, and I told her I’d help her study and train.”

Kevin had to move the phone away from his ear so Bobbie’s braying laughter wouldn’t give him a headache. He could still contact the other woman. City hall would have her number if no one else did. She couldn’t be worse than Bobbie.

“What did you do that for?” Bobbie howled when her laughter had subsided to the point where she could speak again.

“I don’t know.” He couldn’t tell Bobbie that the minute he’d started talking to Jessica, he’d been drawn to her. That he didn't even want to admit to himself yet. “I just did. Look, I thought you might be able to help.”

“Help you what? Get her in bed?”

“I’m not trying to get her into bed.” Kevin thanked his lucky stars he wasn’t having this conversation with her in person. If she could see how hot he was around the collar, she’d start howling again. He wasn’t sure if he was telling the truth, either. “I’m trying to get her into the department. She said she’s always wanted to be a paramedic and she just turned thirty today, so she’s running out of time.”

“She sure is. Do you really think she’s going to make it on the first try?”

Kevin shifted in his seat. Somehow, with Jessica, he’d forgotten about the competition. Talking to her, he’d felt like nothing could stop her. Nothing but all the other guys and possibly a couple of women who also wanted to work for the fire department.

“It took me five tries to get in, and I was younger and probably in better shape. Training almost killed me. Then it got hard. Or should I say difficult?”

Kevin rubbed his eyes. How had he forgotten about the competition? He didn’t know how many slots were going to be open for the September tests. “She’s got a year. She might not even make it through our training.”

“Our? No way, pal. This is your baby.”

Kevin opened his mouth to snap that Jessica wasn’t his baby, but caught himself because he realized she meant baby as in the training, not the girl. Why did this simple offer keep getting more difficult to fulfill without making a fool of himself?

“I’ll talk to her, but you’re the schmuck who said you’d help her. When are you meeting her again?”

“I don’t know. She was going to see her doctor, and then we were going to figure out a training schedule.”

“Okay. When you guys sit down to plan out her training schedule, count me in. We’ll see how quick she scares.”

“What are you going to do?” Kevin grumbled, feeling very protective.

“Just talk to her, sweet cheeks. There’s a thing or two she should know, and you seem to be real forgetful all of a sudden. Besides, it’s been a long time since you took that test, old man. I just took it a couple of years ago. Give me a call. I’m on A shift now.”

“Thanks, Bobbie. I appreciate the help.”

She laughed again. “We’ll see. Bye, Kevin.”

“Bye, Bobbie.” Kevin hung up the phone. If she worked A shift, she’d have one day off, the same as him. Her twenty-four-hour shift started tomorrow at eight, his didn’t start until eight the next day, exactly when she got off. That was very good. If she and Jessica hit it off, he’d still only have to see her once every third day. Unfortunately, it meant he’d be alone with Jessica once every third day too.

* * * *

In her paper gown, Jessica perched on the examination table, looking at the inspirational posters on the wall. The office desperately needed new ones. For six years now, she’d been staring at the same cute picture every Spring during her annual checkup, and occasionally at other times of the year when she had a cold she couldn’t shake. It might help if Masciano raised the temperature in here to something above freezing, too.

The door opened, and her short, overweight doctor stepped through it. “So, Jessica, to what do I owe the honor of this visit? Head cold?”

“I’m going to be a paramedic.” She grinned and bit her lip to keep from giggling.

Dr. Masciano stopped with the door half open and stared at her. He usually closed the door to keep anyone from peeking into the exam room, but today he looked too stunned to move. “You’re going to what?”

“I’m going to train to join the fire department so I can be a paramedic.”

He closed the door behind him and consulted the chart in his hand. “There it is. Full physical. I thought it was a mistake. You always have your physical in the spring. Well, well, well.” Sitting down on the stool, he studied her. “Did you have any head trauma recently?”

“No. Why?”

“Because you’ve got to be crazy. Firefighter? Do you know what you’re putting yourself up for?” He started ticking things off on his fingers. “Lung disease, heart disease, various and sundry cancers from toxic smoke inhalation, broken bones, pulled muscles, and trauma. As a paramedic, you’re fair game for every communicable disease going. Add the fact that you’re twenty-nine years old—“

“Thirty, yesterday.”

“You’re thirty. So you won’t heal as fast as a younger person when you do get hurt. And I have a feeling the physical tests aren’t going to be a piece of cake, even though you are in very good physical condition.”

“I’ve got someone helping me train.” Jessica started swinging her feet back and forth under the exam table, banging her heels on it. “There’s three parts to the test, and it doesn’t start until September.”

“I’m not going to change your mind, am I?”

Jessica shook her head. She’d been too excited to sleep last night.

“I guess I’ll be able to afford that boat, now that you’re going to be visiting me more regularly.” He watched her face for any change in expression. “Have you talked to your parents about this?”

Jessica stopped grinning. She’d meant to call her parents in Florida last night, but never gotten around to it. They were not going to be pleased. Mindi’s fit would be nothing compared to her parents’. Or, rather, her mother’s. Leave it to the doctor to find the one part of this adventure she was nervous about.

“I see. I guess I’ll leave that up to you.” He stood up and took the blood pressure cuff off the wall. “Let me take your blood pressure.”

“The nurse already did.”

“If you’re going to be one of the city’s bravest, I think I’ll want to double-check a few things. I want to have a good baseline to work from when you hurt yourself. Note I didn’t say if. Give me your arm.”

Jessica held out her arm.

He wrapped the cuff around her arm and pumped it up. “So you’ve found yourself a nice fireman to train you.” Glancing at her face, he positioned the stethoscope on her arm. “I see you have good color. He must be attractive.”

“He’s okay. He’s too old for me.”

“Hmm.” The doctor counted her pulse before speaking again. “If too old can turn you pink like that, I’d hate to see what would happen if you found just right, Goldilocks.”

“Goldilocks?”

He reached through the back of her hospital gown and pressed the stethoscope against her back. “Yes, Goldilocks. Deep breath. This porridge is too hot. This bed is too soft. This fireman is too old. Again.”

Jessica took another deep breath. Was she being picky? He did seem pretty old, but older men looked distinguished sometimes. Sonya was right. That voice—she could listen to it all day long. The doctor shifted to the other side and requested two more deep breaths. She’d never envisioned herself with an older man, though. In all those weddings she’d envisioned while leafing through the wedding flower book, she’d pictured a younger groom. Younger, black hair, tall, more wiry than bulky, deep soft brown eyes. The doctor tested her lungs from the front and then he listened to her heart. He was being overly thorough, in her opinion.

He picked up her chart. “Yup, excellent color. Are you still taking birth control, or do you just collect the little round boxes?”

“I’m taking them.”

“Even though you aren’t using them for their intended purpose?” He looked at her through his eyebrows. “I’m your doctor. There’s no need to be embarrassed. Medically, you’re safer waiting.”

“The boxes are rectangular,” Jessica grumbled. She stared at the wall, willing her blush away. It had to be a record. Thirty years old and a virgin. “And I want to be prepared.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” Dr. Masciano murmured, bending her knees. “You know, if you want a job where people throw up on you, you could become a nurse.” He took out his rubber mallet and tested her reflexes. “It’s going to take a couple of years of college, but there’s no age limit to start.”

“I was pre-med tending toward Emergency Medicine in college.”

“You could do that too. It’s much like the fire department in many respects, except the job is always in the same place and there’s less smoke.” He probed her glands. “I could even help you out.”

“Maybe if I wash out of the fire department.” Jessica didn’t want to admit to that possibility, but knew she had to. She hated the idea of failing in front of Kevin. What if she couldn’t make the grade? What if the training was too hard, or if she hurt herself, or she couldn’t master the material? For the rest of her life she’d be stuck working at the bookstore and hightailing it to the warehouse every time he walked in.

Dr. Marciano shrugged and made a few notes on her chart. “It’s your choice. You’re in excellent condition. I want you to come back in six weeks for a follow-up. People have been known to develop heart murmurs and other defects when doing strenuous exercise. Listen to your body. Don’t push yourself past your better judgment to impress your fireman friend. He’s not going to be impressed if you pull something or pass out because you stressed your system. You still run, don’t you?”

“Three or four times a week.”

“At least you’re not starting from total inactivity. Don’t hesitate to call me if you have any questions or concerns.” He stood up and held out his hand. “Good luck. Make an appointment for six weeks from now. And don’t forget to call your parents.”

* * * *

Jessica checked her answering machine when she got home after midnight. It had one message. Mindi had the day off, which Jessica appreciated more than she wanted to admit. She considered Mindi a good friend, but after the stern lecture from her doctor, she didn’t think she was ready for another hysterical episode from her best friend. As it was, the rumor had already gone around the store and become distorted. She’d had to explain to one of the coffee bar girls that she wasn’t dating a firefighter, she was training to be one. Then she’d had to explain to Tony that she hadn’t been in a fire, she wanted to pull people out of them. And just about every woman on staff had told her to bring around some cute firefighters. For some reason, every time someone mentioned cute firefighters, she thought of Kevin.

Kevin was not her idea of a cute firefighter. If he were thirty, she’d have been overjoyed to have him speak to her, let alone have him offer to train her. But he wasn’t thirty. He was too old. Goldilocks.

“Hello, Jessica.”

Jessica sank into the couch at the sound of his voice.

“I spoke to a friend of mine about helping me work with you. She works down at Eleven, and she should have some insight on what you’ll need to work on as a woman.” He coughed. “Give me a call and let me know when we can meet. Bobbie and I will both be off duty day after tomorrow. It looks like you’re right around the corner from here, so maybe we can meet at Meechan’s Kitchen.”

He pronounced it Meechan’s Keetchen so it rhymed. You could always tell somebody was from the neighborhood by how they pronounced the name of the local diner.

“If that’s okay with you. Unless you’ve chickened out already.” He laughed.

His dark little chuckle sent a thrill down her spine. No, she hadn’t chickened out. If she did, she’d never be able to face him again. She couldn’t stand the idea of him being disappointed in her.

“Give me a call. You can leave a message on my machine when you get in. I’m looking forward to hearing from you. Good-bye, Jessica.”

Jessica’s chest tightened. He was looking forward to hearing from her. If only he wasn’t so old. She’d never get to sleep now. Until the moment she heard his voice on her machine she’d been tired. Now she wanted to run a marathon, but she wasn’t sure if she was excited because he called or because she was training to join the fire department. Pulling on some sweats, she left her apartment for a quick run around the neighborhood.

* * * *

“So who’s your new girlfriend?” Dan asked before Kevin had even gotten out of his car.

“I don’t have a new girlfriend.” Kevin slammed his car door, cursing himself for ever involving Bobbie in this.

“Bobbie said you were helping some woman train to take the exam. Since one and one usually equal two, she must be cute.”

“She is not cute.” Kevin almost bit his tongue. It was sort of a lie. She was good-looking, but if he admitted that to them, they’d never leave him alone.

“Kevin the celibate has a girlfriend?” Doug Reynolds asked, walking out the back door of the station. Once more he'd managed to shave his entire head except for the spot directly under his nose.

Kevin kept his eyes on the ground. Doug was too perceptive and too mean. Jack would have known when to back off, but Jack was still out with his sprained wrist, playing house with Kate, and that’s why Kevin was doing stupid things like offering to train strange women for the department test. This was all Jack’s fault. “I do not have a girlfriend.” Kevin walked past them to the station. “I’m just helping her out.”

“Why? You’ve never done that before.” Dan and Doug trailed him into the locker room.

“She works at the bookstore, and I know her pretty well.” That was an outright lie. He’d talked to her on a couple of occasions, but he didn’t know her at all. “She mentioned that she wanted to be a paramedic.”

“And why wouldn’t she? It’s the coolest job in the station,” Dan said.

“Unless you get to be captain.”

The three men turned around to face the captain in the doorway.

“Come on, you clowns.” The captain jabbed his thumb over his shoulder. “Time for PT. Marshall, hold up.”

Dan and Doug ducked out of the locker room, leaving Kevin alone with the captain. Kevin pulled on his sweat pants, racking his brain for why the captain wanted to talk to him alone. He couldn’t remember doing anything unusual last shift.

“Kevin.” The captain sat down on the bench bolted to the floor in front of the lockers.

That was a bad sign. The captain never wanted to have heart-to-hearts like this. Either he’d screwed up bad, or somebody else had and he had to clean it up.

“I understand you’re going to help a woman train for the department exam.”

Kevin’s mouth went dry. It wasn’t against regulations to help outsiders train. A couple of guys he knew almost made a hobby of it. The department encouraged women to join too. Was that why the captain wanted to talk to him privately? Did he want him to discourage Jessica? Kevin knew he couldn’t do that to her. Not after the look in her eyes when she realized he had offered to help her.

“I don’t quite know how to say this.” The captain steepled his fingers under his nose. “There isn’t really a regulation against couples being in the department, but if the two of you are an item, it’s going to be harder for her to get in.”

Kevin blinked. A couple? His heart started beating again. They weren’t going to ask him to break her. They assumed he had an ulterior motive. Which he didn’t. He hoped. “We’re not a couple.”

“There’s nothing between you?”

“No.” Kevin wondered if he was lying again.

“Then why the heck are you training her?” The captain stared at him, baffled. “You’ve never shown any interest in recruiting for the department before.”

Kevin shrugged. “It seemed like a good idea at the time. And I figured I could use a refresher.” He needed to think of a good answer for that question. Too many people were asking it.

“Ha.” The captain slapped Kevin’s shoulder. “Well, now that we’ve got that cleared up, get a move on. They’re waiting.” He stood up and walked out the door.

Kevin followed the captain out to the back courtyard for calisthenics. He couldn’t be attracted to Jessica. She wasn’t his type.

But if she wasn’t his type, why couldn’t he get the sound of her laughter out of his mind?