The Firefighters Of Darling Bay: Fire At Dusk Part 5

Samantha curled her fingers tighter around the bottle. Yeah. Maybe.

Honey, he drawled. Im not talking about falling in love with you. Ive done that, and honestly, you cured me of the whole love thing, way back when. Im just thinking about what your mouth might taste like.

Samantha couldnt help it"she gasped. Then she said, One date. Just one. Tomorrow night.

What do you want to do?

Without thinking, she said, Something risky. Something scary. Something Ive never done.

Night kayaking?

Done it.

Hang gliding from Bogel Peak?

She laughed. In the dark?

Maybe not. He paused. Have you ever been rock climbing?

No! Ive always wanted to go, though. I just hadnt gotten around to it. Theres that new climbing gym in Eureka, right?

Hank nodded and finished hanging the padded suit inside out so it could air. Ill pick you up at seven.

In the seventy-two Mustang?

You know my car?

You kidding? I saw you drive up. Is that stock black?

Hank nodded in surprise. Shes my baby.

Well, if you ever need a babysitter She looked slightly embarra.s.sed. Anyway. See you tomorrow.

Hank started to leave and then said, Almost forgot. He turned and wrapped her in a hug. It felt different this time, without the padding. With the desired kiss burning between them. She could smell his deodorant, green and crisp, and the scent underneath it, good clean, well-earned sweat.

And then he left, leaving Samantha standing alone in the middle of the padded mat. She dropped to a cross-legged position. She touched her lips.

She felt her mouth stretch into a grin.

CHAPTER NINE.

DOWNSTAIRS IN THE bagel shop, Samantha was pulling her normal Thursday morning s.h.i.+ft. She wasnt good at being in the back, making the bagels. Shed tried, and every single time she pulled them out of the water or moved them to the oven, shed burned a finger or wrist to the blister point. She wasnt allowed in the kitchen anymore, and Johannes made her use the bagel guillotine to slice every bagel. No knife for you.

Come on, Johannes. Im smart enough not to cut my finger off. But secretly, Samantha was relieved. She was clumsy everywhere but the training mat. Although she was a good cook, she didnt do well with knives and she probably would have damaged herself permanently if hed wanted her to cut a gajillion bagels every morning. The guillotine was fast and safe, and it gave a satisfying thunk every time she shoonked the bread in two.

The line in the well-lit bagel shop that morning had been constant, with moms with strollers in tow and kids coming in before school. The girls always ordered the fancy, sweet ones"light fluffed strawberry cream cheese on cinnamon bagels"and the boys ordered bagels with scrambled eggs. Samanthas favorite customers were the older men who spent the day rambling in and out of all the businesses on First Street. They started early, at Mabels Cafe, for thick black coffee. Around nine, theyd wheel into the bagel shop, ordering poppyseed or everything bagels, toasted dark. They never used anything but the traditional thick cream cheese. They liked their coffee black and shed never seen even one of them drinking water.

Her favorite was Gus Treat. He was of indeterminate age, somewhere north of eighty. Hed been a career military pilot, and he still put a lot of energy into looking neat and trim. Today he wore a dark blue s.h.i.+rt with matching pants, the pressed lines clean and sharp. His face was s.h.i.+ny from his close shave.

Morning, Gus. The regular? Samantha had learned early in the food industry that nothing made a customer happier than making their order before they asked for it. It made them feel special, which was good, because Gus was.

He nodded and reached in his back pocket for his wallet.

Hows it going? she asked.

Fine, just fine. He reached for a mug to help himself to the coffee on the counter. Gotta ask you a favor, girlie. Got a minute?

Samantha took off her ap.r.o.n. She loved talking to Gus. He had more gossip at his fingertips than anyone else in town, and no one loved to speculate on other peoples business more than he did. She didnt know most of the people he talked about so she wasnt very invested, but his chatter was friendly. Welcome.

Hey, Johannes, Im going to take a quick break, okay? The salt bagel is for Mark, okay, and the poppyseed thats in the toaster is for Gus. But Ill get it for him when its ready.

Johannes nodded and took her place.

Gus had taken a seat at the small bar that ran along the window, facing the pier.

Samantha pulled up the stool next to Gus. Outside the window, a blue boat with a red furled sail chugged by under motor power. Through the gla.s.s she could just hear its thump as it hit the docks b.u.mper. She touched the window with one finger, knowing shed be the one to clean off the smudge later.

Whats up, Gus?

Whos the boy?

Samantha pretended ignorance. Sometimes it was best. The boy who fell off the wall yesterday out there? She pointed. I didnt know him, but hes fine.

The other boy. The firefighter.

Oh, him.

Gus shot her a look and then peered over her shoulder. My bagels done.

Samantha got up and took out Guss bagel just before it burned and slathered it thickly with cream cheese. She slid it in front of him and sat down again.

So. A fireman, huh?

Samantha smiled and traced a star pattern with her thumbnail on the napkin. When shed dated Hank so long ago, shed asked him what lengths hed go to in order to become a firefighter. Hed said he would do anything"absolutely anything, short of hurting someone"and she hadnt understood that pa.s.sion, his drive. Shed only had one motivating force back then, to go, to do, to be. Shed wanted to live fast and hard. Shed wanted to get all the things done that her mother had always wanted to do but hadnt had enough time to get done before she died. For her mother, Samantha had to travel, to cross the Pacific and Atlantic, she had to be brave, she had to push herself. Unfortunately, shed pushed herself in the wrong direction, and had ended up with not only the wrong men but the wrong habits.

What was your father like? Gus asked unexpectedly.

Steady. Reliable. We werent that much alike except that he got obsessed with things. For him, it was mostly strawberries. His farm. Once he made up his mind he wanted something, he went after it like a dog after a chicken bone.

For you it was booze.

After a while, yes. She hadnt seen it coming"she thought shed been chasing adventure in her mothers name, in her honor, but what shed really been doing was chasing a kind of drunken peace.

That peace just never stayed. Yeah.

And then it was fighting? That training stuff you do for girls?

Women, she corrected him. Yeah.

And now him.

She narrowed her eyes at her neighbor. Im not chasing him. Actually, the opposite. What do you do upstairs? Send Anchor out to spy on me?

Gus shrugged. That cat comes in handy. And thats what I wanted to ask you, actually. Im going out of town for a week to Costa Rica, can you watch him?

Fancy. Of course.

Might not come back.

Nor should you, Samantha said. Not if you dont want to.

Slow down, Gus said.

Confused, Sam said, Excuse me?

Not about my cat. But about everything else. You move too fast.

Samantha smiled. Are you accusing me of being the town hussy? Should I be offended?

Gus shook his head impatiently. All of you kids, with your phones and tablets and cordless whosiwhatsits, youre all moving too fast. Sit on the porch with that boy. Whats the sunset for if not to watch it with someone?

Glancing over her shoulder, catching Johanness harried look, Samantha said, What if I like going this fast?

Gus lifted his coffee mug to his mouth, slow as fog. Youre going to miss something, girlie. Or someone. Take your time. Make sure you dont fall off the cliff youre always in danger of jumping from.

Spontaneously, she kissed his smooth-shaven cheek. I hear you, friend. And Im going to sit on my porch and watch the sunset, just for you.

Maybe with that fireman.

Maybe, she granted before standing. Leave Anchors food by my door, okay?

CHAPTER TEN.

IT WASNT A good idea.

He knew it wasnt. Hank shouldnt have said it.

Rock climbing.

But heck, it was exciting and scary and what better thing to do to inspire trust between two people?

Okay, he could think of one other thing, and he was trying super d.a.m.n hard not to go there in his mind He knocked on the gla.s.s pane of her window that was still loose.

Its open, he heard her call from inside.

Of course it was.

Ill just be a second, Im sorry, I lost track of time. Her voice floated out the cracked bathroom door. He caught a brief glance of her in a sliver of mirror"she was pulling back her hair into a ponytail, and for one second, he imagined pulling out the rubber band, running his fingers through that incredible mane of hers. Make yourself comfortable.

Take your time. Sticking his hands in his pockets, he moved to the French doors and pulled back the curtain. The early winter night had dropped, and the lights in the harbor glittered at him. Yeah, he loved his house, sure, and it was awesome that it was a ten minute walk to the waterline, but this view was something else. Turning, he brought his gaze to the inside of her apartment again.

It was different at night. Softer. One lamp glowed in the corner, lighting a patch of sofa that looked just right to sink into with a book. At the top of her walls, running along all of them, were white twinkle lights. They provided the only other light, and they glowed gently.

A white extension cord caught his eye. Oh, h.e.l.l, no.

Hank crouched. He tugged the cord and watched the strand of lights above his head bounce slightly.

Samantha came out of the bathroom. She looked different than she had yesterday at the community center"her eyes were smokier, smudged with a dark brown. Her lips were soft pink and glossy.

Hank had never wanted anything more than to kiss that gloss away.

Instead, he said, Youve got a fire hazard here, maam. He lifted the white cord as high as he could to show her.

You sound very professional, sir.

He touched an imaginary hat. At your service. But really, you cant do this.

She looked up at the white lights. Seems I am, though. I dont have enough outlets in this ancient apartment.

There are ways to fix that, he said. Safer ways than this. Seriously, how much did you pay for this cord? Five bucks?

She looked chagrined. I think I got it at the hardware store on sale for ninety-nine cents.

No. Uh-uh, he said. Didnt your mom ever teach you that you get what you pay for?

Samantha shook her head. My mom was the biggest cheapskate that ever lived. She not only washed and reused our sandwich bags, she asked the next door neighbor for her kids bags, because she noticed they didnt do the same thing.

Maybe she was being environmentally responsible.

Nah. She just liked to save money. I kind of like it, too. Its fun to make new things out of old.

Were you two close?

Samantha's face softened. The closest.

Shes She died when I was a kid.