Flirting With Fire (Hometown Heroes) (15 page)

“Because that
leaves us with zero leads. Unless, of course, you have any idea who might be
behind this.”

“And you’d
believe me if I gave you a name?”

“Well, sure.
Unless it was something crazy, like my parents. Or my girlfriend.”

I barked a shaky
laugh. Crap, no way could I tell him my theory now. Guess I’d have to let him
come to that conclusion himself. He would, eventually, wouldn’t he? Before I
became barbecue? I dug back into his shoulders, which caused him to emit a
startled grunt.

“Trust me—if I
did, you’d be the first to know.” Which was true. I just wasn’t telling him,
yet.

“Oh, yeah?”

“Well, yeah. Who
else would I tell?”

“Oh, I don’t
know. Maybe Joe, or one of the other dozen guys dying to ask you out now.”

Dozen? I moved
toward the foot of the table, wondering if that tall, blond guy was one of
them. He seemed pretty nice. “Ah, but you went and kissed me, so to them I’m
off limits, remember?”

“Well, yeah. But
if you’re falling for one of them, we could stage a breakup.”

How did we shift
from the topic of fires to my love life? “Thanks, but our last acting scene
didn’t end well, so I think I’ll pass.”

“Didn’t end
well…” he echoed.

Damn, and I
swore I wasn’t going to talk about that kiss. “You know. The whole kissing
thing. Wasn’t exactly good for my reputation, if you know what I mean.”

“Why not?”

I stared at the
back of his head, incredulous. “Because, I don’t date clients.”

“Never?”

“Never.”

He was quiet for
a moment. I focused on his hamstring, and tried in vain to block the recurring
image of that kiss from my mind.

“So, is that
because you’ve never had the right temptation come along, or because it’s
against some moral principle of yours?”

Yes and yes.
Until you showed up
. I began to work the muscles just above his knee, which
was a little higher than I’d gone last time, and tried to think of a good
answer.

“Moral principle.
I’m a professional, just like you. Surely you have some credo against dating
fire victims, don’t you?”

“On the books,
yes.”

“
On
the
books? What about off the books?”

He chuckled.
“How do you think I met Bunni?”

Huh. I wonder if
she set that fire, too? Anger coursed through me once again, and I had to let
go of his leg before I hurt him.

“Lovely. So,
just how many times have you broken the rules about dating victims?”

“Um.”

I could see his
fingers twitch consecutively as he counted. Once he got to using the ones on
his second hand, I looked away and started on his left calf. “Forget I asked.
Just remind me not to be a fire victim who needs to be rescued, or we’ll both
be in trouble, okay?”

“Aw, now that
almost makes me want to go and set a fire here myself.”

My hands froze.
“W-why would you want to do that?”

“Just to see if
I could get you to break your rule.”

I swallowed
hard.
Heaven help me if that ever happens.

* * * *

“Are you
listening to me, dear?”

I set my coffee
mug down and shifted the phone higher against my ear. “Sorry, Mom. I’ve just
got a lot on my mind.”

My eyes
refocused on the morning newspaper’s headline.
Firebug Strikes Again.

Well, not
exactly. I mean, he tried, but this time the blaze didn’t take. And thanks to
the watchful eye of some lady on our third floor at work, he hadn’t had time to
try again. He…or she. I still had a theory on that.

“I’m sure you
do, what with your new job and trying to keep Sarah calm. And what is this I’m
hearing about some fires around town?”

Ah, the Autumn
Lake-Indy tether. When would I be able to escape the scrutiny of my small town?
Probably not until I moved altogether, a decision I had yet to make.

“Yeah, some
loony is going around town setting little fires. No biggie.”

At least, that’s
what I kept trying to convince Sarah of. And now Mitch, too. They were waiting
in the parking lot for me when I got home last night, some contrived intervention
ambush. And though I did my best to assure them both I was perfectly safe,
doubt had started to grow in my mind as well. Especially after the evil glare
Bunni had shot me as I was leaving work.

“It’s keeping
the fire department busy, I’m sure.”

I sighed. Even
in a conversation with my mother I couldn’t escape the thought of Torrunn for
long. This wasn’t just a crush, I had to admit—it was infatuation, pure and
simple. And I had to make it stop. “Yeah. So, are you and Dad still coming into
town later?”

“That’s the
plan, anyway. He has a meeting with one of his clients this afternoon in Fort Wayne, so I thought I could spend the day with Rhonda and the girls in Autumn Lake. We’ll be leaving here in about an hour. Did you have plans tonight? I was
hoping you could join us for dinner before we head back home.”

I glanced over
at the clock on my microwave. 8:05. Time to get ready for work. It was a nice
change, not to have to be in until nine today, but the tradeoff was taking a four-thirty
appointment for Xavier.

“Pfft. Me, have
plans? No. But I have to warn you, I probably won’t get out of there until
around six.”

“Six? Well,
let’s see. Oh, what’s that, dear?” My mother’s voice became muffled, then clear
again. “Your father just mentioned that his client gave him a pack of tickets
for the TinCaps game tonight. Is your work near the stadium?”

“Yeah, within
walking distance, actually.”

“Wonderful! I
haven’t been to a game in ages. Why don’t you meet us over there when you get
off work? We can grab a bite and do some catching up.”

God love my
mother—she loved baseball. And she wasn’t afraid to indulge from time to time
in a little concession stand fare. No wonder Dad loved her so much.

“That sounds
great, Mom. I’ll call you when I’m on my way.”

Finally,
something I could look forward to that would bring me zero guilt.

When I arrived
at the spa for my shift, the place was abuzz with activity. Brittany was on the
phone scheduling an appointment, all the hairstylists had clients in their
chairs, and the nail stations seemed full to overflowing. Business was
definitely booming, a fact that you’d think would have the owner smiling.

That, however,
was not the case.

“Liz! Where have
you been?” Xavier bellowed upon spotting me. “I’ve been looking everywhere for
you!”

Oh, crap. “Um,
you told me last night that if I took your four-thirty appointment I could come
in at nine today. At least, that’s what I thought you said. I’m sorry, did I
misunderstand?”

He ran a hand
through his thick, dark waves, stress clear on his face. “Oh, that’s right.
Yes, I’d forgotten. Well, I’m glad you’re here.”

He turned to go,
eyes darting between the different stations, assessing everything and nothing
all at once.

“Xavier, are you
alright?”

His gaze swept
to mine for a brief moment. “No, I’m not. I feel like I’m missing my right arm
without Dawn here.”

“What time is
your next client due in?” I asked.

“Ten.”

“Perfect,” I
said. “Because you look like someone who could really use a massage right now.”

He hesitated,
and his gaze swept the spa once more before returning to mine. “Are you sure
you have time?”

“I don’t have
anyone coming in until nine-thirty. And I promise to go easy on you.”

“I
am
a
hot mess,” he said, the ghost of a grin on his face. “Fine, I’ll be back there
in about five.”

Bunni, who was
at a nail station nearby, looked up with raised brows. I shot her a dirty look
and hurried off to make sure my massage room was in tip-top shape. Would she
call Dawn and tattle on me? God, I hoped not. It was hard enough being on one
pregnant woman’s doo-doo list—I didn’t want to be added to another.

Room all set, I
headed out to wash my hands and remind myself to stay cool. So what if I was
about to give my boss his first taste of my talent? It wasn’t like he’d fire me
if I didn’t live up to his expectations, would he? Nah, he needed me too much.
I leveled a stern look in the mirror and told my reflection I had nothing to
worry about with Xavier. Nothing at all.

* * * *

“Elizabeth!”

I looked up to
spy my mother across the street, smiling and waving at me beside my father near
the entrance to Glenview Field. They were a sight for sore eyes. How long had
it been since I’d seen them now? Three months? Maybe four? I hurried across the
street, eager for an evening without drama. Especially after the day I’d had.

My father was
still wearing his work attire, but had loosened his tie and thrown his charcoal
gray sport coat over one shoulder. At six foot two he dwarfed my mother, who
was five three on a good day. She looked beautiful as ever, in khakis and a
peach cashmere sweater that brought out the auburn in her short, but always
stylish, hair.

Her smile
diminished slightly as I drew closer. “Is everything alright, dear? You look
worried.”

“Worried?” My
gaze flickered to the new, three-story apartment building behind left field. “Nah,
just a long day.”

“Well, you just
forget all about work for a while and come enjoy some time with your family,”
my mother said as she embraced me in a gentle hug.

“Hi,
sweetheart,” my father said, and hugged me next.

“Hey, Dad. How
did it go with your client today?”

“Fine,
everything went just fine.”

We started for
the gates, me tucked gently under his arm. I couldn’t remember a time my father
had ever talked badly about work, or complained about a client. His can-do
attitude was definitely something I strived to emulate.

Strived, but not
yet mastered. Not when there were road bumps named Bunni.

My father helped
navigate us through the crowd to our seats. While he and my mother had been
here several times now, this was my first experience at the relatively new
Class A stadium. Its view took my breath away. The last stadium I’d been to was
the old Busch Stadium in St. Louis with my folks, and that was years and years
ago. I really don’t remember a lot of the trip, but remember the stadium being
all concrete and metal.

Glenview Field, however,
was completely different. The stadium’s structure was a mixture of
sandstone-colored brick and shiny, forest green metal—a combination that
mirrored the perfectly combed infield sand and the outfield’s lush green grass.
The stands offered a variety of seating options, from box seats above the
concession area to lawn seats on an elevated grassy knoll beyond the homerun
fence. And just beyond right field loomed an enormous, animated scoreboard.

I wondered if that
scoreboard kept its neighbors up at night…?

We took our
seats around a high-top table along the third base line in a section marked ‘Field
Boxes’. Each table in this area was partitioned off by shiny green railing,
providing us ample elbow room. Several waitresses were milling about with trays
laden with drinks and appetizers, and my stomach rumbled in anticipation.

“So, sweetheart,”
my father said. “Tell us about this new job of yours.”

“My new job? I
love it. If the Grand Wayne Center wasn’t blocking our view, you’d be able to
see my building from here. It’s just two blocks over. Our spa is on the second
floor, and it’s absolutely beautiful. Nothing like Sally’s little place.” I met
my mother’s gaze. “You really should check it out next time you’re up. You’d
love Tony.”

“Is he the one
who did your hair?” When I nodded she said, “Then I definitely need to see him.
You look radiant, darling.”

I knew better
than to call myself radiant after a long day on my feet, but I wasn’t about to argue
with my mother. A young, spiky-haired waitress sporting a green TinCaps jersey
stopped to take our order, then disappeared again. While she was away, my
parents took turns asking about the spa and life in general. I rambled on and
on, and didn’t realize until our food arrived that I’d been so focused on
trying not to upset my friends the past few weeks that I hadn’t let myself
fully appreciate the joy I’d found at my new job.

My mother, it
seemed, had not lost her knack for reading my mind. She spread a napkin across
her lap, then reached for her gourmet hotdog. “So, is Sarah still giving you a
hard time?”

“I don’t know,”
I said with a sigh. “Kind of. She just…she tries to be supportive, you know? But
she’s so worried about me working in the ‘big scary city’ that it seems to
overshadow every conversation. Do you think it’s just her hormones talking?”

“Did she worry
about you nonstop with the other three pregnancies?”

I tried to think
back. “Well, no.”

“Then there’s
your answer.”

“But she’s not
the only one. Mitch’s been taking her side, too.”

“And Ron?”

“Are you
kidding?” I said. “Ron will take Sarah’s side just to keep the peace.”

My father and I
exchanged a grin.

“I know you and
Sarah have been friends since you were little, dear, but maybe it’s time you
put some distance between you. And Mitch. Give yourself some breathing room,
some time to truly see how you feel about Fort Wayne, without the burden of all
this guilt. No matter what you think, Sarah wouldn’t want you to be stressed
out, and neither would he.” My mother’s gaze shifted to the city skyline. “Have
you looked into getting an apartment closer to work?”

The bite of hotdog
I’d just taken slid down the wrong pipe. I coughed and pounded a fist onto my
chest until I could breathe normal again.

“Funny you
should mention it,” I said, my throat feeling like sandpaper. “Remember how I
said the owners were going to have a baby? Well, Dawn had six months left on a
year lease at a new apartment downtown, and they were trying to get out from
under it.”