The Fire Inside (2 page)

She clicked into her phone, searched for a
number and punched it in. “Hi, Mary. It’s Tess Righetti. How are
you? The grandkids?”

It was his turn to look surprised.

“Super. My youngest went to
kindergarten.”

“What’s his name again?”

“Mark. Thanks for asking.” They chatted a bit
more. “Can I help you with something, Tess?”

“Yeah, I need to talk to the chief.” She
waited, drumming her fingers on the desktop while the call was
transferred. Then, “Hey, Chief Lincoln.”

“Tess. What can I do for you? Is the recruit
class going well?”

“The class is fine except for one recruit,
John Mason. He’s disrupting my supervision.”

“Ah, Mason. Good guy. He’s from downstate.
Came here to train when he unexpectedly had to move to
Rockland.”

“Be that as it may, he’s out of line in his
treatment of other recruits.”

“In what way?”

She filled him in on Mason’s
interference.

“Sounds to me like he’s trying to help.”

Seriously? She could feel her face heat. She
liked Chief Lincoln, and usually he supported the Academy staff.
“What’s going on here, Chief?”

“He knows a lot about firefighting from his
past…job.”

“I don’t care what he knows.”

A pause. Then, “Just work with him,
Righetti.”

The use of her last name told Tess the
conversation was over. “Yes, sir.”

When she disconnected, she glanced at Mason.
He sat with his arms crossed, but his expression was neutral. Not
gloating as it should have been. “Lincoln says you’re staying.”

“Good for me. And I’ll apologize for having
challenged you in front of the kids.”

“And promise not to do it again?”


Shaking his head, he stood and moved closer
to her.

“I won’t do it in front of them, but please
think about letting up a bit.”

“Not going to happen. Coddling recruits is
the wrong thing to do.”

“And you know that how?”

“Life experience.”

His brows knitted. “Would you like to talk
about that? Maybe there’s a root cause for your rigidity.”

“I’m not frigid.”

He blinked. “I said rigid.” Now, he chuckled.
“But the other’s good to know.”

“You can leave. I don’t want to analyze my
personality or views on firefighting with you.”

Reaching out, he grasped her arm. His touch
was firm but gentle, a feat almost impossible to pull off. “I’m
sorry for whatever happened to you. The offer stands, anytime you
want to take it.”

With that, he let go of her, turned and
walked out.

What the hell? A recruit offering to talk
things out with her? Invading her personal space? Something was
definitely
different about him. She glanced at her computer.
Hmm. Circling the desk, she sat down and called up a browser. Typed
in John Mason, New York State. The chief had said,
He’s had
experience with firefighting.
She added firefighting to the
search. So many names came up she couldn’t possibly find him that
way. Damn, she was going to have to keep a close eye on the guy.
When the thought made her uncomfortable, she switched off the
computer and stood.

What she needed was a glass of chardonnay and
a bath. That would erase all thoughts of the maddening man who’d
just left her office.

o0o

Later that night, Jack pulled open the door
to his hotel room and found five recruits lined up like soldiers
going to their deaths. “Hey there, Hanley. You brought your
friends?”

“Yeah. I hope it’s okay. They get…well…you
know.”

He smiled warmly at them. Poor kids. “Yeah, I
know. Come on in.”

When he’d moved up to Rockland, Jack had
booked a suite with a sizable bedroom and a large sitting area
filled with cushiony chairs and a couch. He said, “Not sure there’s
enough furniture, though.”


“We can sit on the floor.” A young blonde
girl stood close to an equally blond guy; they dropped down on the
rug, while the others found seats.

They’d left him a chair, so he took it. “You
all look nervous. Don’t be. Start with telling me your names.”

Jill and Jordan were the two on the floor.
Twins, like his children. The others were Mae, Mick and, of course,
Rob Hanley.

Hanley spoke first. “Can I ask something
before we start?”

“Sure.”

“You’re not a recruit, are you?”

“I’m in your class,” Jack hedged.

“Yeah, but you know a lot and you don’t act
like us, plus you’re old.”

“Thanks for reminding me. But I assure you,
I’m here to get as much information from the recruit training as I
can.”


Jordan on the floor asked, “Are you a
plant?”

“Excuse me?”

“Like, undercover for the officers.”

He laughed out loud. “No. And I give you my
word, nothing said tonight will go any further.”

They exchanged glances. One nodded, then the
others followed suit. Again, Hanley began. “You said you had some
techniques for operating blind. For, um”—his Adam’s apple
bobbed—“for fear.”

“I do. Let’s start with the fact that
seasoned, line firefighters get scared sometimes. It’ll happen when
you’re in a burning building or afterward, and could crop up at any
point in your career.” He was reminded of Tony Ramirez and Sydney
Sands, who’d had the experience. “I know of one case where the man
had been fighting fires for almost twenty years and got trapped. He
told me later he was scared to death.”

Jack had to smile at the hope that came over
their faces, one by one. Damn, he was good at this. He could have
an effect on kids just starting out.

And he knew, in his heart, he’d made the
right decision to conduct biweekly support groups for recruits at
the Anderson County Fire Academy come spring. That was the reason
he was attending this particular class.

“Let’s start with visualization.”

o0o

The hot water soothed every bone in Tess’s
body, especially the one in her ankle that she’d broken a year ago.
The one that still wasn’t strong enough to allow her back on the
line. Instead of dwelling on her disappointment, Tess luxuriated in
the sweet jasmine-scented bubbles in the tub—the water pulsing out
from six jets—and the candles that glowed all around the bathroom.
Picking up her chardonnay, she relished the tart taste of the wine
and how it went down smooth, how it settled her nerves. Nerves that
one very annoying man had activated.

Who the hell
was
he? She went back
over what he’d told her, what the chief had implied, and she
guessed she could live with his secretiveness, but she wasn’t about
to take advice from a mystery man. Besides, he was wrong about
going easy on the recruits.

After a half hour of decadence, her body was
relaxed and calmer. Her irritation at John Mason had diminished. As
she got out of the bath, she thought about dinner. She’d picked up
pizza from a local place, along with a gooey chocolate-chip cookie.
She dried off, dressed in a red, one-piece pajama thing she could
live her life in and had reached the living room of her patio home
when the phone rang. She checked caller ID and smiled at what she
saw.

“Hello, favorite aunt,” she said.

“Ha,
tesorino
, I am your only aunt.
How is my girl tonight?”

“I’m fine, Aunt Sabina.”

“Are you liking the Fire Academy any more
now?”

“A bit.” She could hear the sadness in her
own voice.

“You are still sad because of your
ankle?”

“Uh-huh. Because it’s not healed enough to go
back on the line.”

“For me, that is a blessing. I worry enough
about the other three.”

The other three, Mitch, Zach and Jenn
Malvaso, were firefighters downstate. “How are my cousins this
week?”

“Mitch is very busy. They keep giving him
more and more responsibility.”

“He probably loves it.”

“I took care of Genevieve’s Angel yesterday.
She is growing so much.”

“I love the pictures you sent.”

“And Casey’s girls spent last night with
me.”

“You have a lot of grandchildren now. From
all your kids.”

“Not the one I am speaking to. There should
be a nice man in your life who gives you babies.”

Because Tess had lost her parents when she
was fourteen, Sabina and her kids were the only family she had. She
and her brother had gone to live with the Malvasos for six years
after the accident that took away their mother and father. Since
then, Sabina viewed her as another child. Sabina was her mother’s
sister, which was why Tess didn’t have the same last name. “I don’t
think I’m cut out for marriage.”

“Bless your heart, you don’t know anything,
Teresa.”

Again, Tess laughed. “Maybe not.”

“Tell me about the teaching.”

“You know, I like it. I can contribute to the
department by training the best recruits.” Contrary to what Mason
thought. She spoke more of the fire department, which was her
life.

Before Sabina disconnected, she said, “Zach
has reserved a house for all of us next summer in the Finger Lakes.
We hope you can join us.”

Images of the Malvaso clan and their kids
made her smile. “Oh, Aunt Sabby, I’d love that.”

“Good.” She gave her dates. “Meanwhile, stay
in touch. And remember what I said about men. I still miss my
Angelo.”

“I know you do. I miss him, too.” The
patriarch Malvaso had treated her and Joey as he had his own
children.

“Goodbye, dear. It is your turn to call me
next week.”

“I will. I promise.”

Tess hung up, feeling nostalgic. After rocky
beginnings in their relationships, all her cousins had gone on with
their lives. She must not have gotten the gene that enabled a
person to pick up the pieces and go on. Or maybe those pieces were
permanently broken. On that negative thought, Tess sought out her
pizza.

After the morning inspection, half of the
recruits went with another instructor and the rest stayed with
Captain Righetti. Unfortunately, Jack was assigned to her. But
maybe he could help out the kids without antagonizing her.

She tugged on one of the braided coils
hanging from the ceiling. “This rope will hold three hundred pounds
of weight, and at least you all appear to be in shape. The task
today is to climb to the top and shimmy back down.”

Jack scanned the recruits. Their faces were
blank, and some jaws dropped.

She noticed. “You’ve had classroom
instruction in this technique. You’ll be asked to do this in the
practical exams you take at the end of the fourteen weeks. What’s
the problem?”

“We’ve never seen anybody do it. Could you
demonstrate, Captain?” Jordan, one of the twins, made the
request.

For some reason, she hesitated. Hmm. Couldn’t
she climb the rope? Jack doubted that. She was definitely fit, not
too thin, no fat on her, and she sported a strong set of
muscles—everywhere. He’d noticed how she’d filled out those jeans
the night she’d called him into her office.

“Fine.” She toed the mound of mats. “Note
there’s padding if you fall. You could still get hurt if you go
down fast, but you won’t die.”

A gasp from the small girl, Mae. Hell!

Jack asked, “What if we get partway up and
can’t finish?”

“Come back down. But you won’t pass your
practical test until you can go all the way up and down.”

“Today’s our first time,” he added.

She looked up. Seemed to think about it.
“Yeah, okay. Go only halfway today.” She scanned the group. “But
remember what I said. You’ll have to climb the whole thing
eventually. Like this.”

After she donned gloves, Tess grabbed on to
the rope and hauled herself up until her feet also touched the
hemp. Putting one hand over the other, she began the climb. From
his viewpoint, he saw her wince after she got about a third of the
way up. But she continued her ascent. Sensing something—a
firefighter’s best weapon against the Red Devil was his
intuition—Jack moved closer to the rope. The thing didn’t sway
because it was rooted to the ground. Still…

After she made it to the top, her descent was
slow, and he could see the pain on her face as she reached the
halfway point. She kept going. At about three body lengths above
the ground, her foot slipped. She cried out and fell. Jack caught
her and fell backward onto the mats. She sprawled on top of him,
every single inch of her aligning with his body. And holy hell, if
he didn’t get…aroused. Trying to ignore his reaction, he held her
and whispered, “You okay?”

“No.”

“You can lie here awhile. I don’t mind.”

“Can’t.” She rolled off him and onto her back
on the mats. “Everybody, come over here.”

Now the recruits were white-faced. “Listen
up. What happened to me just now is due in part to arrogance, the
fatal enemy of a firefighter. I wanted to show you how it’s done,
but I should have called in someone else to do the exercise. I
fractured my ankle a year ago, and apparently rope climbing is too
stressful for it.”

The damn fool woman.

“I should have been more careful today. So
take that lesson from me. If you’re hurt, tell someone. And don’t
overdo it.”

Jack thought of the time he’d broken his hand
in a fire but didn’t exit the building. It still ached sometimes.
She gave good advice and he was surprised at her candor, her
humility. Admired it.

Rolling to his feet, he took control. Someone
had to. “I’m going to help Captain Righetti to the training office.
Here’s what the rest of you can do. Get your firefighting text and,
as a group, review the rope-climbing techniques. Someone will be
back to conduct the drill before you finish.”

It said volumes that Tess didn’t balk. Until
he went to pick her up. “No! Just get me up and I’ll walk.”

He understood she didn’t want to appear
weaker than she already had. “Hanley, come give me a hand so we can
help Captain Righetti to the office.”