The Fire Inside (24 page)

“Why didn’t you report her?”

“Because I listened to what you said about
not being too rough on the recruits. Her story’s a sad one,
unfortunately typical of a lot of women.”

“I would have tried to help her. Why did she
turn to you?”

“I’m not sure. She came in late once, and I
called her on it. She was weepy. Her daughter was sick, and Anita
didn’t sleep or have breakfast.”

“What did you do?”

“I sent her to get some food, told her to go
take a nap on the cot in the room off the EMS office. I also said I
was sorry her situation was difficult, but she had to follow the
rules here—enough so she’d pass.”

“Good for you.”

She arched a brow. “I did listen to you.”

“You did. Still, I’m worried about
Mauro.”

“He’s got to learn he can’t be so
arrogant.”

Jack hadn’t wanted to bring this up again,
but he had to now. “Like Joey?”

“You already asked me that. I told you I
didn’t want to talk about Joey.”

“Maybe you have to. I’m wondering if you’re
confusing Mauro’s attitude with Joey’s.”

“If he reminded me of Joey, I’d be easier on
him.”


“Not necessarily.”

Her face blanked. She checked her watch. “I
have to go in.”

“All right, thanks for listening. I
appreciate it.”

She stepped in a little closer, touched his
chest. “I value your work here, Jack. Of course, I listened. But
you have to value mine, too.”

“You’re right. I do value it, but I’ll show
that more.”

Glancing around—there was no one in the
woods—she kissed his cheek and walked away.

Tess was right to want to be treated with
respect, but that didn’t stop Jack from worrying about Mauro. And
Tess wasn’t being honest with him. Or maybe herself. She
was
comparing him to Joey. Jack just didn’t know what to do about
that.

Jack stood at the helm of the boat he’d
rented at the Hidden Cove Marina and steered the four of them out
to shore. The kids loved boating on the lake, so he had this rig
for several days.

And today seemed like a good time to have a
meet-up with Tess. Participating in an activity together would help
break the proverbial ice. The introductions over breakfast had gone
well. Tess was friendly, inquisitive and not a bit nervous. Jack
was. He’d never had the twins meet a woman before.

As they bounced on the water and the wind
blew in his face, Jack pondered that fact. He was serious about
her. He wanted to be with her, and these two weeks were going to be
hard because he wouldn’t get to see her as much as before. Of his
own doing, there would be no opportunity for intimacy. The
conversation had been awkward…

Tess, you can’t stay overnight at my house
while the kids are here.

Her eyes had narrowed, but there was a
glimmer in them.
Why, Dr. Harrison, I didn’t know you were such
a prude.

Not a prude. I wouldn’t be comfortable
having sex with them down the hall.

In the other
wing
of the
house.

I guess I am old-fashioned and it’s stupid,
because both kids have had sex and talked to me about it. I don’t
know why I’m this way.

She’d given him a big smile.
You know
what, Doc. Old-fashioned works for you.

He’d crossed to her and encompassed her in a
big hug.
Except in bed. I’m not old-fashioned there.

Unfortunately, we won’t be in bed for two
weeks.

Aw, shit…

Jack steered them to a little inlet in the
cove that he liked. He slowed down, stopped and glanced behind him.
At the back of the boat, Tess and Sara were stretched out in the
sun on two benches, wearing only their bathing suits. Seth, who
wasn’t crazy about the sun, lazed under a canopy in the shade,
watching the water.

He called out, “Seth, want to drop the
anchor?”

“Yeah. The bathing beauties certainly won’t
help.”

After the anchor was in place, he and Jack
dropped onto the seats up front. Jack smiled at the child who was
so easy to be with. “Want something?”

“I can get it.” He reached into the cooler
and came up with a bottle of water. “There’s beer here, Dad.”

“I’ll have one of those.”

The two of them sat in silence, listening to
the water lap, the occasional Jet Ski rider come by and the hum of
its motor. The way the sunlight bounced on the surface of the lake
was magical.

Leaning back in the cushions, Seth gave him a
little-boy smile. “It’s great out here.”

“We can come as often as you like. I’ve got
the boat for the days you’re home.”

“I want to spend time with you, Dad.”

“Is something wrong, son?”

Seth shrugged. “In some ways, I wish we’d
come home for the summer.”

Jack had so many memories of summer: swimming
in Hidden Lake at his friends’ houses, watching the kids climb the
jungle gym, building sandcastles.

“Yeah, me, too.” He waited. Since he was the
dad, he added, “But you’ll be glad you’re taking calculus now when
you have all higher-level classes in the fall.” Seth had pretty
much settled on being a math teacher.

His son smiled, reminding him of Elizabeth’s
smile. Today, it didn’t hurt as much as usual. He thought again
about how much Tess had come to mean to him.

Seth angled his head to the back of the boat.
“She’s great, Dad.”

“Yeah, she is.”

“I’ll bet she doesn’t take any crap from any
of the recruits at the Academy.”

His heart tightened in his chest. “Why would
you say that?”

“I can just tell. She’s not intimidated at
all by us.”

“That a good thing?”

“Really good.”

He glanced to the back of the boat and saw
the
girls
sit up and swing their legs to the floor. They
stood and made their way to the front. Jack watched them. Tess’s
face was red, and he could see a little outline of sunburn on her
chest. Sara had some marks, too.

“Didn’t you two put on sunscreen?” he asked
sternly.

“Yes, Dad. Tess insisted. I didn’t have a
choice.” Her tone was teasing.

“You must’ve missed some spots. I’ve got aloe
in our stuff.”

“Later.” Tess angled her head at Sara. “I
challenged your daughter to a swim. I said I could beat her to that
outcropping of rocks over there and back.”

Jack winked at Sara. “She, um, was on the
swim team.”

“Oh yeah?” Tess arched a brow. “Me, too.”

“I’ll watch so nobody cheats.”

“Watch, hell.” Seth stood. “If they can do
it, so can we. But let’s make this a boys-against-girls thing.”

Suddenly, Sara eyes turned bleak. Sometimes,
her mood could change on a dime.

“Honey, you okay?”

She cleared her throat. “Yeah, it’s nice to
be able to, you know, have another girl around. We never even knew
Mom, let alone do things with her.”

Because he’d experienced it, Jack knew how
this kind of sadness could ambush you. He hugged her close and
kissed her hair. “Aw, baby.”

Reaching out, Tess squeezed her hand. “I’m
glad you like having me here, Sara.”

After the moment passed, Jack whipped his
shirt off and faced his son. “Ready, kid?”

Seth clasped his shoulder. “Ready, Dad. For a
lot of things.”

o0o

Tess gripped the railings and hefted herself
up the ladder. She was third in line. Jack had won the race. Sara
came in second, and she and Seth took up the rear. When she swung
her legs over the top, Jack threw her a towel. “I beat you,
Righetti.”

“And we tied,” she said sassily. “Boys
against girls.”

“No thanks to me.”

When Jack’s gaze went to his son, Tess caught
her breath. He looked at his kids as if they’d hung the moon or
discovered the cure for cancer. It made Tess wonder what she’d
missed by not having children. After Joey, she’d never wanted
any.

Jack and the twins donned shirts. “Seth isn’t
into swimming, but he’s an excellent baseball player.” He threw
Tess a big T-shirt which said Columbia University on it.

Poking her head and arms into it, she gave
Seth a smile. “Do you play in college?”

“I did my first year. But it took up tons of
my time.”

“He’s got a double major in math and
computers, as well as the education courses.”

Tess liked the boy. He was so even-keeled. He
didn’t care that Sara beat him in swimming and seemed comfortable
with his own successes. She realized then he was a lot like
Jack.

“So, who’s hungry?” Sara asked.

Everyone was.

They unpacked the cooler, and Tess was
surprised to find fried chicken, potato salad, a green salad and
crusty bread. “Did you cook?”

“Daddy did. He got up at dawn to fix this for
me and Seth.” She gave Jack an impulsive hug. “We could have
ordered this out, Dad.”

“Nah. You’re not home that much.”

The chicken was tender and perfectly spiced,
the potato salad creamy and the lettuce’s dressing tart. She liked
the food Jack had made. Her heart skipped a beat at another
thought. This kind of family stuff was different from how she felt
with the Malvasos. She liked that, too.

“Do you have any kids, Tess?” Sara asked. The
girl was so intuitive, she could practically read minds.

“No. I’ve never been married.”

“Any brothers and sisters?”

For a minute, Tess froze. Then she cleared
her throat. “A brother. But he died when he was twenty-four.”

“Oh, God.” Sara’s eyes filled with
sorrow.

Seth gasped.

Seated next to each other, the twins moved
closer so they were touching shoulders and hips. “I don’t know what
I’d do…” Sara didn’t finish the thought.

“Me, either.” Seth’s voice was raw.

“It was a long time ago.” The comment was
weak, but she didn’t know what else to say.

“Does it still hurt?” Sara asked after a
moment.

“Yes. Sometimes it’s bittersweet, like now.”
She gestured to encompass the boat. “I was thinking earlier how
much I’m enjoying you two. In some ways, it’s how I felt being with
Joey.”

Sara’s whole face brightened. “That’s
cool.”

Tess cleared her throat. “It is.”

“But I still think you should stay overnight
with Dad.”

“Sara!” Jack seemed so shocked it brought a
chuckle from Tess.

“What?” Sara lifted her chin at her Dad.
“Tess and me already talked about it when we were in the sun. She
says she respects your wishes and so should we.”

“Well, you should listen to her.”

“Maybe I will,” Sara said, throwing Tess a
conspiratorial grin.

o0o

Two nights later, the four of them went to
see a movie. Well, two movies. Jack and Seth wanted to see a
romantic comedy, and Tess and Sara chose a bestselling thriller
that was recently made into a film. No stereotypes in this family,
Jack thought again. And Tess fit right in.

On Wednesday morning, the kids met Tess and
Jack for lunch at the Fire Academy. Tess was pleased to see how
many people loved Jack’s children: her cousins, the Ramirez family,
even Chief Callahan.

And on Sunday, Seth asked to go to their old
church and invited Tess to come along. At first Tess had hesitated.
She hadn’t been inside of a church since Joey’s funeral. Two
firefighters had died in her department in Rockland, she’d told
Jack, and she attended calling hours and went to the cemetery
afterward. But not church. He didn’t pressure her, but he was
thrilled when she showed up to go with them after all.

In between, Tess insisted Jack spend some
time alone with them. By the end of their first week, he was worn
out. Flopping down on his couch after their dinner of hamburgers
and mac and cheese, he threw up his hands “You guys have to do
something on your own tonight.”

“Yeah, tryin’ to get rid of us?” Sara
asked.

“No, I need rest.”

“Tess coming over?” Seth asked. He was
getting as nosy as his sister. It had become a game with them over
the past several days to tease him about her.

“I didn’t invite her. Now go see your
friends.”

“Well, there
is
a party tonight at the
lake.”

His fatherly instincts went on alert. “Who’s
giving it?”

“Just some kids.” Sara’s evasiveness always
worried him.

“Not good enough, honey.”

“Dad, we’re twenty.” Now she whined. “And we
go out all the time at school without you to check up on us.”

“Humor me. I want an address, at least.”

Seth said, “That’s not too much to ask.”

They left with kisses and hugs, and as soon
as they closed the door, Jack called Tess. When she answered, he
didn’t even identify himself. “Tell me you’re free tonight.”

“Yeah, my boyfriend won’t sleep with me for
ten days.”

“He’s an idiot. Why don’t get on over to his
house.”

A very sexy chuckle. “Kids out?”

“Uh-huh.”

“I’ll be right there.”

“Tess?”

“Yeah?”


“I like being called your boyfriend.”

o0o

Nervous because she’d never done anything
like this, Tess stood on Jack’s front porch and hesitated. She was
worried that she was being stupid. And then she got mad at herself
for going out of her comfort zone. Damn it. She rang his bell with
a pounded fist.

In seconds, he yanked open the door. And gave
her a quizzical look. “You had time to do all that with your hair?”
He peered at her closer. “And makeup. Holy cow!”

“Nah. We just finished doing each other’s
hair and putting on war paint.”

“Who’s we?”

“Megan, Jenn, Connie and me. We were all home
together.”

“Thank them for me.”

“Oh, just wait,” she mumbled under her breath
and stepped inside. Some soft, sexy saxophone played in the
background, and candles had been set out over the table surfaces.
She cocked her head. “Hmm. You missed me, huh?”