Meet Me On The Midway. Amie Denman

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СКАЧАТЬ to see if anyone was looking. Not that she was committing a crime. She had business there. It was a public building. The doors were open.

      When she stepped under the overhang and into the relative darkness of the station, she stopped. The interior smelled like rubber tires, engine oil and something that could only be described as fire truck. She’d spent time in the fire office at the Point when she was growing up, sitting on the engine’s bumper and talking to the firefighters. But Starlight Point was only this quiet during the dead of winter.

      “Hello?” she called. A call box was mounted to the inside wall with a note instructing people to press the red button in case of emergency. Getting her marina project back on track and getting her hotel renovation plans approved seemed like an emergency to her, but she was afraid of what might happen if she pressed that button. She pictured alarms, flashing lights and men racing for trucks while they threw on helmets and coats.

      That would be too much excitement after a long day working at the Point, where she was in charge of resorts and safety. There, plenty of flashing lights, screaming people on the rides and millions of details competed for her attention. The quiet of the station calmed her mind, but only one thing would solve her problem.

      Just as Evie laid her hand on the door to the office of the former fire inspector, a door to her left opened and a firefighter in navy blue from head to toe emerged. Caught.

      The man glared at her as if she had burst into the bathroom while he was showering. Scott Bennett. After her ride in the fire truck with him a few days ago, she had made just enough inquiries to know the dark-eyed man who’d picked her up in the rain was also the one who’d picked apart her marina project.

      And he’d obviously known who she was, although he hadn’t been brave enough to own up to it in the truck. Maybe he’d been hesitant because he was on her territory.

      And she was on his right now.

      “You’re just the man I need to see,” she said, attempting to force a cheerful tone.

      Although it seemed impossible, his scowl deepened. “Is there a fire or other emergency?”

      He sounded strangely hopeful. These guys operate on adrenaline. She would have to remember that.

      “My marina needs your approval to open. The boating season is limited. I’m losing money every minute the docks and restaurant are closed. So, yes,” she said. “It may not seem like an emergency to you, but it is to me.”

      Scott crossed his arms and looked down at her. Although Evie was five foot ten, Scott had her by several inches. With his broad shoulders and massive forearms, he seemed even larger. Perhaps it was the scowl.

      Evie was not going to be intimidated, but honey might be more convincing than vinegar. The man was in the business of helping people, after all. He isn’t the enemy, right? And he had given her a ride in the fire truck on a rainy day.

      But only because she was violating the No Pedestrians rule. And she owned that fire truck anyway.

      Sigh. Honey. Not vinegar.

      “Thank you for the ride a few days ago. Had I known you were the new fire inspector for the city, I would have invited you to my office to talk about our apparent violations.”

      “Real violations.”

      Maybe honey isn’t strong enough.

      “Enlighten me,” Evie suggested.

      Scott didn’t move. Arms crossed, he stared her down as if willing her to get out of his fire station.

      Evie expected to be arrested for trespassing at any minute. She imagined her mother, old dog in tow, showing up at the police station to bail her out.

      “I have an office, too,” he said. “You can come in.”

      Such a friendly invitation.

      Evie stood her ground. She knew where his office was. He’d have to walk by her to get to it.

      Scott carefully avoided touching her as he squeezed past to open his office door. Evie wanted to laugh out loud. She was making him uncomfortable. Of course she was.

      He may think he had some pedantic fire codes on his side, but she had been operating under approval from the former inspector. And she was his employer—one of them—for the summer.

      Scott flipped on a ceiling fluorescent light, and Evie glanced around the tiny space. Everything about the office said “former closet.” She’d been in there twice before, recognized the empty, dustless square on the desk where the nameplate for the former inspector used to sit. So Scott didn’t have his own nameplate declaring him the King of the Code. Perhaps she’d get him one if he ever made Employee of the Month at Starlight Point.

      * * *

      SCOTT LEFT THE OFFICE door open so he could listen for any calls that came in over the loudspeaker in the bay. He also felt better having an escape route in case Evie Hamilton was as ticked off as he guessed.

      He gestured for her to sit in the orange plastic chair in front of his desk and retreated to take his own seat. And then he remembered the plastic chair was missing a leg. He’d discovered it by the trash bin out back and had intended to repair it in case he had visitors to his new office. There hadn’t been any visitors in the short time he’d been the owner of the office, but if anyone sat in the chair right now, it would flip and toss the person onto the concrete floor.

      He pivoted, swooped and caught Evie just as the chair started to tip. She gasped, dropped her purse, and the chair clattered to the floor. Scott held her around the waist as if they had just finished a passionate dance and he was dipping her for a kiss. Her blond hair swung freely and he could see the pulse beating wildly in her neck.

      Surprise. Fight or flight. A natural reaction.

      His heart rate was at sprint level, too, even though emergencies were part of his daily life.

      He pulled her up and let go, keeping only one hand on her arm to make sure she was steady. The last thing he needed was someone getting hurt at the fire station. In his office.

      “Take my chair,” he said.

      Before she could object, he reached over the desk and picked up his wooden chair. It was heavy, but he swung it up and planted it right behind his guest.

      “Sit,” he said. “I, uh, hope you’re all right.”

      He bent and scooped the contents of her purse back into the bag. Interesting. Cell phone. Wallet-type thing. Hand sanitizer. Sunglasses. Two name tags, both black. One with her name and one that said Ford.

      Who—or what—is Ford?

      He handed her the bag. Instead of going behind his desk, he leaned on the filing cabinet next to it.

      “Maybe I should come back another time,” Evie said.

      Her cheeks were flushed and she sat cautiously on the chair, probably afraid of another trap.

      He had her off balance.

      He was not going to admit he felt the same way. He took a long, slow breath, willing СКАЧАТЬ