back over there.” The fire was now out, but the balcony and stairs were badly damaged and collapsing.
John’s T-shirt was streaked with soot. “You shouldn’t have brought it with you. We firefighters hate it when people retrieve stuff before escaping.”
“My...my laptop.” She clutched the handle tightly. Tears really threatened now that she had her bag back. “It has everything on it.”
“Don’t worry, I’m just teasing you. I’d have a hard time leaving my laptop behind even after all the training I’ve had.” His warm smile soothed the panic and embarrassment that churned inside her. She felt his big hand on her back. “Let’s get you back to the hotel.”
Her skin heated under his unwelcome touch, but she didn’t want to be ungracious after he’d found her bag and offered her a place to stay. The flashing lights from the fire trucks hurt her eyes. “My car keys are gone.”
“We’ll get you another set tomorrow. I’ll drive you back in my car.” His broad hand still on her back, he guided her through the crowd toward his vehicle. Oh, dear. Even amid all the chaos, her skin heated beneath his palm as if she was still too close to the flames.
And now she was going to be trapped in his glitzy hotel in nothing but her pajamas.
“We were lucky the motel had a good fire alarm system.” John steered his big black truck down a winding back road. “It went up fast. Everyone got out, though.”
“That’s a relief. I’m glad the firefighters got there quickly and had time to check all the rooms. How long have you been a volunteer?”
“Oh, I joined the first moment they let me.” He turned and grinned. “More than fifteen years ago now. When I was a kid I wanted to be a firefighter.”
He should have become one. Much better than a gambling impresario. On the other hand, her strict upbringing had formed her distaste for gambling, but now that she was here it didn’t seem so different from any other business. She admired how John had pitched in and done anything and everything he could to help. He was thoughtful, too, talking to the other evacuees and reassuring them that the hotel staff would help them track down car keys, clothes and things like that in the morning. There was certainly no need for him to have offered everyone rooms at the hotel. He was being very generous. “What changed your mind?”
He shrugged. “I discovered I had a head for business. And at the time I was glad to leave this quiet backwater behind. I got seduced by the bright lights of the big city.”
“New York?”
“Boston. I’ve never lived outside of the great state of Massachusetts. After a while, though, I started to miss the old homestead. And that’s around the time I cooked up the whole casino idea. But when I came back I signed right on with the fire department again.” His disarming grin cracked her defenses again. “They missed me. No one can unfurl or roll up a hose as fast as me.”
“I’m sure they appreciate the help. But there don’t seem to be too many people around here.” They were driving through dark woods, not a house in sight. The area around the casino was very rural.
“Nope. That doesn’t seem to stop fires breaking out, though. Last week an abandoned barn caught fire out in the middle of nowhere. We had to pump water from an old ice pond to put it out. Could have set the whole woods on fire, especially right now when everything’s so dry.”
It was early summer. Not that she really noticed the changing seasons much from the inside of her pale gray cubicle.
As they continued driving, she could see the pearl-white moon flashing through black tree branches. The woods were beautiful at night.
“I think it’s nice that you find the time to volunteer when you’re so busy with the casino.” There. She’d said it. She’d been a little short with him this afternoon and now she felt bad about it.
“I enjoy it. I’d go crazy sitting behind a desk all the time. I like to have my hands on as many things as possible.”
One of those hands was resting on the wheel. For one breath-quickening instant she imagined it resting on her thigh.
She crossed her legs and jerked her gaze back to the moon, only to find it had disappeared behind the trees altogether. What was wrong with her? His hand was filthy from fighting the fire, for one thing. And she would rather die than let a business client touch her.
Not that he’d want to anyway. She’d seen the gossip-column pictures of him with all those glamorous women. A different one every week, from the looks of it. He’d hardly be interested in a frumpy accountant from Cleveland.
She let out a sharp exhale, then realized it was audible.
“Fires are stressful, but don’t worry too much. Everything you lost can be replaced. That’s the thing to remember.”
She turned to him, startled. She hadn’t even given a thought to all her burned-up stuff. Clearly she was losing her mind. “You’re so right. They were just things.”
They drove in silence for a minute.
“It’s a shame you missed Mariah Carey. She was awesome.” He turned and smiled.
“I’m sure she was.” She couldn’t help smiling back. Which was getting really annoying.
“What kind of music do you like?”
“I don’t really listen to music.” She shifted in her seat. Why did they have to talk about her?
“None?” She felt his curious gaze on her. “There must be some kind of music you like.”
She shrugged. “My dad didn’t allow most music in the house.”
“Now that’s a crime. Not even gospel music?”
“No. He thought singing was a waste of time.” She frowned. Gaining maturity had given her a perspective on her father’s views that made living in the house difficult. What was wrong with a little music? He thought even classical music was an enticement to sin and debauchery. Sometimes her friend Lynn drove them both to lunch and they listened to the radio on the way. She was surprised by how some tunes made her want to tap her toes.
She noticed with relief that they were pulling into the casino parking lot.
“So what did your family do for fun?”
Fun? They didn’t believe in fun. “We didn’t have too much time on our hands. They run a hardware store, so there’s always something to do.”
“I guess organizing rivets made accounting seem like an exciting escape.” He grinned at her.
She bristled with irritation, then realized he was right. “I suppose it did.” He pulled into a parking space in front of New Dawn, then jumped out of the car and managed to open her door before she even got her seat belt undone. There was no way to avoid taking his offered hand without being rude, and she didn’t want to be obnoxious since he was going out of his way to help her.
