mean I know how to use it. I could see if one of the other guys wants to help.”
“What gives you the idea I’m not any good either?”
He wasn’t used to people putting him on the spot and gave her a speculative look. “Are you?”
Her eyes twinkled. “Yeah, I’m a good cook.”
Ross wiped the back of his hand across his forehead. “Woo, that’s a relief. If we need something, my crew can make a run to the grocery store.”
“I have a couple more things to do here, so I’ll meet you in the kitchen in a few minutes and we’ll see what we’ve got available. Surely you can open some cans if I’m called out.”
“That I can do.” He left and headed toward the kitchen.
This was the first time they’d been partnered in any real way. They had each done their jobs during runs but had never really interacted until the picnic. He rather liked Sally. She challenged him even at creating a meal. He wouldn’t have thought he would appreciate that kind of confrontation but he did.
He was already in the kitchen area when she showed up. “Any ideas?”
“Let’s see what’s in the pantry.” She opened the oversize door off to the side and propped it open with a crate, despite the fact the closet was large enough to hold both of them with ease. Was she fearful of being in a closed space with a man, with him in particular, or was there something else? It was just as well he wouldn’t ever take a chance on being caught in a suggestive situation with a female at the station. Having that on his record would ruin any chance for advancement. This promotion was important to him, his opportunity to make a real difference.
It had been while he was in the hospital after the fire that he’d decided one day he would help people as that firefighter had helped his grandpa. As soon as Ross had graduated from high school, he’d joined the same volunteer fire department that had saved them. He’d continued to do so while he was in college. After that, he’d joined the Austin Fire Department. He loved everything about being a fireman.
In some odd way, he was determined to outdo fire. To be smarter than it. Learn to anticipate its next move. He wanted to control, conquer it so no one else would ever have to live through those moments of fear he’d had.
Sally ran her fingers down the canned goods stacked on a shelf. “Yeah, I think we have enough here for vegetable soup. Corn, beans, chopped potatoes and tomato juice. Two tins of each should do it and we can always make grilled cheese sandwiches.”
He pursed his lips and nodded. “That sounds good.”
Ross stepped to the doorway but didn’t enter. Their meal would have to feed six firefighters and two medical support techs.
“Is there any ground beef left over, or roast beef in the freezer or the refrigerator?” she asked as if she’d been thinking along the same chain of thought.
“I’ll check.” As he walked across the kitchen, he could hear the clinking of cans being shifted.
After rummaging through the freezer for a moment, he announced, “Yeah, there’s two or three pounds of ground beef.”
“Pull it out to thaw. It can go into the soup,” she called from the closet before she appeared with her arms full of cans. She dumped them on the counter as he placed the beef in the sink.
“There’s a couple more cans in there. Do you mind getting them?”
He went to the closet and retrieved the cans sitting off by themselves. “Are these them?”
“Yeah.”
With his foot, Ross pushed the crate back into the pantry and let the door automatically close before going to the counter. He put the cans beside the others. “What now?”
Sal looked at him with her hand on a hip. “This is a partnership, not a chef/sous chef situation.”
“I prefer the chef/sous chef plan.” Ross grinned.
“You act as if you don’t do this often.”
He leaned his hip against the counter. “I don’t, if I can get out of it.”
“Okay, since you’ve designated me to be the chef, I’m going to put you to work. Start by opening all the cans. You’re qualified on a can opener, aren’t you?”
“I can handle that. It’s electric, isn’t it?”
Sally laughed. “Yeah. It is.” She turned her back to him. “And they let him be captain of a company.”
Ross pulled the opener out from under the counter. “I heard that.”
Pulling a large boiler out from under the cabinet near the stove, she put it on a large unit and turned it on. Ross opened cans and set them aside as he covertly watched Sal uncover the still-frozen meat and place it in the pot. She worked with the same efficacy that she used in her medical care.
“So you just have that recipe in your head? Carry it around all the time?”
Sally glanced over her shoulder. “I made it for my family all the time growing up.” She tapped her forehead. “I keep it locked away right here.”
“Well, I have to admit I’m impressed. I had no idea you had such skills.”
“I’m not surprised. We really haven’t worked together much.”
Ross sort of hoped that would change even as he sternly told himself, yet again, he wanted no interferences in his life right now. Socializing with a female he worked with would definitely qualify as that.
“It’s nothing but meat and a few cans of vegetables.” She turned serious. “But the secret ingredient is Worcestershire sauce. Would you mind checking the refrigerator door and see if there’s any there?”
He did as she requested. “There’s half a bottle.”
“That’ll be enough.” Her attention remained on what she was doing. “We’ll make it work. Is there any ketchup, by chance?”
Ross opened the refrigerator door again. “Yeah, there’s some of that.”
“Then bring that too.”
“Ketchup?” He’d never heard of such a thing.
“It’ll add a little thickness to it and also a little sweetness.”
“You really are a chef.”
“It takes more than ketchup soup to make you a chef.”
A loud buzz followed by a long alarm then three shorts indicating it was their station being called ended their conversation. Ross was already moving as Sally turned off the stove and put the pot into the refrigerator along with the open cans.
As they ran down the hall toward the bay, the dispatcher’s voice came over the loudspeakers. “Two-car accident at the intersection of Taft and Houston. One car on fire.”
Moments
