to him that Evie wanted to get past these obstacles the fastest way. Obviously the loss of revenue was a motivating factor, but it seemed like there was something more going on to make her anxious enough to drop in at the fire station way past business hours. “You need evacuation signage in the restaurant and a check valve on the fuel line. And you’re lacking clearance around the electrical panel that runs the whole building.”
“I had maintenance order the check valve. They’re installing it tomorrow.”
“And the restaurant evacuation plan?”
Evie blew out a breath and sat back in the chair. “I thought the neon exit signs made the emergency evacuation route pretty obvious.” She met his eyes and took a long, slow breath. “But I was wrong. Obviously. Maybe you could help me with the signs.”
“Of course,” he said. “That’s my job.”
Evie cocked her head and drilled him with a long stare. “How long have you had this job? I didn’t even know Marty had retired until the day before my marina was supposed to open.”
Scott shrugged. “He had some health problems and decided to hang it up. I was the only qualified guy here who wanted it.”
And he’d been darn lucky to be in the right place, right time. With a fire science degree in addition to all the required fire training, Scott was one of the few guys at the station who had the résumé for the job. Several of the older men had backed away slowly, hands up in defense when Marty tried to hand the position off to them. They hated paperwork and controversy.
Paperwork and a few terse words are nothing compared to the pain of burn scars from sloppily followed fire codes.
He had jumped at the job as if it were an arrow pointing toward his life’s mission.
“What makes you qualified?” Evie asked.
Was that a polite question or an accusation? He didn’t need to explain himself to anyone.
“What makes you qualified to run an amusement park?” he fired back.
Uh-oh. That was not how he’d intended to sound. His sister had warned him about his tone. She’d be punching him in the gut right now if she’d heard that.
Color rushed to Evie’s face and she stood abruptly. “Please draw up emergency evacuation plans for the areas that need them and put them up. You can do it on company time the next shift you work at the Point.”
“I’m there tomorrow for the afternoon shift.”
“Good. Fine. Thank you,” she said. “You can also check the fuel valve while you’re working for me, and I’ll notify you when the extra inches of clearance are added around the electrical box.”
The way she said inches made it clear she didn’t like making the change. Too bad. She would never have to find that panel in an emergency and shut it down while wearing fifteen pounds of gear and an air tank. That was his job.
“And the tree?” he asked.
“We’ll see about that.”
She picked up her purse and left his office without even a backward glance.
Scott followed her into the station and leaned on the ladder truck, watching her as she walked down the block and entered the front door of her building. She’d mentioned to him in the truck that she’d just moved to downtown Bayside.
Great. She’s right under my nose.
He stood there long enough to see the lights go on in the third-story windows. His mind locked on the sprinkler and standpipe system in that block of buildings, the location of the fire department hookup, the available hydrants along the street.
He couldn’t help it. Seeing danger everywhere he looked was imprinted on him like a scar.
“TELL ME AGAIN why I should breathe,” Jack Hamilton said.
“You have to,” Evie replied, not even looking up from her desk across from her brother’s. “Your body is smarter than you are.”
Jack put his chin in his hands and stared at Evie. “You’ve always been the calm, rational member of the family, but you’re spending money like it’s your last day on earth.”
“Maybe it is. The mother ship could be coming for me tomorrow. Maybe they need an accountant on their home planet.”
Jack tapped a pen on his desk until the annoying noise got Evie to look up.
“I thought you didn’t want to be an accountant anymore,” he said. “That’s why we hired someone to replace you and you’re off building docks and knocking down our old hotel.”
“I haven’t knocked it down yet. I need permits.”
Evie minimized her computer screen and gave Jack her full attention.
“I love numbers. Accounts. Spreadsheets. Love them.” She sighed. “When I was younger, I thought those things would make me happy for life.”
“But?”
“Dad died and left us Starlight Point. I want to be more than just a number cruncher. Accountants you can hire. What you need is a partner.” She paused and grinned at him. “Especially since you’ll be a family man before the summer is over.”
Jack put his head on his desk.
“Don’t be dramatic. You can come in here and cry about your sleepless nights. I’ll pretend to be sympathetic. I’ll even look the other way if you have puke on your tie.”
“I believe you’d tell me if I had puke on my tie. I hope you would, anyway.”
Evie laughed. “I would.”
There was a knock on their office door.
“It’s Mel,” a voice called from the other side.
“You can only come in if you have doughnuts or good news,” Jack yelled.
Mel Preston swept the door open. The head of maintenance at Starlight Point had married June Hamilton in a Christmas ceremony the previous winter. After the two of them had carried a torch for each other for more than a decade, Evie was much relieved when they’d finally given in to the flames. In her mind, it freed everyone up to get back to the business of running an amusement park. For her part, Evie had no intention of ever being such a ninny in the romance department. It killed on-the-job productivity.
“You don’t have to knock, Mel,” Evie said. “You’re a member of the family.”
“Still can’t believe my good luck,” he said. “I hope your sister never comes to her senses.”
“She won’t.”
“What’s up, Mel?” Jack asked. “Evie and I were in the middle of an important
