the furniture mart a set fire?”
“Benton thinks so, but it’ll take a day to find the proof.”
She flashed him a glance. “What’s your opinion?”
“I think this particular pyro is having a field day.”
“Tell me about your friend who died. How old are his children?”
“He has two teenagers and two in their twenties.” Rick saw telltale tears trickle from her eyes. “Becoming a firefighter is a lot like joining the military. Everyone knows there’s going to be risk.”
“I’m sure they do.”
He wanted to get off that subject to talk about something more important. “Is your father going to be in town for the week?”
“No. When he comes two or three times a year, he’s always just passing through.”
“It’s obvious you’re very close to your mother.”
“As opposed to my father, who was never a family man, but I’m sure you already figured that out even before you met him.”
“It’s his great loss for not spending time with you. He told me he doesn’t like you living on your own.”
“He said that because the loft is small and I don’t have a guest room for him.”
“Andrea? Be serious.”
“I am. He hates my couch.”
Rick shuddered to think what kind of father hers had been. All the lost opportunities.
Andrea pulled into his driveway, where she parked to the side to leave room for another car. He gave her a covert glance. “What are your plans for the rest of the day?”
But he didn’t hear her response because he’d already opened the passenger door and Tessa had come running out of the house without boots or a parka. “Daddy—” She sounded ecstatic and flew into his arms.
After giving him a hard hug, she stared at Andrea. While his mind sought an explanation his daughter could handle, Andrea spoke up. “Hi, Tessa. Your daddy needed a ride home because he was so excited to see you. Now I’m going home.”
His little girl shifted her gaze back to him. “Sharon said you breathed too much smoke, Daddy. I’m going to take care of you because Mommy told me to.” She pulled on his hand to get him out of the car.
His daughter’s sweetness made his heart quake. “You always take perfect care of me.”
“See you,” Andrea called to them before backing out of the driveway. Helpless to do anything else at the moment, Rick had to let her go. The last thing he saw was the sheen of her wet blue eyes before she drove off.
Tessa helped him inside the house. “Sharon says you have to take a shower and go straight to bed.”
His housekeeper met him in the foyer. “We’re glad you’re home. I’ll bring you dinner when you’re ready.”
Rick was so drowsy from whatever had been put into his IV, he barely made it to his bedroom. After he collapsed on the bed to get his second wind, he knew nothing more until thirst brought him out of a deep sleep. He reached for his water and drank until he’d emptied the glass.
When he opened his eyes, he discovered it was quarter after nine. That was the time he’d gone to his room last night. It meant he’d slept twelve hours! The last thing he remembered was being ordered to bed.
He rolled off the mattress, aware he was breathing more easily. He didn’t feel he needed the inhaler. But once on his feet, he still felt weak. Some breakfast would make all the difference.
After a visit to the bathroom, he left for the kitchen in his sweats and T-shirt, expecting to see Sharon and Tessa, but they weren’t there. He checked the note on the fridge under the magnet.
Nancy came over this morning and took Tessa home with her so you could sleep. She’ll bring her back this afternoon. I’ll be home from the grocery store shortly. Your friends brought your car home from the station, so don’t worry about a thing.
He drank a quart of milk and munched on a banana and a couple of peanut butter sandwiches before checking his phone messages. There were half a dozen, but of course nothing from Andrea. She didn’t have his cell phone number, but he had given her the land line number so she could call Sharon. But when he checked those messages, there still wasn’t one from her.
Remembering the tears in her eyes before she’d backed down the drive, he realized she’d heard Tessa and didn’t want to say or do anything to upset his daughter more. Though touched by her sensitivity, he didn’t want Andrea distancing herself because of it. He’d find a middle ground for them no matter how long it took.
As he walked down the hall, he heard the sounds of the animated elf band he’d set up around the Christmas tree. He frowned. That was odd. He hadn’t remembered hearing it on his way to the kitchen.
Clearly mystified, he headed for the living room and collided with a heavenly female form just coming down the hall in jeans and a melon-colored cotton sweater.
Andrea, as he lived and breathed.
A cry escaped her throat. “I thought I heard you in the kitchen.”
“I needed food.”
She bit her lip. “In case you weren’t dressed, I didn’t want to surprise you, so I turned on the elf band.”
His hands shot out to steady her. Sharon must have let her in this morning. “How long have you been here?”
“Not long.”
“What a welcome surprise,” he murmured in a gravelly voice. Maybe he was dreaming. All he knew was that he had to taste her mouth again. He’d been hungering for it since the other night.
“No, Rick—” she begged. “This isn’t why I came over.” But it was too late. He’d already stifled most of the sound. In the next instant he pressed her against the wall in the hall and found himself devouring her, bite by delicious bite. What made everything more miraculous was that she was giving him breathtaking permission.
Between the flowery scent of her hair and the warmth of her luscious body, he felt transported. He forgot the time as his hands roamed over her back and hips. Being with her like this made him feel young and alive again. She clung to him in a way that told him she was experiencing ecstasy, too.
“Why do you say no when you mean yes? You’re torturing me.”
“It’s not on purpose,” she whispered against the side of his neck.
“Yes, it is. Do you have any idea how beautiful you are? How exciting?” He kissed her scented throat. “Ever since I saw you through the display window, I fought not to want you, but it happened anyway.”
“I know,” she admitted, sounding breathless. “I never thought I could feel this way again and I didn’t want to either. I still don’t.”
