Firefighter's Unexpected Fling

He grinned. “Yeah, but what fun would that have been?”

She shook her head. “Men. Here’s my car. Bye, Olivia and Jared. See you later, Ross.”

He and the kids called goodbye and continued on.

Why did he miss her already?

As he was about to start the truck, there was a knock on his window. He jumped. It was Sally. She motioned for him to roll down the glass.

“Hold out your hand.”

He did. She deposited some capsules.

“These’ll help with the pain. Bye, Ross.” She said the last softly.

Something sweet lingered as she walked away. Something better left alone.

CHAPTER THREE (#u4eea8e4c-1cde-5bf1-84b5-d0aa85b53b7d)

TWO DAYS LATER Ross was in his chair in the office doing paperwork when the ambulance backed into the bay. He watched out the window as Sally came around to the rear of the ambulance. She looked tired. They had already made twice as many runs as the fire side had during the shift.

His company had spent the last few hours washing the trucks, checking the supplies and making sure the station was in pristine order. Now some of the men were in the exercise room working out while others were watching a movie in the TV room.

One of his men stopped at the open door and looked in. “Hey, Ross, it’s your turn to cook tonight. Do we need to make a run to the grocery store or do you have what you need?”

Each shift shared kitchen duty. Some stations had one person who liked to do the cooking, while others had a revolving schedule and the crew took turns. His station shared the duty. They assigned two people per shift to handle the meal. His turn had come up. He wasn’t a great cook but he could produce simple meals. Mostly he hoped to have someone more skilled than him as his partner.

“I’ll check. Who’s on with me?”

“Sal.”

He’d planned to stay out of her circle as much as possible, spooked as he was by his over-the-top reaction to their time together at the picnic. Cooking a meal with Sally wouldn’t accomplish that, but how could he get out of it without causing a lot of questions or hurting her feelings? No solution occurred to him, so he resigned himself to spending time with her. Surely he was capable of that.

During the last few weeks it seemed as if they had seen more of each other than they had in months. In spite of their one day on and two off schedules, he was aware she often worked extra hours in order to have extended time off. What did she do during that time? Why that suddenly mattered to him, he had no idea. He huffed. It wasn’t his business anyway.

Ross again glanced into the bay, then back to the man. “They’re just rolling in. I’ll give her time to clean up, then go see what she thinks. They’ve already made a couple of runs this afternoon. I don’t know for how much I can depend on her.”

“Ten-four.”

A few minutes later Ross crossed the bay to the door of the medical area. Sally was going through a drawer. “Hey.”

She turned. “Hey.”

“Tough shift?”

“You could say that. Two big calls back-to-back.” She shrugged. “But you know how that goes.”

She was right, he’d had those days as well. “I hate to add to it but we have KP duty tonight. I’d say I’d handle it, but I’m not a great cook.”

Sally grinned. “You’re not one of those stereotypical firemen who has his own cookbook?”

Ross chuckled. “No, Trent who works over at Tens does. I bought his cookbook to be supportive but that doesn’t 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.”