Fourth Down Read online

  Adara held up a hand. “Quit while you’re ahead. I’m not talking you into or out of anything. I personally think you’ve made a big mistake shutting yourself off emotionally all this time, but that’s your business. On the other hand, if Mr. Hot Guy can break through that barrier, no way am I talking you out of it.”

  “Traitor.” Holly slouched down in the couch. “See, I don’t want to go out with him so you’re supposed to talk me out of it.”

  That produced another fit of giggles from Adara. “Sorry. You picked the wrong person here. If there’s any spark there, you should go for it.”

  “Sparks get you burned,” Holly said.

  “You know all I’d say is be careful,” Adara said in a soft voice.

  “Damn straight.” She threw herself against the cushions. “Don’t let me do something I know I’ll regret for the rest of my life.”

  Adara pushed off the couch and took both empty bowls. “Meanwhile, more ice cream?”

  Chapter 5

  “I had no idea you knew Chase DeMarco.”

  Holly turned from the coffee machine at the sound of Cliff’s voice. She took a sip of the hot liquid while she gathered her thoughts and made sure nothing in her voice or expression gave her away.

  “I think ‘know’ is too inclusive a word. We met once. At Pump It Up.”

  “Huh. I had the impression there was more to it.”

  “There is nothing to it.” She took a deep breath and dialed it down. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to snap at you. But really. That’s all it was. Is.”

  Cliff grinned at her. “He’s a nice guy. And good looking. Or so my wife tells me.”

  She frowned at him. “Are you trying to fix me up?”

  He laughed. “God forbid. You’d take my head off.” Then he sobered. “But it wouldn’t hurt you to step out once in a while. All work and no play and all that.”

  “You act like I’m some kind of recluse. I date. I just don’t advertise my business.”

  Cliff shrugged. “Well, just sayin’. Lara said she saw sparks between the two of you. Of course, what do I know from sparks. I just—”

  Whatever else he might have said was lost in the Klaxon blare splitting the air, the sound that preceded a call to action.

  “Engine 23, Ladder 17, Ambo 12. Multiple car accident on the freeway at…”

  Holly dumped her coffee and hurried to get into her turnout gear. In literally seconds, she was settled in her seat in Engine 23 next to Cliff. They turned carefully out of the firehouse, sirens blaring as a warning to traffic in the roadway that some very large emergency vehicles needed the right of way. Once clear, they hauled ass, Ladder 17 and the ambo right behind them, their sirens also blaring.

  Multiple car accidents were almost as dangerous as a blazing fire. Anything could happen. Engines could explode. Vehicles could catch fire, and that fire could spread to other involved cars and trucks. People could be trapped in their vehicles, some of them unable to move, either because they were jammed inside or unconscious. Even before they could attack those situations there was the usual problem with traffic jamming the area, police trying to clear it away, bystanders gathered and blocking everything.

  One of the things Holly had learned early on was that common building fires made up only a portion of what firefighters faced. Multiple vehicle accidents, people falling through roofs or off ladders but still hanging from a rung, and medical emergencies all played a part in the daily life of firefighters everywhere. From the very beginning, Cliff had taken her under his wing, training her, teaching her, giving her the confidence she needed to do her job. For that she was grateful, so she supposed she could cut him some slack in his matchmaking efforts. But just a little.

  The scene was a mess when they arrived. Seven vehicles were involved in the accident, a chain reaction caused when a van plowed into a pickup truck knocking it across the center line into oncoming traffic. It took some maneuvering to get the engine truck, the ladder, and the ambulance into position, what with three cruisers blocking oncoming traffic in both directions and uniforms doing their best to clear gawkers from the area.

  Two of the engines had clouds of steam and smoke rising from them, so everyone was worried about combustion. The air was rife with the smell of gasoline. Anything could set it off. They needed the Jaws of Life to cut two people out of their vehicles, and at least six people were unconscious or barely conscious, prompting the chief to call for additional ambulances.

  It was hours before they returned to the house, dirty and exhausted but pleased that they had managed to free everyone and save all lives. The one part of her job that Holly hated was when they lost someone. The loss always haunted her. She was thankful for the battalion chaplain, who was always available for the firefighters to talk out emotional crises.

  “So about the barbecue,” Cliff began as they were cleaning the truck.

  “Yeah, about that.” She worked her polishing cloth with extra vigor.

  “I have orders from Lara to make sure you’re there.”

  “Orders, huh?” She snorted. “Are you guys my social secretaries or something?”

  “Or something.” He studied her face carefully. “Are the men still giving you grief?”

  She was surprised he asked. She had made it a point never to bring it up to him. She’d chosen a job in a male-dominated profession so she was prepared to just suck up the crap that went with it. The others had always been careful not to give her crap when he was around, but now things were good and they showed her respect.

  “Cliff, I—” She blew out a breath. “I understand everyone gets a certain amount of shit, male and female. Comes with the newbie territory. I don’t take it personally, believe me.” She grinned. “Actually it’s kind of just become habit, like the crap they give each other. Makes me feel more like a part of the team.”

  “If you’re sure. I see and hear a lot more than people think, you know. It’s always better if you can handle this yourself, but just know I’m ready to step in if it really gets out of hand.”

  “No problem, Boss. And it never affects my job.”

  “I don’t guess it does.” He smiled at her. “Holly, you’ve been here six months and I’ve watched you the entire time since you were assigned to the spot on my team. You’re shaping up to be one of the best firefighters I’ve ever worked with.”

  She stopped polishing and looked at him. “Thanks, except I hear a ‘but’ in there.”

  “It’s really none of my business, but you’ll burn out—pardon the pun—if you don’t get some balance in your life. You never talk about your friends or dates or anything like the rest of us do.”

  “You sound like my brother.”

  “Your brother must be a very smart man.”

  “Ha-ha.” She looked away. “Maybe I just like keeping things to myself.”

  “And maybe you just like keeping yourself to yourself?”

  Holly chuffed a sigh. “Why is everyone suddenly so interested in improving my social life?”

  “Uh, maybe because you don’t seem to have one?”

  “And maybe what I have is what I want,” she pointed out.

  “Listen.” Cliff moved so she’d have to look at him. “Your life is your own, but I like you. Lara likes you. We’d like to be friends. Come to the barbecue. Play on the softball team. It doesn’t have to be any more than that with anyone unless you’re open to it. But climb out of your shell for a little, okay?”

  Holly chewed her bottom lip. Shell? Was that how people saw her? She just viewed herself as controlling her situation. If they knew her history, they might not be so quick to try to manage her social life.

  She sighed. “Listen, Cliff. I know you mean well and I really like you and Lara. I’ll come to the barbecue, and I’ll play on the softball team, but no setups, okay?”

  He nodded, grinning. “Agreed. No setups. But can you try to reduce the size of that chip on your shoulder for a few hours?”
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  “Chip?” What was with this chip business all of a sudden? First Chase and now Cliff. “Are you implying something here?”

  “Not at all.” He shook his head. “I just can’t help noticing you have this invisible wall around you that no one is supposed to try to break through. Is there something going on that’s causing you a problem, Holly?” He held up a hand. “Not prying, okay? But you are on my squad and I have the same concerns for you as I would anyone else. Besides”—he gave her a warm smile—“Lara and I both like you and hope you’ll consider us friends. We just look out for our friends, okay?”

  “Okay.” She relaxed a little. “No chip but no fix-ups,” she repeated. “Deal?”

  “Deal.”

  He held out his hand and she shook it. She needed to relax with people like the Randalls and widen her circle of friends just a little bit.

  “So,” he went on, “the barbecue is two weeks from Sunday. Chase and I each checked with our guys, and it’s the first Sunday everyone can make it.”

  “Okay.” She’d do this for Cliff, because he was a good guy, and for Lara, because even though they didn’t know each other well they seemed to have connected. Holly felt with time they could become good friends. “What time and what can I bring?”

  “Five o’clock and beer, wine, or dessert. Take your pick.”

  “I’ll bring some dessert and a bottle of wine. And Cliff?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Thanks.” She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. “And I think we’re done here. I’m hitting the shower.”

  “See you tomorrow.” As she headed away from the bay where the engine and ladder truck were housed, he called, “And don’t forget the barbecue.”

  As if she could. Already she had a knot in her stomach. Why on earth was she letting some guy get to her this way? She’d thought she was well past that. Maybe it was because people kept trying to couple them up. What was it with everyone, anyway? Hadn’t they ever heard of such a thing as single blessedness? Or blessed singleness?

  As she showered and washed her hair, she ran over in her mind everything from the moment Chase DeMarco had blocked her way into Pump It Up. Okay, so she’d had a shit day and she’d taken it out on him. Bad marks for her. And then, in a very pissy way, she’d accused him of stalking her. Yes, Holly. Right. A stalker. Was she out of her friggin’ mind? But it seemed once she got started, her mouth and her attitude took off on their own.

  No wonder he thought she had a chip on her shoulder. Had he reminded her of Brad? God, she’d hardly gotten to know him and already she was painting him with the same brush. Maybe that was what friends like Adara and Cliff were referring to. She always had her defense shields up, always went on the attack to protect herself. She would never again put herself in the position to be all but destroyed the way she’d been with Brad.

  Wouldn’t Chase DeMarco, commander in the United States Coast Guard and former football star, be cut from the same cloth? Mr. Macho. That’s the way she saw him now that she had those few nuggets of information about him. Thoughts of him bugged her on the way home, no matter how much she tried to banish them. She even blasted her playlist from the iTunes Top One Hundred all the way home, but nothing seemed to help.

  Once in her apartment she yanked off her clothes and pulled on cutoff sweats and a T-shirt older than dirt. Deciding she wasn’t hungry yet, she took out her laptop and began a search on Chase DeMarco. What she found didn’t make her any more likely to entertain a relationship with him, however short-lived it might be.

  Cliff hadn’t been kidding when he’d said Chase was a football star, at least in high school. For the three years he’d played for the Granite Falls (Texas) Coyotes, the team had won the state championship. While Chase hadn’t been the glory boy—that title belonged to the quarterback, Joe Reilly, and was shared with the running back, Jake Russell, and defensive back, Rafe Ortiz—he had still garnered his fair share of publicity as a safety. Several stories referred to him as one of the anchors of the Coyotes’ defense.

  There was less about his years at the Coast Guard Academy. Their teams played in the NCAA Division III, which she knew was a non-scholarship division and didn’t get the media coverage it should. But he’d distinguished himself on defense there, too.

  She found very little about him after that, only what she could glean from Coast Guard media releases. He was now a commander in charge of a cutter that did primarily search and rescue and law enforcement. Nothing to tell her if he’d ever been married or even come close. Well, what did she expect? Coasties kept their personal lives private and hardly ever got caught up in nasty publicity.

  Okay, she thought, leaning back in her chair. She could probably be a little friendlier to Chase DeMarco, although of course he wasn’t anyone she would date. Her choice these days, when she exercised it, ran to men who would never have the power to reach her emotionally. She giggled as it occurred to her she gave a whole new meaning to the term safe sex. But she would at least attempt to be nicer to him at the barbecue.

  As long as he didn’t get the wrong message.

  When her stomach grumbled, she checked her watch and was surprised to discover it was nine o’clock. She had been absorbed in her research on Chase for two hours. Well, crap. That wasn’t good. She was debating between a frozen pizza and leftover chicken salad before crawling into bed with the newest book on her tablet when her phone rang.

  Her brother. How did he always do this just when she was having a useless mental debate with herself?

  “I’m fine,” she answered. “Better than fine.”

  “Well, of course you are.” He chuckled. “I wouldn’t expect anything less. I just called to say hi because I missed your pesky little voice.”

  “Pesky?” From anyone else she’d be pissed, but Will had always teased her like this.

  “A nice kind of pesky,” he amended. “Seriously, Hol. How’s everything going?”

  “The same as it was when you called less than a week ago. Great. Couldn’t be better.”

  “Still love the job?”

  “You ask me that every single time you call,” she protested. “Yes, I love my job. Enough already.” She toned it down. “Will, this was the best and smartest thing I’ve ever done in my life. Truly.”

  “Just making sure.” Pause. “Anything on the dating front you want to tell me about?”

  She laughed. “Again with the same questions. Do you have them written down so you don’t forget?”

  “It’s my duty as your older brother to pester you with these questions,” he joked.

  “I have a busy life, Will. I date when it suits me.”

  She could almost see him frown in exasperation.

  “You’re a beautiful woman, Hol, inside and out. Don’t let what that asshole did change that. The right guy is out there waiting for you.”

  “I hope he comes with a sign and a guarantee,” she told him.

  “I don’t think you’ll find any signs. I just want you to choose wisely, okay?”

  “You think he who shall be nameless screwed up my head so bad I won’t recognize another disaster waiting to happen?” She blew out a breath. “You don’t give me enough credit, brother mine.”

  “Just making sure you don’t become a hermit and also are careful who you date. That’s all. Conversation over.”

  She was more than grateful to change the subject. “How’s everything back in North Carolina?”

  Will was a successful attorney with a flourishing practice in Charlotte.

  “Good. Real good.”

  “Glad to hear it.” She waited a beat. “How are Mom and Dad?”

  “They’re fine, but they’d like to hear from you more often.”

  She sighed. This was an old argument between them. “Maybe if they wouldn’t lecture me about my choices or ask me when I was going to get sensible and move back home, I’d call them more frequently.”

  “I know, I k
now.” She could hear the resignation in his voice. “I keep trying to tell them, but you know how they are.”

  “Unfortunately I do. I wish they’d understand I’ll never be the southern lady they want me to be. It’s just not who I am. I wish they could be proud of what I’m doing.”

  “They will,” he soothed. “It will just take time. And I’ll work on them.”

  “You’re the best brother I’ve got.”

  He laughed. “I’m the only brother you’ve got. Okay, last bit of advice. Get out there and have some fun, Holly. Life’s too short not to.”

  She hung up the call and cradled the cell phone against her cheek. Will had always had her back, from the time she was a toddler. She knew he wanted the best for her. It’s what had given her the strength she needed to take the big leap in changing her life.

  Maybe he was right and she needed to get out there and meet people. Men people. And she would. Soon. When she was ready. And she would damn sure be careful who she chose.

  She was back to the frozen pizza versus chicken salad debate when her phone rang again.

  Adara.

  What was this, check up on Holly night?

  “Whatever it is I don’t want any,” she told Adara.

  “Well, you’re gonna get some, anyway. I’m picking you up in twenty minutes. Wear those new skinny jeans and that hot shirt you got.”

  “What? Are you drunk?” Holly pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it. “What’s going on with you?”

  “It’s nine o’clock on a Friday night, and I’ll bet you’re about to crawl into bed in old sweats and that ancient T-shirt, right?”

  Holly swallowed a laugh. “What if I told you I was getting ready for a hot date?”

  “I’d say you were a big fat liar. Big. Fat. Liar. Listen. There’s a new place that opened up called El Caliente.”

  “It’s called Hot?” Holly actually giggled. “Is there a reason for that?”

  “I hear the nachos and margaritas are to die for, but the hot supposedly refers to the people who hang out there.”