Page 71 of The Spark Between Us

“No way. Not happening,” I said.

She cocked her head. “Why not?”

“It’s dangerous. I’m not putting you on a bike. Not ever.”

She parked her hand on my thigh and leaned in. “Because you think I’m accident-prone?”

“No. Like I said, bikes are dangerous. The same way you feel about me going into a fire scene, that’s how I’d feel about you on a bike.”

“And yet you still ride.”

She had me there. “I ride less than I used to.”

“Uh huh. Hypocrite.” She had me there too.

A few minutes later, we pulled up to the firehouse of Engine 97. Sarah raised an eyebrow. “Did you forget something at work?”

I shook my head, feeling a little smug about my plan. “Nope.”

“Okaaay...am I coming in or should I wait in the truck?”

I slipped out of my seat and went around to her side. She smiled when I opened the door and extended a hand. “You’re coming in.”

She looked at me quizzically, but matched me stride for stride up the walkway to the station. “Am I getting a tour?”

“You are.” I felt my body hum with anticipation.

“Seriously? I’ve always wanted a tour of the fire department.”

I wished I could have captured her look of delight and bottled it for posterity. “You could have asked me weeks ago.”

“I know, but I didn’t want to seem like a firefighter groupie.”

“Firefighter? I thought I was a fireman.”

“You’re my fireman. That’s different. All the rest of these guys are firefighters. Not that I want them to get hurt either. You know.”

I did know. I also knew how to give a good tour of the firehouse. Over the years, we’d had school groups, church groups, and potential recruits come through for tours, but I’d never felt prouder to show the place off. Sarah bounced on her toes, so giddy that I felt more fissures form in the carefully erected walls around my heart.

And as much as I couldn’t let anyone break down those walls entirely, it felt good to let Sarah swing at them for all they were worth. Because maybe they weren’t worth shit.

“What do you want to see first?” I spread my arms wide.

She didn’t even hesitate. “The kitchen. Natch.”

“Why?”

“Because I want you to cook me something. I skipped lunch because Earl and I spent like six hours working with the lasers, and I’m starved.” Earl again. I tried not to think about what she and the silver fox were doing with such intensity that it would make Sarah skip a meal. That was unlike her.

I pushed through the swinging kitchen door to the room I’d never bothered to show anyone except probies. It had a metal table with six metal chairs in the middle of the room and white painted cabinets. It was about as nondescript as a kitchen could be, unless someone was cooking, in which case there would be ingredients spread out everywhere and a mess of pots and pans.

I leaned against the sink while Sarah walked around the room, peeking inside cupboards and opening drawers. Her curiosity amused me. Her hugging colleague still did not.

“What were you and Earl working on?” I tried to keep my voice casual and curious. Not jealous.

“Oh! This is so great. We figured out a way to use the same lasers we earmarked for the project, but we made an adjustment that increased their power by tenfold. Which means we can solder the metals more quickly to prevent any melting. The whole thing I’ve been stressing about for weeks, I think we nailed it!”

I wanted to share her excitement even though about half of what she was telling me about lasers was lost on me. But I couldn’t get the niggling image of Earl kissing her on the cheek out of my head. “Do you and Earl work together daily? Is he a big part of your team?”

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