Page 14 of Set Me On Fire

“They pissed all over my uniform,” I replied dismissively. “Never got that stink out.”

She just smiled.

“Then there was that little yapper that went back to the kennel.”

I knew what Charlie was doing. That look, the way he was prompting me to tell the story, it was a familiar one. Usually, he tried to hold my hand when talking to girls he was interested in, using me to entertain the rest of the group, but this was different. I actually wanted Millie to know what happened that day.

“Her puppies were in one of the kennels.” Millie’s sucked-in breath was echoed by the other women, even though they already knew this story. “She wasn’t going to leave without them, so I’m trying to kick down the door of the kennel and she’s yapping and nipping at my ankles, thinking I was going to hurt her babies. Meanwhile the others are trying to put out the house fire.” I shook my head. “Then I managed to break the lock and throw open the gates?—”

“And there were puppies everywhere.” Judy sniffed, wiping at her eyes, so Bluey sighed and fished out a handkerchief. “They’re running around like idiots, and then the mummy dog starts rounding them up, getting them away from the fire. Theboys collected up every one before the mob from the RSPCA came to collect them.” Her hand clasped Blue’s tight. “We ended up with one.”

“Chilli.” Blue was always a man of few words. “After the dog in the cartoon.”

“She’s the best dog.” We all watched in alarm as a tear rolled down Judy’s cheek, but she smiled through it, dabbing it away before continuing. “Sorry, I’m a complete mess since the pregnancy. I cry at the drop of a hat.”

“Hormones.” We all turned around to see our station commander, Brent, standing there, gazing fondly at Judy. “My missus was the same. They’re softening you up, preparing you for becoming a mother.”

“I’ll be wailing through childbirth at this rate,” Judy grumbled.

“You’ll be amazing.”

Bluey was viewed with suspicion when he first started going out with Judy. She’d worked in admin for the station since she left high school, so every firefighter made clear what would happen if the burly trucker broke her heart. He never did. Instead, he pulled her close now, pressing her face into his shoulder as he rubbed her back, and it was then I felt something I’d never expected to experience.

Jealousy.

No, that wasn’t right. It was envy. I was never one to hover around Judy, trying to get her to look my way, and I’d never want her to break up with Blue, but… It wasn’t hard to put myself in his shoes and see myself soothing a whole other woman.

“Brent, this is Millie,” I said, making introductions belatedly.

“Millie?” He met my eyes, his slight smile making clear he knew exactly who this was. “Well, it's lovely to meet you. I’m Brent, the station commander. So, what do you do?”

Chapter 9

Millie

Asking about someone’s job seemed to be the default question on first introduction, particularly if they were of my parent’s generation. I sucked in a breath to answer, but Charlie stepped behind his boss and shook his head violently, making clear he thought I shouldn’t answer, but that would be rude. Talking about your job helped a stranger place you in the social hierarchy as well as make small talk, but instead of giving Brent a pat answer, I was honest.

“Nothing currently.” Brent’s eyebrows shot up. “That sounds bad, but I was the manager of The Stafford. While your team got there as fast as they could, they unfortunately couldn’t save my workplace from being burned out.” I spread my hands wide. “No pub, no job.”

“Her boss tried to fire her.”

I hadn’t noticed Knox sidle closer, but I saw him now. The tight black t-shirt made clear I hadn’t imagined that broad chest. Looking at it was different to being held against it, though I wouldn’t have said no to a more in-depth comparison for science.

“I quit instead,” I said with a smile, “but not before Knox carried me away from the fire.”

“You get hit by smoke inhalation, love?” Sally’s husband asked, his arm loosely wrapped around his wife’s waist.

“Worse.” My lips twisted. “My own stupidity. I saw the gas bottles and remembered the fire safety training we did.” The men groaned, but I forged on. “He showed us all this footage of gas bottles blowing up. The pub has houses all around it, shops too. People were standing by the side of the road.” Brent harrumphed at that. “I figured if I put the gas bottles on their sides?—”

“Never on their sides.” My eyes jerked up to see Noah was standing beside me. “They’ve got pressure valves at the top and putting gas bottles on their sides stops them from working properly.”

“Right, well.” I smiled weakly. “I’ll remember that for next time, but…” My eyes were drawn back to Knox, that same feeling of warmth, of safety, rising when I stared into those steady grey eyes. “Knox got me out of there. He picked me up and whisked me away from the building, all very heroic.”

“Onya, Knoxy.” One of the other guys clapped his teammate on the shoulder, but the man himself barely registered it. His focus was entirely trained on me, which made me wonder.

Did he see it, feel it, the haze of smoke, the warmth of his body, the jolt of his steps as he rushed me away from the building? I did, over and over since that night. I dreamed of it, feeling his hands on my cheeks as he checked me over. In my head, though, I leaned into his palm and pressed my lips to the calluses I felt.

“Pretty sure he deserves a raise for that,” I said instead, trying to keep things light. “I’d be happy to write a review on Yelp or something.”

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