Page 12 of Too Much Heat

When he could see they all calmed, he took Billy’s hand and they did cannon balls into Caroline’s pool. The chilly water was soothing on his back as he sunk to the bottom. And shut down more questions about the fire. He didn’t want to think about the danger they’d faced and about the man they couldn’t save. He had to compartmentalize his life.

* * *

Lara sat at a table in Magnolia’s Restaurant with Maisy Kane, Katie Donovan and Annie Rodriguez. Lara said, “Thanks for the invite to lunch. But…”

“You’re wondering why we asked you to join us.” This from Maisy, whose smile was infectious.

“I am. I’ve never met any of you.”

Annie leaned forward. “We know what happened in the electrical fire. Word around town has it you were knocked out cold from hitting the basement floor.”

Gingerly she touched the back of her head. “It’s not too bad today.”

“Joey was hurt, too.” Katie’s expression turned worried.

“Joey? Oh, you mean Captain Romano. It was a miracle he only ended up with black and blue marks. A timber fell on him.”

Lara had lurched toward him to knock him out of the way but got thrown back by the explosion. “Answer my question about why I’m here.”

“We decided it was time to meet the new woman on Joey’s group.” Annie’s eyes shadowed. “He’s had a pretty tough life. We worry about him.”

“I know he lost his brother. And two little kids. It must haunt him. I can see the sadness in his eyes sometimes before he squelches it.”

“He’s better than before.”

“What exactly happened?”

“I’ll only say he had a rough six months. But he worked his way out of it with his family and my husband. Now, tell us about you.”

Something niggled at her. “Do people in Westwood talk about me? Is that how you heard about me?”

“Sure.” Katie shrugged. “But not in a bad way. Most people admire your grit.”

“That’s nice to hear.”

“See! That’s why we called you.” Maisy’s freckled faced beamed. “We want you to know you have support.”

Lara’s eyes narrowed. “Did you hear that my group piled into Joe’s section in the ER but not mine?”

“Yeah. I have a friend who’s a nurse at Westwood Memorial.” Annie frowned. “You know, his guys have been with him a while. They’re protective of him because of Jimmy.”

Katie said, “And I wanted to talk to you about the crew. A while ago, I faced a lot of shit from a couple of patrol officers in the department. They tried to scare me away with some pranks. One nearly killed me.”

“Wow. That’s a lot worse than my group. I’d still like to hear about how you handled them. And to give my guys credit,the youngest came into my side to check on me. Then Captain Romano insisted they open the curtain.”

“Sounds like Joey.”

“Now, tell me aboutyourlives. What you do, why you’re in Westwood.”

“You already know I’m a lieutenant in the police department. And I grew up here.”

“Annie and I are schoolteachers,” Maisy put in. “We both worked at Pathways then I fell for Jackson Kane, who’s the CEO and, by the way, is Joey’s best friend. So I had to leave the school. Now, I teach at-risk kids at Westwood Elementary.”

“You both help troubled kids. Nowthat’sadmirable. How long have each of you been married?”

“Three months for Diego and me.” Annie smiled. “I’m already pregnant. Maisy is too.”

Lara grinned at her new friends. “What about you, Katie?”

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