Page 25 of Too Much Heat

She swallowed hard. Joe had a date.

I date, Chief.

He sure did.

And somehow she knew he was out to prove it.

Her time with the sun ruined, she stood. Then she heard, “Lara. Lara.”

Sammy was up early. And her nightmare began to play out again.

She went to his room and greeted him with a kiss on the lips. Handed him the urination bottle. “Not that. I gotta take a crap.”

Like she did on her days off, she assisted him to the bathroom and held him under the arms while he did his business.

Then she practically carried him to a chair off to the side and gave him a sponge bath. Helped him dress. And led him out of the room.

“Let’s go sit on the porch. It’s beautiful outside.”

“No TV out there. I wanna sit here.” Once she got him to the couch, he barked, “Gimme the remote.”

The incessant drone of the cop program he like grated on her nerves more than usual. “I’ll fix you breakfast.”

“Eggs. No oatmeal.”

“I’ll make you eggs if you stop being so mean to me.”

He looked chagrined. “Sorry.”

She headed to the kitchen and got out the breakfast food. She vowed she’d make it through the day with Sammy. He was a man she loved and her husband.

As she knew would happen, she was exhausted by five. Sammy fell asleep on the couch, so she dropped down in a chair facing out and closed her eyes. At one point, she heard a knock on the front door which was open to the screen. Through it she saw Gage Connors, the lieutenant on her shift. Joe had told all the guys about her situation.

When she got to the door, he said, “Hey, there, Lara.”

She let him in. “Hi, Gage. What can I do for you?”

“You can go upstairs, clean up and get dressed.”

“Why?”

He handed her an envelope. Inside she found a gift card for Magnolia’s. “I don’t understand, I can’t go out.”

“You can. I’m staying with Sammy.”

“He won’t let you. He’s not in a good mood.”

“Who’s here?” Sammy called out.

“A friend.”

Gage said, “Don’t worry about us. I’ll play up the firefighter connection.” He held up a bunch of DVDs. “Introduce us.”

Could she possibly get away for a bit?

At her hesitation, Gabe squeezed her arm. “We can at least try, Lara.” They walked to the couch and he sat down next to Sammy. “Hey, there, buddy. My name is Gabe. I hear you were a firefighter.”

Sammy’s eyes widened. “So what?”

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