Page 7 of Too Much Heat

The man Swanson was with tugged on her hand. She said, “This is Brad Marlin.”

He said, “Hello, Billy.” He shook hands with the boy. “Captain Romano.”

“You both can call me Joe.”

Swanson flushed.

Brad took her hand. “We’d better sit, honey.”

Joe’s brows shot up. He was more than her friend.

They took seats and Joe had a bird’s-eye view of her legs. She wore a short skirt with a tank top since the day was hot. But it was her bare skin, silky from sunscreen he guessed, that snagged his attention. And a sexy scent drifted up to him. She never wore perfume to work.

She leaned over and her ponytail bobbed. Her luscious hair, which he rarely saw out of the knot at her neck, was a beautiful shade of blonde. She said something to Marlin, he laughed out loud and slid his arm around her. Hell, was Joe going to have to watchthisfor three hours? Lord help him.

At the game’s end, they said goodbye to the couple then hurried out of their seats and headed out to the car.

After Joe delivered Billy back to his sister’s house, he went home, changed and hit the road for a run. For some reason, he couldn’t get the sight of Lara Swanson and her short skirt out of his mind. He also wondered about the guy she was with. He was handsome and fit. Blond. Did she like blonds? And fuck, what was hedoing?

Well, he was a guy, wasn’t he? Any guy would have noticed her and how she looked. Who she was with.

Yeah, but you’re her officer on your squad.

The reminder made him stumble.

* * *

After breakfast the next day, Captain Romano announced, “It’s Sunday. What does that mean?”

The group moaned, but Lara had come to see that they enjoyed training. For one thing, the drills were relevant. And they were to the point. Lara also found them entertaining since they were usually put into teams to compete, which the guys loved. Not only did they razz each other but they left her alone.

“We’re set up on the left side of the fire station. Follow me.”

They strode out, talking to each other while they headed to a little-used paved area. The sun beamed down, warming the skin on her face and arms. From behind him, she could see the rays highlighting the chestnut strands in Romano’s hair.

When they reached the blacktop, Pike eyed it. “Seriously, Captain?” A confident paramedic, he always had something to say about the training. He referred to the equipment that was usually stored in the rig but now was laid out on the pavement.

Romano didn’t take offense. “Seriously.”

Connors asked, “When did you do this?”

“I came in early.”

“What if we get a call?” Trent asked. He’d was young and only had a year of firefighting under his belt.

“We’re out of service for an hour and a half. So, Lieutenant Connors, what do we do with all this?”

As an officer, Abe would be familiar with the training. “Find the equipment which is not maintained, Cap.”

“That’d be none,” Deluca scoffed.

“Wrong.” This from Romano. He was smirking. “Your task is to walk around and find the four things that are not well maintained.”

Lara was the first to meander among the items then the guys fanned out. She knew that some things were sacrosanct to maintain so she avoided the axes and halligans because in a fire, the instruments were extensions of their hands. She by-passed the SCBA equipment which could cause death if they didn’t work. The gas-powered saw and hydraulic rescue tools were serviced regularly.

“Found one,” Connors called out.

“Me, too.” This from Trent

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