Page 12 of Raging Inferno

She crossed her arms defiantly. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

“How old are you?”

“Almost nine. Only little kids need a babysitter.”

She hated to point it out to Gia, but she was a little kid. “Are you supposed to be here?”

Gia dropped her arms. “What are you? The fire station police?”

Presley bit back a smile at her attitude. “No. Call me a concerned citizen.”

“What does that mean?”

“What do you think it means?”

“You’re frustrating,” Gia grumbled. “Do you know that?”

Presley did smile this time. “So I’ve been told. And I was a cop.”

“You were?”

“Yes. Should you be here, Gia?”

The girl sighed. “No, but Daddy won’t mind.”

Presley made a snap decision. “I need to go, but I don’t want to leave you alone. Do you want a ride somewhere?”

Gia shrugged. “I don’t have anywhere to go.”

“Where do you usually spend time after school?”

“With Mrs. Maxx, but she didn’t show up after soccer practice. My friend’s mom dropped me off here.”

Presley didn’t know the situation, but if someone were supposed to pick up her kid and didn’t, she would be irate. “What about your mom?”

“What about her?” Gia challenged, her arms crossing defiantly again.

“Can’t she watch you?”

“Not hardly,” she scoffed. “She’s dead.”

The words were said with venom, certainly too much for an almost-nine-year-old. Presley regretted asking. “You can come with me, and after I run an errand, we’ll grab something to eat if your dad says it’s okay.”

“Can we get corn dogs?”

“Sure. But there’s somewhere I need to be first, so let’s make a pact. You stay in the car with the doors locked while I do what I need to, and then we’ll get corn dogsandmalts. Deal?”

“Deal.”

They shook hands.

“Wait, you know not to go anywhere with strangers, don’t you?”

“Duh.” This was said with an exaggerated eye roll. “You know my dad, and you grew up here, so you’re not a stranger.”

Presley was afraid she was doing the wrong thing, but what did she know about kids? If she parked away from the activity, Dominic would never have to know his daughter was there. Her desire to go to the fire warred with the guilt of deceiving Dominic.

She could head to the drive-in that served the best corn dogs in Minnesota, assuming it was still in business, and find out about the fire later. Sadly, she wasn’t built that way.

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