Page 42 of Raging Inferno

“No, she smells like when my mom died.”

It took Presley a second to realize what she meant. The funeral home. “Like a lot of flowers?”

“Yeah, but too many.”

Gia was frowning. Presley didn’t want her thinking of sad times, so she said, “Like they’re growing out of her ears and armpits? Maybe her nostrils?”

Gia fell out of her chair this time, her giggles music to Presley’s ears.

Dominic returned with Rena. Gia scrambled back into her seat and took a bite of pizza.

Major barked until Dominic scolded him. Then he sniffed Rena and allowed her to pet him before returning to his bed.

Rena was attractive, with dark hair and eyes, and obviously fit since she was a firefighter. She smiled.

“Hi, Gia.”

Gia didn’t look up from the puzzle. “Hi.”

“This is Presley Parrish,” Dominic introduced.

“We’ve met,” Rena said, walking forward to hug Presley, much to her surprise.

Dominic’s brows rose, and he turned to Presley. “When was that?”

“When I stopped by the station after I arrived in town.”

“Ah. Rena, would you like to join us? We have Mr. Cheese’s Pizza.”

“Oh, yum, I’d love to.”

“Great,” Gia mumbled. Presley placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed, showing her support.

Dominic grabbed another plate and beverage and handed them to Rena. She picked a few slices and sat across from Presley next to Dominic. They chatted while they ate and worked on the puzzle. When Rena assembled the scene with a golden retriever, Gia looked like she wanted to explode, but she bit hertongue. She was back to the quiet, sullen girl, not the bubbly, effervescent one she had been earlier.

A phone buzzed. Rena fished her cell from her pocket. “Shoot, I’ve got to go. I was having so much fun with you guys.”

“If you have that form, I’ll sign it before you leave,” Dominic told her.

“Oh, right. I completely forgot why I came here. It’s in my car. I’ll be right back.”

Rena was only gone for a few seconds, and then she returned, going over the papers with Dominic. Presley cleared the plates and napkins. Gia jumped up to help.

In one cabinet, Presley found a colorful batch of curly straws with plastic daisies on them. She fished a couple out and stuck them in her ears.

“Hey, Gia, who am I?”

Gia turned around and burst out laughing. She fell to the floor, holding her stomach.

“Everything okay over there?” Dominic asked, his tone amused.

“Someone had too much Kool-Aid to drink,” Presley responded. That made Gia guffaw harder.

Rena and Dominic finished their business, and Rena bid them goodbye. They resumed working on the puzzle. When Dominic announced it was time for Gia to get ready for bed, Presley was shocked at how late it was. She’d had so much fun talking and laughing with them. Time had flown. They had finished a good chunk of the one-thousand-piece puzzle.

Gia put up a protest until she found out Presley was staying the night again. Then she happily danced to her room. Warning bells went off in Presley’s head. The girl was getting too attached to her. Not that Presley minded, because she felt the same way. The problem was when she had to go back home. Gia hadalready been through so much in her short life with her mother. Presley didn’t want to cause her any more grief.

Once Gia and Major were in bed, Dominic reached into a cabinet and withdrew a bottle of wine. He held it up. “Can I interest you in a glass?”

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