Page 39 of Flirting With Fire
“You’re not the only one,” I promised him, squirming a little as my pants grew tight.
I had to think of something other than being on my knees in front of him, or I was going to walk out of the cave showing a boner to the whole world. I caught the smirk on Dex’s face. He knew what my problem was. Bastard!
I thought of anything I could to kill my erection. My mawmaw sneezing and her teeth flying across the room into my dad’s morning cup of coffee. Rescuing a drunk guy who’d smacked me across the mouth because he didn’t want to leave his warm bed. He didn’t seem to care it was about to get a whole lot warmer. Then he’d hurled over my feet. I was more than happy to hand that dude over to the cops. By the time I’d finished that thought, my dick cried surrender, and I could move again.
The small hole to the outside world grew larger. I waited impatiently, not moving until I was sure it was safe. Finally, a firefighter climbed into the cavern, and I recognized Skip White.
“Hey, Chief,” he drawled. “Hi, Dex. You’ve had a fun time. Want to get out of here?”
“You bet,” Dex said.
Skip handed us two hard hats, then led us out, blinking, into the sunshine to be greeted by a chaos of uniforms and flashing lights. Fire trucks, ambulances, and the police chief’s car. There was a round of applause which was kind of embarrassing, and lots of cameras aimed our way. Everyone was kept back behind tape, but a large crowd had gathered.
“Shit, the local media are here,” Dex hissed.
“What did you expect?” Skip said. “New assistant fire chief and local rancher get trapped trying to save a child. It’s all over the news.”
I groaned. Now my mom would hear about it, and she’d be furious.
“Lindy’s gonna kill you,” Dex cooed.
I scowled at him as Skip chuckled.
“She sure is,” Skip agreed. “The chief called her as soon as we got the news. Oh look, there she is.”
I followed where he pointed to see my mom standing by the firetruck inside the cordon, staring anxiously at him. She’d aged a decade since I saw her this morning, and she’d clearly been crying. My stomach clenched at putting her through this worry. It was the last thing she needed with her heart condition.
“Garcia kept an eye on her,” Skip said, his tone low so no one else heard. “I don’t think she realized it, but he was ready if there was an issue.”
I swallowed around the sudden lump in my throat. “Thanks. I appreciate it.” I was going to buy them all a drink after today.
“Go to her,” Dex urged.
“Only if Skip takes you over to Garcia. You’re not going anywhere before they’ve checked your head.”
“You’ve got blood down your face,” Skip agreed. “Come on.”
I didn’t want to let Dex go, but he was in good hands, and my mom needed me right now. I jogged over to her and swept her into my arms. More cameras aimed at us as she burst into tears, but I didn’t care. My mom had always been a solid presence in my life, but right this moment she felt fragile, and I realized how much I’d scared her. I hugged and soothed her, murmuring that I was okay over and over until her crying had trickled to the occasional sob. She shuddered and took a deep breath. Then she looked up at me. “Wildie is safe.”
That’s not what I expected to come out of her mouth. I expected her to ream me out. But I said, “I know. The chief told me. What a relief.”
“I want to yell at you. When I got that call…” She sobbed. “It was like your father all over again.”
I held her tightly. “I’m so sorry, Mom.” Now I wanted to cry, remembering that day.
But she shook her head. “You’re a firefighter. I wouldn’t expect any different from you. I would have whooped your ass if you hadn’t tried to rescue him.”
“Mom,” I whined. I couldn’t keep up with her changes in direction.
“But heavens to Betsy, you just took ten years off my life, Meyer Jones. Don’t do it again.”
“No promises,” I said ruefully. “I’m a firefighter, remember?”
She sighed and kissed my cheek. “No promises. I guess I’d put it out of my mind while you were in Chicago. Could you not have gotten past the first week?”
“This wasn’t my fault. I was just meeting Dex to sign the rental agreement.”
Mom pursed her lips. “How is poor Dex? I heard he was injured.”
