Page 41 of Tasting Fire
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A few daysafter his chat with Mrs. Southerland, the gossip train in Steele Ridge was running wide open because everywhere Cash went, someone was talking about Emmy McKay and whether or not she should’ve ever been hired by St. Elizabeth’s and given the opportunity to lead the TMT.
And although that was just the way small towns worked, the bullshit gossip was filtering into the fire station, and if that was the case, it was all over the ER, too. He’d promised Emmy that he would back her up, which meant a good team member would clue her in on what was going on behind the scenes.
So here he was, outside her apartment about to knock when the door opened. Emmy stood there in running clothes and shoes.
“Oh, hey,” she said. “Did you need something?”
Yeah, he needed a lot of things, but the biggest thing right now was for her to stop avoiding him. “We need to talk.”
“Maybe later. I was just heading out to take a run—”
“I’ll go with you.”
“You’re in jeans.”
“I haul ass in pants pretty much every day.”
“Keep up, or prepare to eat my dust.” She locked the door and headed down the stairs. Cash stayed on her heels and gave his cousin Grif a quick wave as they exited, passing through his work space. When they were out the front door, Emmy immediately set a fast speed, and Cash modified his longer stride to keep pace beside her.
Her form was excellent, just what he’d expect based on her training and how seriously she treated her jobs. It took massive control for him not to drop back half a stride and watch the flex of her ass as her shoes ate up the length of Main Street. Hell, everyone they passed was checking out Emmy’s toned legs, arms, and butt.
Before long, Cash’s muscles warmed up and he jerked his T-shirt over his head to catch some cool air. He stuffed it into his back pocket and kept running.
Emmy veered off toward Barron’s Park and the trails around it. Since it was daytime, that was fine, but Maggie had seen an increase in dubious goings-on out here after dark. “You shouldn’t run alone here after sunset.”
“The park’s closed after dark.”
He glanced her way. “So you haven’t run here at night?”
She grunted noncommittally.
“I know you think this is Mayberry compared to Baltimore, but Steele Ridge has crime, too.” As evidenced by the brick through the Murchison building’s window.
They did three full loops around the park before Emmy throttled down her pace. Back when they were teenagers, he’d been the athlete, but damn she’d come into her own. She would make sure any members of the tac team stayed on their toes.
When they slowed to a walk, Cash pulled his shirt from his pocket and used it to wipe away the sweat on his chest and neck.
Emmy glanced over and checked him out. And if he puffed his chest out a little in response, hell, he was only a man. Having her head resting on it after she’d shown him her fun list had been the highlight of his recent sex life. Which was either pitiful or enlightened.
“Do you know if Maggie dug up anything else about the brick?” he asked.
“Only what we already knew. Stan Jackson denying it, and no other real evidence. Why do you ask?”
“Because I care about your safety and you’re making a habit of not telling me things. Like what happened with Amory the other night.”
“It wasn’t a big deal, but the two of you standing in the hospital hallway having a pissing match would’vemadeit a big deal. He had a hard time believing that I came back to Steele Ridge because I wanted to. In his mind, he fired me to force me to think it over.”
“The job or the proposal?”
“Both. I gently but firmly explained that I was happy here and…”
“And what?”
“That I planned to stay happy here.”
Which only made Cash hate even more that he had to tell her what else was going on behind her back. “Want to walk around the duck pond?”
