Into the Fire Read online

  “You didn’t eat lunch. Have some tea and pie,” Judy ordered.

  Setting her teeth, Ally smiled at the woman behind the table and asked for coffee…and apple crisp. It was probably childish, but she was growing more and more restless lately. She could pick her own snack, for heaven’s sake. It was hardly all her mom’s fault. Ally was the one who’d put herself in the rut to begin with. Ally had been the one to stay at home because it was easy.

  She was balancing the cup in one hand and the plate and fork on another when the back of her neck started tingling. She turned around and saw Chris in the line-up, smiling down at a woman who was old enough to be his grandmother. Ally noticed that he got a piece of crisp and a generous slice of pie. Not that she blamed the old girl. When Chris turned on his smile, it was hard to say no.

  His gaze caught hers and his eyes warmed, sending a flush from her head straight down to her toes. He wore his uniform today, the blue shirt bringing out his eyes and the tie knotted precisely at his throat. His long legs were emphasized by the trim cut of the dark pants. Legs that were, right now, making their way over to her, weaving around chairs while he held his cup up high so as not to spill.

  “Fancy meeting you here,” he said, sliding up beside her.

  Suddenly the afternoon out didn’t feel like such a burden. “Indeed.” Her lips curved up and she lifted her chin. “Look at you, sweet talking the ladies into giving you double.”

  “No sweet talking at all. Just my natural charm. Most ladies can’t resist it.”

  “Really.”

  “There is one. I keep trying and trying, but she’s a tough cookie.”

  “Oh, that’s too bad.”

  “Not really.” His eyes twinkled at her. “I find I’m enjoying the challenge.”

  Their gazes held for several seconds until he grinned, showing his stupidly white teeth for just a second before lifting his cup for a drink of coffee.

  “I wish there was a place to sit. We should have come later, after things slow down.”

  “You came with your parents?”

  She raised her eyebrows, then nodded.

  “Here, put your cup down here so you can eat.” He slid over to a wall and put his cup down on the ledge. She put hers beside it and let out a breath. There was slightly more room to breathe just here, and she dipped her fork into the baked apples and oatmeal topping.

  “How’d the career counsellor go?” He popped a gigantic piece of pumpkin pie into his mouth.

  She shrugged. “Okay. I answered a bunch of questions, only for her to tell me after an hour what it took you all of two minutes to say.”

  He smiled. “I’ve known you longer. So, any decisions?”

  She shook her head and reached for her coffee to wash down the crisp. “Not yet. Vet school is out. I’d have to take my science degree and then hopefully get into vet school and spend another four years in Charlottetown. And we know how well I did in university the first time…”

  “Okay, so what else?”

  “There’s a two-year vet-tech course in Truro at the college. Or I could go to Halifax for a bit and take a certified grooming course. I’ve got my canine and feline first aid and behavioural courses, so I could look into running a doggy daycare and kennel. But the last two mean I’d have to have enough cash to start up my own business…”

  “A lot to think about.”

  “Yeah.”

  She scraped the last of the crisp off her plate and licked off the fork. “Okay, now I know why you got both. I didn’t have lunch and that pie smells amazing.”

  There wasn’t much left of his piece, but he sliced some off with the edge of his fork and held it up. “Try some,” he said, holding it out.

  She leaned forward, took the fork between her lips and sucked the custard off the tines. “Oh, it is good,” she said, closing her eyes. “I should have listened to my mother. She said to get the pie.”

  She opened her eyes to find him watching her the same way he had the other night, just before he kissed her. But he wouldn’t do that here, not in the middle of a community event. Instead, he stayed put, just watching her in a way that made her feel all jumped up and tall and perhaps even pretty.

  And then snippets of the conversation behind them hit her ears.

  “The fire must have scared her somethin’ awful, Judy. Any word of what’s happening with the shelter?”

  There was a pause and then she heard her mother’s answering voice. “We rather hope she’ll give it up. Ally’s got a good heart, all right, but it doesn’t put food on the table. It wasn’t really a life plan, Mary.”

  Her father’s voice chimed in, “It lasted longer than we expected. Ally’s never been a long-term planner. Not that the shelter wasn’t a good thing, but it’s time she got her head out of the clouds and applied herself to something real. We had such high hopes, you know…”

  Did they not realize that she was standing just a few feet away, or that their voices carried above the general din of the crowd? Tears of hurt and humiliation sprang to Ally’s eyes. She had always known they’d felt that way and words had been said at home but never in public. She felt like a ten-year-old child who’d disappointed her parents with a bad report card.

  Chris had straightened his shoulders—he’d heard it too. And he turned around to face her parents, making Ally’s heart beat double time. Oh God, the last thing she needed was a scene.

  Chris, when he was full height, was a rather impressive specimen, taller than her father by a good three inches and a solid wall of muscle. In a quiet but firm voice, he stated, “You should both be proud of Ally. She worked hard and not for personal gain but to help others. A lot of people could learn something from her.”

  Ally put her hand on Chris’s arm. Oh, she appreciated what he was trying to do but now wasn’t the time or the place. “Chris,” she said quietly.

  But Ernie Gallant looked at Chris and shrugged. “All I’m saying is it’s not a long-term plan. It’s time she got into the real world with a real job.”

  She could see a muscle in Chris’s jaw ticking. “Dad, I—”

  But Chris interrupted. “Running that shelter meant that she had all the work of running a small business without the remuneration for it. Who secured the funding? Who found the location and bought the equipment? Ally did the day-to-day running of it, including inventory, finding foster and adoptive homes, and supervising volunteers. If that’s not a real job, I don’t know what is.” He leveled his gaze on the group. “Perhaps I don’t have a real job because I’m part of a volunteer fire department. A volunteer department, I might add, who happened to save your daughter’s life.”

  There was stunned silence.

  Ernie’s face turned scarlet and her mother put her fingers on his wrist to keep him from speaking out. “This is also the same girl who gave you back your engagement ring, or have you forgotten?” Ally’s mother asked quietly.

  Ally’s face burned. Why on earth would her mother bring that up? Did they think that everything she’d ever done was such a screw up?

  “Of course I haven’t forgotten. But we were both to blame. I can hardly hate her for not wanting to rush into a decision that would change her entire life. I didn’t respect her wishes then, and I didn’t trust her when I should have. That was my mistake. We all should have believed in her more.”

  Did he really mean that? All of it?

  She tightened her fingers on his arm, felt the faces of her parents and the rest of the group staring at her. She had no idea what to say, but with Chris beside her she gathered strength. “No decision’s been made about the shelter yet,” she said, willing her voice to come out stronger than she felt. “I’m looking into a number of options. My parents are right, financially it’s not feasible.” She looked up at Chris. “But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth it.”

  Their gazes held for several seconds until someone dropped a spoon and the clatter broke the spell.

  “You about ready to go?” he said it quietl
y, made it sound like the plan all along was for her to go with him.

  She nodded. “I’m ready.”

  She looked at her parents’ shocked faces and felt nerves bubble inside her tummy. This felt like teenage rebellion about ten years behind schedule, but they couldn’t have it both ways. If they wanted her more independent, they’d have to accept her making her own decisions more often. “Chris’ll bring me home later,” she informed them. “Have a good afternoon.”

  She was shaking now, stunned by the surprise confrontation. On one hand, she wished Chris had just let it go. On the other, it had been so amazing to hear him stand up in defense of her. Had he truly meant all that about respect and trust and believing in her? Because no one ever had before.

  He took her hand and led her out of the fire hall to where his truck was waiting, parked along the shoulder of the road. He opened the door and she hopped in, then he closed it behind her.

  He slid behind the wheel and the jittery feeling she got every time she was around him returned. He looked over at her and smiled.

  Why did she get the feeling that everything was about to change?

  Chapter Five

  Ally could hear Moose barking from the moment they stepped out of the truck. When Chris opened the back door, the Labrador came hurtling out, bouncing and jumping in welcome. “He’s settling in,” Ally joked, watching as Chris treated the dog to rubs and pats.

  “He’s still skittish. Noises send him hiding. But he generally just goes to his bed in the porch room. Yesterday, I opened the dishwasher and I thought he was going to come out of his skin. But we’re getting there. And he does love it outdoors. I ordered what I need for the fence, but it hasn’t come yet. I want to get it done soon. If I’m going to put the posts in concrete, I have to do it before the ground freezes.”

  He grabbed a ball and tossed it out on the grass for Moose, who ran after it but then tore around the yard with it in his mouth instead of bringing it back. “We’re still working on the fetch thing.”

  “He seems happier. I’m glad you took him in.”

  “Me too. He’s good company. Especially up here where there’s room for him to run around.”

  Moose eventually brought the ball back and for the next several minutes they threw it for him. Ally looked up at Chris, tall and handsome. He was so capable, so right all the time. It had been intimidating once. Now she found it unbelievably attractive. He was confident but didn’t rub it in anyone’s face. He was a good man. And he’d stood up for her today in a way no one ever had before. It was definitely more than she’d deserved. Her mother was right. She’d been a coward three years ago when she’d given him back his ring.

  “Did you mean what you said to my parents?” she asked, focusing on Moose as she threw the ball.

  Moose raced after it. “Which part?”

  “All of it,” she answered. “About the shelter. About not hating me.”

  Chris put his hand on her arm and turned her to face him. He cupped her chin in his hands. “Do I look like I hate you?”

  “N…no.” Lord, but he had a way of unnerving her. “It’s just…I know everyone looks at me and thinks I’m…I don’t know, not that bright. I dropped out of university. I work at the drugstore.”

  “I don’t think it’s what other people believe that’s bothering you. I think it’s how you’ve seen yourself. Why do you think you’re not worthy? Why do you downplay all the work that went into running the shelter? Someone without ambition couldn’t have made something like that happen. It worked because while you didn’t believe in yourself, you believed in it.”

  He smiled softly. “When you find where you belong, it comes together. You just have to believe you can make it happen. Don’t let anyone take away what you accomplished there just because you didn’t make bags of money at it.”

  “Like you with the fire-fighting?”

  He dropped her chin and nodded. “Yes, like that. Not that I don’t like what I do. I enjoy fixing things. But I love being part of the department here.”

  “If it’s your first love, why didn’t you move somewhere where there was a regular department and not volunteer?”

  He hesitated and his eyes slid away for a moment, focusing on Moose. “This is home,” he answered simply. “And if I’m here, I can do both.”

  Moose came back and flopped down at their feet, exhausted from playing fetch. “Come on, boy, let’s get you some water,” Chris said, turning towards the house. “You coming, Ally?”

  She went with him, unsure of where they went from here. Back at the fire hall, she’d just wanted to get away. The air in the truck had felt alive, like static electricity running between them. It had gone away while they played with Moose, but now it seemed to be back again. Running between them, constrained energy, like when she went walking near the power lines and heard the low hum of live wires.

  Inside, Chris filled Moose’s water bowl. The dog drank heartily and then collapsed on his plush bed, tired out, as Ally took off her shoes. Chris untied his boots and left them on the mat. There was something strangely intimate about seeing their shoes lined up side by side.

  The house was oddly quiet, expectant. Chris took her hand and led her through into the living room. Every nerve ending in her body was on alert now. They’d made no plans, had no agenda. Except perhaps one thing, the thing they had never spoken of but lately had seemed to be in every word they said. It had been in every kiss and every touch. And right now her body was silently screaming the question—was this the moment that they’d make love again? She wanted to, so much. Wanted to know if it was as good as she remembered. Wanted to know if there was a chance for them again.

  It was quiet, so quiet that she could hear his breathing as he stopped and took her into his arms.

  They’d been leading towards this moment since that night on the sofa when he’d used his hands and lips to make her come apart. Now they stood in the middle of the room, kissing, arms twined around each other so closely not a hair would fit between them. His chest was hard beneath her fingers and she felt the rise and fall of his accelerated breathing as his tongue swept against hers.

  “You still have your coat on,” he whispered, licking her ear. “Let me help you with that.” Without looking, he ran the zipper to the bottom, shoved the jacket off her shoulders and let it drop to the floor. Then he neatly shrugged out of his navy jacket and let it fall on the hardwood.

  The cotton shirt was thin enough that Ally could feel the warmth of his skin through it. While Chris nibbled at her earlobe, she fumbled with his tie, loosening the knot and finally slipping it free. For a moment, she ran the fabric through her fingers, considering, but right now they had too many clothes on and that was the first thing that needed fixing.

  One by one, she loosened the buttons on his shirt, pulled the tails out of his narrow waistband and pushed it wide across his chest.

  God, he was still stunningly beautiful. His chest was wide and muscled from physical labor, and Ally pressed her lips against his collarbone. There was a sharp intake of breath as she slid her tongue over his slightly salty skin and teased the hard, pebbled nipple. A rough sound issued from his throat and she smiled against him, kissing her way to the other side.

  “Ally,” he said, his voice not quite as stable as it had been only moments before.

  She didn’t answer. Just slid the shirt over his shoulders and then moved her hands to the leather belt at his waist.

  She wanted to slow it down, make it last, so she took her time unbuckling the belt, then turning the button from its hole and sliding the zipper, tooth by tooth, to the bottom. She slid her hands inside the trousers, cupping his bottom with her hands, pulling him against her. Was there any inch of him that wasn’t toned and hard? As his hips touched her pelvis, she realized there wasn’t.

  She slid her hand around to the front of his shorts and cupped him, loving how he seemed to surge against her touch. She rubbed through the fabric until his breathing labored against h
er ear. He slid his hand from her arm down over her ribs, and then back up to cup her breast. The tip hardened beneath his touch, pressing itself into his palm. He wasn’t the only one ready and willing.

  “As much as I enjoy the idea of doing this standing up,” he murmured, trailing kisses against her jaw, “I think we can do it better justice by being horizontal.”

  There was no doubt now, was there? They were going to do this. There would be no turning back, and she was so hot and ready she was past caring. She wanted him with a burning heat that she’d only felt with one man—only with him.

  “I think so too.”

  She expected him to lead her down the hall to his room. What she didn’t expect was for him to sweep an arm beneath her knees and pick her up as if she weighed nothing at all. Her cheek was against his and her palm rested against the smooth warmth of his chest. His feet made shushing sounds against the unfinished floor of the hall, and he nudged his bedroom door open with his foot.

  When they were inside, he used the same foot to swing it closed again.

  The bed was neatly made, a plush duvet on the top. He laid her down gently, braced his hands on either side of her shoulders and pressed her into the mattress with his body. Horizontal now, he began kissing her again while grinding against her pelvis. Desire pounded through her as she gyrated in sync with him, mimicking what was to come. His hand pushed up her sweater and he bit her nipple lightly through her bra, making her cry out at the stinging arousal of it.

  “Lift your arms,” he commanded, stopping a moment to sit astride her hips.

  She obeyed and he pulled the sweater over her head. He reached behind her back and unclasped her bra, pulled the straps down her arms. Her nipples, already hard, reacted to the cold air and the heat of his gaze and puckered almost painfully.