Ride the Fire (17 page)

Eve weeping over Sean’s prone body at the fire might have been a tiny clue.

Peering into the bathroom mirror, she put the finishing touches on her makeup and hair, turned, and checked her ass in the mirror. Her best jeans accented her rear as well as any could. Not a perfect rear, but the only one she had. That it pleased Sean was all that mattered.

Sean. He was in for a big surprise at the charity auction tonight. Just imagining his reaction brought a grin to her face. In fact, all the “attached” men on her team had better be ready—their women weren’t going to allow any barely legal sweet thing to make off with their guys.

Finished getting ready, she scooped up her purse and keys. Time to meet the ladies for some fun hooting for the beefcake on parade.

She arrived at the community center about forty minutes before the start of the auction to get a good table. Not that she minded standing, but with Kat and Cori being in their third trimesters of pregnancy, those two needed to sit. Being early had its advantages; she found a good spot close to the front and sat down to wait for the others.

What were the men doing right now? She’d bet they were in the back getting ready, discussing the order they’d go onstage. Where to stand, how to drive the crowd wild. Stuff like that. She knew there hadn’t been a formal rehearsal because it wasn’t that fancy of an event. Just a bunch of people from the city of Sugarland and surrounding areas coming to support the cause of giving to the families of fallen firefighters. She’d heard that quite a few were expected to attend.

That prediction turned out to be correct, and then some. By the time Cori and Shea walked in together, the place was jumping, upbeat pop music blaring through the speakers.

“Thank goodness,” she said, hugging both women. “I’ve fended off half a dozen people who wanted our chairs. How are you guys?”

“Running late,” Cori said. “One of the doctors gave us a ride over so we could go home with our guys and not have an extra car, but he got called to an emergency first. But he got done, so here we are!”

“Where’s Kat?” Shea asked.

“Here!” The bubbly blonde pulled out a chair and sat heavily. “Damn, I hate being fat. Can’t move faster than a turtle.”

Cori nodded with a grimace. “Same here.”

Eve couldn’t help the tiny spark of envy. Even if she and Sean made it as a couple, the likelihood that he’d ever want more children . . . the probability was next to nil.

“Pregnant women glow,” Eve countered. “And neither of you is fat—you have baby bumps. That’s different.”

Shea leaned forward, expression conspiratorial. “Okay, I’ve been dying to know something. Does your being pregnant turn on your man?”

Both women laughed and rolled their eyes, but it was Kat who answered first.

“Oh, my God, are you kidding? Howard’s a machine!” A round of giggles met this announcement. “Seriously! You’d think no other man in the history of the universe has ever managed to impregnate a woman before, and he’s either strutting around bragging about it, or horny as hell. He wants it
all
the time.”

More giggles.

“So does Zack, but he’s afraid he’ll hurt me,” Cori put in. “If he doesn’t stop being so damned careful, I’m going to scream.”

The others cooed over how sweet that was of Zack, despite Cori’s annoyance. Shea wasn’t finished with the inquisition.

“What’s the first thing you’re dying to have, once you’re able?”

“Caffeine,” Cori answered. “Zack won’t even let me have half-caff.”

“A twenty-ounce margarita,” Kat said dreamily. “With an extra shot of tequila.” The others chimed in their sympathy.

Before Eve thought the better of it, she asked, “How does that work out, since Howard doesn’t drink?”

“Oh, he never has and isn’t tempted, so it’s not an issue. Why . . . ?”

The reason for Eve’s question connected and all three woman gazed at her knowingly. Eve sighed. “Never mind. I’m sorry I brought it up.”

Shea patted her hand. “Listen, we know you and Sean have something going. All I want to say is, if he means the world to you, if you love him, do whatever is necessary to keep him safe and happy. Whatever it takes.”

Including keeping their home—should they ever make one together—booze free. She’d never have peace of mind knowing temptation was only one cabinet away from the man she loved.

Grace, Julian’s fiancée, showed up late and took a seat just as the lights dimmed and the crowd cheered. The interim city manager, who’d taken over the rest of the term from the late slimeball Forrest Prescott, acted as the MC, smiling and greeting everyone, thanking them for coming out to support a good cause.

The event would kick off with each “bachelor” strutting across the stage, though some of the men were very much taken, dancing a bit to the music so the ladies could get an eyeful of the goods and decide whom to bid on. Then each man would come out one by one and be auctioned for a date with the highest bidder. All in good fun.

The event kicked off with some of the guys from Stations Two and Three, to much whistling and cat-calls. Personally, Eve thought her team far surpassed the others in the hotness department, but they were okay. Things were just getting warmed up.

When their men began to parade out to the throbbing tempo, shucking coats and baring buff chests and torsos, the heat level skyrocketed. Tommy went first, looking so much like Brad Pitt it was eerie, despite the long scar on his face from the warehouse collapse. Julian was next, a smooth, dark-haired Latin lover who had Grace nearly panting, along with everyone else. Then sweet, sexy Zack, who looked like he’d rather be anywhere else, but took it with good-natured humor.

Clay was a hit with his good-looking cowboy charm, and Eve had no doubt he’d score a gorgeous date. Six-Pack proved he still lived up to his nickname when his coat came off, revealing a ripped body that was simply stunning. Kat could do much worse than having this man wanting it
all the time
, as she’d said. Lucky girl. But when Sean came out . . .

Eve forgot anyone else existed. Forgot to breathe. As far as she was concerned, no man in the room could light a candle next to him, not even with a flame-thrower. He might be the oldest man on the stage, but he was so incredibly handsome. Tall and lean with those green eyes sparkling under the lights, his smile wide as he hammed it up for the audience, flexing his rather nice biceps. And it could have been her imagination, but it seemed the audience cheered louder for him than for any of the others.

God, he’d come so far. Tears pricked her eyes as she yelled the loudest of all.

Except for a stacked blond chick nearby who was really going nuts, jumping up and down, boobs bouncing like basketballs. Eve set her jaw. Breast-Enhancement Barbie could bid as high as she wanted.

No way in hell was she going to win.

What difference did it make? He was here, and it was for charity. He repeated that mantra a few times, but the thirty seconds or so still seemed like an hour. When at last he was given the signal to exit, he beat a path to hide back behind the curtain.

His team was waiting to pound his back and give him a ribbing, but he didn’t mind that part. These guys he knew. They calmed and grounded him more than they realized.

“Good job, man,” Six-Pack said, and the rest agreed.

“God, do we have to go out there again? Can’t they just bid without us?”

“Nope, they gotta see us. Too many guys to remember our names.”

“Can’t I put on my shirt?”

Tommy snorted. “You’re forty-three, not eighty. Chill.”

“Wonderful.”

Clay put an arm around him. “It ain’t so bad, Cap. Women eat up this shit, huh? Guaranteed nooky if you play your cards right.”

It was on the tip of his tongue to retort that he had all the nooky he wanted, thank you very much, and then he thought the better of it. Considering.

Five minutes later, they were all called back to the stage for the lineup. Sean pasted on a smile and took his place in front of the crowd again, wondering how in the hell rock stars and other performers dealt with screaming people wanting a piece of them. He figured he was lucky that this would be the closest he’d ever get to finding out.

The city manager had each of them step forward when he called their name once again, quickly going down the line. Sean’s turn came and he stepped out of line, scanning the sea of blurry faces, looking for Eve. Still hard to see much, even though the dance lights had quit flashing. He resumed his spot in line and kept looking—and froze.

There. To one side of the room, next to the wall. A tall, lean man standing in the shadows. Long blond hair. The man’s gaze seemed to be locked on Sean, though it was impossible to actually tell. He was too far away, the crowd separating them, and there were other guys standing near Sean. The man could be staring at any of them.

But a chill chased over his skin as the man ducked his head. Turned and disappeared into the mass of bodies, heading toward the exit.

Sean’s heart pounded and his legs felt like lead. The man couldn’t be Jesse. What business would he have in Sugarland?

A honed sense of self-preservation whispered that he didn’t want to know.

The bidding began and took his mind off the stranger. Each of the firefighters fetched a respectable sum, though his guys did better than most. Some of the local single girls were determined to get a piece of them, hitched or not, and their women were equally determined to send their competition home lonely.

When it was his turn, Sean cringed inwardly as the bidding began at a pathetic hundred bucks. They all started at that price, but his worry that nobody would bid on him made him feel like an awkward thirteen-year-old all over again. His team had each fetched over five grand, for God’s sake.

Then the bidding started in earnest, and he soon discovered he needn’t have been nervous.

A woman’s voice called out clearly, “Five hundred!”

Okay, not shabby.

“One thousand!” came a counterbid. Eve’s voice.

She was bidding on him. In public, no matter who among their colleagues was watching. Hell, in front of the entire damned town. He warmed inside, his smile genuine. It also didn’t kill his ego when the two opponents upped the stakes, each prepared to outdo the other.

“Fifteen hundred!”

“Two thousand,” Eve shouted.

“Three thousand!”

“Five!”

The crowd murmured excitedly.

“Seven!” the woman countered.

“Ten thousand dollars!”

No counterbid came from the woman this time, and the audience shrieked. The city manager beamed into the microphone.

“Ten thousand going once . . . going twice . . . one eligible bachelor sold to the pretty lady for ten thousand dollars!”

Sean felt light-headed and ridiculously happy. Jeez, did she have that kind of money? He guessed so or she wouldn’t have done it.

Six-Pack poked him in the ribs. “Damn, my friend! Two women duking it out over you? Can I be you when I grow up?”

“Shut up.” But he couldn’t stop smiling.

The rest of the auction passed in a haze and was over before he knew it. He and the others trooped backstage to put their civilian clothes back on and join the audience for an after-party. In the makeshift dressing area, he dressed in his jeans and a nice gray sweater, and gathered his fireman’s coat, pants, and suspenders. He hadn’t worn the hat.

“Hey, I’m gonna go put this stuff in my truck before I find Eve,” he called to Six-Pack. “If you see her, tell her I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

His friend waved as he exited through a side door and out into the fall night. The air was clear and cold with that first bite of winter, one of his favorite times of year. It had been Bobby’s, too. Football season. The memory made him sad, but it wasn’t crippling this time. Didn’t send him to his knees, begging God to take him, too.

Reaching his Tahoe, he clicked the lock on his key ring and opened the back window to throw his gear inside. Just then a faint shuffle sounded from somewhere behind him, and he spun, staring into the darkness beyond the parking lot. He could’ve sworn it sounded like boots crunching on gravel, a tentative step.

The stranger came to mind, the one he thought he’d seen twice. His skin prickled again and he was absolutely certain he was being watched. Stalked? By the man who’d tormented him with the call and the shit in the box? Maybe the same one who’d destroyed the Chinese restaurant?

“What do you want, asshole?” he snapped. “I’ve seen you twice and I know you’re there. Why don’t you quit hiding like a pussy and come deal with me face-to-face?”

Now he wasn’t imagining the footsteps, coming closer.

“Who the hell are you yelling at?”

Pulse leaping, Sean whirled to see Julian striding toward him, carrying his own gear. “What? Nobody. I mean, I thought somebody was out there.” He waved a hand toward the gloom beyond the lights. “Obviously, I’m hearing things. Going back inside?”

“Yep.” Frowning, Jules glanced from Sean to the area where he’d been staring. “Let me put away my shit and we’ll go.”

He waited for Julian, then trailed him back to the building, taking one last, long look over his shoulder. No one there.

He wondered if there ever had been.