‘You’re still going to have to wait here with everyone else until you’re allowed to go back.’
She glared at him, desperate to argue, but seeing the steely look in his blue eyes, realised he wasn’t going to change his mind. ‘Fine.’
Seeming satisfied that she was going to do as he asked, the firefighter left to speak to someone else. Checking his back was turned to her, Skye hurried back to the hotel entrance and ran up the stairs to the first floor. She reached the room, wishing the alarm would stop blaring out.
‘Hey, you can’t go in there,’ a deep voice called, giving her the second fright of the evening.
Damn, he must have spotted her going back inside, Skye realised. Hand shaking, she held her room card against the lock and, relieved when it clicked, opened the door and stepped inside. Before it could close he entered the room behind her.
‘You cannot be in here,’ he said, sounding thoroughly irritated with her.
Understanding his annoyance, but unwilling to leave without the notebook, Skye scanned the room and seeing her precious book on the dressing table, crossed the floor to grab it. Her fingers grazed it, when he spoke again.
‘You must leave now.’
Skye picked it up and turned to see a tall, broad-shouldered firefighter in full uniform. Even as she battled to make sense of what was happening it dawned on her that, at any other time, this might be quite exciting. Then she noticed the grim expression on his handsome face.
‘Now.’
‘One minute,’ she said, pushing her book into her jacket pocket.
‘You don’t have a minute,’ the firefighter said, his voice clipped as if he was trying hard to keep from losing his temper.
Aware he had her best interests at heart and was only doing his job, Skye nodded apologetically and left the room. ‘Sorry, I promise I won’t do that again.’
He didn’t reply, just gave a nod and a sideways glance as if he didn’t trust her to do as she had said. He followed her silently until she was back outside with the other guests.
2
JOE
Joe removed his uniform and hung it up ready for the next emergency. His adrenalin was still pumping after the fire in the hotel kitchen. No one had been hurt and they had managed to contain the fire to the kitchen, which was a relief. His thoughts returned to the woman in the bedroom who had insisted on fetching a book. A book, of all things. Who would risk their life, and potentially his, for a book? He thought back to the fire in the village soon after he and his mother Faye had moved to France when he was fourteen, and to the shock he still felt when he recalled watching the building with neighbours in the village square, waiting for the three people trapped on the top floor of a hotel to be rescued.
The bravery of thepompiers– especially the one who had climbed the ladder and carried down a traumatised woman with partially burnt clothes, saving her life – had stayed with Joe since then. The heroic actions of the firefighter had been the reason he had chosen to do the same job.
Joe was glad he hadn’t seen the woman he had taken from the hotel bedroom after leading her to join the final few hotel staff as they left the building again. The temptation to tell her how silly she had been would have been intense, and it wasn’t for him to lecture anyone.
He couldn’t think straight with all the chatter from his colleagues, so Joe finished putting his things away and realised he should go home. The thought of returning to his home, to his mother and her new husband Roger, was not something he was looking forward to. They had only been staying with him for two weeks but it already felt more like a couple of months. If only it wasn’t so early and the café was open; he could do with wasting an hour eating one of their delicious breakfasts right now.
‘I’m off,’ Joe said.
‘Me, too,’ his good friend and fellow firefighter Paul said, joining Joe as he left the building. ‘You OK, mate?’ Paul asked as they strode towards their cars. ‘You seem a bit down lately.’ Paul stopped by his car. ‘It’s not woman trouble, is it?’
Joe shook his head. ‘Not unless you’re thinking of my mother,’ Joe replied, keeping his voice light.
Paul slapped him on the back. ‘Good luck with that.’
Joe knew Paul had been referring to a recent conversation when Joe had admitted his last relationship ended badly. He had then insisted, despite Paul’s assurances to the contrary, that he had no intention of becoming involved with anyone romantically for a very long time. ‘Thanks, I’m sure it’ll all work out somehow.’
‘I’m sure it will.’ Paul smiled. ‘And let’s hope it’s a quieter shift next time.’
Joe thought of the guests and staff at the hotel and was glad they had all been able to return to their accommodation after the fire had been contained and extinguished, and he couldn’t agree more.
He took the scenic route back towards Noirmont where he had lived alone, barely having a chance to settle into the bungalow his paternal grandfather had left him before his peace was shattered when his mother had pitched up on his doorstep with her suitcase and husband in tow, acting as if this was going to be a great family reunion.
‘Why didn’t you let me know you were coming?’ Joe had asked the morning they’d arrived. ‘I could have at least prepared a room for you both.’
‘We wanted to surprise you,’ his mother Faye had insisted, handing Joe her cabin bag and walking past him into his hallway, leaving Joe to introduce himself to her latest husband.
