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“Not a single call. How’s your new place?”
“It’s comfortable. A lot of neighbors.”
“Yep, I wondered how you’d like that. The guys were talking about the neighborly neighbors.”
“They’re mostly women.”
“Oh, okay, ha!” Danny laughed. “Any of them live up to Bethany?”
Paul gave him the rundown of the two women he’d met so far.
“So you got a vet and a college student,” Danny stated. “I know who you mean. One’s young and one’s old. What doyouthink of their ages?”
“I didn’t ask, but they’re both gorgeous, so age doesn’t matter.”
They made a few sexist comments like a couple of schoolboys as they arrived at their destination.
The first place they visited was Black Cliffs Ranch. Danny pulled through the gate and drove down a long straight driveway. A house that had clearly seen better days had been built in the shadow of the foothill to leave more room for the groves. A familiar horse grazed in an open field.
“I know that horse,” Paul said. “This must be the house of the college student who does the garden.”
He looked around and didn’t see the truck she’d driven yesterday. There was a bright red pickup in the open garage.
“Are you okay going up?” Danny asked. “Her father will be home.”
“Yeah, it’s fine. If she’s home, she won’t expect a date from a firehouse call.”
Guffawing, they tried to control themselves before Danny pressed the doorbell.
Dogs barked right before Angus Smith opened the door. A tall, gangly man with a perpetual look of distress, Karin’s father smelled like his breakfast: a bottle of beer.
“Red Mountain’s finest,” he said, stepping out.
Two large black labs came out after him, sniffing the men and then running off.
Danny and Paul introduced themselves.
“I know who you are.”
“We’re here to do a survey of your property for fire safety compliance. Are you okay if we walk around? We’d like you to come along,” Danny said, reading from a script.
“I know what you’ll say. We go through this every year. I need to clear up to the mountain. But the truth is that if a fire starts over on the other side, I’m screwed.”
“Not if you’re cleared,” Danny insisted. “If a fire starts up there, we’ll put it out. It’ll just be safer for your home to eliminate any fuel around it. We’re available to help clear, too.”
“I don’t need it. My boys will help me. I just need to remember to tell them.”
“Give your boys this flyer,” Danny said, smiling as he handed over a sheet of paper that listed all the precautions that were needed along with a likeness of Smoky the Bear.
“You’re the new tenant?” Angus asked, looking at Paul.
“I am, sir. Paul Saint.”
“My daughter didn’t stop talking about you.”
Not knowing how to respond, he just nodded, remembering what Karin had said about her father giving up. He wondered how Charlie would have done if Clare had died instead of walking out on him with another man. The thought upset him, and he wondered why. He was a grown man. Why was his parents’ divorce affecting him so deeply?
Danny led the way as they surveyed the property. There was a pile of old redwood outdoor furniture and tires, which posed a hazard. Danny said it should be removed. Smith’s response made it hard to tell if he was going to comply or not, so they moved on.
