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“He doesn’t stand a chance,” Lana said, turning her very attractive friend back toward the full-length mirror. “You’ll have him at your mercy in no time.”
* * *
After her shopping excursion, Lana gave Kate the evidence bag and asked her to analyze the soil inside for accelerants. Before heading home, Lana stopped at the store and picked up milk, eggs and a few other staples. Back in her car, she drove to her father’s house.
Her father was a former San Diego firefighter who had been disabled twenty years ago when he’d fallen through a floor and messed up his knee. Unable to continue as a firefighter, he’d gone on permanent disability. The injury cut his career short and ended a three-generation tradition of Dempsey men who’d become captain.
But as Lana was told over and over again by her grandfather and father, she would redeem that time-honored tradition and restore the family’s pride. She had to. When her brother decided that he wanted to be a park ranger after he saw the public service announcements for Smokey the Bear, Lana was the one her father turned to since her brother had lost interest in firefighting at a young age.
Lana parked her car in the driveway, admiring the beautiful array of flowers that she’d planted for him two weeks ago. It looked like he was keeping up with the watering.
She didn’t bother to knock as she opened the front door and made her way to the kitchen.
“Lana? That you?”
Lana set the groceries on the counter and started to unpack the bag. “I brought you a few things,” she yelled.
He ambled into the kitchen and leaned against the doorjamb. “You didn’t have to do that, you know. I’m mobile.”
Working at keeping her patience, she said, “I know you are, Dad. I was at the store and I know you don’t always keep track of what’s in the fridge.”
He folded his arms across his chest and gave her a wry look. Clearing his throat, he asked, “So, are you all set for the lieutenant’s exam?”
“Dad, do we have to talk about the damn exam again? I’m ready to take it.” This time she couldn’t keep the emotion out of her voice. Although she’d wanted to become captain since she was a little girl, recently she’d been on edge about the exam and not sure why.”
“There’s no need to curse, Lana. You know how much this means to your grandfather and to me. We’re proud of you. The eighty-second has had a Dempsey heading it up since the fire department’s inception. They need smart women like you in a leadership position. You have the potential to achieve a pinnacle that was denied me. Your mother, God rest her soul, would be so proud of you.”
She closed her eyes, praying for more patience to deal with her father. “I appreciate your confidence in my abilities. Now, did you eat today?”
* * *
After preparing her father a good meal of steak, potatoes and a salad, they had a pleasant time talking about her sister Paige, who was doing very well in her business and would be marrying FBI agent Justin Connor next year. Her brother Alex excelled as a park ranger at a Northern California park and had just been in the paper recently for saving a kayaker on the river.
When she left his house, she was feeling restless. She decided to head over to Mahoney’s for a quick beer and some conversation. She could always depend on some of her friends being there.
She couldn’t regret what she’d shared with Sean. Never that. She knew that she wanted him from the moment she’d laid eyes on him, but did he feel the same?
* * *
Mahoney’s was the place people went to get away from everyday stress. Although food was served, it was a bar and didn’t try to hide it. Sean loved the atmosphere where yuppies mingled with leather-clad bikers and pierced punkers.
Although busy and crowded, the noise didn’t affect Sean. He was too busy thinking about Lana Dempsey.
It had been much easier on Sean when he could pretend that Lana was nothing more than a friend. He’d hung out with her, drank with her, played pool with her and worked with her. Now, after that steamy time in the shower, he couldn’t stop thinking about her. He realized that he’d never stopped thinking about her since he’d first met her.
He’d just been kidding himself.
In denial.
In fact, he’d never admit this to her, but he had protective instincts where she was concerned. When they had first started working together, he’d watched out for her, but it was soon evident that Lana did her job and did it well. In addition to having the hots for her, she was one hell of a good firefighter.
She was also one hell of a good friend, he reminded himself again. In fact, if it hadn’t been for her, he didn’t think he’d be a firefighter today.
Oh, he hadn’t had a problem with attending lectures or the fire scene simulations. The couple and uncoupling of hoses, naming extinguishers and their specific uses was a piece of cake. He excelled with the learning and use of the Chicago door opener and the ten-pound maul.
But the wordladdermade him break out in a cold sweat. He’d never admitted it to her in the six years they’d been friends, but he was afraid of heights. Not in a paralyzing way, but enough that it caused him difficulty in some maneuvers for his job.
There was no such thing as mundane as a ladder in the fire department. There were two-person ladders, hydraulic ladders and even a three-hundred-and-fifty-pound ladder that required six people to lift and place. At least all these ladders afforded him hand and footholds and the semblance of safety.
