AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Me?”
“You know her,” he says. “Makes the most sense.”
Great.
“All due respect, sir, but I think maybe someone else would be better suited to do the follow up with Miss Smart.”
He frowns at me. “I disagree. If she knows you, she’ll be comfortable with you—you know what kind of trauma a fire brings. She might need a comforting face.”
I stare.
“Well, a face, anyways,” he adds.
I do my best to conceal my feelings about this. I don’t want to “check in” on Emmy, and I don’t want to be the guy to take her over to assess the damage at her house. I want to keep my distance. She’s like a walking reminder of the day my life fell apart.
“You’ve still got a few hours left on your shift,” he says, defaulting to captain mode. “And I’m not asking. Expect a call or two about this whole thing in the next few days. It’s not every day one of our men is photographed carrying a woman out of her burning house.”
I frown. “What are you talking about?”
He pushes the newspaper toward me, and there, on the front page, is a photo of just what the captain described. Me, carrying Emmy out of her house. Her arms are wrapped up around my neck, and at the sight of it, something inside me rises. She looks so small and vulnerable.
I want to hold her and keep her safe. From everything.
“How’d they get this?” I ask, glancing up. “I don’t even remember a photographer being there.”
He shrugs. “Beats me. The truck was outside for a few minutes before you came out. Good chance that Jerry kid has a police scanner and showed up around the same time.”
“Those things should be outlawed,” I mutter.
“You know what this means, right?” he asks. “Lots of attention coming your way. And I know we haven’t known each other long, but I can already tell attention isn’t your thing.”
He’s right. It’s not my thing.
“I’m no. . .spokesperson. Or whatever. You don’t want me speaking in public for this station,” I say.
The only reason I’m here at all is because my dad called in a favor.
Is he forgetting that?
“Oh, I don’t? You trying to tell me what’s best for my station? When you’re like three days on the job here?” The captain bristles.
I back down. I need to keep my issues with authority in check. The captain is a good guy, and I’m not here to make waves.
He slides the paper back and taps the picture. “You proved yourself out there last night. Nobody can argue you don’t know what you’re doing after saving that girl.”
“This town has. . .uh. . .never been very high on me, Captain,” I tell him, and it’s hard to get the words out without sounding angry.
His face twitches. “I know.”
He does?
“And you know what they say about opinions,” he adds. “Everybody’s got ‘em and they all stink.” He looks like he has more to say but chooses not to. Instead, he tells me to go check on Emmy, then go home, and get some well-deserved rest.
I’ll do as I’m told, but I won’t like it.
I made up my mind when I decided to move back here that I’d keep my distance from Emmy. Let her be what she was always meant to be—my little sister’s best friend.
As I stand, I glance down once more at the picture.
