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He walked over to the kitchen sink, pouring himself a glass of water and downing it in one go. Cass got to her feet.
‘I’d better get going. There’s bunting to be hung.’ She was trying not to notice what she fancied might be the remains of the look she’d seen in his eyes when she’d left the house last night.
‘What time does it start, again?’
‘Two o’clock.’ Cass gave Jack a wide berth, making sure she didn’t accidentally brush against him as she walked out of the kitchen, heading for the shower.
* * *
The fire station was decorated with flags and bunting, standing to attention in the stiff breeze, and the two fire engines on the forecourt shone in the sun. Cass looked up at the sky.
‘Think it’ll rain?’
Mike, another of the firefighters, glanced at the clouds.
‘If it does, then it’ll add some authenticity to the demonstration.’ He chuckled. ‘After the last month, I’m not sure I’ll be able to get a ladder up unless it’s raining.’
‘Me too.’ Cass tipped her helmet on to the back of her head. ‘Shame we don’t have bigger puddles out back. We could have done rope and water rescue as part of the demonstration.’
‘Don’t push it, Cass. Have you seen the roof of the office?’
‘No?’ She looked across at the prefabricated office, on the far side of the yard.
‘Enough water on that flat roof to bath a donkey. I’m surprised it hasn’t leaked yet.’
‘Suppose we could always take a shot at waterfall rescue.’ Cass grinned.
‘Is that in the manual? Come on, I bet you know what page.’
‘Everything’s in the manual. And I wouldn’t tell you what page it was on even if I knew; you’d just call me a swot.’
‘You’re a swot. Everybody knows that.’ Mike watched the stream of cars turning into the car park. ‘Here they come. Prepare for terror like you’ve never known before.’
* * *
Cass looked for Jack in the sea of heads and saw him with Ellie, who was dressed in red wellingtons and a matching waterproof coat. They were being guided across the yard with the first of the visitors and into the garage, where Mike was overseeing the most important part of the afternoon. The demonstration and being able to see a fire engine up close wa
s the fun bit, but there was a serious message to get across as well.
Everything was distilled down into easy steps that a child might remember if faced with a fire or flood. Cass leaned against the front of the tender, listening to the kids’ voices chanting along with Mike’s. Don’t hide. A child’s first instinct, to hide away in the face of danger, was every firefighter’s worst nightmare.
No nightmares today, though. Cass watched as the station commander’s wife made a blood-curdling job of yelling for help from the roof of the garage, and four firefighters raced across the yard with a ladder. She was rescued with the minimum of indignity, as befitted her status, and to general applause. Then some of the smaller kids were lifted up on to a lower platform, where they were held safely by one of the crew until a shorter ladder was run across the yard to perform similar, if less hair-raising, rescues.
In between talking to the first of the groups which clustered around her and showing them around the fire engine, Cass saw Ellie on the platform.
‘Help! Fire!’ she called across the yard at the top of her voice. The firefighter squatting down next to her said a few words and then grinned as she waved her arms energetically above her head. ‘Help! Fire!’
Ellie was duly rescued, received a round of applause and ran back to Jack. He hoisted her up on his shoulders and started to walk towards Cass, coming to a halt behind the family who had just approached her.
She bent towards the two little boys, seeing only Jack. Tall and relaxed, smiling at her.
‘What...’ She cleared her throat, trying to dislodge the lump that seemed to have formed. She’d already done this half a dozen times but she was suddenly acutely aware of being watched. And acutely mindful of the gentle dark eyes that were doing the watching.
‘What have you learned today?’ She waited for the boys’ answers and then began to show them the fire engine, making a conscious effort not to rush them through. Finally they accepted the colouring sheets and badges that she handed them, along with the fire safety information for their parents, and walked away talking excitedly.
‘Nice badges.’ His lips were curved in a quiet smile. That smile of his should be X-rated.
‘Sorry. Only for the under tens.’ She dragged her gaze away from his and felt in her pocket. ‘Which one would you like, Ellie? I’ve got a pink one here.’
