Read Online Burning Up by Susan Andersen - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Susan Andersen
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taking in the long, smooth stretch of skin between Macy’s forehead and toes, broken only by the strings and two tiny triangles of the giraffe-skin fabric that almost protected the modesty of her high, sweet breasts and that peek-a-boo scarf that bared her stomach and one boyish hip before showcasing glimpses of those yard-long legs. Crap. Was he drooling?
He shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “Well, hey, you’re a big girl and you’ll wear what you’re gonna wear.” He turned to Janna. “Good luck with your first PT session.”
He walked away to the sound of Macy muttering, “For God’s sake. Was there anything you didn’t eavesdrop on?”
There wasn’t enough time in the drive between the boardinghouse and town for the AC to catch up with the heat in his car, and his khaki shirt was stuck to his spine by the time he pulled up in front of the one-engine firehouse.
His six volunteers were already there, and he strode into the mini kitchen and joined them at the table where they were drinking coffee. “Sorry I’mlate. I stopped off at the boardinghouse after my meeting with the mayor and got hung up.”
Johnson, a strapping blond farmer, shrugged as he reached for the sugar container to add a heaping teaspoon to his cup. “I’m impressed you made it at all. I’d be hard-pressed to drag myself away if I had the opportunity to hang out with Macy O’James. Did anyone else see her in Burn, Baby, Burn? ”
“Oh, yeah,” Bundy agreed fervently, while Solberg said, “That one was hot, no question. But she was off the hinges in Ain’t No Talkin’. Who can forget her in that little satin nightielike thing?”
It was touch-and-go for a second, but Gabe managed not to take his exasperation out on his men. But Jesus, wouldn’t it be nice if he could go just one day, or hell, even a couple of hours, without having to listen to everything Macy? This was a small town, however, and apparently once word that O’James was featured in the provocative videos had gotten around, the entire town had started tuning in to watch.
Ignoring the comments, he nodded his thanks to Kirschner, who handed him a mug of coffee. Then he looked around the table at his men.
“I asked you to meet me here,” he said, “because the upshot of my meeting with the mayor this morning was more budget cuts in the works. It won’t affect your pay per fire, but there’s no money for the non-emergency support person I’d hoped to hire. So I’d like to run something past you that I brought up with Mayor Smith.”
“You actually got something past Mayor Tight-wad?” one of his men demanded.
“Yeah, since it won’t cost him much and has the potential for a big return. I don’t know if you’re familiar with the Fire Corps, but it’s a volunteer program that provides support personnel, saving fire departments across the nation time and money. We’re too small to have a branch in our area, but I’d like try recruiting for one. So if you all are willing to take a dunking for the cause, I did get Smith to unclench his wallet long enough to get us a booth and a dunk tank at the county fair in August. People seem to love those things, and with the chance to knock us into a tank of water comes an opportunity for us to raise some money, hand out literature and talk up the benefits of volunteering for the fire department.”
“I’ll do it,” Johnson said, as others at the table nodded their agreement. “What the hell, it’s a chance to meet chicks—something I don’t get off the farm often enough to do much of. If you really want a turnout, though, you should talk Macy into being part of it.”
His first inclination was to snarl, “Enough about O’James, already!” But applying cold-blooded logic to the suggestion, he had to agree the guy had a point. The way she’d laughed that night on the porch with Westler popped to mind, as it had way too often. And picturing a wet Macy, laughing like that even once? Hell,
He shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “Well, hey, you’re a big girl and you’ll wear what you’re gonna wear.” He turned to Janna. “Good luck with your first PT session.”
He walked away to the sound of Macy muttering, “For God’s sake. Was there anything you didn’t eavesdrop on?”
There wasn’t enough time in the drive between the boardinghouse and town for the AC to catch up with the heat in his car, and his khaki shirt was stuck to his spine by the time he pulled up in front of the one-engine firehouse.
His six volunteers were already there, and he strode into the mini kitchen and joined them at the table where they were drinking coffee. “Sorry I’mlate. I stopped off at the boardinghouse after my meeting with the mayor and got hung up.”
Johnson, a strapping blond farmer, shrugged as he reached for the sugar container to add a heaping teaspoon to his cup. “I’m impressed you made it at all. I’d be hard-pressed to drag myself away if I had the opportunity to hang out with Macy O’James. Did anyone else see her in Burn, Baby, Burn? ”
“Oh, yeah,” Bundy agreed fervently, while Solberg said, “That one was hot, no question. But she was off the hinges in Ain’t No Talkin’. Who can forget her in that little satin nightielike thing?”
It was touch-and-go for a second, but Gabe managed not to take his exasperation out on his men. But Jesus, wouldn’t it be nice if he could go just one day, or hell, even a couple of hours, without having to listen to everything Macy? This was a small town, however, and apparently once word that O’James was featured in the provocative videos had gotten around, the entire town had started tuning in to watch.
Ignoring the comments, he nodded his thanks to Kirschner, who handed him a mug of coffee. Then he looked around the table at his men.
“I asked you to meet me here,” he said, “because the upshot of my meeting with the mayor this morning was more budget cuts in the works. It won’t affect your pay per fire, but there’s no money for the non-emergency support person I’d hoped to hire. So I’d like to run something past you that I brought up with Mayor Smith.”
“You actually got something past Mayor Tight-wad?” one of his men demanded.
“Yeah, since it won’t cost him much and has the potential for a big return. I don’t know if you’re familiar with the Fire Corps, but it’s a volunteer program that provides support personnel, saving fire departments across the nation time and money. We’re too small to have a branch in our area, but I’d like try recruiting for one. So if you all are willing to take a dunking for the cause, I did get Smith to unclench his wallet long enough to get us a booth and a dunk tank at the county fair in August. People seem to love those things, and with the chance to knock us into a tank of water comes an opportunity for us to raise some money, hand out literature and talk up the benefits of volunteering for the fire department.”
“I’ll do it,” Johnson said, as others at the table nodded their agreement. “What the hell, it’s a chance to meet chicks—something I don’t get off the farm often enough to do much of. If you really want a turnout, though, you should talk Macy into being part of it.”
His first inclination was to snarl, “Enough about O’James, already!” But applying cold-blooded logic to the suggestion, he had to agree the guy had a point. The way she’d laughed that night on the porch with Westler popped to mind, as it had way too often. And picturing a wet Macy, laughing like that even once? Hell,
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