Read Online Charming the Firefighter by Beth Andrews - Free Book Online Page B

that literally. Last he’d heard, Wes and his wife, Molly, had enough sons to form their own basketball team.
    He took the girl by the arm and led her toward the door. “You did a great job,” he told her. “Calling us, shutting off the grill and helping Ms. Denning inside. But HIPAA rules state that unless you’re related, or a legal representative of the patient, you can’t be present at this time.”
    All bullshit, and if he wasn’t mistaken, something Gracie suspected, but unless she called him on it—and whipped out a copy of the HIPAA regulations—he was standing by his words.
    He opened the French doors, avoiding Forrest’s smirk as he deposited Gracie on the deck. “I’m sure Ms. Denning is grateful for all your help.”
    And he shut the door.
    “You were a little rude to her.”
    He crossed back to Penelope, who was giving him the time-honored death stare of doom.
    Some days, a guy couldn’t win.
    “Sometimes playing hero means being the bad guy.” He unwound his stethoscope and put the ear tips in. “Just going to listen to your lungs, make sure they’re clear.”
    She sat rigidly, her hands on her thighs, her fingers curled. Everything sounded good.
    “Gracie meant well,” she said.
    “I’m sure she did.” He wound the stethoscope around his neck and straightened. “But it seemed to me you could use a break from her good intentions.”
    “She was very helpful,” Penelope said, glancing nervously to the deck as if worried Gracie was going to return. “But she was quite...chatty. And pushy.”
    “That can be a lot to take in. Especially when someone is having a rough day. She seems like a sweet girl, but it was obvious she was wearing out her welcome.”
    “I think she’s lonely,” Penelope said softly. “Her parents went to some picnic and left her home by herself.”
    “Wes—that’s her dad—is a good guy. And Molly, his wife, is as sweet as they come. I’m sure they didn’t abandon her. They love their kids.”
    Her ill-natured shrug told him she was firmly on Gracie’s side in this imaginary battle she’d concocted between the teen and her folks—no matter that the kid had bugged the hell out of her. “So you’re close friends with them?”
    “Nope.”
    “Then how could you possibly know what emotions they do, or do not feel, toward their children?”
    “I don’t,” he said simply. “But Shady Grove’s a small town with all sorts of ties among the people who live here. Some of those ties are personal—friendships, marriage, family. Some are professional. But even if you don’t know someone personally, chances are someone you know does. In this case, that someone would be my eldest brother and his wife. They went to school with Molly, hung out in the same crowd. And Wes is good buddies with my captain. So I know them well enough to say they wouldn’t ditch their kid. They’re decent, hardworking, caring people. And about as opposite as two people can be, which must be why their marriage works so well.”
    “That is ludicrous. Not to mention highly unlikely. I would surmise that if they truly are
as opposite as two people can be
, their marriage will eventually crumble under the pressure of trying to hold up unrealistic expectations of success.”
    Gripping both ends of his stethoscope, he leaned back. Tried to figure out what the hell was wrong with him. He should be put off by her prim and preachy tone, but he liked her light, clear voice too much, the way she spoke with such careful precision. And it was tough to get pissed at her haughty, patronizing expression when her hair was such a mess, her face pink.
    Interest stirred again and this time, he didn’t fight it. Didn’t plan on acting on it, not at the moment anyhow. But that didn’t mean he could stop from finding her fascinating.
    From wanting her to keep talking.
    If only because, for the first time since he’d arrived at the accident scene last night, he felt...lighter.
    Women had a way of doing