Read Online The Perfect Match by Susan May Warren - Free Book Online

had steel in her expression. Dan braced himself for her listen-up-and-listen-well speech.
    “Thank you for your attendance today,” she said loudly with warmth. The crowd shifted slightly. Dan frowned. “I know this has come as a shock to many of you, and I thank you for your support.” She smiled then,a white, bright smile that said, I’m here to serve . “I’ve had the pleasure, by the way, of working with one of your crew before. Paramedic Steven Lund worked with me in Duluth a number of years ago.” She waved to a tall man leaning against a black Suburban. Lund smiled back with what seemed like genuine affection. “Steven knows some of my training techniques, and he’ll be assist—”
    “We’ve already been trained,” yelled Mitch. He’d discarded his coffee and now stood, arms folded, looking like a soldier of misfortune in his fatigues and muscles.
    Ellie didn’t flinch. “I’ve seen you in action, Mr.—”
    “Davis,” he supplied with a growl.
    “Thank you. Like I said, I saw you attack the Simmons fire, and while I merit you on your determination to get to the heat and save lives, your methods were haphazard. My job is to form you into an efficient unit that can attack a blaze from many fronts. I plan to teach the forensics of firefighting, the different methods and chemicals used for various types of blazes, and I hope to hone you into a team.”
    “We are a team. We don’t need a new leader.” This from Ernie Wilkes, one of Mitch’s forest-ranger cronies. Dan squelched the urge to run over and bang both their heads together.
    Ellie nodded, as if she expected this response. “I’ve been training and fighting fires for over a decade so I know how fire crews work. They’re a special kind of family, and I don’t want to break that up.” The breeze off the lake played with the loose tendrils of her hair, softening her hard look. “If you’d permit me, I’d like to introduce you to some of the newest techniques.” Shepulled a light green, rectangular object from her pocket, roughly the size of a claymore mine, and for a second Dan wondered if she was going to lob it into the huddle of opposers trying to turn her to rubble with their smoldering glares. She held it aloft. “For example, do you know what this is?”
    Nothing but silence accompanied the weight-shifting postures of the crowd.
    “It’s a super PAL,” she answered. “Otherwise known as a Personal Alert Safety System or PASS monitor. The newest models turn on automatically and detect motion. Firefighters, if you’re felled, your PAL emits a noise that helps us find you, and it just might save your life.”
    Joe nudged Dan and nodded. Dan ignored him.
    Ellie angled a smile at Mitch and Doug that didn’t seem as warm as it did authoritative. “I’m glad to have your cooperation, men.”
    Dan smiled as he recognized the tone of voice. Next she’d pull out her sarcasm and the bloodshed would begin. Dan had to give her points, however, for toeing up to Mitch and his pack with patience and grace. She had half the man’s girth and, at best, could look him square in the Adam’s apple. Still, she refused to be knocked to her knees by his snarl.
    Dan had to wonder—what had he done to ignite her wrath? Certainly he hadn’t been as offensive as Mitch, had he? Had he turned into an offensive jerk in the hospital, symbolically throwing his body in front of a woman who didn’t want to be saved? He shuddered to think that he hadn’t learned anything from the past. Or were all men destined to pound their chests in male machismo when they saw a woman in danger?
    Perhaps the best way to protect her wasn’t to tackle her ambitions but to befriend her, watch her flank, and keep the real enemies—namely Mitch, Ernie, and Doug—from sabotaging her future.
    Dan watched Mitch fume as she read off her list of current volunteers, all present, and took the names of three wannabe firemen. Dan noticed that Guthrie Jones stepped forward