Read Online Touch of Fire by Samantha Sommersby - Free Book Online Page B

call me Flint for the most part. My mother still calls me Garrett, and you can too if you like.” He waited a moment, then smiled. “There. Now you know someone.”
    “A firefighter named Flint?”
    He scratched the back of his head. “I thought about arson as a possible career path, but the threat of prison always looming in the background soured me on the idea.”
    “Nicole.” She extended her hand. “Nicole Brooks.”
    Garrett grasped it. “So, the house wasn’t yours?”
    She shook her head and gazed outside. “I was going to close the house up this morning and head back home. It was my father’s. He died a few days ago. Heart attack. He had a massive coronary while doing his latest secretary on top of his desk. God, how my mother would have appreciated the irony of that.” Smiling, she inconspicuously wiped tears from her eyes.
    “Where’s home, Nicole?”
    “I live in Sonoma. My car—”
    “I’m afraid it’s gone.”
    Nicole wrapped her arms around her frail frame and shivered. “It’s cold.”
    “You’re probably in a bit of shock.” Garrett turned her body and tucked her back in the truck. “I’d wager your foot is going to hurt like a son-of-a-bitch as soon as it wears off.” He closed the door and walked around the truck to the driver’s side. “Let me turn the heater on for a few minutes; it’ll warm you up.”
    “I’ll be all right.”
    Garrett spared her a sideways glance as he started the truck and adjusted the temperature.
    “Better?”
    Nicole nodded.
    He began to dial his phone. “I’ve got to make a call.”
    A familiar voice answered. “Hello?”
    “Angela? I’m sorry, I must have the wrong number. I was trying to call Mrs. Thompson.”
    “You dialed the right number,” Angela replied. “The Thompsons are at Mercy. Mr. Thompson fell, and it looks like he’s broken his hip.”
    “Christ, when it rains it pours. Is he going to be all right?”
    “He will be; he’s in surgery now.”
    “Thank you. I really owe you one.”
    “Not a problem. How are the fires, Flint? Is it as bad as they say?”
    Garrett glanced at Nicole. “Probably worse.”
    “You must be exhausted. Brenda and I both have the day off. We were planning on going to the zoo. Why don’t you let us take Sam for a few hours so you can sleep?”
    “I wouldn’t say no to a few hours sleep and a long, hot shower.”
    “Speaking of hot, it’s going to be hot today, and there’s a certain dress Sam wants to wear.”
    “I’ll be there soon; I’m only about twenty minutes away.” Garrett climbed back inside the vehicle and tossed his cell onto the dash.
    “I should stay here,” Nicole said.
    Garrett noticed Ron still staring at them. He closed the door and threw the truck into gear.
    “No. You really shouldn’t. I’m taking you home. You can get cleaned up and sorted, get your foot taken care of. Then, we’ll get you back to Sonoma.”
    “It sounded like you have someplace you need to be.”
    “Home. I’m not far from here. We’ll swing by the fire station so I can get my car and then make a quick stop to pick up Sam.”
    “Sam?”
    “My daughter.” Garrett pulled out of the parking lot back onto Friars Road and headed west.
    “Maybe you should call and warn your wife that you’re bringing home a mangy stray?”
    He swallowed hard, fingering the plain gold wedding band on his left hand. “It’s just Sam and me.”
    “Divorce can be hard.”
    Garrett stopped for a light and turned to look at her. “Death is harder. She died three and a half years ago.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    Garrett nodded. “I’m sorry about your dad.”
    “We hadn’t been close in a long time. My parents divorced when I was thirteen. My mom, she passed away just six months ago. Brain tumor.”
    His head snapped up. “Amanda had brain cancer too. How strange is that?”
    “Was she ill for a long time?”
    Garrett didn’t respond.
    “I don’t mean to pry,” Nicole said. “It’s just, well, it helps to