Leaving Normal, Stef Holm [ebook reader screen .TXT] 📗

the women treated her poorly. To the contrary, they were friendly and nice, asked her questions, told her Tony was a good guy.

She met Wally's wife. She was petite, dark-haired and wore bangs. Natalie liked her right away. They sat beside one another and talked when the noise level permitted.

Watching Tony speed across the ice wearing a jersey evoked a feeling of pride in Natalie. She was proud of him, and of the way he gave his time for a good cause. And very glad she had been there to cheer his team on.

She'd kept her gaze fastened to Tony as he wielded his hockey stick, shot the puck into the net to score a goal. She couldn't believe he could be so agile, so fast and accurate. He amazed her.

Watching him, warmth had seeped across her skin, making her tingle. Her heart swelled and she'd suddenly felt tears burn behind her eyelids. She rapidly blinked them away. She hadn't been sad or upset, just hit by overwhelming feelings.

She told herself she had only gone to have fun. That that's what she needed to do. Not think things through and get so serious. Just enjoy, let herself be in Tony's company and not worry about anything else.

But last week on her porch, she had wanted more. So much more.

When he didn't kiss her, she was disappointed. She shouldn't have been. No strings attached, no "dating."

That's what she'd told herself she wanted. Why then had confusion assailed her when he left her without a quick brush of his lips against hers?

She followed him down the hallway toward a row of rooms on both sides.

'This one's mine when I'm on shift." He came to the end of the hall and showed her a room with a twin bed, a television and floor heater. The bed was unmade; no sheets or pillow. A man's unzipped duffel was strewn on the floor, a pair of tennis shoes tossed in the corner.

"Doug Frye is working tonight. He uses the room when I'm not in it. He hasn't made the bed yet. Probably will sleep on the mattress and throw a blanket over himself." Tony chuckled.

"You don't get bedding?"

"Sure. It's in the linen closet. The sheets are taken off after every shift and each guy has to make his own bed. Frye's probably in the TV room watching Blind Date."

Tony took off his jacket and threw it on the bed. "You can set your purse and coat in here. Nobody will bother it."

She put her purse down, slipped out of her wool coat and red scarf. Tonight she'd worn comfortable jeans and a simple cashmere sweater in a pale shade of green; she didn't have fanfare from Sarah and the girls when it came to getting ready. Natalie had drawn part of her hair back in a clip, selected silver hoop earrings and applied light makeup.

"It's kind of cold in here," she commented.

Before she could react, Tony ran his strong hands down her arms in an effort to warm her up. It didn't take but a few seconds. Sometimes all he had to do was look at her and her skin grew heated.

With his hands on her shoulders, then slipping down her arms, he explained, "Some guys like it cooler, so you have to have extra heat. I don't remember where I got that heater. It's mine. I just leave it here."

"Oh," was all she could manage, distracted by his closeness. His hair was damp at the ends from a shower he'd taken after the game. She could smell the fragrance of shampoo and soap on him.

He stopped warming her up, but didn't step back. Her chin rose and she met his gaze. She couldn't think, couldn't move. She just stood there and waited, hoped that maybe now he'd kiss her.

But he didn't.

And she had to remind herself once more that it was fine that he did not. More than fine…okay. She drew in a breath of much-needed air.

"So what else is there to show me?" she asked, collecting herself.

"Come on."

He went down the hallway once more. They passed a closet and he opened the doors. "Stuffed animals."

"Hmm. What for?"

"When there's an accident involving kids, we give a stuffed animal out at the scene. It helps calm them down, gives them something to hold on to."

"Good idea."

"Here's the sheets." He pointed to neatly folded white linens.

Tony moved on, walked past a small desk. "This is the library."

There was a shelf, cupboards, a desk with an old computer, some fire manuals and training books.

"We keep copies of International Fire Fighter here."

She listened to him, watched as he walked around the room. She tried to keep her mind focused on what he was saying and not let rampant thoughts about how great he looked get away from her.

He wore a long-sleeved navy T-shirt with Boise Fire Dept. in white lettering across his broad back, faded jeans and black, gym-type tennis shoes. His hair was cut short and combed away from his forehead. When he pointed to a painting on the wall, she focused on his hand. An abrasion ran across several knuckles.

"This guy lives in Meridian. He paints pictures for the fire stations."

"It's really great."

"Yeah, he works out at Gold's Gym. I see him in there every once in a while." Moving ahead of her, he said, "The weight room is down this way."

Seeing Tony in his element, observing the emotion in his expression as he talked about the things around him, what mattered to him, allowed her to have a better understanding of who he was, what he valued and what his code of ethics was. He had people who cared about him; his character was obviously placed in high regard.

She realized they were more similar than different. Both of them put all their effort into the jobs they worked. Pride in what they did was important, and they clearly got a feeling of satisfaction out of doing what they did. While she didn't save lives or