was he sitting here in the parking lot with the windows rolled up, staring through the store windows at a woman so wrong for him? Too tall, too boyish, too exuberant. She’d just about knocked him over when she hugged him.
It had to be because Jack and Kate were getting married. It had to be. The last couple of months watching Jack pursue Kate had left Kevin a little jealous. Even when Jack had been unhappy, and Kevin had been on the verge of killing him, he’d noticed something different about his friend. Something he wanted. When Kate showed up at the apartment fire, Kevin could still see the joy on her face when Jack proposed. So what had he done? He’d latched onto the first woman to cross his path. Good thing the magazine girl was married or he’d be courting her now. It was probably for the best that she wasn’t available. Kevin had a feeling she’d work him over good, given the chance. No, he wasn’t attracted to the inappropriate Jessica Decker. He just wanted what Jack had.
As he watched, Jessica left the magazine section. Probably going to call her doctor. He remembered how excited he’d been when he trained for the test. That would be fun, at least. Sharing her enthusiasm. Watching her work for the goal. As long as he kept in mind that she wasn’t his type, he’d be fine. He had to learn to think of her as one of the guys. Like Bobbie down at eleven. He never imagined he was attracted to Bobbie, and he’d worked out with her before. Hated jogging with her. She could out-distance him. According to her, it had something to do with female anatomy, but he just didn’t run with her anymore. Maybe he could call Bobbie and ask her if she wanted to help him out with Jessica.
That might not be a bad idea. Give her another woman to talk to, and give him another person to distract him from Jessica.
Starting the car, he rolled down the window and put it in gear. The minute he got home, he’d call Bobbie. He needed another person between him and Jessica.
At home, he dropped into his favorite chair and dialed Bobbie’s number, priming to get her machine. While he listened to the phone ring, he looked around his house. Bobbie referred to the decorating scheme as guy chic. The walls were hunter green, the carpet navy blue. The furniture was all blue- and green-striped except for his favorite chair, which he couldn’t part with. That was tan.
“Hello?” Bobbie said.
“Hi, Bobbie?”
“Nobody else answers my phone. Who is this?”
Kevin frowned. He’d forgotten how abrasive Bobbie could be if she wanted to. “Kevin Marshall.”
“Hey, Marshall, what do you want?”
Kevin considered lying to her and finding someone else to help him train Jessica. Jack couldn’t help him. He was too busy being a newlywed, even though the wedding wasn’t for a couple of months. Dan wouldn’t be able to stop hitting on her, and that would drive Kevin nuts. Lew? No, he didn’t have the patience to deal with Lew and train Jessica at the same time. Besides, she’d be better off with another woman. There had to be stuff she’d need to learn from another woman.
“Marshall, do you usually call up people to daydream?”
“No, I was–never mind. Listen, I met this girl today—”
“And you want dating tips?”
“No.” Kevin dug his fingers into the arm of the chair. Arden had one other female firefighter, but he didn’t know her very well. Not well enough to call her up today. “She wants to join the department, and I told her I’d help her study and train.”
Kevin had to move the phone away from his ear so Bobbie’s braying laughter wouldn’t give him a headache. He could still contact the other woman. City hall would have her number if no one else did. She couldn’t be worse than Bobbie.
“What did you do that for?” Bobbie howled when her laughter had subsided to the point where she could speak again.
“I don’t know.” He couldn’t tell Bobbie that the minute he’d started talking to Jessica, he’d been drawn to her. That he didn't even want to admit to himself yet. “I just did. Look, I thought you might be able to help.”
“Help you what? Get her in bed?”
“I’m not trying to get her into bed.” Kevin thanked his lucky stars he wasn’t having this conversation with her in person. If she could see how hot he was around the collar, she’d start howling again. He wasn’t sure if he was telling the truth, either. “I’m trying to get her into the department. She said she’s always wanted to be a paramedic and she just turned thirty today, so she’s running out of time.”
“She sure is. Do you really think she’s going to make it on the first try?”
Kevin shifted in his seat. Somehow, with Jessica, he’d forgotten about the competition. Talking to her, he’d felt like nothing could stop her. Nothing but all the other guys and possibly a couple of women who also wanted to work for the fire department.
“It took me five tries to get in, and I was younger and probably in better shape. Training almost killed me. Then it got hard. Or should I say difficult?”
Kevin rubbed his eyes. How had he forgotten about the competition? He didn’t know how many slots were going to be open for the September tests. “She’s got a year. She might not even make it through our training.”
“Our? No way, pal. This is your baby.”
Kevin opened his mouth to snap that Jessica wasn’t his baby, but caught himself because he realized she meant baby as in the training, not the girl. Why did this simple offer keep getting more difficult to fulfill without making a fool of himself?
“I’ll talk to her, but you’re the schmuck who said you’d help her. When are you meeting her again?”
“I don’t know. She was going to see her doctor, and then we were going to figure out a training schedule.”
“Okay. When you guys sit down to plan out her training schedule, count me in. We’ll see how quick she scares.”
“What are you going to do?” Kevin grumbled, feeling very protective.
“Just talk to her, sweet cheeks. There’s a thing or two she should know, and you seem to be real forgetful all of a sudden. Besides, it’s been a long time since you took that test, old man. I just took it a couple of years ago. Give me a call. I’m on A shift now.”
“Thanks, Bobbie. I appreciate the help.”
She laughed again. “We’ll see. Bye, Kevin.”
“Bye, Bobbie.” Kevin hung up the phone. If she worked A shift, she’d have one day off, the same as him. Her twenty-four-hour shift started tomorrow at eight, his didn’t start until eight the next day, exactly when she got off. That was very good. If she and Jessica hit it off, he’d still only have to see her once every third day. Unfortunately, it meant he’d be alone with Jessica once every third day too.
* * * *
In her paper gown, Jessica perched on the examination table, looking at the inspirational posters on the wall. The office desperately needed new ones. For six years now, she’d been staring at the same cute picture every Spring during her annual checkup, and occasionally at other times of the year when she had a cold she couldn’t shake. It might help if Masciano raised the temperature in here to something above freezing, too.
The door opened, and her short, overweight doctor stepped through it. “So, Jessica, to what do I owe the honor of this visit? Head cold?”
“I’m going to be a paramedic.” She grinned and bit her lip to keep from giggling.
Dr. Masciano stopped with the door half open and stared at her. He usually closed the door to keep anyone from peeking into the exam room, but today he looked too stunned to move. “You’re going to what?”
“I’m going to train to join the fire department so I can be a paramedic.”
He