Hard to Resist - By Kara Lennox Page 0,30
holding her hand. At least she wasn’t mad at him. And she’d shared her painful past with him—something he didn’t imagine she did too often. He felt honored that she’d trusted him with that information. And more determined than ever that she would never want for anything again.
* * *
IT WAS A WARM AFTERNOON when Ethan arrived at Kat’s door for the fire safety inspection, and he was glad for the heat. Because when Kat opened the door she was wearing denim shorts and a white T-shirt. She looked beautiful, and it made his mouth grow dry.
She’d pulled her luxuriant hair into a thick braid that hung partway down her back, and she had on a bit of makeup. She might be dressed ultracasually, but she’d taken pains with her appearance.
That made his grin wider.
“What?”
“You just look so great, that’s all.” He stepped inside and looked around, pleased by what he saw. The place was starting to look like a home. Kat had added a few pictures on the walls, a vase of fresh flowers on the coffee table and a couple of throw pillows on the futon. “Where’s Samantha?”
“In her room. Samantha!” she called. “Samantha. Come out, please. Mr. Basque is here.”
Samantha appeared in the bedroom doorway, her expression wary. A Raggedy Ann doll dangled from one hand.
“Hi, Samantha,” Ethan said, speaking softly and offering a reassuring smile.
It didn’t work. She continued to stare at him with those huge eyes, so like her mother’s.
“I brought something for you,” Ethan said, digging into the plastic bag he’d carried in with him. “Captain Campeon has agreed to make you the official fire safety marshal for 118 North Winnetka Street.” He produced a child-sized red plastic firefighter’s hat and a gold-colored tin badge. “Shall we pin the badge on your shirt?”
Samantha stepped forward a couple of feet. “I don’t know how to be a safety marshal.”
“That’s why I’m here. I’m going to train you. When we’re done, your apartment will be as safe as any place in Oak Cliff, maybe in all of Dallas.”
She did not look convinced. Her gaze darted to her mother, then back at Ethan. She didn’t move an inch from the doorway and looked ready to flee at the slightest provocation.
Kat went to Samantha and took her hand, which seemed to give the child a bit of courage. “Okay,” Kat said. “Since I’m the assistant safety marshal, I’m ready to learn my stuff. Let’s get started.”
Ethan examined the outlets and light switches, which he already knew were perfectly safe since he’d checked them out before Kat and Sam moved in. He looked for frayed electrical cords. He examined all the fire extinguishers to see that they were fully charged, and then made sure both Kat and Samantha knew how to use them. He tested the smoke alarms and almost deafened himself.
“Where did you get those things?”
“The Safety Store,” Kat said. “You can be sure I’ll never sleep through a smoke alarm again.”
Samantha dutifully followed Ethan around, watching and listening. He gave her a checklist and let her read it aloud, which she did amazingly well for a seven-year-old. When she finished, she looked up at Ethan quizzically.
“Do you really go to a fire every single day?”
“Well…not every day. When I first started this job, I went for two whole weeks without any fires, at all. Fires don’t happen very often, you know. Most people go their whole lives without living through a fire like yours.”
“But I hear sirens all the time, at night,” Samantha said. Her voice grew fearful again. “What about all those fires? Don’t they have safety marshals?”
“Most of those sirens you hear aren’t fires. Sometimes it’s the police, chasing down a speeder or something. Sometimes it is the fire truck you hear. But we get called out to all sorts of things—car wrecks, or when people get sick and need to go to the hospital. Even a funny smell. Usually, it’s no big deal.”
Her little face registered surprise. “Really?”
She’d ventured a little closer to him, though she still held Kat’s hand in a death grip. He got down on one knee, so he could be at her level. “Really. Now, we’ve checked out your apartment, and it gets an A-plus-plus for safety. But do you know what to do if there is a fire?”
Kat took in a sharp breath. Samantha was doing really well so far. Ethan had been here at least ten minutes, and Sam hadn’t tried to enforce the two-minute agreement. But this