Hard to Resist - By Kara Lennox Page 0,44
windows and get a cross breeze going, we’ll be cool enough.”
Ethan was doubtful, but after Kat ran upstairs to turn off the air conditioner and Ethan replaced the fuse for a second time, she reassured him that she did not mind a little heat. She shooed him on his way. “Get some sleep. You might have to put out a fire tomorrow and you’ll need to be fully alert.”
He left, but only reluctantly.
As Kat got ready for bed, she noticed that her answering machine had a message. She pushed the button and listened as she undressed.
“Hi, Kathryn, this is Sandy Taylor at White Cliffs. A nice corner unit has come available. It’s ready immediately. So if you’re still interested, give me a call.” And she rattled off the number.
White Cliffs. The nice, new town houses over near Bishop Arts. She’d left her name and number when she’d first been apartment hunting. The units were spacious, modern and beautiful, and the rent was reasonable—and they accepted small pets. But there hadn’t been a vacancy.
Now there was.
And yet the thought of moving again had little appeal. Samantha was just getting settled here and Kat hated to uproot her. Though the garage apartment was tiny, they were managing—enjoying themselves, even. And with the minuscule rent Ethan was charging, she could get back on her feet quicker.
Kat thought about it for all of five more seconds, then erased the message.
* * *
WHEN ETHAN CAME HOME from his shift early Monday morning, he wanted nothing more than to dive into bed. He’d gotten almost no sleep the previous night, since he’d been on watch command and the alarms had come in one after another after another. But he wanted to take a closer look at Kat’s fuse box and the whole wiring situation. If it was what he suspected… Ouch.
Kat must have heard him rummaging around in the garage, because she showed up at the door a couple of minutes later wearing a pale green suit.
He couldn’t help smiling when he saw her, fresh and green as a new tomato on the vine. “You look so businesslike. But all girl.”
She beamed a smile at him. “Thanks. I’ve got an important meeting this morning, so I borrowed the suit from Deb. I haven’t really had time to replace my business wardrobe yet. I’m leaving now, but I wanted to say thank you for getting on this problem right away.”
He shrugged. “I’d be a crummy landlord if I let it slide. Where’s Samantha?”
“She’s at her dad’s. I have to confess, she bailed out on me. It was too hot. But Chuck’s been traveling a lot lately and hasn’t gotten to spend much time with her, so it’s fine.”
“Well, with luck your place will be cooler when you get home tonight.”
Thirty minutes later, he realized he’d been way too optimistic. He couldn’t believe he’d made such a tactical error.
The current fuse box wasn’t sufficient to support the power pull of an air conditioner—especially the large one he’d installed. He was going to have to put in an updated breaker box, and that wasn’t a short-term project. Plus, he was up to his ears in paramedic training. He wouldn’t have time to complete the rewiring for at least a week, not if he didn’t want to flunk out.
He could hire an electrician, but that would cost a fortune.
Then, a wonderful idea occurred to him. Instead of cursing his lack of foresight, he started to feel fortunate to have such a problem.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
LATER THAT DAY, after Kat got home from work, Ethan walked across the yard to her apartment, where he found the door open. Inside, Kat was busily opening every window in the place. It was stifling! She definitely couldn’t stay here for the week or two it would take to complete the wiring.
She noticed him standing there, and a worried expression crossed her face. “I guess the problem isn’t fixed yet, huh?”
“No, it’s not.” And he delivered the bad news. “I know how to fix it, but it’s gonna to take some time. A week, maybe two. I could hire an electrician—”
“Oh, no, that would cost a fortune. You can just do it when you have time. A little heat won’t kill us, and it’s just for a couple of weeks.”
“Kat, you’ll die of heat stroke if you stay here. But you don’t have to roast. You can stay with me.” He threw the suggestion out casually. “Sam can sleep in the room upstairs, and you can use