Sean's Reckoning - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,4
it for pushing so hard. Maybe she was doing a better job with the kid than he’d been giving her credit for. Maybe she was just a struggling single mom doing the best she could.
“No problem,” he reassured both of them. “Look, if you need a temporary place to stay, there are services available that can help. I can make a call to the Red Cross for you. Your insurance will kick in in a few days.”
She shook her head. “No insurance.”
He should have guessed, given the sorry state of the building even before the fire. Anyone forced to live here probably couldn’t afford insurance. “The landlord probably has some,” he suggested.
“On the building, not the contents,” she said. “He made that very clear when we moved in.”
“Even so, if he’s found liable through some kind of negligence, he can be sued.”
“You’re assuming I could afford a lawyer to handle the suit,” she said despondently. “I know what they charge, and I couldn’t even afford an hour of their time.”
Sean desperately wanted to find something that would put some life back into her eyes. “What about your family? Can they help?”
She shook her head, her expression grim. “That’s not possible,” she said tightly. “Look, this isn’t your problem. You’ve done more than enough just by keeping Kevin out of mischief, when there are probably far more important things you ought to be doing. We’ll manage.”
“Stop worrying, Dee. You two can stay with me,” Ruby volunteered, giving Deanna Blackwell a reassuring hug. “It’ll be crowded, but we can make it work. You’re hardly ever home, anyway, and Kevin’s already with me every afternoon. I can loan you some clothes, too.”
Sean tried to imagine Deanna wearing Ruby’s tight-fitting clothes, but the image wouldn’t come. Impulsively he reached for his wallet and peeled off a hundred dollars and tucked it into her hand. Before Deanna could protest, he said, “It’s a loan, not charity. You can pay me when you get back on your feet.”
He saw pride warring with practicality, but then she glanced down at Kevin. That seemed to stiffen her resolve. She faced Sean. “Thank you. I will pay you back.”
“I’m not worried about it,” he told her.
“But I always pay my debts. It’s important to me. Where can I find you?”
“At the fire station three blocks over most of the time,” he said, though he was mentally kissing that money goodbye. Years ago he’d learned the lesson never to lend anything if he couldn’t afford to lose it. He’d taken very few possessions with him when he’d left home, and since then he hadn’t bothered to accumulate much that had any sentimental value. As for money, it was nice to have, but he wasn’t obsessed with it. And he had few material needs that couldn’t be met with his next paycheck.
“Bring my pal Kevin by sometime, and I’ll let him try out the siren,” he suggested, giving the boy a solemn wink.
“All right!” Kevin said.
Satisfied at last that Kevin was in better hands than he’d originally assumed, Sean jogged back across the street to check on the progress being made at the fire. Only an occasional wisp of smoke rose from the ashes. They’d be out of here soon and he’d be off in a couple of hours. Sleep beckoned like a sultry mistress.
“Way to go, Sean!” Hank said, enthusiastically slapping him on the back. “I saw you with the only two females under the age of seventy in this entire neighborhood. Did you get the number of the hot blonde?”
“Like I really wanted it,” Sean scoffed. “She’s your type, not mine.”
Hank regarded him with disappointment. “How about the brunette with the kid?”
“Nope.”
“Two gorgeous women and you struck out completely?” Hank asked incredulously. “Man, you are slipping.”
“I didn’t strike out,” Sean told him patiently. “I never even got in the game.”
“Why the hell not?”
Sean wondered about that himself. Maybe it was because one woman was definitely not his type and because the other one struck him as being just a little too needy and vulnerable, despite that streak of stubborn pride. It was one thing to rescue someone who’d just lost her home. It was quite another to allow himself to get emotionally entangled. He always tried to keep his protective instincts on a short leash.
Hank sidled up to him and held out a metal toy fire truck. “It’s not too late,” he consoled Sean. “This probably belonged to the kid. Hang on to it. Unless you’re a whole lot