Page 32 of Book and Ladder
“I did,” I confess.
“And you rushed in here …”
“To save you,” I admit.
My words hang in the air between us—pathetic, raw. My crew’s going to milk this one for months.
Daisy tilts her head. “To save me? Or to save my books?”
My throat works, but no words come.
“That’s what I thought,” she says.
Greyson’s voice comes through the mic. “Hey, rescue hero, while you’re in there, check the alarm system and the detectors.”
“Copy,” I say, wishing I had listened to Greyson sooner.
“I have to perform routine checks,” I tell Daisy.
“My system is fine,” she says. “And my smoke detectors just needed new batteries.”
She’s defensive, but there’s a softness underneath the bristle—a vulnerability. The alarm probably scared her ten times more than it scared me.
I’m the last person she wants to see in a situation like this. I snap into banter-mode. It’s our default.
“There never was a question about your system, Daisy,” I wink.
“Is that flirting? Are you … flirting with me?”
“If I ever were to flirt with you, you’d know it.”
“If you ever flirt with me, it’ll be the last thing you do,” she fires back. But there’s a little less bite to her words than usual.
“Do you have a stepladder in here?” I ask. “Or do you want me to get my little giant?”
“Your … ??”
“Ladder.”
She snickers. “I keep my little giant in the supply closet—there.”
I make my rounds through the shop, checking each detector.
“Where’s the panel?” I ask.
“In my office.”
I walk behind the counter, passing behind her on my way to her office, a small square room with a desk and a chair in it.
Daisy enters the room with me. We both sidestep at once—chest to chest. The room’s barely big enough for one of us, let alone with me in turnout gear. Her muttered, “And this is how I die,” cracks my composure. The guys lose it in my ear.
“Here, let me just …” Daisy tries to squeeze behind me.
I step forward. “Sorry … I thought you were passing in front.”
The cackle of my crew’s laughter continues through my mic.
“Shut it, gentlemen,” Daisy shouts.
