Page 38 of Hold Your Breath
She glanced down, surprised to see she was just in her flannel long underwear and socks. She’d been in such a flustered rush to distract herself from his kiss that she’d stormed out without her outerwear. As if on cue, she started to shiver. “Um, I didn’t realize I wasn’t wearing them.”
Reaching past her, he swung the door open and waited for her to go inside. After picking up the bucket, he followed her, closing and locking the door behind them. “That can wait until tomorrow. Go by the stove and get warm.”
She curled up on her usual spot on the couch, grabbing a blanket hanging on the sofa arm and wrapping it around her. “How was the meeting?”
“Same as always,” he grumbled as he toed off his boots before reaching down to line them up parallel to each other on the mat. “Bitching and boredom. That pretty much covers it.”
“I’m so glad I didn’t go,” she said, laughing when he gave her a look.
He hung his coat on the hook next to hers, and his ever-present baseball cap on the next one down. Then he picked up the bucket and dumped the soapy water into the kitchen sink. He rinsed off the scrub brush and cloth before arranging everything in the optimal position to dry.
Lou realized she’d been staring at him. Not only was his backside exceedingly attractive, but his methodical way of performing tasks was a little mesmerizing. He seemed to fill all the available space in her cabin, as well as take up all the oxygen. That would explain why Lou suddenly was having a hard time breathing.
When he turned, the items apparently having been arranged to his satisfaction, Lou managed to tear her gaze away. Callum crossed over to the couch, pulled his radio off his belt, and set it on the end table. Then he plopped down on the sofa, on the opposite end from Lou, but still close enough to make every one of her nerve endings start to buzz. If she reached out, she could touch him. As soon as the thought occurred to her, she flushed and tucked her hands between her knees.Stop thinking like that, she told herself sternly. It would be easier if Callum wasn’t so incredibly touchable.
With a groan, he tipped his head against the top of the couch. “I feel like I could sleep for a week.”
As if those were the magic words, the dive-team tones sounded from his radio. Lou’s radio squawked in stereo from the bedroom.
This time, Callum’s groan was in protest, not relief, as the dispatcher relayed the call. “Complainant reports that his dog went through the ice on the east side of Verde Reservoir…”
Lou darted into the bedroom to grab her radio and yank on some pants before returning to find Callum on his own portable. “1210 and 1244 are both en route to Station One, ETA fifteen minutes.”
Lou’s eyebrows shot up. Callum was planning on drivingfast.
“Copy,” the dispatcher said, her voice echoing through both radios, reminding Lou to turn off hers. They both quickly donned their coats and boots, grabbing their hats off the hooks.
“Your truck?” Lou asked, opening the door.
Callum nodded, listening to Wilt and then Derek call in that they were also en route to the station. He tossed his keys to Lou before switching the radio to the channel dedicated to the dive team. Shocked that he wanted her to drive his truck, she gaped at the keys in her hand for a moment before circling around the hood to the driver’s seat. Callum headed for the passenger side while talking into his radio.
“Wilt, you’re closer. Can you grab the dive van and meet us at Verde?”
“Copy,” Wilt’s easy drawl confirmed, right before Derek chimed in that he’d be at Station One in two minutes.
“Good, Derek, ride with Wilt,” Callum directed. Releasing the talk button, he turned to Lou. “Verde’s not far. You know the back way?”
“Kind of,” she said, getting a feel for his truck as they bumped over her snow-rutted driveway. As expected, the fluffy drifts from a few days earlier had hardened into rocklike mounds. “I know I turn right up here.”
“That’s correct.” He turned off his portable radio and switched to the one in his truck. He let dispatch know they were heading straight for the reservoir. Immediately after the dispatcher acknowledged Callum’s transmission, Med One, the ambulance, came on to announce they were also on their way.
“Not that I don’t love dogs,” Lou said tentatively as she turned onto the county road and accelerated, “and I feel kind of like an evil person for even saying this, but wouldn’t some people say we shouldn’t be risking the dive-team members’ lives to save an animal?”
“If we don’t rescue that dog, someone else—someone who doesn’t have the right equipment or training—is going to go after it. Then we have a personanda dog to rescue. Same with wildlife going through the ice.”
“Makes sense. Plus, I don’t think I could leave a dog to drown, so I’m all for it. Turn left here?”
“Yes.”
The truck fishtailed going around the corner, and Lou tightened her grip on the steering wheel. As she accelerated, the truck steadied.
“Good job, Lou,” Callum said, and she relaxed a little, sending him a quick smile before refocusing on the road. “The next turn comes up fast, right past that tree.”
“Got it.” The squatty evergreen did a pretty good job of hiding the narrow lane, but Lou managed to make the turn without overshooting it. Although the road was plowed, months of snowfall had reduced the width of the passable area until just one vehicle could fit. Lou said a silent prayer that no one would be coming from the other direction.
The radio crackled, and then Wilt’s voice announced that Dive Rescue One—meaning the dive van—was headed to the scene. As the dispatcher responded with a “copy,” Callum checked the truck clock.
“We should be arriving around the same time as Rescue One, as long as you keep up your speed.”
