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KIM BALDWIN. Erin stopped her with one hand on her arm, and leaned up to plant one brief but passion-F lled kiss on her startled lips
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Erin stopped her with one hand on her arm, and leaned up to plant one brief but passion-F lled kiss on her startled lips. “Be careful. I’ll be waiting.”
Gable whimpered. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” She got in the Jeep and sped to the callout address.
v
She was F rst on the scene. The address she was given belonged to a small summer cottage nestled in the woods about a mile and a half from Erin’s house. As the Jeep bounced up the rutted two-track driveway, she spotted a woman close to her own age standing propped against a shovel, staring up at the power lines that ran to her home. A hundred feet or so from the cottage, a huge tree had fallen on the dual lines, pushing the still-live wires into the branches of a row of pine trees.
The lines were throwing off sparks wherever they rested against a branch. And beneath the wires was a thick layer of f ammable forest duff—pine needles and crispy dead leaves and tinder-dry underbrush.
The woman heard the approaching vehicle, and her face registered relief that help had arrived. Gable braked and exited the Jeep, grabbing her portable F re extinguisher from the back.
“Hi there,” she greeted the homeowner. “I’m Gable McCoy. Help is on the way. When did this happen?”
“I’m not sure. It got real windy and my power blinked a couple of times. I thought it was just the wind, but then I looked out my window and saw this. I called the power company, but I was afraid there might be a F re. My hose doesn’t reach this far.”
“You did the right thing.” Gable could hear the wail of an approaching siren. “That’ll be the pumper,” she told the woman. “We’ll hang out with you until the power company gets here.”
“Great.”
Carl was driving the truck. He positioned it as near as he dared and jumped down off the high seat.
“Hey there,” he greeted Gable.
“Hi, Carl.”
He took a look at the situation and keyed his radio. “Dispatch from Buckman. On the scene with McCoy. Additional units responding—we can handle this.”
• 172 •
FORCE OF NATURE
“Dispatch clear,” answered the dispatcher.
“Power crew should be here soon,” he told Gable. “We get to babysit. Why don’t we pull a handline off the truck in case we need it?”
“You got it.”
Once they had it positioned, they leaned against the F re truck to wait.
“I’m going inside for a few minutes,” the homeowner said. “I’ll see if the power company can tell me when they can get here.”
“So how’s it going, Gable?” Carl asked when they were alone.
“Last time I saw you, at the ladder drills, you didn’t look too happy.
Neither did Erin.”
Gable felt her cheeks color. She couldn’t suppress a grin. “You’re awful damn observant, you know,” she griped.
“That’s why I’m a good 911 director. I have an eye for detail.” He appraised her with a smile on his face. “Speaking of which, I’d have to say you’re blushing, which I take to be a good thing?”
“I will only say that I’d rather be somewhere else at the moment,”
Gable admitted.
Carl laughed. “Good for you.” He patted her on the shoulder.
“You’re a right egg, Gable McCoy. It’s nice to see you happy.”
The distinctive ring of Gable’s cell phone pealed from the Jeep, and Gable hurried to answer it. She heard Carl’s laughter as she grabbed for the door handle.
“Hello?” She got inside the Jeep and shut the door for privacy.
“What’s happening?” Erin asked.
“Not much. Carl and I are waiting for the power company to get here. Then I can leave.”
“Do you have any idea how incredibly turned on I am?”
Gable groaned. “Oh, that’s great. Just great. Get me all lathered up again when we can’t do anything about it.”
“I think I’ll wait for you in bed.”
“Stop it!”
“With some nice lingerie on.”
“Erin, please! You’re killing me!”
“Or maybe nothing at all.”
“You’re a cruel woman. I’m going to hang up.”
“Oh, all right,” Erin said. “I just wanted to leave you with an image that I hope will get you to hurry back.”
• 173 •
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