Finding Perfect (Fool's Gold #3)(6)

“I spoke with the fire chief. She assured me they’ve gone through every room in the building. No one is left inside. But the building…” Marsha’s voice caught. “I went to school here.”

Pia put her arm around the other woman. “I know. It’s horrible to see this.”

Marsha visibly controlled her emotions. “We’re going to have to find somewhere to put the children. They can’t lose school days over this. But the other schools are full. We could bring in those portable classrooms. There must be someone I can call.” She glanced around. “Where’s Charity? She might know.”

Pia turned and saw her friend standing by the growing crowd of frantic parents. “Over there.”

Marsha saw her, then frowned. “She’s not getting any smoke, is she?”

Pia understood the concern. Charity was several months pregnant and the mayor’s granddaughter. “She’s upwind. She’ll be okay.”

Marsha stared at the destruction. “What could have started this?”

“We’ll find out. The important thing is all the kids and staff got out safely. We can fix the school.”

Marsha squeezed her hand. “You’re rational. Right now I need that. Thank you, Pia.”

“We’ll get through this together.”

“I know. That makes me feel better. I’m going to talk to Charity.”

As the mayor moved off, Pia stayed on the grass. Every few seconds, a blast of heat reached her and with it the smell of smoke and annihilation.

Just that morning she’d walked by the school and everything had been fine. How could things change so quickly?

Before she could figure out an answer, she saw more parents arriving on the scene. Mothers and some fathers rushed toward the children huddled together, protected by their teachers. There were cries of relief and of fear. Children were hugged, then searched for injuries, teachers thanked. The school principal stood by the children, a stack of pages on a clipboard.

Probably the master roster, Pia thought. Given the circumstances, parents would probably have to sign out their kids, so everyone was accounted for.

Two more fire trucks pulled up, sirens blaring. The school fire alarms were finally silenced but the noise was still deafening. People shouted, the truck engines rumbled. A voice over a megaphone warned everyone to stay back, then pointed out the location of the emergency medical vehicles.

Pia glanced in that direction and was surprised to see a tall, familiar man speaking with one of the EMT women. Raoul’s hair was tousled, his face smudged. He paused to cough and despite it all, the man still looked good.

“Just so typical,” she muttered as she crossed the playground and went toward him.

“Let me guess,” she said as she approached. “You did something heroic.”

“You mean stupid,” the medic told her with a roll of her eyes. “It’s a gender thing. They can’t help it.”

Pia chuckled. “Don’t I know it.” She turned to Raoul. “Tell me you didn’t race into a burning building in an attempt to save a child.”

He straightened and drew in a deep breath. “Why do you say it like that? It’s not a bad thing.”

“There are professionals here who know what they’re doing.”

“That’s what I keep getting told. What happened to a little gratitude for risking my life?”

“Odds are, you would have been overcome by smoke, thereby giving the firefighters more work to do instead of less,” the medic told him. She pulled some kind of measuring device off his finger.

“You’re fine,” she continued. “If you have any of the symptoms we talked about, go to the E.R.” She glanced at Pia. “Is he with you?”

Pia shook her head.

“Smart girl,” the medic said, then moved on to the next patient.

“Ouch,” Raoul said. “This is a tough town.”

“Don’t worry,” Pia told him. “I’m sure there will be plenty of women who will want to fawn all over you and coo as you retell your tale of bravery.”

“But you’re not one of them.”

“Not today.”

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

For a second she didn’t understand the question. Then reality returned. That’s right—he’d witnessed her breakdown earlier in the day. Talk about an emotion dump.

“I meant to call you,” she said, moving beside him as they walked away from the medics. “To apologize. I usually have my meltdowns in private.”

“It’s okay. I’d say I understand, but you’ll probably bite my head off if I do. How about if I tell you I’m sympathetic?”

“I would appreciate that.”

She hesitated, wondering if she was supposed to say more. Or if he would ask. Not that she had anything to say. She was still grasping the reality of her friend’s bequest and hadn’t made a decision about what to do next. Despite the attorney’s promise that she had at least three years before she needed to decide anything, Pia felt the pressure weighing on her.

Not that she was going to discuss her dilemma in front of Raoul. He’d already suffered enough.

“What were you doing here?” she asked. “At the school.”

He’d come to a stop and was staring back at the school. His gaze moved from one firefighter to another. The chief stood on a garden wall about three feet high, yelling out orders to her team.