Seducing Simon(53)

As much as she had bucked the idea of moving, she now realized it was the best thing she’d ever done. She felt freer, less confined, and definitely more independent. She loved the guys, but they had smothered her for too long. And being away had given her and Simon much needed time to pursue their relationship.

The phone was ringing as she let herself in and she hurried over to answer.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Simon’s voice sounded over the receiver.

She smiled, unable to control her visceral reaction to his voice. “Hey.

Slow night?”

“Yeah, not much going on. How was work?” She made a face. “I told Mrs. Hauffrey off. Otherwise pretty boring.”

“Whoa. What did the old bat do now?”

She related the conversation and Simon broke into laughter. They talked a few more minutes before he started to end the call. “You work in dispatch in the morning, but you have Sunday off right?”

“Yeah, same as you.” He knew all this already, but she figured he was working up to something.

“You coming by to watch football on Sunday?” he asked.

She smiled, realizing what he was getting at now. The guys had likely put him up to it. “Tell Matt and A.J. I’ll be there.” He laughed and hung up.

She padded out of the kitchen and into her living room. Her furniture was nothing fancy, but it was hers. She glanced around the room in pride. She’d always dreamed of having her own place. Of course, she’d always imagined having a family to go with it, and she wouldn’t be renting her house. She’d own it.

With a deep sigh, she leaned back on her couch and hit the remote to turn the TV on. It could be worse. She could be completely alone.

Chapter Twenty

Toni yawned and rolled her eyes as she dispatched an ambulance to the Morrison residence. Sam Morrison dialed 911 at least once a week claiming he was smothering on the account his oxygen wasn’t working.

Toni thought it was more likely he was lonely and enjoyed the paramedics fussing over him.

“Slow day,” Cody said with a yawn. “At this rate, we won’t need Sarah to come in at noon.”

Toni nodded, leaning back in her swivel chair and spinning slowly around. The scanner was even quiet, which meant a truly slow day all the way around. Dispatch kept a scanner on at all times monitoring the fire and police frequencies. Many times it allowed them to react quicker to emergencies. They could have an ambulance en route several minutes before someone called it in. In this business, a few minutes could mean the difference between life and death.

At noon Sarah came bustling in and tossed a bag at her and Cody. “I picked up lunch at Sonic,” she said, as she flopped in the chair beside Toni.

“Hey thanks, Sarah,” Cody said, digging into the bag immediately.

“Anything going on?” she asked as she munched on a fry.

Toni retrieved a burger from her bag and unwrapped it. “Not much.

The usual.”

“You want to go home early?” she asked Toni. “Since it’s slow, we don’t need three dispatchers.

Toni nodded. “Sure. I’ll clock out after I eat.”

“Take your time.”

As they ate, the scanner crackled and they perked up. Toni listened intently as station two was dispatched to a fire downtown.

“That’s your boys,” Cody said.

“Yeah, it is. Hey did you hear what building it was?” Toni asked, listening harder to the hurried transmission.

“Thought it said the old theater,” Sarah mumbled around a mouthful of burger.

“Da-mn,” Cody said with a whistle. “That monstrosity’s been around forever.”

The scanner was quiet for a while then it came to life again as station radioed there were ten-ten, on scene. A minute later, Toni recognized the chief’s voice.

“Get us some back-up. This one’s a bitch.” Toni’s brow lifted. Not often was there a fire major enough to warrant calling out both stations. She wondered briefly if they’d call out a crew from Beaumont.

She forgot all about leaving as she listened to the drama unfold. She chewed absently on the burger as she listened for more traffic.

Back-up arrived, and from she could discern, the fire was out of control. If it was too bad, in all likelihood, the entire block would go up where the theater was situated.

The chief crackled back over the scanner, apparently radioing for yet more back up. Toni frowned. It must be one hell of a fire. A prickle of unease skirted over her as the chief continued laying out his needs. In the background she suddenly heard shouts. Then the chief swore and yelled out presumably to someone close. “Get an ambulance here. I’ve got men down!”

Toni’s heart lurched into her throat and she could feel every ounce of blood leaving her face. She stumbled up, the bag in her lap falling to the floor. “Toni, be careful,” Sarah called as she ran for the door. Cody was already dispatching an ambulance.

She drove as fast as she felt safe to do, her pulse pounding in her temple. Several miles from downtown she saw the billowing smoke reaching toward the sky. Several streets were already blocked off, so she parked her Jeep and ran toward the building.

When she got close enough to see the theater, a scream lodged in her throat. The roof was caved in and flames shot through the opening. The fire had already spread to the bank two doors down and looked as if it would soon consume the clothing boutique on the end.