Up the Chimney Read online

  Ciera tuned out his voice, tender and kind with the traumatized child while she dispatched an ambulance to the scene. She needed to distance herself for a few minutes from Mason’s charming the girl. After all, he’d charmed her, too. Once. Never again.

  When her duties were done, she strode to the crockpot and stirred the chili. Foam plates, bowls and napkins were set out as well as plastic spoons. Holiday decorated plastic bowls full of cookies were placed in front of the fake tree as was the Bundt cake with green buttercream icing topped with a can of cherries. She put the large plastic bag of cornbread muffins and butter spray beside the crockpot and made a fresh pot of coffee. The tuna salad and chips she’d save for later. She poured Larry a fresh cup of coffee and spooned a bowl of chili for him. Two cornbread muffins were placed on a napkin.

  “Here you go, Larry. You look beat.” She poured a cup of coffee for herself and snagged two cookies from the container.

  “Thanks, hon.” He scooted away from his desk, then twisted his neck and rolled his shoulders. “It’s been a helluva night. Car wrecks, chimney fires, heart attacks.” He reached for his coffee. “All we need is a series of bank robberies.”

  Ciera’s phone rang and she slipped on her earpiece. “Bite your tongue. Hello, nine-one-one. What’s your emergency?”

  ****

  Mason sat in the hospital waiting room with Sarah, a grungy Pooh Bear and Daisy the stuffed black dog, while her mother was treated in the emergency room. The child had curled up in his lap, her thin arms hugging her security toys and finally drifted off to sleep. Every so often, she’d sob. Probably a memory as her mind shut down for the night. Damn her father for putting her and her mother though this painful ordeal.

  Jenna strode toward him, smiling. “Hey, handsome. Do you have a family I don’t know about?” She looked pointedly at the little girl snuggled in his arms.

  “No. I answered a domestic abuse call. This gutsy kid phoned it in. Her mom’s getting treated now. So, no. There’s no secret family.”

  She sat next to him. He looked into her eyes. Now was a good a time as any, he supposed. “But there is a new girlfriend who is going to change our relationship. If she gives me a second chance after this morning.”

  “Don’t tell me she was at your place when I called.” She made a pout. “Even I’ve never been to your condo.”

  “Yeah. We were both naked and wrapped around each other. I hurt her pretty badly.”

  “Mason. Why didn’t you just tell me you were busy? I’d have gotten to work somehow. I’d have kept calling around until I found a guy to help me.”

  She would have, too. While independent Ciera had shoveled part of her street and driveway on her own, Jenna had only lifted one finger and that was to make a call. In fact, Ciera had worked so hard her sexy red boot had fallen apart. His Ranger tracking expertise had homed in on the boot in the tree. Evidently she’d gotten pissed and tossed it. She’d also fallen out of her Land Rover after she’d parked it and crawled for a few feet. That image still angered him. If he hadn’t been so quick to be the hero to a woman who never meant a quarter of what Ciera meant to him, his lady wouldn’t have shoveled like a maniac to get her SUV in her driveway. She’d have been safe and warm with him at his place.

  At least he’d shoveled a path for her from her porch to the vehicle and covered her windshield after he’d cleaned it off. He’d called in a favor to have her street plowed. She could do that herself since she was an essential city employee. But she didn’t seem to think of herself that way.

  Her house had been dark when he’d been there. No doubt she was sleeping. Yet she’d still cooked for everyone while the perfectly made-up and composed woman next to him seemed to expect others to see to her needs.

  “Mason?” Her one eyebrow rose.

  Funny, he’d been so lost thinking about Ciera’s good points, he’d forgotten about the woman sitting next to him. He covered her hand and smiled. “This is where we return to being friends only. All my focus is on one very special woman right now, hopefully forever.”

  Jenna kissed his neck. “Your loss, handsome.” She rose and strolled away.

  A few hours later, an orderly wheeled Amanda Eaton to the waiting room with a pair of crutches across her lap and a cast on her broken ankle. She had a lot of bruises and stitches. At her request, Mason drove Sarah and Amanda to her parents’ house.

  The snow was approaching white-out conditions on his ride back to the station. He could go home, but he intended to spend the night in his office while Ciera worked on the opposite side of the partial glass wall. Eventually, things would slow down enough he could talk to her. She wouldn’t put up with his dominance. He’d have to move slow, be happy with every small step forward because he’d lost her trust. And even a dumbass like him knew trust took time to regain.

  Once in his office, he shrugged out of his coat and boots. He put on a pair of sneakers, grateful for the change in weight on his legs. All the shoveling he’d done at her place had played him out. He stretched, rotated his shoulders, and walked into her work area for a cup of coffee. The chili smelled phenomenal. He helped himself to a bowl of that, too.

  Ciera pivoted in her chair when she heard him behind her. “How’s Sarah and her mom?”

  “Better. I took them to Amanda’s parents’ home. Amanda is Sarah’s mom. She’s banged up pretty bad. Good thing she has family to help take care of her.” He carried his coffee and chili over beside Ciera.

  “Larry, this woman keeping you fed?” Mason slid a chair over to sit close to her.

  “Oh man. I’m full as a tick.” He grinned at Ciera. “Our girl, here, is some cook. You’re gonna love that chili. Grab a couple cornbread muffins to eat with it. How’re the roads out there?”

  “Rough. Damned near impassable. Closed except for emergency vehicles, as you well know. Can you recall when we had a storm this bad so early in the season?”

  Larry emptied the coffee pot and set to making a fresh one. “Not since ninety-nine.”

  Mason’s mouth closed around a spoonful of chili, groaned as he chewed, and looked at the woman he wanted to please more than anything. “This is wicked good.”

  Ciera watched him with narrowed eyes.

  “What?”

  “By any chance were you at the same hospital where Jenna works?”

  He swallowed. “Yes.” He wouldn’t lie to her. “Why?”

  “You’ve got lipstick on your neck. Did sexy nurse Jenna give you triage, Detective Holt?”

  Larry guffawed as he poured a fresh cup of coffee. “With that skin-hound, I wouldn’t be surprised. How many women do you have on the string now, Mason?” He sliced a piece of cake and filled a bowl.

  “Too many, but not the one I want, the one I need.” Mason turned his focus from Larry to Ciera. “I told Jenna our arrangement was over, that we couldn’t be more than simple friends.” He gulped his coffee. “I also told her why. That’s when she kissed me and, in her typically arrogant way, told me it was my loss.”

  She stared at him for a few beats. “Why would you even spend time with an arrogant woman?” Her hand shot out in a stop gesture. “Don’t tell me.”

  Larry stopped feeding his face. “It’s all T-and-A, Ciera.”

  She stood. “I need some fresh air. There’s too much testosterone in here. Be back in ten.”

  Mason’s hands curled into fists as Larry kept on laughing. Getting Ciera back was going to be harder than he thought.

  CHAPTER TEN

  To everyone’s surprise, Bruno, a part-time dispatcher, strode in to relieve Larry shortly before the night shift ended. He said he’d walked from his apartment to the police station after Darla called him to cover for her. She was snowed in at a friend’s house and Ciera had a good idea who that “friend” was. Larry knew he couldn’t get home, so he rolled out Ciera’s sleeping bag, and snuggled under a quilt. Within minutes his snoring filled the room.

  Ciera and Bruno glanced at each other and laughed. “He sounds l
ike a snow blower,” Bruno quipped before he took off his rectangle-frame glasses to clean them.

  For some reason, this struck Ciera’s funny bone. Perhaps she’d been wound so tight with unhappiness for so many hours, her system needed some comedic relief. She and Bruno were still giggling when Mason stormed in.

  “What’s so damned funny in here?”

  The handsome, bespectacled man’s gaze shifted from Ciera to Mason’s stormy expression. For some reason, Bruno turned insolent and slung his arm over the back of his chair. “Sorry if our private joke disturbed you, old man. Now pipe down before you wake our snow blower here.” His head dipped toward Larry. “Ciera, baby, get me some more cookies, would you?”

  She removed her earpiece and stood.

  Mason grabbed her bicep and glared at her. “You are not his fucking slave and for damned sure aren’t his ‘baby.’ Bruno, get your own damn food.” He kept his attention pinned on her as he issued the order to the younger dispatcher. “I don’t know how much more of this I can take,” he whispered.

  “The same thought went through my mind yesterday when I heard you call another woman sexy. Looks like we’re at an impasse. Let it drop. It’s over,” she replied in hushed tones.

  He inclined his head, his lips brushing her ear. “Maybe you give up easily. I don’t. Mark my words, sweetheart, I don’t.” He released his hold on her, poured a cup of coffee, and stalked back to his office.

  “Well, that certainly answers that.” Bruno bit into a cookie.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Why the good detective stormed in here like his nuts were on fire while you and I were enjoying each other’s company. The man’s seriously hung up on you.”

  “Seriously? That man’s hung up on anyone with boobs and a heartbeat. Looks like I qualify on both counts.”

  Lights flickered at twelve after eleven in the morning. “Say a prayer, Bruno,” Ciera warned. They both keyed frantically to bring their most used screens back up. At sixteen after, the room went dark. Emergency lighting kicked in a couple minutes later, casting an eerie glow as generators powered up their computers.

  “I’ve never worked when the power went out. How does this work for us, Ciera?”

  “We’ll have power for the computers and one overhead light. No receptacles, so once that pot of coffee is gone, we’ll be on water. Dim emergency lighting in the halls and restrooms. It’ll be inconvenient, but functional for our jobs. And cold once the building cools off.”

  “We might have to work in our coats, then.”

  “Oh yeah. Last time I wore my coat, hat, and gloves. And went into caffeine withdrawal.” Her phone rang. “Nine-one-one. What’s your emergency?”

  “Our power’s out!”

  “Yes, ma’am. The power’s out here, too.”

  “Well, just when do you expect to have it back on?”

  Ciera rubbed her temples. “I have no clue how long it’ll be out. We haven’t heard from Willow Bend Power Company yet. With the storm so bad, I doubt if they’ll be able to ascertain the scope of the outage for some time.”

  The woman refused to accept Ciera’s explanation and cussed her out for her incompetence. Then she hung up.

  Ciera walked across the room and did her best not to look into Mason’s office. Since he’d been here all night, with any luck, he’d be asleep. She grabbed the coffeepot and topped off her cup and Bruno’s. “We better make use of this before it chills. I need to wash down some aspirins.”

  “Are you going to fill the detective’s cup?”

  “No. Remember what he barked about my not being your slave? Well, I’m not his either. And, believe me, I’m not being added to his list of best friends with benefits.” She replaced the pot, slumped in her chair, and palmed a few pills for her headache.

  “Yeah, you keep on believing that. One more experiment.” Bruno removed his earpiece and scooted his office chair next to hers. “Don’t take this as sexual harassment. I just got engaged, so I know how protective he feels.” His one arm slid around her shoulders and using his other hand he took hers and kissed her knuckles.

  “With the lights out, you’re wasting your time. He can’t see what you’re doing.”

  Mason barreled in wearing infra-red goggles. His dark hair stood on end as if he’d been pulling it in a fit of madness. “Get your hands and lips off my future wife!” he yelled.

  Ciera jumped to her feet, mad as hell. “Future what?”

  Bruno, grinning from ear to ear, slid his chair back to his work station.

  Poor Larry farted and sat up, a bewildered expression in his sleep-heavy eyes. His red hair in a bed-head style.

  The heat of embarrassment flamed her cheeks. “Who do you think you are to make a bizarre claim like that? Are you insane? I have to work with these people! The last thing I need is wild gossip circulating through the building about me. Haven’t I been gossiped about enough in my lifetime?” Her palms slapped her hips. “Or don’t you care about anyone else’s feelings?”

  Tears pricked the backs of her eyes and burned her throat. She could not cry here. She’d said too much already. The men in this room knew, thanks to Mason’s batshit crazy behavior. Her fingers curled into a fist. “So help me God, if you come near me again Detective Holt, I will break your nose. Now stay. The hell. Away!”

  He jerked off those ridiculous night vision goggles and stormed back to his office. His door slammed and his blinds snapped shut. She braced her elbows on her counter and forked her fingers through her hair. Both of them were acting like children. It would take months for talk about this night to die down.

  Damn, damn, and triple damn.

  The hours crept by at the speed of paint drying. Even with official orders for road closings, there were still motorists who insisted on driving. They were the first to call for help and indignant when told they’d have to wait.

  Hours later, Ciera stepped out of the restroom after a much needed break. Mason was there. His shoulder leaned against the wall and hands jammed into his pockets. Why did he have to look so handsome even if she was pissed at him?

  “What do you want, detective?” She tugged the edges of her bulky cardigan closer together. They’d been without heat for hours, and her sweatshirt and turtleneck was no longer enough to keep her warm. She’d even put on an extra pair of stockings.

  “To apologize.” Tired, woebegone eyes rose to connect with hers. “When I saw that young pup sniffing around you, I just lost it. I’ve never been jealous before. I don’t know how to handle the emotion.” His hand rose to cup her face. “I want things back the way they were before.”

  “Before you left me to go help Jenna?”

  He glanced away. “I’m always going to regret that. All I can do is promise you it won’t happen again.”

  “Mason, we work together. We have to be able to get along or we’re going to be the laughing stock of the whole department. I don’t know about you, but I’ve got too much pride for that. For sure, I don’t want to lose my job over this. I don’t have the seniority or the ranking you do, so I’ll be the one to get the boot.”

  “I agree. This tension between us is driving me freaking nuts. If you want me to be civil, I’ll be civil. If you want me to go back to how things were before I touched you, I’ll try my best to please you. But don’t expect me to change how I feel about you, because that’s not happening. Somehow I’ll earn your trust again—and your affection.”

  He’d backed her against the wall during his little speech, his forearms bracketing her head. In the semi-darkness of the sparse emergency lighting, his brown eyes stayed focused on hers as his head lowered. When his lips covered hers, he tasted like home.

  Panic set in even as her mouth opened to allow his tongue access.

  She shouldn’t want this.

  Not from him.

  But she did.

  Her hands swept over his hard chest. God help her, after everything that had happened, she still wanted him. His arms banded ar
ound her, pulling her close as if he couldn’t bear to have any space between them. The kiss turned passionate, urgent, and damn near desperate.

  They were both gasping for air when he ended the kiss. “I love you, Ciera. I’ve never said that to another woman.” His forehead rested against hers. “Never, love. I’ve been with a lot of women, that’s true. But none have captured my heart, until you.”

  He kissed her forehead. “You’re the only one I’ve ever had this emotion for and it makes me happy and drives me crazy at the same time. Alarms are constantly going off in my head about how much I love you. And for the first time in my life, I’m scared. I’m scared I’ll fuck this up.”

  He turned and walked away. A few steps later, he stopped. “Only I’ve already screwed things up, haven’t I?” Even in the dimness she could make out his fingers running through his hair. “I’ve asked myself over and over why I behaved the way I did the other morning…or was it this morning? Hell, my mind’s so muddled over how I hurt you I don’t even know what damn day it is.”

  He stood in front of her now. “See, I’ve got this hero complex.” He barked an embarrassed laugh. “I know that sounds dumb as hell, but given my time in Special Forces and here in the police department, I think I have to save everyone…hurry to their rescue…make their lives better somehow. That’s what was going through my mind when Jenna called. It was a natural instinct to help her. What came out of my mouth was nothing but pure thoughtlessness. And I’m sorry, love.” He strode away again.

  Ciera swiped tears from her cheeks. His words were getting to her. Did he mean them? Whether he did or not, they were shredding her heart and she didn’t know how much more she could take because the truth was dawning in her heart, too. She closed her eyes and gently banged her head against the wall. God help her, she was falling in love with this woman chaser.

  Large familiar hands encased hers. “While I’m bearing my soul, I might as well acknowledge the elephant in the room. Or the potential baby. It’s what I wanted to talk to you about after I got back from taking Jenna to work.”