Page 11 of Rekindle My Heart

Chapter 4

It was the second day of Erica’s rotation. Last chore, she blew a hunk of hair from her eyes. Surveying her work, she wiped her brow.

“Not bad.” She dropped the mop back into the bucket. Time for a break. All the brass and chrome shined. The gear had all been checked and stowed. The trucks were fueled, and the air tanks had been refilled. Glancing around the bay, it sparkled.

Stowing the cleaning equipment, she climbed the stairs to the common living area. Workout equipment filled an alcove on the north wall. Rivera was on the weight machines.

“How many reps today?” she asked.

“Fifty,” he grunted out. By the sweat on his face, she’d bet he was on his second set.

Her phone pinged. Mom. She tapped back a reply.

“Uff.” The solid wall she bumped into grunted.

“Sorry.” She looked up.

Tony Winters had just come out of the locker room. He flashed a grin. “No worries. I should have known you were on shift today. The whole place smells like pine. You clean when we’re slow.”

“And you work out.” She gestured to his athletic clothes. “You better get going. You’ll have to hurry to catch up with Rivera.”

“Ha.” He waved off the challenge. “I got this. Anyway, see you later.” He looked over his shoulder, then back at her, flashed the briefest of smiles and then stepped around her.

“See you later.”

Winters was assigned to the AFD last year. He was a nice enough guy, but Erica didn’t know him that well. The man was good at his job and liked to work out. That’s all she really knew about him.

She glanced back at him. Since Wyatt’s death, she’d been looking at her teammates a little differently. Questioning.

She moved to the kitchen on the south side. Yanking open the fridge, she grabbed a water.

“The station always gleams when you work.” Brett Finnigan, Finn to his friends, stepped off the last step into the room.

“Are you insinuating cleaning is women’s work?” She cocked a hip against the counter.

“Nope, just that you’re better at it than most of the guys. Kelley and Evans must still be out on that medical call. Otherwise, Garrett would be the one mopping. That man was a custodian in a previous life.”

No, he’d been a marine in his last life. Not to mention, he was anal retentive when it came to anything he did. Always had to be the best. She snorted. If she missed a spot, he’d re-mop the whole barn. Okay, she might have intentionally missed something to mess with him. Her cheek muscles pulled as she bit back a grin.

“Not many calls this week. I can tell, you like to stay busy. That’s why the cleaning binge.” He held up another egg. At her nod, he cracked it into the bowl with the others. Finn was the resident cook in the station. Everyone on the crew could hold his or her own, but his food was so good, they all teased him that he should open a restaurant.

“I think I’ve polished every piece of brass in this place in the last two days. But that’s okay. I’m glad we didn’t have another blaze like the one last weekend.”

“That was a bad one.” Finn cracked the shell against the counter. A second later, the sizzle of eggs hitting the hot pan rang through the room. “Did they ID the crispy yet?”

She didn’t know how much she should share with him. He was a good guy. She didn’t think he was doing anything nefarious. Besides, it was in the report. It was common knowledge.

“No. But I heard there were two bodies found in the building.”

He stopped. “Two? Homeless?”

“Not sure.” She watched to see if anything sparked in his eyes. She wasn’t sure what. Awareness? Surprise?

“Man, that sucks. Could have been some vagrants using a space heater or camp stove.”

“But if an accelerant was used…” Erica remembered the way the flames flashed, bright and white as they grew that night.

“The property owner looking to cash in on insurance?” He threw out the idea as he added cheese.