The Firefighter’s Woman 2 Read online

  By the time she hit street level, guilt assaulted Marlena. Evan had come looking for her to comfort her after what happened with Tyrone. And he remembered the spot Marlena used to escape to when life was getting to her. With those thoughts in mind, she turned to head back up the stairs. What stopped her two steps up was the memory of Evan’s handwriting, which she could identify almost as well as her own, on that small slip of paper years ago. That, along with what his mother had told her after he left, was what turned her heart to stone.

  Marlena straightened her back and spun around to walk home. All the way, she distracted herself, thinking up new moves for her exercise class, and tried to figure out how to build her business for greater profit and success. Her ultimate goal was to produce DVDs where women all over the country could benefit from her routines and maybe own a chain of fitness centers. For that level of ambition, maybe love just wasn’t in the cards for her. Whatever. Come what may, she would prove to Evan, and to herself, that she was worth more than him tapping what was between her legs.

  * * * *

  Evan woke to the sound of laughing somewhere close. The sun blinded him a few minutes when he opened his eyes, and he couldn’t remember where the hell he was. When rapid Spanish reached his ears, he cursed. He’d fallen asleep on Fort Madison Hill. Marlena did not need her reputation torn to shreds because of his carelessness. He bolted to a sitting position and glanced around only to find that he was alone. Marlena was nowhere in sight.

  Quickly, he closed and zipped his pants and then stood up. Shoving into his shoes, he scanned for the workers, but they were farther away than he thought, probably used to catching teenagers or drunken adults and letting them sleep it off.

  While he rushed to the stairs that would lead him off the hill, he dug out his cell phone and punched in Marlena’s number. Four rings and it went to voicemail. He disconnected and tried again. After calling her five times back-to-back, he gave up. He’d just have to head over to her house. They needed to talk after last night. As fantastic as it had been, he knew Marlena had been in a fragile state of mind. If she thought he’d just been using her, he didn’t know what he’d do.

  Driving like a bat out of hell, he was glad that it was still so early, and few people were out and about. At her apartment, he went heavy on the knocker, flipping it up and down over and over. After some moments, the sound of someone stumbling to the door reached him. When the door opened, Evan had seconds of shock, and then clarity hit him. He reciprocated with a sharp crack into the side of Tyrone’s head. The man went down hard.

  “Where is she?” Evan demanded.

  Tyrone didn’t answer. He was out cold. Evan stepped over his body and went in search of Marlena, but she wasn’t in the apartment. He was somewhat relieved to discover that. But if she hadn’t returned home, then where was she? The Y? No, it didn’t open this early, and he was pretty sure her college didn’t either.

  His next option was one of the diners not far from here. Maybe she’d gone to grab breakfast while she waited for Tyrone to vacate her apartment or for the local businesses to come alive. By the time he reached his car, his cell phone was ringing. He pulled it out of his pants pocket, hoping it was Marlena. The number was from his own office down at the station. Fuck, he should have been there by now.

  With a sigh, he answered. “Chief Scott here.”

  “Hey, chief. It’s George. We got some folks stuck in an elevator down on First and a couple trapped in a wreck on Highway One. The guys on duty are heading out now. Just wanted to let you know. Probably could use some help at the office too.”

  “Thanks, George. I’ll be there shortly.” He disconnected and slammed his fist into the center of his steering wheel. Why did work interfere when he needed to talk to Marlena? He wanted to make sure she understood his feelings and didn’t regret last night. Well, it would have to wait. Duty called, but the moment the issues were settled, he’d make damn sure to find her.

  * * * *

  Marlena fought through two classes that day, forgetting steps, unintentionally insulting a couple of her clients, and all around screwing up. And here she had visions of going national. Yeah, right. If she didn’t run off half the women in her class, it would be a miracle.

  At the end of the session, Marlena said good-bye to everyone and locked herself in a bathroom stall to cry. Shana tapped on the door. “Hey, girl, you okay?”

  Marlena muffled a sniffle and wiped her nose. “Yeah, sure. Be out in a minute.”

  “Don’t worry about it, sista. Everybody has an off day sometimes.”

  She sucked her teeth. “Yeah, right. How about an off couple of weeks?”

  “Ever since that ex of yours came back to town…”

  “Don’t even bring him up, okay?”

  Shana didn’t move away from the door, which annoyed Marlena. She should be happy someone was still on her side. Sherise hadn’t shown up today, and neither had a few other women that had been semi-regular. Marlena expected Evan to come after her, but he had only called a few times in the morning, probably to clear his conscience. She’d heard there was a wreck on Highway One, but that had been hours ago, and word had it that the thing wasn’t even that serious. Not like what could and did happen during the dry season with so many trees in the area. Forest’s End didn’t have the name just because it sounded cool.

  “Listen, girl, there’s some woman out here to see you. She looks important, talks like she’s from up north or whatever.” Shana paused. “Hey, you hear me, Marlena?”

  “Yes, I’ll be out.” Marlena finished cleaning her nose and stood to go out and wash her face. She couldn’t imagine who was here to see her, and she most certainly wasn’t in the mood to play nice. All she wanted to do was find her bed and hide under the covers. But that would be giving in to weakness, and she knew she had many more challenges to overcome in life. Where would she get if she let a stupid man bring her down this early in the game? No way. Evan wasn’t worth it.

  When she had delayed long enough in the bathroom, she squared her shoulders and walked out to the front. The room she’d used was now filling fast with those who attended a karate class scheduled right after Marlena. With everyone dressed in a stark white Gi, the woman in the dark blue suit stood out.

  Marlena approached her. “Hi, you’re waiting for me?”

  The woman’s face brightened. “You’re Marlena Davis who is the founder of Rumble Booty?”

  Marlena laughed. “You make it sound like it’s a huge trademark or something.”

  “It could be,” the woman said seriously. She handed Marlena her card. It was all Marlena could do not to collapse to the floor. The name was Janice Robinson, executive producer. Marlena didn’t recognize her at all, but what floored her was the company brand that anyone in the fitness industry recognized on sight.

  “C-Crunch?” she whispered. “You represent Crunch?”

  “Yes.”

  “The Crunch, with fitness centers in places like New York, Miami, and Los Angeles?”

  Janice chuckled. “Yup same one.”

  Marlena still couldn’t grasp that this was the same company. “Okay, you’re the ones that sponsored Billy Blanks’ Taebo series, right?”

  “Yes, Marlena,” Janice replied, a little exasperated. “We are always on the lookout for fresh faces and fresh ideas that incorporate our mission—to make exercise fun. When we heard about your Rumble Booty classes, we had to come see for ourselves. I must say, despite the roughness around the edges in today’s sessions, I was impressed.”

  Marlena’s mouth about hit the floor. How in the world had Janice been impressed on Marlena’s worst day ever, and to have her hear about her in tiny Forest’s End was beyond anything she could imagine. How could she have heard? From who?

  “How did you find about me?”

  Janice held her arm out toward the exit. “Let’s find somewhere quieter to talk, shall we? I’ll buy you dinner. How’s that?”

  “Sure.” Now she tried for nonchalance when her mouth had been hanging open a minute ago and she’d spoken like a blithering idiot. “If you’ll give me an hour to go home to shower and change, I can meet you wherever you choose.”

  Janice agreed. “Do you have a particular restaurant you prefer?”

  “How about Tony’s on the Strand?” Marlena suggested. “It’s not far from here.”

  By Janice’s expression, Marlena figured she was like her, the fancy name being a bit much for such a small place like Forest’s End, and the fact that Tony’s was just one of about three nicer places in town. Whatever, Marlena had found the food to be excellent there, comparable she bet to anything found in New York—not that she’d ever been outside of her hometown.

  “Okay, Tony’s on the Strand it is.” Janice snapped her fingers in the direction of a guy Marlena hadn’t noticed before. When the man shuffled up, notepad in hand, Janice told him, “Locate the restaurant Tony’s on the Strand, and make reservations for two at seven.” She looked at Marlena with raised eyebrows.

  Marlena affirmed the time was fine. After Janice left, Marlena toddled to a nearby bench and dropped onto it. Her heart pounded, and she felt short of breath. A squeal of delight tore through her skull, and she glanced up to see Shana hurtling toward her.

  “Oh my goodness, Marlena! You’re big time now.” Shana danced around, whooping and doing a few of the moves Marlena had taught her. “You gonna be rich. I see it now.”

  “Hold on, crazy.” Marlena laughed. “I’m hardly rich, and Janice just wants to talk. This might not even amount to anything. I’m just going to enjoy the experience and honor that it is, and if it turns out to be something, I’ll celebrate harder then.”

  Shana sucked her teeth, flipping a sandy blonde braid over her shoulder. “Girl, please.”
She snapped her fingers. “You got this, okay? I’m saying, nobody is better than you. Your stuff beats Billy any day or night, if you ask me.”

  Marlena grinned. “You always did have my back, Shana. I want to thank you for that. I wouldn’t have hung in there this long without you.”

  “Hmm, remember a sista when you get paid. Okay?”

  Marlena and Shana burst out laughing, and then Marlena jumped to her feet. “I’ve got an hour to get myself looking decent and get back down to Tony’s. I have nothing good to wear that will impress a New York executive.”

  “She’s already impressed. Now you have to show her she’s not wrong. You can do it. Go get yours, Marlena. I believe in you.”

  Marlena drew Shana into a bear hug and blinked away tears at the same time. Deep inside, she was still heartbroken over Evan, but this Crunch thing could turn out big. She had to see where it led her, and if there was no future with Evan, then at least she’d have a lucrative career to curl up with on cold winter nights. Okay, that thought left her more depressed. She dismissed Evan from her mind the best she could and hurried home to get ready. Something told her that her life would never be the same again.

  Chapter Nine

  Evan pulled up to the Y just in time to see one of the local ladies offering Marlena a ride. He jumped out of his car to call after them, but the little sixty or seventy year old drove like a demon, taking the curb at the end of the street with squealing of tires. He was about to go after them when someone shouted, “Did you hear the news? It’s going to be all over town by morning.”

  One of the women from Marlena’s class, the one who had called him eye candy, stood talking to another woman. From the looks of it, his guess would be if “the news” was all over town by morning, she would be a big part in making it so. A hunch had him delay chasing down Marlena, and instead, stay to find out what this big news was. If it had anything to do with her, he wanted details. Marlena had probably been heading home anyway, and he could catch up with her later.

  Between the excited chatter and the giggles, Evan couldn’t make head or tails of what Shana said. He waited until the others drifted away to tell still more people before he grasped the gossiper’s arm.

  “What’s this about Marlena?” he demanded.

  A knowing smirk spread over her face. “Oh, hey, Evan. You just missed Marlena. She had to run home and get ready for her date.”

  “Date!” he exploded. “What date?” It hadn’t even been a full day since they had made love. How had she found another man to date? Had he been waiting in the wings? Was she going back to that loser, Tyrone? Over his dead body, she would.

  Shana laughed, apparently enjoying how her words upset him. “Not that kind of date, stupid. It’s a business dinner. Our girl is going up. I knew she would. Some big time executive from this well-known fitness franchise is looking at Marlena to be the next big thing. Pretty soon, she’ll be too big for little old Forest’s End. Watch.” Shana’s expression took on a calculating look that annoyed Evan. “Pretty soon, she’ll be too big for anybody in this town.”

  By that, he figured she was digging at him, as if he wasn’t good enough for Marlena. He already knew, after how he had hurt her, he wasn’t good enough. But he loved her. That had to count for something, damn it. Evan didn’t want to get in the way of her success, but there must be room for love. Otherwise, what good was success?

  “Where are they having dinner? Do you know?” he asked.

  She put her hands on her hips. “Why, you planning on interfering? Don’t even mess it up for my girl, or you’ll have to answer to me.” Shana got in his face, but since she barely reached his armpit, he wasn’t bothered. “She worked hard to get here, no thanks to you, so back the hell off.”

  “I have no intention of messing anything up for her. I just want to catch her after the dinner so she and I can talk. That has zero to do with you. And for the record, your threats mean nothing to me.”

  Shana’s face reddened, and Evan turned to get back into his car, leaving her there, dumbfounded. As he drove off, he regretted his harsh words. The former fire chief had few social skills, and when Evan had taken the job, he had promised himself he would turn that image around. After all, he loved small town living, specifically Forest’s End. With Marlena’s new career opportunity, would she now be facing what he had faced—the decision to leave their home behind? His stomach turned at the thought. Yet, at the same time, he knew, wherever she was, that’s where he wanted to be. If that meant the big city, he would be looking at another move.

  * * * *

  “So it’s true then?” Tony said when he strolled up to Evan’s table.

  Evan dragged his eyes from Marlena and her guest to focus on his fellow firefighter. “What’s true?”

  Tony raised thick, black brows above eyes filled with amusement. “That the fire chief has become a stalker.”

  “Who said that?” Evan almost yelled, and then he lowered his tone. He checked back on Marlena, but she hadn’t noticed him. Her attention was half on the woman sitting across from her and half on the napkin she was shredding in her lap. He felt sorry for her. Apparently, this meeting was very important. Yet, Marlena hadn’t unwound from her nervousness the entire half hour they had been there.

  Tony walked around the table and blocked Evan’s view. Evan cast him a meaningful scowl, which Tony ignored. He was the only one of Evan’s men who was not intimidated by both his position and his size. Tony was a big man in his own right, and he never seemed to take anything seriously. Evan wanted to crack his jaw and see if that sobered the guy, but he controlled himself. His emotions were out of whack by his anxiety over Marlena.

  “No one said it,” Tony assured him. “It’s clear by the stalker expression on your face. I took a guess that you’ve been following her around, and she’s been putting you off. Is that it? When are you going to let it go, bud?”

  “Let it go? Are you serious? Would you let the woman you love go without a fight to win her back?” Evan could have bitten his tongue off. He sounded like a sap spouting love like that. He’d heard the way the men spoke about women down at the station, and it was not flowers and hearts. It was about sexual conquests. Only the married or seriously involved ones who weren’t dogs kept it low-key. However, they weren’t shouting about being in love either.

  Tony grinned. “Don’t worry about it. Your secret’s safe with me.” He touched one ear. “I’m like a bartender or a shrink. Might be a different situation being the cook in a successful restaurant—” at that statement, Evan rolled his eyes, “—but people still trust me with their secrets for some reason. I don’t spread what I hear, and I do hear a lot.”

  Evan resisted the temptation to ask what he’d heard about Marlena, or if she was one of the people who confided in Tony.

  “As far as that one,” Tony said with a thumb in Marlena’s direction, “my advice is to back off. Give her some space. After a while, she’ll come to realize what she’s lost and know that it’s waiting for her when she’s ready.”

  “Why should I believe you? You don’t even have a steady woman.”

  “By choice!” Tony declared. “I have one special lady in mind. When I think she’s ready, I will snatch her up. Meanwhile, you will not find me following her around like a whipped puppy!”

  And with that cruel insult, Tony spun away to greet more of his guests. Disgusted, either with himself or with Tony, he wasn’t sure, Evan abandoned his table and left the restaurant. He hadn’t ordered any food, and his stomach growled in protest, but like the rest of that failure of a day, he didn’t plan on eating. He hopped in his truck and headed home. No matter what Tony said, Evan refused to back off. Marlena felt the same for him as he felt for her. He would convince her of his feelings or die trying.

  * * * *