Page 2 of She’s Got that Spark
“An hour it is. I’ll set my watch.”
Crow nods, amused. There’s something about the way he looks at me that makes me feel…what is it? Like that feelingin the air before a storm. I suddenly find myself wishing this counter wasn’t in the way so I could get closer to him.
He hesitates, slowly turning to leave. Then he stops in his tracks so fast his coffee nearly spills. He sets his mug down and dashes behind the counter at a frightening speed.
I follow him to the kitchen, where he’s taking something out of the oven with tongs.
Oh no.It’s a completely scorched muffin, smoking something fierce.
He opens the back door, getting the sad, smoldering pile of oat cinders out of the kitchen in seconds. “Open the windows quickly, so the fire alarms don’t go off.”
I obey immediately, then prop the door open as well, while he strides to the end of the back parking lot and deposits the blackened blob near the end of the pavement.
“If it had rained lately, I’d have thrown it into the brush for the ants and worms,” he says as he returns. “But I don’t want to drop a flaming muffin onto dry grass. Don’t worry – the birds will take care of it fast enough.”
“Thank you so much.”
He follows me inside, turning on the oven and ceiling fans. There’s only a slight smoky residue left. “You’ll want to run those for just a few minutes so the smoke doesn’t settle.”
“Oh. Um. Okay. Thanks.”
“Where’s your extinguisher?”
I point to where it’s hanging on the wall next to the door.
“Now, if there had been actual flames inside the oven…” He lifts it from the wall to show me. “Pull this pin. Stay safely back and aim for the base of the flames using a gentle, sweeping motion. If it doesn’t look like you’ll get it out completely within thirty seconds, holler for somebody to call 911. Got it?”
My head is swimming. “Yes. Thanks.”
He puts it back and I head toward the front, hoping the smoke doesn’t follow me.
“Hey.” Crow stops me in the narrow passageway between the kitchen and the area behind the front counter. His body feels huge so close to mine. “It’s okay. It can happen to anyone.”
“Thank you.” My hands nervously twist my apron. “I just can’t believe you smelled such a small bit of smoke. Have you had a lot of baking accidents or something?”
Crow chuckles, and my heart nearly stops when he reaches out to flatten the piece of my hair that always kinks into a freaky wave at the top of my head. “I’m a volunteer firefighter. We learn to use our noses as much as our eyes. We just finished our big annual training shindig, actually.”
“So that’s why you were closed.”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I really appreciate your help. Another minute and it would have stunk something fierce.”
He fixes a different piece of my hair… Is it just an excuse to touch me? There’s something in the way he stares so deeply into my eyes. I’m completely flustered from being this close to him.
Man,I hope I’m not blushing. He’ll think that I’m hopeless.
“I’ll see you in around an hour.” Crow grins, then winks rakishly. “The place won’t have burned to the ground, will it?”
“I feel terrible about that fallen muffin.” My bottom lip thrusts out. “But I’m allowed to make one mistake, right?”
“As long as you keep a firefighter close by, sure.” My breath catches as he leans right against my ear. “I’m going to come back and ask you out tonight,” he whispers. “Are you going to say yes?”
It takes me a moment to swallow. To breathe. Blink. Focus. “I probably know how to say yes in two or three languages, for what it’s worth.”
I love the way his entire face lights up when he grins. “Good.” He hands me a business card. “Feel free to call or text if anything else catches fire. See you soon.” He strides out of the shop, grabbing his mug on the way.
I’m going to have to collect myself and top up people’s coffee. I’m going to have to serve the people who are just pulling up out front. I’m going to have to convince myself that one date isn’t necessarily going to lead me down the path I’ve been avoiding.