Regan Black - Braving The Heat

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Kenzie came out of the recurring nightmare riding the hard wave of adrenaline and confusion. It always started with the same call to the row house fire. The same search protocol. When she found the victim, the nightmare shifted on her. The man was too heavy for her alone and the fire was burning too hot and fast, blocking every route as her team tried to reach her. The victim shouted at her, berating her until his throat went dry, yet none of his ideas was remotely plausible. Huddled in a corner, surrounded by smoke with flames marching toward them, she would wake up with the unbearable pressure of failure in her chest and the sheets tangled around her legs.

She had not failed that victim. Randall Murtagh was alive because she’d done the right things. She’d pulled him out of a terrible fire with minor burns that were probably healed already.

She tried to wriggle free of the sheets, nearly ripping them away before she remembered they weren’t hers. Her skin clammy with the sweat of the nightmare, she found herself registering other details. This wasn’t her bedroom. The space was too bright, the mattress too firm, and the scent of the laundry detergent on the linens was wrong.

Scrubbing at her face, she felt the rest of her situation crash over her like a bucket of ice water. At least the last wisps of the nightmare were gone. She untangled her legs from the sheets and paused as a variety of sounds and smells drifted by her waking senses.

For a moment she wallowed in the comfort and familiarity of clean motor oil, grease and new rubber tires. She heard the pulse of heavy metal music underscored by the whirr of power tools. All of it mingled with the promise of another hot and humid summer day in Philly.

She straightened the bedding and then headed for the bathroom, which was almost roomy, considering the limits of the camper. Fifteen minutes later she emerged refreshed and feeling human again. Dressed in denim cutoff shorts and a T-shirt sporting the logo of a local microbrewery, she made a cup of coffee and tried to figure out what to do with all the hours between now and her shift at the club tonight.

Her stomach growled, but she didn’t feel right about helping herself to Stephen’s groceries, despite his hospitality. Of course, with the loaner car he’d given her, she could restock his supplies easily. It still felt weird going through his cabinets for a bowl and cereal. She added milk and found a spoon in the basket of utensils on the counter. At the table she ate her cereal and used her cell phone to scroll through travel sites, looking for the best prices on decent motels near the club.

She knew she was hiding from Stephen, and life in general, when she’d washed her dishes and caught herself reorganizing her backpack. Stephen deserved better from her. For that matter, she deserved better. The sooner she got out there and helped him with her car, the sooner she could be on her way. She shoved her bare feet into her tennis shoes and headed over to the garage to say thanks again and refine her plans to get out of his hair.

The music crashed over her as she approached the garage through the open bay door nearest the office. Though her car was in pieces, she grinned, recognizing one of her favorite heavy metal bands doing a cover of one of the recent pop chart hits. She was about to follow the sound of an impact wrench to the other side of a champagne-colored minivan on a lift when the phone rang.

Stephen didn’t seem to hear it over the tools and the music. Kenzie assumed he had a machine or service that answered calls for him. He might even have his calls forwarded to his cell phone during business hours. The phone kept ringing and, following impulse, she picked it up. “Galway Automotive.”

“Hello?” a woman said, clearly startled. “Where’s Stephen?”

Is this a girlfriend? “His hands are full changing a tire at the moment,” Kenzie improvised.

“Who are you?”

Not as much jealousy as speculation in those three syllables. “I’m Kenzie,” she replied, using her best polite-receptionist voice that she’d refined during her first week of administrative duty for the PFD. “May I take a message for him?”

“ Umm , sure. This is his sister Megan. I was checking on my minivan.”

Kenzie smiled. She’d heard a few typical big-brother stories from Mitch, but never met Megan. “If you can hold a moment, I’ll see if I can get an update for you.”

“Great.”

The curiosity and confusion came through loud and clear and Kenzie had to stifle a chuckle. Stephen must not keep a receptionist around. The place did have the feel of a one-man operation. Accustomed to working with a team and having people around constantly, she couldn’t imagine so much solitude. She didn’t want to risk making a mistake with the hold button and cutting off Megan’s call, so she placed the handset gently on the desk and hurried into the garage.

She saw her little rust-bucket in pieces, but her gaze locked for a long, reverent moment on the classic Camaro SS. A 1967, she knew. Oh my . Her hands tingled to peek under the hood. It would benefit from fresh paint and oh, that pure American muscle cried out for a touch. This was as close as she’d come to a car like this since her dad died. She hoped Stephen would be willing to show it to her and fill her in on the details later.

A classic Camaro was her dream car, if money weren’t an object. It was a pipe dream at the moment, and likely would remain so for the next decade. One day , she promised herself, exerting significant willpower to stay on track with the minivan, when she would’ve happily gone exploring the Camaro.

From her vantage point only Stephen’s legs and lower torso were visible under a minivan on the last lift. She failed in her attempt to ignore the appeal of those long legs and the T-shirt lifting to reveal toned abs when he stretched for something. Whew. She tucked away that little buzz of attraction.

Kenzie had no chance of getting his attention over the blaring music. It wasn’t hard to find the speakers, but she didn’t see the controls. She shouted. He didn’t flinch. There were too many things in a working garage that might catch a finger or hand wrong if he was startled. She came around the front corner of the car and shouted his name again.

This time he froze. Slowly, he turned in her direction, and she could see the wire brush he was holding in hands darkened by brake dust.

He stared at her as if he couldn’t figure out why he wasn’t alone. “Kenzie.”

She started to shout, pausing when he held up a finger and lowered the volume with a voice command. “Your sister Megan is on the phone,” she said. “She’s asking about her minivan.”

He rolled his eyes and then glared down at his hands. “Give me a second.”

“I can handle the call for you. You’re doing both front and rear brakes?” she asked, when he didn’t volunteer any information.

“No. Just rear brakes, and new tires all around,” he replied.

Kenzie glanced about, judging his progress. “Do you want her to come by this afternoon?”

“Not really,” he muttered.

Kenzie laughed, understanding the sibling dynamics. “When works for you?”

“She’s such a nag,” he grumbled. “When she dropped it off, she made me agree to deliver it for her at Sunday dinner tomorrow.”

“No problem. Leave it to me.” Kenzie returned to the office and picked up the phone. “Megan?”

“Yes.”

“Thanks for waiting.” Kenzie smiled as she explained Stephen’s progress and his confidence that the minivan would be delivered on time to Sunday dinner.

“Great. Thanks, um, what was your name?”

“Kenzie.”

“I’m so glad you’re there. It’s about time he hired good help,” Megan said. “Have a good day,” she added brightly.