Throw Him My Way

And distraught, he realized.

Candle girl. It was the candle girl.

“Is it bad? Oh God, did anybody get hurt? Please, tell me nobody was hurt!”

Christian shook his head and guzzled water before he answered her.

“No. Nobody was hurt. You’re the one who left the candle lit.”

The guilt was obvious in her eyes.

“Please, please don’t tell anybody!”

He raised his eyebrows, a few shades darker than his sun-streaked blonde hair. His blue eyes were reddened by smoke.

He shrugged out of the gear, without taking his eyes of her. Did she think that this was like an elementary school prank gone wrong?

“I’m afraid that’s not how this works. I’ll have to write a report with the cause of the fire.”

She looked so distressed that, despite himself, he felt himself reluctant to get her into trouble.

“You have insurance, don’t you? They’ll cover it.”

She shook her head.

“You don’t understand. That’s not my place. It’s Zoe’s. This is Apple, Zoe’s dog. I lit this candle. It said the fragrance was mace and I couldn’t seem to help myself. Who the hell makes a mace candle? So I lit it, and I waited for a while to see if I could smell it. Then Apple really wanted her walk, and….”

She trailed off.

“And I didn’t even smell any mace,” she ended on a bit of a sulky huff.

Christian wasn’t sure he’d gotten all of that.

“You’re the dog walker. And you lit the candle.”

“And I will be so fired if you write that in your report. Can’t it say something else? Please? An unexplained accident? It was an accident. Oh God, the insurance might not even cover it if I admit it’s my carelessness. Then what? My life won’t be worth living!”

The tall, dark brunette was being a bit too dramatic, but suddenly, Christian realized who she was.

“You’re Heidi. The singer. You sang at Barney’s the other night.”

A glimmer of hope made its way to her eyes.

They really were magnificent eyes.

“Yes. I work with dogs during the day. It’s how I pay my bills. I do some basic behavioral work, some training, and a lot of walking and playing. Please, please, don’t ruin my life. I am so sorry. My future, my dreams are in your hands.”

That was a lot dramatic.

But it was probably true.

“You’re a very good singer,” he said, slowly.

Heidi clasped her hands together, and the moment was ruined because Apple decided to jump on his leg and hump it.

“Wait, isn’t she a bi… a girl dog?”

Heidi glanced down and nodded, as if it made no difference.

“Yeah, but she likes to hump legs. Especially if she likes how they smell. It’s nothing personal.”

Christian came to an uncharacteristic decision. He went on impulse.

“I’ll delay filing the report. I don’t have to do it today. I’ll think about it. But you need to take a fire safety course.”

Heidi nodded, close to tears.

She was ready to agree to anything at all if he’d just agree not to ruin her livelihood.

“I will. I’ll do anything.”

He turned away, hesitated, and turned back to her.

“You’re a very good singer. But you need to be more careful. And please tell that dog to stop humping the equipment.”

Heidi looked around distractedly.

“Sh*t. Down, Apple. Come on, girl, be good for me. Who’s a good girl? Now how about sit? Good girl, that’s a good girl, here’s a treat. Now stay, Apple. Stay.”

Christian was impressed when Apple actually did stay.

“Thank you. I… Thank you so much.”

“I haven’t promised anything,” he reminded her.

Heidi smiled, and he thought she was Isis come to life.

God, she was stunning.

“I won’t be fired today, at least. That’s something. And you put the fire out. It could’ve been so much worse. If Zoe had had a fire extinguisher by the door… Or the landlord had kept one on the landing… I don’t even know if Zoe is renting. Was renting. God, what a mess.”

Christian relented.

“Look, don’t worry. Sh*t happens. The damage isn’t too bad, really, and nobody got hurt. Rick got everybody out. There isn’t even a case of mild smoke inhalation. There will be plenty of cases of more than mild annoyance and irritation, but that can be weathered, can’t it?”

Heidi nodded gratefully.

“Thank you. I… God, thank you. I cannot believe…”

Heidi seemed to be at a loss for words.

Christian didn’t think that was a frequent occurrence.

“Chris!” called Rick.

He glanced back at Heidi.

“I’m Christian Sanders, by the way. See you around, Heidi. Don’t set any more fires.”

She shook her head, changed her mind and tried to nod, ended up doing a bobble-head. He had to bite back a grin. But then he saw that her hands were trembling.

Well, she had been careless. A good scare was one way of making sure that people would be careful.

But that instinct to soothe and comfort her, take care of her, was unexpected.

So, mostly to prove to himself that he could, he walked away without looking back at her.

There was chatter on the way back. There always was, when things went well.

As far as fires went, that had gone about as well as it could possibly have.

“So, who was the goddess?” asked Rick, finally.

Christian shrugged. He wasn’t going to pretend he didn’t know exactly who Rick was talking about.

“The dog walker. And singer. You’ve heard her. She sings at Barney’s pretty often. She’s very good.”

Rick snapped his fingers.

“Oh yeah, now I see why she looked so familiar. She’s pretty good. Good thing she was out with the dog.”

Christian nodded.

“Yeah. Dog belongs to Zoe, resident of the apartment where the fire originated. And where it was thankfully contained.”

“Then it’s an excellent thing she took the dog for a walk. Though to be honest, dogs seemed to have more sense than people when it comes to fires. They get down low and stay put instead of trying to put it out with things like alcohol. Or electrical fires with water. Really, sometimes, it seems like natural selection.”

Christian let Rick go on. He knew how the conversation would sound to anybody who didn’t fight fires for a living. But callous humor could be one of the only ways to get through it. When nothing truly bad happened, it was a release, and a welcome one.

But he couldn’t get that woman out of his mind.