“What’s happened? Is Rick all right?”
“He’s fine. Our arsonist made his near fatal move.”
Andrea gasped. “Where? You mean he’s been caught?”
“Caught and in the hospital under guard. He broke in to your mother’s garage after the two of you left for work this morning. He was planting a bomb in your car when Rick surprised him. In the struggle, it detonated too soon and Chase received burns over a third of his body.”
Her mind reeled. For a minute she couldn’t breathe. “But Rick was supposed to be home resting under doctor’s orders!” she cried. “How could he be at my mom’s?”
“I’ll let him explain after he’s released from the hospital.”
“He’s in the hospital, too?” she cried in absolute panic.
“Not in the way you’re imagining. He’s only there to be checked out and give our team information.”
Tears had pooled in her eyes. “How bad is he, Benton? I want the truth!”
“A little singed hair and eyelashes. He’s fine, Andrea. I promise you.”
She groaned aloud. “He’s still supposed to be in bed recovering from smoke inhalation!”
“Let’s be thankful he followed his instincts and figured out what Chase had in mind before it was too late. Rick is never wrong. He’ll receive another citation for this.”
“I’m not surprised, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that he could have died!”
“But he didn’t—you can’t think that way, Andrea. Between you and me I’m thankful things turned out as they did. Otherwise I shudder to imagine what would have happened to you the next time you got in your car.”
Rick... He’d put himself in jeopardy to save her life. It was too much.
“Our city of Providence is safe from who knows how many fires he would have set off until he was caught.”
“C-can I go visit him?” Her teeth had started to chatter.
“Rick’s at an undisclosed hospital with police officials while they wind up this arson case. He’ll phone you later. You and your mother can go home at any time, but the garage is still a crime scene. Your mother will have to park out in front.
“When all the damages are assessed, we’ll let you know how soon your car can be restored to you. I’m sure your insurance company will give you a loaner car.”
“Thank you for telling me that,” she said, but her mind was on someone else. “What about Tessa?”
“She doesn’t have any idea what’s gone on. My wife will be driving her and Julie to school and picking her up at the end of the day. Stop worrying.”
Benton could say that because he was a man who, according to Rick, had been a firefighter first. Men thought differently than women, especially these heroic men. “I wish I could.”
He put a hand on her shoulder. “The menace is over, and I happen to know Rick’s fine, because I’ve seen him and I’ve been on the phone with him.”
“You have?”
“I wouldn’t lie to you. He’ll get in touch with you when he can. We’re all breathing a sigh of relief that you and your shop are safe.”
“You’re very kind, Benton. I appreciate everything you’ve done to keep us safe.” She looked over to her mother.
“Oh, Andrea—” Her mother hugged her hard. “Thank heaven Rick stopped that horrible man before he could hurt anyone else.”
She shook her head. “I can hardly comprehend it. He doesn’t care about himself.”
“Of course he does! But it’s his job!”
Andrea’s anger suddenly got the better of her. “He could have died this morning, Mom!”
“You might have died if Rick hadn’t intervened when he did.”
“I don’t want to talk about it. Let’s get back to work. We have a lot to do.”
* * *
Rick was finishing a cup of coffee in the loft’s kitchen when he heard Andrea’s footsteps on the stairs. Benton would have apprised her of the facts. In order not to alarm her, Rick walked over to the doorway so she’d notice him right away.
But maybe his surprise visit hadn’t been such a good idea, he thought. The second those soulful blue eyes saw him, the color left her face. He knew about her fear. Because of that, he’d driven his car straight here from the hospital to reassure her nothing was wrong with him.
“Easy, Andrea.”
Before she fainted, he picked her up in his arms and carried her through to the bedroom, where he laid her on the bed. She stared up at him. “I—I thought you were still at the hospital,” she whispered.
He leaned over her, smoothing some gold strands from her forehead. “Just long enough to be checked out and released.” She was so enticing, he found her mouth and kissed her until she clung to him because she couldn’t help herself.
When they came up for air, one of her hands strayed to his face. “Benton said the fire singed your hair and eyelashes, but it’s not nearly as bad as I had imagined.”
Rick kissed the palm. “I’m glad to hear it. You think Tessa will notice?”
“Yes. She notices everything. Little girls who love their fathers are like that.” Tears trickled out of the corners of her eyes. “Thank goodness you weren’t killed, Rick.”
He lowered his mouth to hers in a gentler kiss. “It didn’t come to that.”
“How did you know what Chase was going to do?”
“Instead of dragging you back into the house and my bed last night, I used all my energy to concentrate on that devious mind of his. By coming to your shop, he made it too obvious he planned to set it on fire. Since he knew I was home recovering, what better time for him to do something to throw us off the track and plant a device in your car? Firebugs like to set cars on fire.”
She clutched his hand. “You saved my life.” Her voice shook. “How can I ever repay you?”
He studied the mouth he’d been devouring. This was where he wanted to stay for the rest of his life. “By stopping your worry. I’ve been told I can’t report to work until Thursday, so I’ve decided a mini vacation is in order. Do you think the Gingerbread Inn would have rooms for us?”
Andrea sat up looking totally shocked. “It has a lot of rooms, but I couldn’t possibly go there with you.”
“Why not? Tessa can miss a day of school. Do you think your mother could spare you for that long? With the sun shining, we should take advantage of it and celebrate the good news about Chase’s capture. We’ll take turns driving to give both of us a rest. Along the way we’ll stop for meals and return tomorrow.”
When she averted her eyes, he got off the bed. “I know you planned never to see me again once this business was over. But I don’t think going on a little outing with Tessa will do irreparable damage.”
Andrea rolled onto her side and slid off the bed. “You’re wrong, Rick. No one is more thrilled than I that you’re safe, but I never plan to go through this experience again, and you know why.”
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