The Firefighter's Woman 2
The Firefighter's Woman

Excerpt

Marlena drew her hair up into a ponytail and secured it with an ouchless holder. She needed a fresh perm like nobody’s business, but that little luxury—and it was nothing but a luxury these last few months—would have to wait until next week. With any luck, she wouldn’t sweat out her roots during class tonight, especially if Tyrone came by her place before she could put herself back together.

She dropped to one knee and retied her sneaker and then gathered up her clipboard. Two more women had joined her class. That was an extra eighty a month. That is, if they toughed it out and didn’t quit. The problem was giving so much of her earnings back to the gym, but they attracted the clientele. She had no real choice in the matter.

“Hi, Marlena,” someone called.

She looked up from studying her roster and tensed. Sherise had just entered the room dressed in a tank that showed off her already toned arms and biker shorts that demonstrated she didn’t need Marlena’s class. The fact that Marlena was dating Sherise’s ex didn’t feel too comfortable either. “Hey, Sherise. What are you doing here?”

She hoped Sherise had wandered into the wrong room. Something told her not to hold her breath.

Sherise winked. “I heard your patented Rumble Booty exercise class was the place to get my booty in shape, so here I am.”

“Hardly patented.” Marlena liked the warm feeling she got knowing word was spreading around Forest’s End that she was offering a new style of exercise, or rather, her personal flavor to the old boring stuff. Using her love of dancing and her own choreography had shaken loose a good forty pounds from her figure, and it was working for others. “You don’t need to lose a pound, Sherise. Just look at you.”

Sherise slapped her ass. “Are you kidding? I’ve gained five pounds in a couple of weeks. I’m nipping it now before it’s too late.”

“I heard that, girlfriend,” Shana said, walking over. Sherise and Marlena laughed. Shana had grown up around black people, but the girl was pale as could be. She kept her sandy brown hair in braids, and her speech demonstrated where she haled from, the same side of Forest’s End Marlena had come from. It had been Shana who supported her by being her first client. “I lost ten with Marlena’s class, but I’ve got a long way to go.”

They milled around chatting the last ten minutes before class began. Marlena tried to relax with Sherise present, but she found it difficult. Word in town was she still had it bad for Tyrone, and Marlena couldn’t help wondering if Sherise was just there to check her out. They weren’t that close, only speaking in passing. Marlena had gone to school with her younger sister, Odessa. That was before Marlena had her family issues.

“What’s wrong with you, Marlena?” Sherise asked, no doubt noticing how stiff she was.

Shana’s mouth had always been big. “Oh don’t worry about my girl. She’s okay. Just all guilty and stuff because she’s dating your ex. I told you, Marlena, that’s old news.”

Marlena’s eyes widened. She couldn’t believe Shana had just blurted out her business. Everyone, even the women chatting in other groups, fell silent. Embarrassed, Marlena didn’t say a word or even glance in Sherise’s direction. She willed herself to snap out of it, but she was frozen. How in the hell was she going to run a class this wound up?

After a few minutes, Sherise laughed it off. “Don’t even worry about it. That’s the past. I heard that you were seeing him, Marlena. Not a big deal. This town isn’t but so big anyway. We’re all bound to pass the guys around given we outnumber them.”

“I know that’s right,” someone from another group agreed. “They need to ship some fresh meat in.” The ladies all laughed at that, and everyone moved to their places for the start of the night’s session.

Marlena grabbed her CD player from the floor and put it up on a chair. With her back to the class, she sorted through her music and selected the mix she’d made the day before. The beat would start out gentle for their warm up and move into something to get the hips pumping. Then, after about forty-five minutes, they would go to a cool down. She’d been excited about the new steps she wanted to show everyone, but her legs felt rigid, and for the life of her, she couldn’t remember any of the normal routine. She stalled for time.

Get it together, Marlena. You’re over stage fright. Sherise being here means nothing, and besides, it’s not like you’re in love with Tyrone.

She sighed. That was true. She wasn’t that into him. In fact, sometimes she thought she was just passing the time, proving to herself that this was where she belonged—with a black man—because dating outside her race had gotten her heart stomped.

“Okay, ladies, let’s get started,” she announced, but then an alarm went off. High on the walls, emergency lights began flashing, and an announcer came over an unseen speaker system telling them to leave the building. “Let’s go. Everyone out,” Marlena said.

When they rushed to the door and opened it, Marlena was surprised to smell smoke. This really wasn’t a drill. Her heartbeat kicked up a few notches as she directed the women down the hall and around the front desk to the exit. People from other rooms and the stairs joined them as they rushed past. Marlena stayed toward the back to be sure her clients were all safe, and then she started across the street to where one of the gym managers was instructing everyone to wait.

Two steps off the curb, she remembered her purse in her locker. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t care about losing the beat up thing. Tonight, of all nights, she carried her rent money, meaning to deliver it to her landlord after class since it was so late. She couldn’t afford to lose that money.

Knowing it was stupid to go back into a burning building, Marlena glanced around to make sure she wasn’t spotted and darted inside anyway. She’d make it fast. After all, the lockers weren’t that far from the entrance, and she knew where she was going. The hall was empty, but getting cloudy. She coughed and covered her mouth. There was plenty of smoke, but she felt no heat and saw no fire. If she had seen fire, she would have lost her nerve.

Bent low, she ran toward the lockers. In the distance, the fire truck’s siren blared. They’d be here soon and probably drag her ass out. She had to get a move on. At her locker, she worked the combination and screwed it up. “Damn it! Open.”

Uncovering her mouth and speaking was a mistake. Her throat hurt, and her eyes burned. She sank to her knees and worked the lock a second time. She’d fought hard to rise up from the gutter her life had been stuck in. She had hope of a better future. Letting her money burn would set her back, and she just couldn’t let that happen.

The locker opened, and she grabbed her purse and clutched it under her arm. When she turned toward the hall, she found the entire area filled with smoke. She couldn’t see beyond a foot in front of her. Crawling on her hands and knees while dragging her purse, she struggled to find the exit and lost her way. All of sudden, the stupidity of going back inside hit her, and she knew she might die. If the air hadn’t been so dry, she might have cried. Instead, dry sobs made her gasp too hard, and her head began to spin.

Someone called out her name. She tried to answer, but her voice no longer worked. Please find me. I’m right here. Please.

The man called again, but she slumped to the floor. Her eyes drifted closed. Too late. She was going to die.

* * * *

Strong arms held her, and the unmistakable hardness of a man’s body lined her side. Something was shoved on her face, and she tried lifting a hand to push it away, but she was too weak. She tried to speak, but let out a small cry instead.

“Breathe, baby. Don’t try to talk. Just breathe.”

Baby? Who the hell?

She managed to open her eyes and found herself staring up into the baby blues of her ex-boyfriend, Evan. The man who had left her like she meant nothing to him and destroyed her heart. To her surprise, he was dressed in a firefighter’s uniform, the jacket hanging open to reveal the sexy, hard body she remembered. Still too weak to fight to get away from him, she directed her gaze away from his eyes to the moon-shaped scar on his chin. He’d gotten it the night he’d climbed Ms. Judy’s fence to steal one of her roses like a fool. He had declared the cut was worth it if the rose made his baby smile. The bigger fool, she’d fallen in love with him at that moment.

Another firefighter came over to them, tearing Marlena from her memories. “We should get her checked out at the hospital, Evan.”

He didn’t look away from Marlena. “Yeah, she’s going to be okay.”

She pulled the mask down. “W-What are you doing here?” He didn’t answer right away, but lifted her in his arms and placed her on the stretcher the other man brought over. Something told her Evan wasn’t following procedures when it came to her. She resented his gentle treatment. Where had it been when she’d cried her eyes out after he left?

She glared at him, but Evan flashed a charming smile. “There’s my girl.”

I am so not your girl.

He laid her purse on top of her, and she clutched it. He leaned down close to her ear so what he said couldn’t be overheard by anyone else. “I’ll explain when you’re better, but suffice it to say I’m back. For you.”

Marlena closed her eyes and turned her head away from him. No, she wouldn’t let her heart melt for this man ever again. She’d moved on, grown stronger, and achieved a lot. Turning back now would be the biggest mistake of her life. She’d tell him that and more the first chance she got.