Страница 59 из 85
“I was making fried chicken, and—” She glanced over her shoulder and started to cough. “What are you doing here?”
“Do you want me to leave?”
“I don’t care what you do.”
“I should let you burn.”
“Then get out.”
“Don’t tempt me.”
Wi
“This is stupid. The fire department’s coming. Let’s leave while we can.”
“Not till they get here. I can’t let this spread downstairs.”
The store held irreplaceable antiques, and Sugar Beth could almost understand. Almost. She slapped at the cupboard door. “Say, ‘Pretty please, Sugar Beth. Stay and help my stupidass self.’”
“The towel!”
Sugar Beth spun around in time to see a dish towel drop to the floor in flames. She smothered it with the scatter rug, coughed. “You’re giving me back Diddie’s pearls, or I swear to God I’ll lock you up in here.”
“Bite me.”
The smoke was getting thicker, the sirens closer, and Sugar Beth decided Wi
“What are you doing?”
“Putting an end to negotiations.”
“Stop it!”
“Shut up. The trucks are almost here.” Sugar Beth pulled her toward the door.
“I’m not going anywhere!” Even though Sugar Beth was taller, Wi
“Ouch! That hurts. You’re twisting my arm off.”
Sugar Beth began maneuvering her down the steps. “Play nice, and I won’t break it.”
“Quit it!”
“Save your breath.”
They were nearly at the bottom when she made the mistake of easing the pressure. Wi
“Let me go!”
She wasn’t certain how much longer she could have held on to her if the first fire truck hadn’t pulled up in front of the store just then. Wi
She also realized she’d just been handed a golden opportunity. Granted, it was the kind of opportunity a more honorable person would resist. Colin, for example, wouldn’t think of it. Neither would Ryan, and certainly not Wi
The firefighters jumped from the truck and rushed toward the broken door, but before they could get there, Sugar Beth stuck out her foot and tripped Wi
“I’ve got her!” she called out to the pair of firemen who’d just broken into the store. “I didn’t think I was going to be able to carry her all the way down the stairs—she weighs a ton—but the Good Lord was watching over both of us.”
“What do you think—”
She plastered her hand across Wi
One of them began to break away to come to her aid, so she took her hand off Wi
He joined the others, and as they stormed past, Sugar Beth dragged Wi
The EMTs rushed up and grabbed Wi
“Sugar Beth? Did you carry Wi
“It’s amazing what you can do when a person’s life is at stake,” she said modestly.
Wi
“Hey, Laverne. I saw smoke when I was leaving the bookstore and ran over to see if I could help. Wi
“I’ll say,” Laverne replied. “It looked like she was unconscious when you carried her out.”
Wi
“Probably just breathed a little too much smoke,” Sugar Beth said quickly.
Dulane gazed toward the second story. “She was lucky you were there.”
“Anybody would have done the same thing.”
The EMTs still had Wi
He ran for Wi
“Yes, I—I was frying chicken—Charise has been sick, and . . . The phone distracted me. The oil got too hot. It was stupid.”
“I’m so sorry.” The emotion in his voice made Sugar Beth suspect he might be talking about something more than the fire. She’d seen a lot of men in love, and Ryan fit right in.
She lost the thread of conversation for a few minutes as she convinced another EMT that she hadn’t suffered any harm. When she finally got rid of him, she saw Ryan push a lock of hair from Wi
Wi
A young fireman Sugar Beth didn’t recognize came forward. “You’ve got a lot of smoke damage, Mrs. Galantine, but it could have been worse.” He turned to Ryan and indicated Sugar Beth with his thumb. “It’s a good thing the lady over there showed up. She carried Mrs. Galantine downstairs. Your wife could have been seriously hurt.”
Wi
Wi
He didn’t gloat, and he wasn’t even the tiniest bit smug, but Sugar Beth could see Wi
“I’m sure,” Ryan said, his voice thick with emotion. “I’ve never been more sure of anything.”
“I’m glad for you.” Wi