Flash Point, page 21
Ryan stiffened slightly and tucked the ball under his arm, eyes narrowed for just a second, then he recovered, his old amiable self back in place. “Hey Joe, Kyle.” He nodded at them.
“Looks like the courts are all taken. You guys want to play a little four-on-four?”
Ryan looked behind Joe, clearly sizing up the competition. Joe knew what he was thinking: Bernie and Gary didn’t look like much of a threat, especially compared to two of the guys on Ryan’s team. Of course, Ryan didn’t know Kyle and Joe had been playing basketball together for over twenty years.
“Sure.” He turned to the guys with him. “This is Chris, Lou, and Nick.”
“I recognize some of you from the choir.” The guys exchanged handshakes.
Chris pointed at Lou. “He and I do.”
Nick, the guy with the ink, grabbed the ball from Ryan. “I’m not into that church thing. I’m just here for the basketball. Ryan twists my arm.”
Ryan stole the ball back. “Just trying to prove all church people aren’t weirdos.”
Nick raised his eyebrows.
Joe dropped his stuff next to the bench. This should be interesting.
The game started out friendly enough, each side taking their time, sizing up the competition. Ryan had the ball and made a break for the hoop with a layup.
Joe moved to block. And caught an elbow in the cheekbone for his trouble. The ball bounced uselessly off the rim.
Joe gave Ryan a hard look. Ryan returned it for a moment then jogged back down the court. Joe stared after him a moment before rubbing his cheek across his shoulder. Man, that stung.
They were up by three points, and the game hadn’t gotten any less physical. They were supposed to be calling their own fouls, but that wasn’t happening too much. Ryan had the ball, and Joe set up to screen him. Ryan lowered his shoulder, which was fairly obvious given he was taller than Joe. Ryan’s shoulder slammed into Joe’s chest and knocked him on his butt. What game was he playing? This was basketball not football.
Joe scrambled to his feet. “What’s wrong with you?”
Ryan smirked and sent the ball to Joe with a hard pass. “Sorry. Just used to playing street rules.”
Joe caught the ball and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. In south Orange County? Give me a break.
“If you can’t take it…” Ryan shrugged. Nick stepped up behind him.
“Is this how you run the worship team? By bullying everyone into doing what you want?”
Ryan’s eyes narrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just that you don’t seem to appreciate all the people around you who support you, who work as a team to make you look good.” Righteous anger surged through Joe. He should shut his mouth before he regretted it.
“Who support me?” Ryan gave a harsh laugh. “If you’re talking about Sarah, she was actually undermining my authority. She’s got some issues of her own she needs to work on.”
Chris put his hand on Ryan’s shoulder, but he shook it off.
Joe glanced around. Kyle watched him, arms folded across his chest, watching. He wasn’t going to intervene. Bernie furrowed his brow, and Gary shifted his weight from foot to foot. Joe was done with this. He shoved the ball at Ryan. “You don’t even know what you had in her. She met with the altos to teach them the parts because you were too busy schmoozing with Ethan Tate. And then you have the nerve to be mad at her because Ethan complimented her singing more than he did yours. Grow up, Ryan.” He stalked off the court.
Just as he bent over to pick up his keys and wallet from the bench, Kyle came up next to him. “Wondered when you were going to do that.”
Joe dismissed the men. They had training coming up in a few weeks on some new equipment that he was really excited about. Today’s training was preliminary work that needed to be accomplished before then.
He came out on the apparatus floor to see what looked like a photography studio set up in front of one of the trucks. Lights, reflectors, a photographer. And Macy.
She turned and smiled at him. “Hey, Joe! Want to go first?”
“What is this?”
She touched his arm. “Didn’t you get the message? We’re shooting the calendar today. You should go first. Set a good example for your men.” She eyed him up and down. “Maybe one in what you’re wearing, then maybe your turnout pants with no shirt?”
He ran his hand over his face. After her last visit, he’d had a conversation with O’Grady that went nowhere. In fact, he was supposed to be the example of cooperation.
But he wasn’t taking his shirt off.
Most of the men had gathered around. Joe pointed to them. “Why don’t you start with these guys? Put them where you want them. But know that if we get a call, we’re out of here.”
She gave him a hundred-watt smile. “Of course.”
It was going to be a long day.
It was a long morning of watching Macy and her photographer pose his men. Her flirty style got the guys to do whatever she wanted, especially the younger ones. She’d even gotten a bunch of them to take their shirts off, making it a competition to see which shift could have the most months on the calendar.
Tone sounded, and they ran for their gear. “Get your equipment out of the way!” Joe yelled at the photographer, who quickly dragged his lights out from in front of the engine and truck.
Joe was relieved. A car wreck. This was at least something he knew how to handle.
A short trip found them at a three-car pileup on Portola. A minivan and two sedans.
They were well into pulling out victims when voices drifted over to him as soon as they stopped using their equipment. Someone was arguing with one of the cops directing traffic.
Macy and her photographer had arrived. While Macy was talking to the cop and gesturing, her photographer was sneaking around, shooting Joe and his team in action. How long had they been there? He shook his head. As long as they weren’t a distraction, the cop could deal with them.
Joe went back to work on the minivan. They’d gotten the mom out, now he stuck his head in back where two kids—one in a car seat and one in a booster seat—were strapped in. Shaken, but not hurt. Good for Mom for strapping her kids in well.
“All right, guys. We’re going to get you out of here. Have you ever seen a fire truck up close?”
Two pairs of wide eyes looked at him. The blond boy in the booster seat shook his head, tears and snot streaming down his face. The baby in the car seat just chewed on a toy.
“Well, today is your lucky day. I can even get you your own fire helmet and some stickers. We’ve got a stuffed dog for your little sister here. And we’ll take you to see Mom. Just let me and my buddies here get you guys out.” He tugged a blanket over. “This is just to protect you from flying glass. It’s going to get loud, but I’ll be right here, okay?”
The boy nodded.
Once the door had been pried off, Joe unstrapped the baby and handed her off to Akino. He unstrapped the boy. “Okay, buddy. Let’s go get you that helmet.” He pulled the boy into his arms and backed out of the minivan, right into Macy’s photographer.
“What are you doing? You can’t be here.” He scanned the area. Where was the cop controlling the scene? Talking to Macy while he was directing traffic. “Get out of the way!”
The photographer kept taking shots but backed toward his car.
Macy and the photographer had no business at the scene. In fact, this whole calendar thing was a bad idea. Somebody was going to get hurt. And Joe was going to make sure it wasn’t his men or those kids.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Joe had just walked in his house after shift when his phone rang in his pocket. He hoped it was Sarah. They’d texted briefly last night, and he was looking forward to their date tonight. He had a few thoughts of where he could take her, he just needed to see where he could get reservations.
He pulled it out and looked at the screen. His sister, Catrina. The youngest of his four sisters. “Hey, sis. What’s up?”
“Just reminding you of Marcus’s birthday party tonight. You never responded to the Facebook invite.”
“That’s because I never saw it. I never go on Facebook. Why didn’t you call or text me?”
“That’s what I’m doing now.”
He sighed. Marcus was turning three this weekend, he knew that. He just hadn’t known about the party. And not attending was not an option. But the idea of cancelling his date with Sarah had him rubbing his forehead.
“What? You had other plans?” His sister’s voice came teasing through the line. “I know you’re not working. I already checked.”
“Yeah, actually, I did have other plans.” He moved into the kitchen and pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge.
“Who is she?”
“What makes you say that?” He uncapped it and took a long swallow, buying time.
“Seriously? If you were just hanging out with Kyle, it’d wouldn’t take you a second to cancel. Bring her.”
“To meet all of you so you can scare her off? No, thanks.”
“So she’s just a fling? That’s not like you.”
“No,” he said a bit more vehemently than he felt. “No, she’s definitely not a fling. She’s a friend of Kyle’s girlfriend, Heather. I got to know her when I was helping Kyle with that situation earlier this summer.”
“Then she’ll have to meet us eventually.” All the teasing dropped out of Catrina’s voice. “We’re not that scary, Joe. Believe it or not, we just want you to be happy. I promise we won’t give her the third degree.”
“Ha. It’s not you I’m worried about. It’s Gabi and Sophia.” At ten and twelve years older than him, respectively, his oldest sisters acted more like his mothers; they considered him spoiled. Which he probably was. He’d been a happy surprise for his parents who’d thought their family was complete with four girls.
“Mom will keep them in line.”
“True. All right. I’ll talk to Sarah. She’s very sweet, so even if she doesn’t want to go, she’ll agree to it. So you all be nice to her.”
“We will be. Don’t worry. I’m actually looking forward to meeting the woman that has finally caught my brother’s attention.”
He grunted. “What’s Marcus want for his birthday?”
She rattled off a list of things. Looked like a trip to Target was now on his schedule for the day.
“By the way, I see you’re famous.”
“What do you mean?”
“You really don’t check social media, do you? There’s a picture of you rescuing a little boy out of a car wreck yesterday. Go look it up.”
Macy’s photographer.
After he hung up with his sister, he grabbed his running shoes. He needed to bleed off some stress. He’d look up the photo later.
Sarah sat in Joe’s truck on the way to his nephew’s birthday party fingering the bow on the present in her lap, a set of oversized building blocks. The package was huge. She hoped it wasn’t overkill. Her outfit was casual but nice. White jeans, sandals, a flowy print top. Hopefully, they would like her. It felt a bit like going on an interview.
Joe reached over and took her hand. Had her nervousness been that obvious? “Sorry again about springing this on you. But the food will be good, my sisters have promised to be nice, and I’ll make it up to you.”
“It’s fine. I’m actually looking forward to meeting your family.” She could get to know another side of him. Find out what she was getting herself into.
His truck pulled into the driveway of an older ranch house, music and laughter spilling over from inside. He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. “You look great. Everyone will love you.” He hopped out of the truck and came around to her side, taking both of their presents and helping her to keep her white jeans from getting dirty on his truck.
Once inside the house, he dropped off the presents on a table already overflowing with gifts. The living room was full of people. Joe waved but tugged her by the hand into the kitchen.
As long as he didn’t abandon her, she’d be fine. At least she’d keep telling herself that.
A small woman with Joe’s smile and dark hair shot through with gray worked in the kitchen.
“Hey, Ma.” Joe let go of Sarah’s hand to wrap his mom in a hug.
She patted his cheeks. “My big hero! You’ve got your picture everywhere now. You’re famous.”
He shook his head, an embarrassed grin creasing his face. He slid his arm around Sarah’s shoulders. “Ma, this is Sarah Brockman.”
“Hello, Mrs. Romero.” Sarah held out her hand but was immediately enveloped in a hug that smelled like salsa and fresh tortillas. “Welcome! Call me Flavia. It’s so good to meet you.” She elbowed Joe. “This one tells me nothing. I have to find out from the internet that he’s a hero. And he never mentioned how lovely you are.” She fingered one of Sarah’s curls. “Such a pretty color.” She motioned to the food covering the counters. “Come, get something to eat.”
But before Sarah could move, two women entered the kitchen, squealing and throwing their arms around Joe.
“I can’t believe our little brother is a hero!”
“We can take all the credit for that.”
Joe disentangled himself. “Gabi, Catrina, this is Sarah. Sarah, Gabi is the second oldest, and Catrina is the baby sister, right before me.”
Both women wrapped her in hugs. Catrina was taller, with dark, cascading hair. Gabi was shorter and curvier, with her glossy hair in a stylish long bob.
“Sophia and Alyssa are somewhere.” Catrina scanned the area.
“I saw their husbands in the living room as we came in.” Joe moved over to a cooler and handed Sarah a Diet Coke. “We’ll catch up with them later.” He grabbed a Dr. Pepper for himself. “Where’s the birthday boy?”
“Running around out back with his cousins. He’ll be so glad his hero uncle is here. In the meantime—” Catrina looped her arm through Sarah’s, drawing her away—“you can give us the scoop on my brother. He’s not very forthcoming with information.”
Joe grinned and shook his head. “Go easy, Trina.”
“Joe, come fix your girlfriend a plate,” said Flavia.
Sarah’s face grew hot, and she glanced at Joe, who was just grinning. “Sure, Ma.”
Catrina slid out a chair for Sarah and then took one side of her while Gabi took the other. “Joe says you’re an architect. That’s really cool. You must be smart.” Gabi pulled out her phone and turned it to Sarah. “You saw this, right?”
Oh, had she. The photo kept her from having to respond to the barrage of questions. The image of Joe pulling out a little boy about the age of his nephew from a completely smashed minivan had blown up all of her social media feeds. But more than the rescue, it was the expressions on their faces that had made the photo go viral. The boy’s face was streaked with tears, but he looked up at Joe with so much trust. And Joe gazed at the boy with tenderness and compassion. Something she’d seen from him more than once.
Yeah, he was good at his job. The world needed more men like him. She glanced back to where Joe was speaking with his mom while filling a few plates. “Do you ever worry about him? Was everyone okay with his career choice?”
Gabi leaned back. “We worry. Especially Mom. But we’re really proud of him too.” She tapped her phone. “When we see things like this, we know he’s doing what God designed him to do.”
“I wish that photo showed the whole story.” Joe had come up and leaned over the back of Sarah’s chair, setting a plate in front of her. “There’s a whole crew of guys working to rescue seven other victims. It’s never just one of us. We can’t do what we do unless we work together.”
Catrina stood and patted his shoulder. “You’re a good leader. Who knew that such a bratty brother could be such a great guy? I’m going to check on the rest of my guests. But, Sarah, you want any dirt on this guy, just ask me.” She gave a saucy grin before leaving the kitchen.
Joe took Catrina’s seat and set a plate in front of himself. Sarah’s was loaded with homemade tamales, spanish rice, refried beans, pico de gallo, and a few tortilla chips. Joe nudged her. “That’s not even half of what’s up there. So don’t go away hungry.”
“You might have to roll me out of here.” She had just taken a bite when two other women joined them, the other two sisters given their family resemblance. Joe introduced her to Alyssa and Sophia. A few children and some husbands also filtered by, but the names all started running together. She managed to get a few bites in between answering questions, but she was relieved when Catrina announced that it was time for the piñata.
Everyone moved to the backyard where a piñata hung from the patio roof. The little kids lined up to get blindfolded and take a whack at the toy-and-candy-filled papier-mâché monkey. Catrina’s husband, Raoul, made sure none of the little sluggers hit something they weren’t supposed to. Like the next kid in line.
Joe stood behind Sarah, his arms wrapped lightly around her waist. She leaned back against him, comforted by his presence and by the fact he hadn’t left her to deal with all of these people by herself.
After all the kids had taken two turns and the piñata still hadn’t broken, Raoul took the bat and gave it a good whack. The piñata flew off the string and landed in the yard, candy and toys spilling everywhere. The kids ran to fill their bags while Raoul got a round of applause and a few comments that the Dodgers could use his skills.
Sarah was fading, but there was still cake to be eaten and presents to be opened. A few of the kids were starting to fuss. Overstimulation. She could relate. Joe ushered her to a seat and brought her a piece of cake and a cup of coffee while Marcus tore into his presents. Hers was one of the first ones he opened. She held her breath, hoping she’d gotten the right thing, more for his family’s approval than for Marcus himself. Silly, but she hadn’t been around too many little kids. She didn’t have nieces and nephews like Joe did. She swallowed and pushed the dark, painful bubble back down where it belonged.
