Joe nodded his gratitude to Jake and the others, and crouched in front of Summer, reaching for her hands. He’d told himself for days now, ever since she’d shown up at his office with that bittersweet offer of chips, that they had no place in each other’s lives anymore. The physical attraction had been a fluke, nothing more. The yearning to know her again…that couldn’t be explained away as easily but he wasn’t interested in following through. He’d told himself this until he was blue in the face, all the way through the second bag of chips he’d bought himself at the grocery store.

And then the third. He’d almost started to believe it.

Until right this second, looking at her. “Red.”

“Isn’t it funny?” she asked, her voice so hoarse it was unrecognizable. “The one thing I’m most afraid of, and I keep ending up in the middle of it.”

“Don’t talk.” He rocked back on his heels and studied her carefully. The night was lit up like day so it wasn’t difficult. “Are you hurt?”

“No, I—”

“Shh.” He passed a hand over his eyes and took a deep breath. She was alive. Alive was good. He pushed the hair from her face. “I think you just shaved ten years off my life,” he murmured. “What were you doing in there this late?”

She tried to clear her throat and winced. “I—”

“No, damn it. Don’t.” He cupped her throat as if he could take her pain. “What else hurts?”

She shot him a wry look but kept her mouth shut.

“Right. I told you not to talk.” He sat back on his heels, marginally relieved by the mixture of temper and amusement in her face. “Like you’ve ever listened to me.”

The firefighter paramedics looked her over. She’d inhaled the smoke and had a couple of good scratches on her legs from climbing through the window, but nothing that required stitches, and no burns.

Around them they’d contained the blaze but were still working on getting the flames out. Joe and Kenny’s work was just beginning, but Joe found he couldn’t leave her side.

“I’m fine,” she said, and the firefighter paramedic at her side nodded his agreement.

The verdict was for her to go home, clean herself up, and rest.

Kenny pulled Joe aside. “You take her home. I’ll stay until the site cools, secure the scene, and then we can meet back here at dawn.”

“What about Camille and Tina?”

“They’re being called now.”

Joe glanced down at Summer’s bowed head. She needed to get away now. She’d held up so far, she’d stayed strong, but he saw her fingers shake as she drew the blanket tight.

“I can drive myself home,” she said, reading his mind.