That Old Flame of Mine Read Online Free

first. The chrome was pitted in a few places, but she wouldn’t have taken a million dollars for it.
    She saw the porch light come on in her rearview mirror as she started back down the mountain. Whoever was doing the pranks was really good at it—she had to admit that. She let it go, like she always did, and kept riding until she reached Main Street in Sweet Pepper.
    With such great weather, the party was set in the park adjacent to the old VFW meeting hall. Picnic tables were heaped high with food, and a small band of fiddlers played bluegrass music that traveled up and down the street. At least a hundred people were already at the party. Children ran freely, jumping into piles of red and green leaves, their laughter providing its own kind of music.
    There were big, red, pepper-shaped donation boxes set around the park too.
    Stella parked her bike and dropped some bills into one of them, then joined the group. At once, ten people offered to make her a plate of food and find her a chair. It was like being a local celebrity.
    Two women brought her glasses of iced tea and lemonade, and one of the VFW members offered her a place of honor at the table with Mayor Wando and other members of the town council. There was a podium and microphone set up, which meant plenty of speeches. Stella was getting used to that. She smiled and looked around for Tory.
    “I think they want to give us all a medal for putting out the henhouse fire, Chief,” Ricky Junior said with a big grin. “Everyone thinks we’re great!”
    “If we get too many more medals,” she said, “we won’t be able to walk with them on. We’ve already gotten medals for getting the fire brigade together and starting up the fire engine.”
    “Maybe. But they look damn good. We’re heroes, Chief. We might as well enjoy it.”
    Stella started to agree with him. She broke off when she noticed a thin plume of smoke rising straight up into the clear, dark sky. It was coming from the other end of Main Street where the old gingerbread houses were.
    “Where’s Chief Griffin?” Allen Wise could barely speak, short of breath from running. “Tory Lambert’s house is on fire.”

Chapter 3

    A ll their emergency pagers went off. Allen ran back to his vehicle. Ricky wanted to go right to Tory’s house. Stella had to tell him he couldn’t. They needed him to drive the engine.
    Stella jumped on her bike and headed after him. She wanted to go to Tory’s too. She wasn’t sure about leaving her recruits on their first real emergency call.
    As she got closer, she heard the alarm screaming from within, and it started her heart pumping faster.
    This wasn’t an empty old chicken house. This was a crucial test of her volunteers. She said a fast prayer for them, and for Tory, hoping she was somewhere safe. She hadn’t seen her yet at the party.
    “We’re going to need the pumper and the engine, just to be sure,” Stella yelled as she parked her bike and raced inside to put on her gear. “We might have water and we might not. Ricky, you drive the engine. Kent, drive the pumper again. Everyone know the way to Tory Lambert’s house?”
    They all nodded solemnly as they grabbed their equipment and found their places on the trucks.
    Ricky set a fast pace for everyone. Stella didn’t complain as he raced down the road to reach Sweet Pepper, sirens blaring. Already the thin line of white smoke had turned dark gray and black, billowing up into the star-filled sky. The smell of it filled the streets as it drifted across town.
    The house was a three-story Victorian with tons of gingerbread and white lattice. She knew from her tour of Sweet Pepper that all of the houses in this area were at least a hundred years old. They’d been built by the founding fathers, graced with stately green lawns, and surrounded by large oaks.
    They also had fire hydrants. Allen and Petey connected up as fast as possible. The firefighters had to wade through the crowd that had formed along the