That Old Flame of Mine Read Online Free Page A

sidewalk. The spectators were a dangerous nuisance and were still increasing as more people from the neighboring houses came out to see what was going on.
    Stella tried calling Tory and received no answer. She wished the police would respond. Without them, the task of clearing away spectators fell to her, even as she was busy urging her volunteers to hurry. Flames were already licking into the front turrets and the roof.
    “Get the engine in closer,” Stella yelled at Ricky. The old engine was still parked at the curb.
    “What about the lawn?” he asked, respecting the deep green grass.
    “Get it in there.”
    “Sure. Sorry. Wasn’t thinking.” He drove the engine across the front lawn to get up close to the burning house, leaving red gashes in the emerald green where the tires had broken through to the clay beneath.
    “What about me?” Kent called out from the pumper window. He’d followed closely behind Ricky.
    “We don’t need the pumper right now,” Stella yelled. “We need you to help Petey and Allen with the hose.”
    “Is Tory in there?” Mayor Wando jumped out of his car after leaving it parked in the middle of the street. He was breathless and a frown creased his bald head. “I hope she’s not in there. What an awful thing to happen. This house is a historic landmark.”
    “What about Tory?” Stella demanded, no time to be pleasant or polite. “Has anyone seen her yet? Was she at the party?”
    Too much silence answered her question.
    “Okay—John, Ricky—come with me. You’ll need your SCBA backpacks. Hurry. We don’t know if Tory is inside.”
    Everyone scurried to obey Stella’s commands. Two hoses were already aimed at the house, high-pressure water streaming to the fire. A ladder was raised to the roof to vent the fire.
    Stella quickly put on her breathing apparatus, which was attached to a backpack. She was adjusting her face mask when Police Chief Don Rogers pushed his way through the crowd to reach her.
    “What can I do? I want to go into the house with you.”
    The fifty-something man with graying blond hair in a crew-cut style had done his best to avoid all the training the other volunteers had fought through. Even though he was listed as a regular volunteer, he’d never bothered showing up.
    She stared at him as she finished getting her gear on. “Are you kidding me? You’re not dressed and barely trained. You don’t go near the house. Do
your
job, Chief, and get everyone to back off so my people can work.”
    “But I know CPR. You might need me.”
    “We all know CPR. If you wanted to go in, you should’ve taken the training more seriously. I don’t have time to argue with you. Get those people out of the way so no one gets hurt.”
    Chief Rogers bristled at being spoken to that way. He finally nodded and ran back to the crowd of spectators, who were still pressing forward toward the house.
    He’d made it clear to Stella from the beginning that he’d been against bringing in an outsider—particularly a woman. Stella didn’t like their confrontations, but she couldn’t let him run roughshod over her.
    “Ready?” Stella got her group together. There was no time to waste. She was afraid for them. They were running into a burning house for the first time. She looked into their eyes and saw that fear reflected back at her. “Let’s go.”
    Stella, John Trump, and Ricky ran into the old house, which was quickly being devoured by the flames despite the water being showered on it. Already the beautiful paintings, drapes, and furniture Stella recalled from her visits there were black with soot and streaming with water.
    The heart of the fire seemed to be in the basement. They didn’t have long to search for Tory. The flames were spreading up the stairs, igniting the other floors as they reached out toward the roof.
    “Third floor,” she told John. She’d purposely chosen him because he’d been a cop for a few years and she figured he could deal with a crisis better