“Don’t you think this punishment is a little harsh?” Derek asked under his breath, eyeing the yellow school bus pulling into the gravel parking lot.
His dive-team leader, Callum, didn’t hesitate. “No.”
“I think you’re blowing this way out of proportion.” The kids started flowing off the bus, and Derek had to resist the impulse to take a step back. Any show of fear would be like blood in the water. They’d devour him alive. “It was funny. You need to work on your sense of humor. Laughter makes you live longer. They’ve done scientific studies.”
“It wasn’t funny.”
“C’mon.” Since the chaperones had the kids contained to the parking lot, Derek risked taking his eyes off the horde to shoot a smirk in Callum’s direction. “It was alittlefunny. Admit it. Your face…man. When you opened your truck door and saw that goat, I nearly pissed myself laughing.”
“It ate the seats.” Derek wasn’t sure how Callum managed to speak while clamping his jaw muscles so tightly. The man had a gift. “I can’t take my truck to Denver to be reupholstered until next week.” Now a forehead vein was throbbing in time with the clenching of his jaw. “Nine days. Until then, my seats are being held together with duct tape.” Callum slowly turned his head to focus his chilly blue gaze on Derek. “Duct. Tape.”
Forcing his face into serious lines with some difficulty, Derek donned his most contrite expression. “Hey, I’m paying for that new upholstery. Isn’t that punishment enough?” Cal just narrowed his eyes a little more. “I was trying to do a good thing. Maybelle needed a home, and I thought the dive team could use a mascot.”
“Why would the dive team need a mascot?”
“To improve morale? I mean, laughter is good for morale, right? And since Steve ended up taking Maybelle, now the Fire guys are going to be the ones with awesome morale. We lost out.”
“How would a goat…never mind.” Callum gave his head a single shake. “You put the thing in my truck. How could youeverthink that was a good idea?”
Since he was losing the battle to control his grin, Derek rubbed his hand over his mouth to hide it. “Uh…didn’t really think about it, boss. I mean, I’d just picked up the goat, and we got a call—I had to put her somewhere.”
“Why not leave it inyourtruck?”
“Are you kidding?” Derek snorted. “Maybelle would’ve wrecked it.”
Callum’s expression cooled until it was positively glacial. “I’ve changed my mind.”
“Really?” Hope replaced the amusement in Derek’s voice. In his peripheral vision, he could see that the kids, now organized in semi-straight lines, had started their advance. Time was running out. He needed to escape—quickly. “I don’t have to do this?”
“Oh, no,” Callum said silkily, “youdohave to do this. But I’ve decided that this punishment isn’t sufficient. It ate. My. Truck.”
“But—”
A blond woman appeared at Callum’s side before Derek could say more. “Hi! Are you Callum Cook?”
Turning his head, Callum focused the full power of his arctic glare on the woman. If he hadn’t been so relieved not to be the target of that stare, Derek would’ve felt bad for her. Several uncomfortable seconds ticked past before Callum dipped his head, finally answering her question.
“Great! Fire Chief Early said I’d find you here.” Her grin was still as wide as ever, and Derek couldn’t help but be impressed. It had taken Derek years to build up the nerve to go toe-to-toe with Callum. “I’m Lou Sparks. I’d like to join the dive team, and the fire chief told me you’re the one I need to hook up with.” Her brown eyes widened as her smile finally began to falter. “Uh, not hook up with as in adirtyway or anything. I meant talk. Chief Early said I shouldtalkto you.”
Derek tilted his head, forcing his expression into severe lines as he clucked his tongue. “Don’t think you’re getting on this team that easy. Every one of us divers had to make it through the casting couch interview. There’s no shortcut to wearing the neoprene uniform.”
He’d been concentrating so hard on the woman that Derek didn’t see the hand swinging toward the back of his head until it was too late to duck.
“Ignore him,” Callum said, dropping his arm. “Do you have any dive experience?”
“Sure.” Although her smile started to return, Lou’s cheeks remained pink. “In tropical places, that is—I’ve never done any cold-water diving. Mainly because of the…um, coldness.” She gestured toward the icy reservoir behind them. “I’m guessing that’s different than diving in just scuba gear and a bikini.” She squeezed her eyes closed. “Frick. What is wrong with my mouth right now? I promise I’m not an oversexed bimbo. And now I just said ‘sex’ and ‘bimbo.’ Wow, what a great first impression I’m making. Please make me shut up immediately.”
As Callum blinked at her, looking bemused, Derek couldn’t hold back his laughter any longer.
“Lou,” he said, holding out a hand. “Welcome to the dive team. I’m Derek, and I can already tell that I’m going to like you.”
She grinned with obvious relief as she shook his hand.
“Meet me at Fire Station One at six thirty tomorrow evening for your official”—Callum shot Derek a scowl—“interview. Team training begins at seven.”
She nodded, looking nervous again.
Derek stage-whispered, “Interview-shminterview. You’re in. He’s just trying to play the hard-ass.” He glanced up and barely restrained a flinch. The kids had formed a half circle around them, eliminating any chance of escape.
