The wife glanced at her husband. “I always thought sharing a house with firefighters would be safer. Who would have thought they’d be the—” Her husband quickly placed his hand over her mouth, then whispered something in her ear.
She stared at the Fierro brothers with her eyes growing wider, as if her husband had just told her they’d set off a bomb on purpose.
“I’m calling the landlord,” the male neighbor said.
“No need.” Dante dug his cell phone out of his pocket. “It was my fault. I’ll call him.”
The couple looked at him and Noah skeptically, then returned to their apartment without another word.
“Yeah, and I’m fine, by the way,” Dante muttered as soon as they were out of earshot. He got the landlord’s voicemail and left a message.
“Hey, Bro. Did the book make it out of there in one piece?” Noah asked.
Dante looked sheepish. “Maybe. I tossed it out the window.”
“You what?”
“It seemed the fastest way to save itandthe apartment at the same time. On my way to the fire extinguisher, I threw it out the broken window.”
Noah scrambled to the side where the window was and searched the adjacent narrow strip of grass. He spotted it in the hedge, pages open, a little damp, but not much more tattered than it had been when he’d brought it home.
“Whew.” He hugged the ancient text against his chest.
“Is saving that book really a good thing?” Dante asked as he joined him.
Noah looked like he didn’t know what to say. He probably knew the right answer was no but couldn’t give it to him.
Dante was worried. He thought about telling him to let it go, but that would be like telling Niagara Falls to stop falling. If his brother thought he had a good idea, he’d go back over it a million times, figuring out what had gone wrong. Eventually, he’d try again.
He knew what Noah would get out of it if they succeeded. A chance to impress Kizzy. He suspected his brother was worried about living up to the reputation of medical professionals the young doctor rubbed elbows with on a daily basis. Being a firefighter was nice and all, but it wouldn’t support a family in any costly Boston neighborhood—and that’s probably the style Kizzy was accustomed to.
* * *
Kizzy was hard at work, and it was one of those days when business was steady—not fits and starts. She was on her way to give a patient discharge instructions when her phone rang.
She peeked at the number and was surprised to see it was Noah. Maybe her sister was wrong. Perhaps he understood “not now” meant “probably later.” She hoped so. She diverted her course and found a quiet corner as she answered it.
“Noah?”
“Hi, Kizzy. I just wanted to ask you one thing, then I’ll leave you alone.”
“Leave? No need to do that. Please ask your question.”Maybe he did misunderstand.
“I was hoping you were sincerely busy and not just blowing me off. If it’s the first one, I’ll keep calling until we settle on a date. If not, I’ll slink away sucking my thumb, but I won’t call again.”
She laughed. “Thumb-sucking isn’t good for your teeth—and please keep asking. I wasn’t blowing you off.”
“Good!”
He sounded surprised.
“Did you think I just gave you an excuse and wouldn’t want you to call again?”
“Kind of, yeah.”
“I’m glad you checked. My sister said you’d think that. I really didn’t mean it that way.”
He let out an audible exhale. “I’m glad I talked to my sister-in-law then. She said that checking would be the only way to know.”
