Winter's Fire (Welcome to Covendale #7) Read Free

done it with. Twice. A complete stranger whose name she’d never know, the kind of man who never would’ve given her a second glance if he’d known her. “Look, this won’t take long,” she said at last, firmly changing the subject. “I mean, how much trouble could a small-town fire department possibly cause? It’s probably just a couple of misplaced numbers.”
    “Might be,” he said. “Just make sure you’re thorough, because you never know.”
    “I always am, Teddy.”
    “Yes, you’re very serious,” he said. “And that’s what worries me.”
    “That I’m good at my job?”
    “That you are your job,” he said with a sigh. “Look, Win. I know this is important to you—but make an old man happy and try to have a little fun. Enjoying yourself does not make you any less good at your job. All right?”
    She frowned. “I’ll try. But really, it looks like there isn’t much to do around here. Besides cow tipping.”
    “Is that really a thing?”
    “Apparently,” she said. “Sandy, or possibly Andrea, has assured me that the cows like it. Unless they’re bulls.”
    Teddy laughed. “Try not to tip any bulls, then,” he said. “I think they’re the ones with horns.”
    “Oh, it’s much easier to tell from the back.”
    He laughed harder, and she cracked a smile. “Let me know what you find out,” he said. “But take your time. In fact, maybe you should try out that Jacuzzi before you get to work.”
    “Hey. How did you know about the Jacuzzi?”
    “The fire marshal’s office is footing the bill. For that rate, they’d better have one,” he said. “Talk to you later, Win.”
    “All right. Bye, Teddy.”
    She disconnected, slid the phone in her pocket and went for her bag. There was no sense waiting—might as well get things started now, and maybe she could relax or whatever later. She had brought a book or two along.
    The file on the Covendale FD was surprisingly thick. Reports they’d received from the insurance company included allegations of inflated cost claims for accident cleanups and unbalanced spending compared to intake—in other words, they were bringing in far more money than they were using for business expenses.
    It was her job to find out where that money was going, and why.
    Winter placed the files in her briefcase and headed out, deliberately not thinking of ocean-blue eyes and incredible sex on the beach. She’d have to thank Teddy later for making her not think of that again.
     * * * *
    Adam knocked on the door of the chief’s office and waited for the familiar, gruff, “Yeah, what?” before he opened it.
    “You wanted to see me, Chief?”
    “Actually, I wanted to see Marilyn Monroe. But I’ll settle for you.” Chief Mike Smallwood waved him in without looking up from the paper in front of him. More stacks of papers and file folders littered his desk. The fire station had a computerized system, but the chief didn’t trust it—and besides, they were obligated to keep hard copies of records for insurance purposes. “Got your requisition here,” he said, giving the paper a tap. “Sit down.”
    Adam sighed as he dropped into the seat in front of the chief’s desk. He knew what was coming, but he’d still had to try. “Let me guess,” he said. “It’s not in the budget.”
    “Bingo.”
    “Chief, we’ve got to replace that ladder.”
    Mike finally looked at him. “You know we can’t.”
    “It’s flat-out dangerous,” Adam said. “We can’t keep fixing it—we need a new one. Hell, we should just replace Engine Two completely.” He leaned forward and pointed at the report he’d submitted. “Didn’t you read that? Luke almost fell two stories. He could’ve been hurt, or killed.”
    The chief snorted. “Luke Aldridge could fall off a sidewalk and kill himself. Why is he on the ladder? I thought you were putting Goddard up.”
    “You know I won’t do that.”
    “He’s a good firefighter.”
    “And a horrible person.” Ethan Goddard