Free OPERATION: DATE ESCAPE by Lindsey Brookes

tree.”
    “Tell me about it.”
    He looked toward the building.  “What’s she doing up in that tree anyway?”
    Joe shrugged.  “I’ve seen stranger.”
    True.
    Cole glanced out the ladder truck’s freshly washed window and caught sight of a tall, slender woman standing in the shadows cast by a large oak tree.
    “Maybe it’s a publicity stunt for the new strip club,” Stubby said over the headset from the back seat of the vehicle.
    “Strip club?” Joe repeated.
    “Not that I’ve been in it,” Stubby said in his own defense.  “I’ve just heard rumors that’s what this place is now.”
    “ If so, a publicity stunt to draw in business wouldn’t surprise me a bit,” Cole replied.  “Only one way to find out.”  He reached for the passenger door handle.
    The three of them exited the Ladder truck, while the rest of their unit did the same, all making their way over to the woman waiting in the shadows.
    “Hurry,” she called out, waving them over.  “My friend’s over here.”
    That voice.  There was something very familiar about it.  Too familiar. 
    Cole stepped around Joe and groaned.  Sure enough, it was Nanci with an ‘i’, Kelsie’s friend from the bar and grill.  He didn’t even have to look up to know who the woman was in the tree above him.
    “Cole,” Nanci chirped, sounding a lot les s frantic than she had when she’d been flagging them over.  “I’m so glad you’re on duty.”
    “Must be your lucky night,” he replied.
    “Not hers,” she said.  Looking up into the tree, Nanci cupped her hands to her mouth and called out.  “Kelsie, your knight in shining armor’s here.”
    There was a muffled groan above him.
    His gaze moved slowly upward and stopped.  Sure enough, even in the settling darkness, there was no missing th e flame-colored hair catching in the evening breeze.  A grin tugged at the corners of his mouth.
    “Kelsie?”
    After a very long pause, she finally replied in a defeated sigh, “Yeah.”
    She didn’t appear to be injured.  Despite knowing that, he couldn’t keep the concern from his voice.  “Are you alright?”
    “Just perfect.”
    The sarcasm in her tone calmed him enough to have him fighting a grin.  “Great.  Let’s see what we can do about getting you down.”
    Joe craned his neck to look up.  “So that’s your Little Cupcake, huh?”
    Nanci brought a hand to her mouth, muffling her laughter, clearly amused by Cole’s soon-to-be ex-best friend . 
    Snickers and snorts erupted from the rest of his crew.  Thanks to that big mouth from Station 24, they all knew this was the woman he’d been kissing in the emergency room.
    Cole turned to them, one lone dark brow raised in warning. “Not one word.  In case you’ve all forgotten, we’ve got a job to do.”  Hell, someone had to maintain a level of professionalism at this call.
    The Lieutenant clasped a firm hand on Cole’s shoulder and said with a grin, “She’s all yours, oh, knight in shining armor.”
    And to think he’d given up Joe’s chili, hot off the stove, for this.  He stepped closer to the tree and called out to Kelsie again.
    “Yeah?”
    “Just hold on.”
    “You can count on it.”
    Sort of like how he could count on her being in some sort of predicament every time they crossed paths.  People began to gather around to see what all the excitement was about. 
    T o make matters worse, a news truck pulled up behind the parked emergency vehicles.
    Damn.
    “Clear the area,” he instructed his unit, then turned his attention back to Kelsie.  “Can you climb down?” he asked, experience prompting the question.
    Some people had a tendency to panic at the thought of being brought down by someone else and end ed up coming down on their own.
    The leaves on the branch Kelsie clung to shuddered as she shifted to peer down at him from over the branch.  The look she gave him was nothing short of glaring.  “If I could, would I be hanging here in complete