Free Playing With Fire by Cathy McDavid

It's almost five thirty."
    "I stopped by Karyn's house."
    "You're kidding."
    "No, I'm not.” Joey pulled his lips back in a half-grin, half-grimace.
    "And spent the night with her?"
    He hung his head, then raised it, his expression chagrined. “Guess you and Lindsay aren't the only ones who have some explaining to do."
    Matt let out a long sigh. “Oh, shit."
    "That goes double for me,” Joey said and took another sip of coffee.

Chapter 5
    "Hey, you! Get outta there."
    The black and tan pup, head buried to his neck in the kitchen trash can and tail wagging ninety miles an hour, didn't pay the least bit of attention to Dennis Bigelow.
    Smart dog , Matt thought, not for the first time since the stray had taken to hanging around the fire station, mooching, or occasionally stealing, food scraps. From the looks of it, their visitor had found something interesting.
    "I said beat it!"
    Dennis kicked the pup in the haunches, hard enough to warn him off the trash can, but not harsh enough to injure him. With a high-pitched yelp, the pup flipped sideways, knocking the trash can over and strewing the contents across the floor.
    "Hey!” Matt stepped forward. “Was that really necessary?"
    "Damn it to hell!” Dennis stomped his foot hard, making a loud noise. Ears flat and tail low, the pup ran from the kitchen, through the common room and straight to Emilio Chavez's office, a candy bar wrapper stuck to his nose. “If everyone would stop feeding him, he'd go away."
    Matt chuckled. The little bugger had befriended the two people on their shift who could help him the most; the captain and Lindsay. As if hearing her name, she stormed into the kitchen, prepared to give Dennis a piece of her mind.
    "You didn't have to hurt him.” Fists planted on her hips and fury in her eyes, she sent Dennis a stare so chilly, Matt swore the room temperature dropped twenty degrees. “He's young, he's hungry, and he doesn't know any better."
    "He's a pain in the butt. And so are you.” Dennis held his hand out, level with his forehead. “I've had it up to here with the both of you. Him chewing everything in sight and you on a chronic PMS rampage."
    Difficult as it was, Matt kept quiet. He disliked the snide remark Dennis directed at Lindsay, but firefighters, by unspoken agreement, stayed out of personal disputes unless tempers escalated to the danger level. In some ways, they were like an extended family, and a certain amount of bickering was expected and tolerated. Neither Lindsay nor Dennis would appreciate Matt's interference, each for their own reasons.
    "Isn't that just like you, Bigelow,” Lindsay shot back. “When you can't come up with an intelligent remark, you resort to sexist insults."
    Dennis’ face turned a dark red. “I'm calling the pound right now and having that stupid mutt picked up today."
    "Nobody's calling the pound.” Emilio Chavez walked into the kitchen. The dog, sans candy wrapper, followed faithfully, his long, pink tongue lolling in a playful canine grin. “You're seasoned pros, both of you. Quit acting like a couple of booters.” He jerked his thumb at the toppled trash can. “Dennis, get this mess cleaned up. And Lindsay. You take care of the puddle the dog left in the hall by the utility closet.
    Bending to his task, Dennis grumbled under his breath. Lindsay ignored him, reaching across the sink and snagging several paper towels from the holder. She was halfway out the kitchen when Emilio stopped her.
    "I'll see you both in my office when you're through."
    The unspoken agreement to not interfere obviously didn't apply to captains.
    "Yes, sir,” they said in unison.
    Matt watched Lindsay go, the straight line of her back conveying her mood more effectively than words. He felt for her, for Dennis, too, imagining the scene in Emilio's office. Lindsay and Dennis had been at odds more than usual lately and the captain, Matt was sure, planned to end it.
    While he didn't always agree with Dennis, Matt did in this