Free Burning Up by Sami Lee Page B

years younger than you, but I reckon I’m about nine times smarter than you and Steve put together. The two of you ought to sit down and have a conversation.”
    Before Pam could press Rob on what he meant by that, a flash of yellow at the doorway to the science building caught her eye. It was a fireman’s jacket. A moment later, Steve emerged from the darkness carrying something in his hand. Pam’s heart soared with relief. He was fine. Thank God, he was fine.
    He caught sight of her as he approached. His easy steps faltered when his gaze flicked from her to Rob. The smile on his face disappeared to be replaced by a neutral expression that left an icy imprint on Pam’s heart. Clearly, he wasn’t as happy to see her as she was to see him.
    “Did you make some new friends in there, Waller?”
    “Yeah.” Steve lifted the thing he held in his hand and Pam finally looked at it properly. It was a guinea pig in a cage. “One of the teachers remembered George after they got out. The kids are tracking his growth as a science experiment. I went back to get him.”
    Pam stared at Steve as he took off his glove and poked his finger through the cage for George to sniff. Her words were measured, careful. “You went back into a burning building to save a rodent?”
    Steve arched a brow at her tone. “Don’t call him a rodent. He’s a guinea pig, from a long line of pedigreed guinea pigs, I’m sure. Besides, the fire’s long out and it wasn’t much of one anyway.”
    “It wasn’t much of a fire? Next time we’ll make sure we get a real blaze happening for you, shall we? Wouldn’t want you to have a dull day on the job.”
    Steve stared at her for a drawn-out moment. Then he sent a perplexed glance Rob’s way. “What’s up with her?”
    Rob smirked. “She was worried about you.”
    “I was not,” Pam denied. “There was nothing to worry about, apparently. Except maybe George.”
    “Pam.”
    Ignoring Steve’s voice, ignoring the softness in it that she must surely be imagining, Pam spun on her heel and stalked away before she embarrassed herself further. She’d been wringing her hands, concerned about Steve Waller’s welfare when there’d been nothing to worry about. She’d been dying to see him but he’d barely looked at her. He was having a more meaningful relationship with a guinea pig than he ever intended to have with her. She felt ridiculous. She felt completely transparent.
    “Sweetheart, wait.”
    Steve’s voice was close behind her, so close Pam had to speed up to keep ahead of him as she stalked across the soccer field. “Don’t call me that. And don’t follow me.”
    “I need to talk to you.”
    “Aren’t you on the clock? The taxpayers are paying your wages, Waller. Better get back to it.”
    “Damn it, Pam.” Steve grasped her by the arm, halting her forward progress. He spun her around so she faced him. His eyes glittered with frustration. “I want to know if what Rob said was true. Were you worried about me?”
    “Why is it so important for you to know that?”
    “Because I didn’t think you gave a shit what happened to me, and if I’ve got that wrong I have to know. Then I won’t feel like such a dick for being worried about you.”
    “Me? I didn’t go into a smoke-filled building to save a hamster—”
    “Guinea pig.”
    “Alone, mind you,” Pam went on, ignoring Steve’s correction. “You went in alone. Is that normal procedure? Because if it is, your job is stupid. You’re the one with the stupid, dangerous job. Why would you be worried about me?”
    “Because I was called to a fire at the place where I know you work. Do you have any idea how crazy I was going on the way over here? Not knowing if you were caught in one of those rooms?” Steve roared. “I was out of my mind!”
    “I teach English, not science, knucklehead!”
    The muscles along his jaw tensed. He’d taken off his helmet before coming after her, and his hair stood on end, poking out in all