Free Blind Love by SUE FINEMAN

roof looks like clay tiles. That wouldn’t burn, but the timbers holding up the roof would. If they had gardens or orchards, they would have been lost in a fire.”
    He glanced at her and back at the road, if you could call this rocky path a road. “Is that why the road goes all the way around the hill at your place?”
    “My great-grandfather had a switchback drive, but my grandfather put it all the way around the hill to use as a fire break. My father had sprinklers installed on both sides of the drive, and at the first sign of fire, they get turned on. There’s a pump on the well that puts out enough water pressure to fight nearly anything. It wouldn’t stop a major forest fire, but it’s better than nothing.”
    Tony blew out a breath of relief when he pulled back onto the paved road. “We need to find the nearest town.”
    “Why?”
    “To see a mechanic and make sure we didn’t damage your car. And I want to report what we found to the authorities, so Nick doesn’t get blamed.”
    “You can tell them how to get there, because I’m completely turned around. It looks like the sun is setting on the wrong side, and don’t ask me which way is home.”
    Tony chuckled, but he had more serious problems. The engine was starting to smoke, and it felt like they had a soft tire. He pulled into the first gas station he saw.
    The mechanic had gone home for the day, so Tony made temporary repairs and hoped it was enough to get them home.
    While Tony washed the grease off him, Catherine called 911 and offered to meet an officer somewhere convenient, anywhere but the gas station. The cops would need to see Tony’s map, but she didn’t want to hang around this grease pit for one minute longer than absolutely necessary. The lecherous old man behind the counter smiled at her like she was a giant lollipop and he wanted a lick. Tony had been too busy to notice.
    The operator put her on hold, and when she came back, she said an officer would meet them at a nearby diner. It wouldn’t be the romantic dinner Catherine had envisioned, but Tony had grease on his clothes, so they couldn’t go anywhere nice. She couldn’t believe he’d fixed her car himself instead of having it towed. He had talents she hadn’t even imagined.
    She was lost in thoughts of Tony’s other talents when he asked, “Did you make the call?”
    She nodded. “We’re supposed to meet someone at Dinah’s Diner , about six miles down the road. She said to drive south and it’ll be on the right.”
    He leaned down close and his warm breath tickled her neck. “Which way is south?”
    “You’re asking me ?”
    He was still laughing when he drove down the road. “Princess, I’m going to miss you. I hope Cara invited you to her birthday party.”
    “Yes, she did.”
    He lifted her hand to his lips. Tingles ran up her arm and down through her body, settling in a pool of moist heat below her belly. What she wouldn’t give for a night alone with him.
    If she slept with him, it could ruin the show, and if she put him on the show, he’d find another woman. She must have been out of her mind to get herself in this predicament, but it was too late to back out now. Henry had already shown Tony’s pictures to the sponsors. If she pulled Tony off the show now, it would put Henry in an awkward position, and his production company might not survive. She couldn’t do that to Henry.
    After Tony talked with the officer who was waiting at Dinah’s Diner , they ordered dinner. Catherine picked at her food, while Tony ate everything in sight. He glanced at her plate. “Not hungry?”
    She shrugged.
    “Worried about your father?”
    She looked up at him, her green eyes filled with sadness. “Wondering what I’m going to do without you.”
    He’d been wondering the same thing about her. “You could come back with me. I’ll build the gazebo while you check out the house for your show.”
    “I can’t go anywhere until I get my father settled at home, and I’ll