Free Spark Of Desire by Christa Maurice Page B

clutched in her arms.
    “Can you tell me your name?” Jessica asked. She glanced toward the far end of the register. Tony had the phone to his ear and was speaking calmly.
    The old woman shook her head. She still struggled to draw shallow breaths through her mouth.
    “That’s all right. My name is Jessica. I’m one of the managers here. We have help on the way. Everything’s going to be just fine.” Jessica kept her voice level and calm. Eric hadn’t turned up yet, which was a good thing. She was panicked enough without his handwringing. Jessica adjusted her hold on the old woman, who had begun to slump against her. Where was Julie with that chair? “Are you here with anyone?”
    The old woman shook her head again.
    The chair appeared next to her.
    “Here we are. This should help.” Jessica eased the old woman into the chair. She didn’t seem to weigh more than a bundle of newspapers. Jessica glanced up and realized Kevin had brought the chair. Julie stood helplessly to one side, still carrying magazines in her arms like a security blanket. “I don’t think we need a crowd here, Julie,” Jessica said. “Why don’t you get back to work?”
    Julie blinked. Jessica almost expected her to say something snide, but then she turned and walked away.
    Jessica knelt beside the chair. “Is this better?”
    The woman nodded. She still had her mouth open, gulping shallow breaths, but her lips were returning to a more normal color. Her eyes didn’t seem as wild as they had a few minutes ago. She clutched her hands around her black patent leather purse.
    “Okay. We’ll just wait here until the professionals arrive.” Jessica patted the old woman’s hands. Her skin felt like tissue paper. The old woman smiled faintly at Jessica.
    “What’s going on?” Eric arrived with the peak of tension Jessica had anticipated. The old woman looked up at him, startled.
    “It’s under control.” Jessica noticed Mindi standing behind Eric. “She’s having a little trouble breathing. We’ve called 911.”
    “Is there anything else we can do? I mean, can we make you more comfortable, ma’am? Is there anything you need?” Eric jabbered.
    “Why don’t you go outside and look for the ambulance?” Jessica suggested.
    “Okay.” Eric sprinted for the door.
    “Mindi, can you make sure everybody’s where they belong? We don’t need an audience.”
    “Audience?” Mindi turned around and saw the three booksellers Jessica had noticed, wandering over to see what the excitement was all about. She set off to redirect them.
    A paramedic truck pulled up out front and the siren cut off. Jessica let herself be hustled to one side and ended up standing next to Kevin, watching the paramedics work. They only seemed to be there for a few minutes, collecting what information they could before they loaded her onto a gurney and into the rig.
    Eric stood staring after the rescue truck as it sped down the plaza to the exit, siren wailing. Jessica thought he might be shivering. He wasn’t good in a crisis. Kevin, however, had reacted better than her staff. Jamming her hands in her back pockets, she wondered what Kevin thought of how she’d handled the situation. Had she done a good job in his eyes, or did he think he had a lot of work ahead of him?
    After a moment, Eric turned around to Jessica and Kevin standing side by side behind him. He coughed. “Um, Jessica, can you write up the incident report?”
    Jessica looked at his face. Eric was pale and sweaty. She considered telling him to go lie down before he had a heart attack. The nearest paramedics were busy right now and wouldn’t be able to respond. “Sure,” she said instead. “I’ll have it to you by the end of the day.”
    “Thank you. You did a good job.” Eric hurried into the building.
    Jessica watched him go. He looked like he’d been saved from the guillotine. One of these days they were going to have a crisis at the store and he’d have to handle it himself. Imagine