Before We Kiss (Fool's Gold #14)

“On my way. I can’t get ahold of Ryan. He’s flown out to an installation site and won’t be back for a couple of days.” Her voice was thick with tears. “The rabbits.”


“I know,” Dellina told her. “We’ll get there in time.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

SAM FOLLOWED DELLINA’S frantic instructions as they headed into town. She was pale and shaking. All he’d been able to get out of her was, “It’s the rabbits.” A sentence that didn’t make sense. What rabbits? He’d never seen rabbits in town.

The closer they got, the more traffic clogged the streets. Dellina tapped impatiently on her armrest, then shook her head. “I’m getting out.”

He barely had time to slow the car before she jumped out and started running along the sidewalk. He swore, then pulled into the first parking space he found and sprinted after her.

As he did, he was aware of dozens of people running in the same direction. He also noticed the smell of smoke in the air. Seconds later he heard sirens. All of which made sense. What didn’t was a handful of people walking in the opposite direction with what looked like piles of white fur in their arms. Then there were two guys with giant rabbit heads tucked under each arm.

Sam caught up with Dellina at the corner. He grabbed her arm. “What’s going on?”

Her eyes were wide, her expression frantic. “There’s a fire at the storage place that stores all the rabbit costumes.” He must have looked blank because she added, “Every Easter families dress up in them and there’s a parade. It’s a tradition.”

Tears filled her brown eyes. “I used to walk in the parade with my parents and my sisters. We can’t let anything happen to the costumes. Do you have any idea how many memories are in those costumes? They last for years. We have to hurry. We have to help!”

Then she took off again. Sam stood on the sidewalk as the street filled with people carrying costumes. Armfuls, including the heads and giant rabbit feet. It was strange and funny and maybe a little moving.

He saw a woman in her late forties staggering with a pile of costumes that nearly went over her head. He jogged toward her and took the costumes from her arms. She wiped away the tears trickling down her cheeks.

“Thank you,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. “The fire is under control, but the smoke could damage everything. If you could just carry those to the park.”

“Sure.”

He held the costumes easily as the woman went off to help someone else.

He followed the moving crowd and found himself in Pyrite Park by the lake. Several deputies were there along with city officials. Order had been restored and people were laying costumes out on the grass so they could air out.

Sam put his down where directed, then stepped back to study the odd site of a couple of hundred rabbit costumes lying on dark green grass on a summer afternoon. Several people were checking tags and matching large heads with bodies. Others were doing the same with the feet. The scene was both funny and slightly horrific. Like a shot from a movie.

Sam helped several more people with their piles of costumes. He spotted Dellina and walked over to her. She stood with her arms wrapped around her body, looking shell-shocked.

He wanted to tell her they were just costumes and could be replaced. But he knew they were much more than that. Somehow these ridiculous bits of fake fur and plastic had become important—a part of a tradition. So instead of speaking, he pulled her into his embrace and held her close.

She leaned against him, pressing her cheek to his shoulder.

“It’s so awful,” she whispered.

“They’re all safe now. After they air out, they’ll be fine.”

“I know. It could have been much worse, but still...”

He kissed her forehead, then led her back to his car. “You live in a really weird little town,” he told her.

She managed a laugh. “I do and I love it. One day you’ll love it, too.”

Not enough to rush into a burning building and rescue rabbit costumes, he thought. Although God knew, he’d been wrong before.

* * *

SAM GOT BACK to the office an hour later. He headed directly for the locker room where he always kept a change of clothes. After stripping out of the ones that smelled like smoke and singed fake fur, he grabbed a towel from the stack and headed for the showers.

Score had been remodeled to the partners’ exact specifications. The offices were large, the colors neutral and the locker room was a combination of pro-sports-team efficient and five-star-hotel fancy. The big showers were kept stocked with high-quality products, the water was extrahot and there was plenty of room for the guys to congregate if they wanted.

So it was no surprise to step out of his shower and find Kenny and Jack lounging on the benches by the lockers. Sam finished drying off and walked to his locker.

“There was a fire,” Kenny said conversationally. “We’ve been getting calls. There are rabbits in danger. What do you know about this? Should we be worried?”