"None at all."
Cole pushed Mrs. Noone's wheelchair out of the hospital. Mellisande said her good-byes to them and went down the street to catch a cable car to her own neighborhood. Lucius assisted Mrs. Noone into the buggy while Cole lifted the wheelchair into the back of the vehicle, then both men climbed to the driver's seat. Annabel had already gotten into the buggy and settled herself next to Mrs. Noone without waiting for Cole to give her a hand. She saw the glance he sent in her direction and instantly regretted that she hadn't given him the opportunity to be chivalrous. Next time she would try to remember to be more of a proper 1906 lady.
She caught herself and asked silently, Good grief, what am I thinking? Fitting in was one thing; submerging all of her pride and independence for the sake of a man was another. She wanted more than anything else in the world to have a relationship with Cole Brady, but he was going to have to take her at least partially on her own terms. That was the only way it was going to work.
Lucius piloted the buggy skillfully through the streets of San Francisco toward the house in Pacific Heights. It was late afternoon by now, and Annabel was tired from everything that had happened. At the same time, she was invigorated. She knew Cole had to be wondering what was going to happen next. That was fair enough, because she was wondering that herself.
One thing was certain: Now that their feelings were out in the open, things couldn't stay the same. What was between them would either grow and change—or it would come to nothing.
Annabel wasn't sure she could stand it if that happened.
Lucius drove the buggy through the open gate in the wrought-iron fence around Mrs. Noone's home and took it around back to the carriage shed. As they were all getting ' out of the vehicle, the rear door of the house opened and one of Mrs. Noone's boarders, a salesman named Davis, came hurrying toward them, an anxious expression on his narrow face.
"Mr. Brady!" he called. "Sir, are you Cole Brady?"
Cole stepped out of the dim interior of the shed and said, "I'm Cole Brady." Dusk was beginning to gather, causing shadows to spread.
"Lieutenant Driscoll from the fire department rang here on the telephone," Davis said. "He told me that he thought - you were on your way here. He gave me a message for you."
Annabel sensed Cole stiffening as she-stepped up beside him. Something was wrong, and they both knew it.
"Well, what is it?" Cole snapped.
"The lieutenant said to tell you that you're needed down on me waterfront There's another warehouse fire."
Annabel caught her breath and started to reach for Cole's arm. She wanted to ask him if he had to go. She stopped short, swallowing the question. Of course he had to go. It was his duty, and Cole could never turn his back when he was needed. Annabel was absolutely certain of that
She knew that because she was the same way.
She went ahead and touched his sleeve. "Cole. . . I can go with you."
"He turned and looked at her for a moment his face unreadable in. the twilight then he shook his head. "I'd just worry about you," he said. He bent and kissed her, a quick, hard kiss. "I'll see you later." He trotted away, heading around the house and toward the street. There was a cable car stop only a couple of blocks away.
Mrs. Noone rolled up beside Annabel. "Don't worry, dear. I'm sure Cole will be just fine. He's a very good fireman, you know."
"I know," Annabel said softly. But she was a good firefighter, too. She had proven that today, or at least started to prove it
Still, Cole was right: If she had insisted on going along with him, she would have been a distraction. He would have enough to handle without worrying about her. Having her around probably would have just made the situation more dangerous for Cole, because he would be trying to look after her instead of taking care of himself.
This certainly wasn't the way she had intended for the evening to end. Now that he was gone, she felt an emptiness inside her.
Annabel sighed, and Mrs. Noone said, "Come along inside, dear. There's nothing you can do now."
Annabel frowned slightly. She wasn't so sure there was nothing she could do . . .
****
Once again, Cole had feared that it was one of the warehouses belonging to Brady Enterprises that was ablaze. When he got to the waterfront, however, he found that the pumpers were pouring streams of water into a structure belonging to a man named Tobin. Cole knew him slightly and recognized him as the balding, bespectacled man talking worriedly to Chief Sullivan as they stood a block away from the fire.