The Playboy Firefighter's Proposal

Forbes Emily

Sarah Richardson was in control.

Sarah Richardson was not looking for a relationship. Or casual sex. Or anything that involved taking her clothes off, for that matter.

Which, she told herself as she followed the others down the stairs to gather in the aisle with Ned, was exactly why it was about time she had a store of knee-weakening, butterfly-inducing images to keep her company.

Men were not an option.

The group came together, forming a cluster along the balcony railing, awaiting the imminent swarm of emergency crews.

Of all the group, only one held Ned’s personal interest.

Sarah.

He watched her as she made her way to where he stood. She had a determined expression in her grey eyes, eyes that gave her petite features a gravity and depth that was intriguing. He was finding out that he liked intriguing. Very much.

In the numerous hours this team had spent together over the last weeks, he’d got a handle on most of the group, with the notable exception of Dr Sarah Richardson, who was still proving a bit of a mystery. She commanded respect and had been on top of her game in the hours of meetings, despite the fact she was relatively new to CBR work. On those few occasions when they’d gone for a drink at the end of the day or taken a coffee-break, he’d liked her tendency to sit back and observe, then add a droll remark that neatly summed up the matter under discussion or had him in stitches. Hers was an intellect quietly on show but not paraded to make others feel inferior.

Considerate, respectful of others’ views. There were plenty of words he’d come up with to describe her. And yet he was still grappling with a very real sense of knowing nothing about her, a sense she was holding back something of herself. She was definitely more reserved than the rest, and several times he’d sensed she’d started to let her guard down but the next time they’d met the barriers would be up again. She seemed almost wary of him. Who knew why that was? But he had a feeling that if he could discover her secret it would be worth the effort.

Sarah came quietly to his side, the group now complete. What would she do if she knew he was interested? Most women made their attraction to him quite obvious, yet Sarah seemed immune to him. The thrill of the unknown coursed through him. Combined with the challenges of today, the feeling of being on the brink of uncharted territory was heady stuff.

Suppressing a secret half-grin, he crouched to pick up the whiteboard at his feet, straightening as the leading fire appliance pulled up and the firefighters emerged from the cabin, wearing full protective gear, ready to deal with this emergency. His team. The knowledge sent yet another rush of excitement flooding through his veins.

He glanced at the whiteboard on which he’d written the duties and responsibilities of the first responders so each task could be checked off and comments added as the observing team thought of them.

The police and paramedics arrived hot on the heels of the fire department. Ned turned to Lucas and Angie, the police and ambulance liaison officers, who were standing on his right, and angled his whiteboard so everyone could see the list as he read out the next item and they each concentrated on checking off their team’s roles. Conversation had stopped when the fire crews had appeared, their white-suited bulk intimidating even to this group of experts.

‘Isolate the incident and secure perimeter,’ said Ned, quoting from the whiteboard the procedure he knew by heart.

‘Easier said than done,’ Lucas commented. ‘Now I can actually see it, it’s almost impossible for my people to secure the area.’ The injured commuters were actors, hired for the day to play specific roles—walking wounded, unconscious, seriously injured, unharmed and dead—and they were all giving award-winning performances.

‘Securing the area was always going to be a challenge,’ Ned replied. ‘An open arena like this is the hardest to contain. That’s what makes it the perfect test scenario. And as for the actors, it’s probably a career highlight for most of them. No surprise they’re playing it to the hilt but they seem to be following directions.’

‘I imagine that’s proving hard,’ said Sarah, and Ned

found himself giving her his full attention, much more so than to Lucas, ‘for those actors told to be mortally wounded and lie still. Can you imagine lying motionless while everyone around you is getting their big break, running amok, covered in fake blood and screaming?’

Ned laughed. ‘You think we might have real need for the medicos when the bad blood spills? Hope you’re ready for action.’ She had no idea how much he hoped she was ready for some action.

He turned his attention back to the racecourse, adjusting his earpiece to listen in on the fire department’s frequency. Each of the exercise-writing team observing had an earpiece to listen to their own team’s conversations without interfering with each other. The others in the group peeled off nearby to discuss and watch, leaving Ned pleased with how things had worked out: he had Sarah to himself, for the next little while at least.

‘Ned, I’ve never seen a simulation like this and I’ll never get to see this stage if there’s a real situation,’ Sarah said. ‘Medicos wouldn’t be on the scene yet. Can you explain what everyone’s doing, if it won’t interrupt your assessment?’

Things were getting better and better. Now she was seeking out his time, thinking it might be an inconvenience when it was nothing but a pleasure.

‘Sure. And as for finding it hard to make sense of it down there, remember none of us has organised something on this scale before. This is a first for Adelaide and it’s a lot easier to follow on paper. I was part of simulations in my CBR training in Canada last year but never from this angle. I was in the thick of the action. Today is just as much about giving this team…’ he indicated their group ‘…training in overall management as it is about getting the specialists down there ready…’ he nodded at the racecourse ‘…if there’s ever such an event.’ Ned located his IC as he spoke. ‘You see Tony down there?’ He pointed to where a man was standing about ten feet east of the bus. ‘He’s the acting incident controller. He’s doing my job today. First, he’s trying to establish control, making sure everyone is doing what he’s asked them to or knows their role. He’s got to know what’s going on at all times. He’ll get the “warm zone” set up around him, sealing off the bus and the terminal. You’d deal with him once you arrived at the scene, as you know.’

She nodded, totally absorbed in the scene below them and his descriptions. If he moved just a few inches to his right, they’d be touching. The thought was delicious.

‘Triage happens inside the “warm zone” before victims are moved through into the “cold zone” for treatment, evacuation or assembly,’ she quoted from the procedure they knew so well, presumably oblivious to the effect she was having on him. ‘How do you think the police are managing with making sure people don’t leave the scene?’