The Book of Daniel by Z. A. Maxfield Read Free Book Online Page B

beneath a day or two of golden stubble. “It’s a special day for her. Spot is the firehouse mascot and an elementary school is coming in to visit and take pictures with us.”
    She certainly was spotted. She looked like a tiny leopard. Cam gathered her up and held her between the palms of his enormous hands. Her triangular face reminded me in some absurd way of Muse.
    “But she’s a cat.”
    “Spot is not just any cat. She’s an ocicat. They’re an especially outgoing, friendly breed, and they like interacting with humans. They’re highly intelligent and”—at this, he whispered so she wouldn’t hear him—“doglike in temperament. I rescued her when she was a kitten. And…you know. She likes dog stuff. I don’t want to treat her like an ordinary cat or anything when she clearly wants to be a—”
    “So she thinks she’s a dog?”
    Even though he didn’t look up at me, I saw his lips twitch at that. He covered her ears. “Shh. She’ll hear you.”
    Since I’d seen her on a leash prancing proudly along in perfect heel, no. I did not want ruin things for her. Delusional cats were outside my area of expertise.
    “Are you all right?” I asked.
    He brought Spot to his face and rubbed his chin along her fur. “The fourth boy, the one JT transported, died early this morning.”
    “ Shit .” I put my hand on his arm, but he pulled it back. Today he didn’t want my comfort.
    “It’s the job.” He turned as though he was planning to walk back into the station, but I called out to him.
    “JT’s taking it hard, isn’t he?’
    Cam turned back. “We’re all taking it hard.”
    “Is… Do you suppose there’s something I can do for the families? Is there a fund, or—”
    Cam’s irritation plainly showed on his face. “JT is right about you. You can’t help yourself. You just have to respond to everything by offering cash, like money is a panacea—”
    “Wait just a damn minute.” I stepped toward him. I had to look up a good six inches—which seemed crazy because I’m not a small man at all—but I was willing to go toe-to-toe over this. “I don’t know these people. I’ve lived here like…two minutes. But I do know how crippling funeral expenses can be, and I also know that grief has got to be ten times worse when you’re scrambling for money to give your child a decent burial. I know it means something when you realize your neighbors care, even if the only way they can show it is with their filthy money .”
    Cam unhooked Spot’s leash and said “ Truck ,” and damned if that little slip of skin and bones and spotted fur didn’t rush to the fire engine and climb till she was perched on the top, looking down at us like a vulture.
    “I’m sorry I said that, Daniel.”
    There it was again, that thrilling little rasp, that purr when he said my name. It went straight to my cock. Did he fucking do that on purpose?
    I tried to tamp down my attraction to him, at least enough so it didn’t show on my face while I vented my irritation. “I worked two jobs all through college and graduate school and even then, I had a hundred thousand dollars’ worth of student loans to pay off after I got my MBA.” Why did I need to defend myself? It was probably about Bree—about how it hadn’t taken me long to realize money was all she thought I had to offer. Maybe that’s why it stung. For the first time in a long time, I’d actually tried to offer friendship, compassion, companionship, and Cam had rejected it. “Money is everything when you don’t have any. There are plenty of people who believe I have nothing more to offer than that.”
    His head shot up, and his gaze was fierce. Angry . “I’m not one of them. And maybe other people will take a hint when you stop leading with your wallet.”
    He took off, and I didn’t pursue him, because…maybe he was right.
    * * *
    At three that afternoon I got caught daydreaming by Alvin Benchley, one of my business partners at Livingston Properties, my