Come Gentle the Dawn Read Online Free PDF

find out logic and fantasy do mix.”
    Brie shot him a withering look meant to deflate his ego. “Now who’s being illogical?”
    Linc was about to answer when he caught Saxon out of the corner of his eye. The chief sat down and directed his conversation to Brie.
    “Looks like McPeak has a good one going down near Dayton.”
    Brie was relieved to get back to what she knew best: haz-mat. In that area, she felt safe and secure. Or she had before the explosion. Still, it was an escape from Linc Tanner’s challenging blue gaze and the dangerous parrying with him. “Oh?”
    “Yeah, train derailment. Seems a couple of tank cars carrying some nasty chemical combinations have overturned and are burning. Jim’s having to call in quite a few of the surrounding fire departments to help coordinate a mass evacuation near Englewood where it occurred.”
    “Sounds pretty serious. Any loss of life?”
    Saxon blotted his forehead with his handkerchief. “None so far, thank God.”
    Brie gave Tanner a glance. “Well, there goes the rest of my day off.”
    “What do you mean?” Linc asked.
    She patted the beeper that was hanging from her right pocket. “When McPeak gets a bad haz-mat incident, we get one, too. Don’t ask me why. It just seems to happen that way.”
    “Better not,” Saxon said gruffly, handing the check and some bills to the waitress.
    “Why?” Linc wanted to know.
    Brie rose and slipped the strap of the purse across her shoulder. “Because Jeff’s over in Pennsylvania visiting his folks until Sunday afternoon. That would leave just me to handle the call. Chief Saxon believes in two heads being better than one in handling a haz-mat incident, and I agree.” She held up crossed fingers. “Chief, let’shope McPeak’s curse doesn’t land on us like the bluebird of happiness.”
    Saxon grinned, putting his hand on her shoulder. “Is that like cows flying, Brie?”
    Her laugh was full. “One and the same, Chief. Thanks for lunch. I’ll get Mr. Tanner’s gear, and we’ll head for Canton.”
    They emerged from the restaurant and found the sunlight blinding and the bright blue Ohio sky sporting a few puffy clouds. Linc followed a bit behind Brie, openly admiring her. She was built more like a cat than a gazelle, he decided. There was definitely a feline grace to her walk and a nice, easy movement to her swaying hips. Maybe this assignment wasn’t going to be as horrendous as he had first thought. Despite her defensiveness, Brie had a decent sense of humor. And she looked like an ingenue of twenty-three, not twenty-nine.
    “Well, here’s your home away from home, Tanner.” Brie stopped and gestured to the large white van sporting huge red letters on each side that said: Fire Marshal’s Office, Hazardous Material Team. “This van is affectionately called the white whale because it looks like one.” She looked up at his serious face.
    “Any relation to Moby Dick?”
    She smiled. “I hope not. We don’t need haz-mat trucks gobbling up people. Is your gear at the Fire Academy?”
    “Yeah. With my car in for repair, the chief let me put my suitcases at the dormitory.”
    Brie unlocked the passenger side door and opened it for him. She saw him grin. “Chauvinism is dead, Tanner. You might as well get used to it.”
    He chuckled indulgently. “If you say so, Ms. Williams.”
    Brie ignored his irreverent humor and climbed into the driver’s seat. She put on the safety belt and started up the van, all the while noticing that Tanner was looking over the various supplies inside. She headed out of the parking lot.
    “Impressive,” he murmured, gesturing toward the rear. “Air packs, holding drums for toxic waste, gas suits. I can see no expense was spared to put this baby together.”
    “When you realize Ohio is number two in the nation for toxic spills, you know why, Tanner. Chief Saxon single-handedly created the concept of splitting the state up into four quadrants, manning each one with a truck and