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.The cook’s injuries weren’t life threatening and might not even put him in the burn unit.A quick trip to the emergency room and some medicated ointment and antibiotics would heal him.But Mason made the mistake of looking into Nash’s face.The tough ex-Navy vet’s eyes glittered, and he gritted his teeth.Pain radiated from him in waves strong enough to hook onto the power inside Mason and draw on it like a snagged marlin.It rose from the depths, inexorably reeled in by Nash’s need.“Christ,” Mason muttered and smoothed his hands over Nash’s burns.He let down the shield and allowed the energy that came roiling up through him.“What…?” Nash gasped.“Uh, I don’t think it’s all that bad.” Mason took his hands away and smooth, unblemished skin covered Nash’s chest and bulging stomach, hairless as a baby’s, but not scorched.“Looks like… Yeah, I think you got lucky.Your shirt caught most of the flak.That’s one undershirt you’re not going to be able to salvage, my friend.”Mason grasped Nash’s hand briefly, and when he let go, the redness and rising blisters were gone.A wave of dizziness swept through him.He needed to sit.It seemed even a little healing zapped his strength more quickly than it used to.Maybe the juice was running out, and maybe his time was running out along with it.Mason braced a hand against the counter to hold himself steady.“Oh, my God, Nash.Are you all right?” Ava shouted over the fire alarm’s frantic bleating as she hurried past Mason to examine the cook’s injuries.Mason shook off his light-headedness and went to the stove to make sure the grease fire was really out.A glance under the baking sheet revealed nasty-smelling black oil but no more flames.“I saw your shirt on fire, but you’re not burned at all.How is this possible?” Ava said.“I don’t know,” Nash mumbled.“We should clear out of here until after the fire department comes.The flames could flare up again,” Mason interrupted to distract them from Nash’s miraculously healing skin.“Come on.”He ushered Nash and Ava before him, out of the kitchen and through the front door.Customers milled around on the pavement in front of the diner.Fran was on her cell phone, talking loudly, maybe telling Deb that her restaurant had caught fire.“I called 911,” one of the customers volunteered.“Fire crew from Brag’s Hollow is on its way.”“That’ll take half an hour! We need a unit of our own,” someone else said.“Steve Anderson’s shed burned to the ground last month because there’s no one closer to call.”“The fire’s out,” Mason informed them.“If you left any of your things inside, it’s probably safe to collect them before you leave.”“Don’t worry about your bill.Breakfast is on us,” Ava said.“And sorry about the scare.”The regulars seemed in no hurry to clear out.They stood and chatted long enough to witness the arrival of the fire truck.As the men in uniform checked out the building, people continued to gawk and postpone starting their day.During the wait, Nash recounted several times how the grease fire had started and Mason had come to his rescue.Mason downplayed his role, swearing Nash hadn’t been on the verge of being incinerated.But the charred rag of an undershirt which the cook held on to suggested a different story.Ava helped fan curiosity with her insistence about what she’d witnessed.“I was behind the counter and saw Nash through the delivery window.He was clearly burning, but look at him.Not a mark.It’s weird.”“A miracle,” a woman with hair as big as the state of Kentucky said.“God was watching out for you, Mr.Pope.You need to get on your knees and thank Jesus.”“I’m thanking him in my heart,” Nash promised her.“But you know I’m not much of a churchgoer.”“Maybe you should start,” she answered dryly.Great.More talk of miracles.Mason had hoped he’d left that behind along with Doug Croyden’s revival show.He moved to the edge of the crowd and kept silent, hoping discussion of the cook’s lack of injuries wouldn’t point back to him.So far, Nash hadn’t mentioned anything about Mason laying hands on him.He’d been so shaken by the close call, with any luck he wouldn’t put two and two together.But Ava wasn’t as traumatized, and after a while, she sought out Mason and began to question him.“You were right beside Nash.Did you notice anything strange? I mean, his shirt was in flames, and he was beating at it with his hands.At the very least, he should have burns on his hands.”Mason shrugged.“I’ve seen stranger things.He must have smothered the fire soon enough.”“I guess.But it is weird, don’t you think?”Before he was forced to answer, the fire crew emerged from the diner to give the all clear, and the customers started to file back inside.At the same time, the Cozy Café’s owner arrived at last [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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