Page 22 of Inferno

Stan smiled weakly as the first graders showered him and Jake with a boisterous round of applause.

Afterward, as most of the kids flocked to Sparky to cop a feel of his costume, Miss Dominguez approached Stan. She was a pretty young thing who looked barely old enough to drive, let alone be a schoolteacher.

“Thanks again for coming today, Mr. Wolf,” she gushed. “You werewonderfulwith the children. You had them hanging on to your every word.”

Until the end when I froze like a deer in headlights, Stan thought grimly. “Thanks for inviting me,” he told Miss Dominguez. “I’m glad the kids enjoyed the presentation.”

“Enjoyed it?Are you kidding? This is all they’re going to talk about for the rest of the school year!”

Stan smiled absently, watching as Jake crouched down so that the children could play with his—Sparky’s—floppy ears.

“Maybe you could come back for Career Week,” Miss Dominguez suggested hopefully as she tucked her long, dark hair behind one ear. “I know my class wouldloveto have you again.”

Stan chuckled. “Thanks for the invitation, but I’d better pass. I don’t want the other parents to accuse me of hogging up the limelight.”

Miss Dominguez laughed, wagging her head at him. “Now I see where Mason gets his sense of humor.”

“Uh-oh.Don’t tell me that boy’s been cutting up in class.”

“Oh, no.Not at all.Mason issucha delight, Mr. Wolf. He’s one of my smartest students, and he has a way of getting the other children to listen to him.” Miss Dominguez smiled warmly. “But I guess I should wait until next week’s parent–teacher conference to tell you how he’s doing.”

“That’s okay. I’m back on day shift all next week, so I won’t be able to make the meeting anyway. But my wife will fill me in.”

“Oh.” Miss Dominguez’s smile slipped a notch.“Right.Of course.”

Just then Mason ran over and threw his small arms around Stan’s waist. “You wereawesome, Daddy!”

Stan smiled indulgently. “Think so?”

“Yeah!”Mason beamed up at him. “Magnum and Maddox are gonna be jealous!”

Stan laughed, affectionately rubbing the back of his son’s head. “Speaking of your brothers, we need to pick them up from their classes,thenswing by the middle school to get Monty. So you need to gather your things so we can leave.”

Miss Dominguez glanced at the clock on the wall. “Goodness! Itisalmost time for the bell to ring.” With a brisk clap of her hands, she called out to the children, “Okay, class! Take out your planners and write down your homework assignments, then pack up and get ready for dismissal.”

As the kids raced back to their desks, Stan and Jake stepped into the hallway and closed the classroom door behind them. Jake wasted no time removing the humongous dog head.

“I couldn’twaitto do that,” he muttered, using one pawed hand to smooth his wavy blond hair. “This thing is scratchy and hot as hell.”

Stan chuckled sympathetically.

Jake was a rookie firefighter who’d had the misfortune of being around that morning when the guy who normally did the Sparky public appearances called in sick.

“Norris owes mebig time,” Jake grumbled.

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Stan teased, studying the row of childish drawings displayed along the wall. “You looked like you were enjoying yourself in there. You were a natural. Norris should be worried.”

Jake snorted out a laugh. “Believeme,I have no interest in replacing him as Sparky the Fire Dog. Whatdoesinterest me is Miss Dominguez. Why didn’t you tell me that your kid’s teacher is a total babe?”

Stan chuckled. “Maybe because she looks like she just graduated from high school.”

Jake grinned. “Well,I’mnot exactly Methuselah.”

Stan laughed. “That youaren’t,rookie.”

Sobering after another moment, Jake eyed Stan curiously. “So what happened to you in there?”

Stan automatically tensed. “What’re you talking about?”