Up in Flames (Firehouse Three Book 1)

by Sidney Bristol

  Well, tonight, Everly couldn’t turn down the money. Not when Jesse was going to bid, fair and square.

  The bachelors cleared the stage, then one by one returned, strutting the width of the space, showing off their abs, their arms and of course the adorable dogs on parade.

  Jesse bid a time or two, but her attempts weren’t even half-hearted.

  She’d already fallen in love with the rambunctious pup in Hunter’s arms. The question was, how to get him and run? The dog, that was.

  Ho-boy.

  Her brothers would flip if they saw her with someone like Hunter. Granted, her brothers were rather rough around the edges, they didn’t have room to judge. It was the tattoos they couldn’t abide. Something about stuff dad had said when he was alive that they held to like scripture.

  Hunter and Sirius took the stage and Jesse’s stomach did a little flip.

  Everly had hit the nail on the head with that one. Sirius would make an amazing scent dog, and what with his already established—wait!

  The bids had started rolling in and here she was daydreaming about getting the dog into her kennel.

  Jesse threw up her hand, undeterred by the steadily increasing prices. She’d been waiting for this day, biding her time and saving up her pennies to do some good for Everly, and she meant to spend every bit of it tonight.

  “One thousand,” a woman on the other side of the stage called out.

  Oh—hell no.

  Jesse cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, “Thirteen hundred!”

  True, the winner didn’t actually get the animals. It was the principle of the matter. Sirius was as good as her dog. And she would get him tonight. Jesse wasn’t too clear what the purpose was for the whole bidding on the bachelors, as she’d been far too busy ogling hard pecs up there, but Jesse had a competitive streak ten miles wide. Her brothers had made sure to teach her that if she wanted something, she had to fight for it. And Jesse fought dirty.

  “Fourteen hundred,” the woman yelled.

  Was it Jesse’s imagination, or did Hunter seem a little nervous?

  Fuck it.

  “Two thousand!” Jesse tossed a glare in the direction of the other woman.

  A few people whooped and hollered.

  Va-va-voom urged someone to go higher, but as of yet none of the bachelors had gone for over sixteen hundred.

  Yeah, Everly was going to drown her with butter cream frosting, but it would be so worth it to write that check. Jesse was proud of what her friend had accomplished, and now she could pitch in with solid bucks that Everly couldn’t turn down.

  “Sold!” the bedazzled auctioneer yelled.

  A few people closest to Jesse congratulated her. For what—she was still a bit lost on, but whatever.

  She’d won. In more ways than one.

  Now the trick was to write the check before Everly intercepted her. As best friends, Everly would claim she couldn’t accept the money, blahblahblah, insert something about not taking advantage, and some other bullshit excuse she’d said a dozen times. Jesse understood the drive to stand on her own two feet. It was why at eighteen she’d taken off for Odessa, Texas to make her mark and get her internship over with—so she could prove to her brothers that she deserved to be as much a part of the family business as they were. But along the way, it was important to accept help when it was offered. Everly had an issue with that one.

  The volunteer manning the main booth at the entrance stared at Jesse with wide eyes.

  “Charlie, right?” Jesse whipped out her phone.

  Charlie nodded. She was a pretty girl, maybe a few years younger than Jesse, though she wasn’t a great judge of age.

  “If I write you a check Everly isn’t going to deposit it, so I’m going to PayPal the money, okay? And if you hear her say a single word about sending it back—tell me? I’ll…sit on her or something.”

  “Are you—did you really just…” Charlie blinked at her a few times.

  “What? Pay two thousand dollars for a rescue dog? Yup.” Jesse grinned and tapped out the transfer. She scrawled the transaction ID on a piece of paper.

  “You’re way too generous, Jesse. You know Everly’s going to have kittens over this.” Charlie pressed the piece of paper to her chest. The woman’s gaze kept jumping over Jesse’s shoulder.

  “Probably, but we both know she can do a lot of good with that money.” She turned around and peered into the crowd. A few of the firemen were back out, milling around. “Everything okay?”

  “Yes, sorry.” Charlie shook her head. “It’s a lot to take in.

  “You’re telling me. Everly did not warn me about this.”

  “I don’t think any of us were prepared.”

  “Well, it’s awesome.” She rapped her knuckles on the counter. “Keep that transaction ID away from Everly!”

  “I will!”

  “Oh—and did Everly invite you to—”

  “Yes, that was very kind of you to think of me.”

  “Cool.” Jesse grinned.

  She didn’t know Charlie well, but Everly liked her and they all preferred animals to humans, so it only seemed natural they’d become friends. It’d been Everly’s idea to invite Charlie out to Jesse’s for a girl’s night and show her the training set-up.

  Now all Jesse had to do was…find her dog. Well, Sirius wasn’t technically hers until they did the paperwork, but Everly had already said she wasn’t putting Sirius on the website or even listing him as adoptable until after Jesse had taken him for a spin.

  “I guess we made quite an impression.”

  That dark, sinful voice made Jesse’s stomach flip-flop and try to crawl up into her rib cage. She swallowed and turned to face Hunter, who still had that predatory glint in his eye. It was worse now, sharper and more focused—on her.

  “Hey.” She bent forward, focusing on Sirius instead of the half-naked fireman. And here she’d thought abs like that had to be airbrushed. Who knew they were real?

  “So, when are you free?”

  “Uh—what?” Once more, she found herself almost eye level with his…package. Not that there was much to see in the bulky fireman pants, but the deep V-marks cut into his hips were the stuff that sparked a girl’s imagination. Even hers.

  “The date?” He tilted his head to the side.

  The—what?

  Jesse straightened and shoved her hands in non-existent pockets.

  Stupid dresses.

  “I’m sorry, what?” She twisted bits of the skirt into her hands. Had she missed something huge here?

  “The date with a bachelor? The auction? You just paid two grand for a date.”

  “It—what? A date?” She was now staring and that was the air tickling the back of her throat.

  Oh God… Had she really just paid two thousand dollars for a date with a guy who made her completely lose her mind? Was that what the money was for?

  She was going to strangle Everly.

  2.

  Hunter kept one hand on Jesse’s back, the better to not get separated from her and Sirius while they strolled the streets of the fair. The crowd wasn’t as packed as it would be tomorrow, but there was still plenty of jostling as people crowded around booths, bought food or found a place to stand and watch the bands play.

  As far as first dates went, it was not ideal.

  Too loud to talk.

  Too much going on.

  And Jesse was already trying to avoid him.

  Usually, Hunter would take that as his cue to move the hell on. He didn’t spend time on women who wanted nothing to do with him, which was probably why he’d had a steady stream of bed-hoppers in his life. Women who wanted the fireman fantasy, liked his tats, but couldn’t handle the complete package.

  Jesse sparked his curiosity. Every time he thought he knew where she fit, Jesse surprised him.

  The awkwardly cute, shy girl act was real, but only until she was focused on Sirius. Then she impressed him with the dog trainer act and now for the real sho
cker.

  “How does a cute girl like you get into blowing shit up for a living?” He snuck the question in-between songs as they passed one of the six stages along the fair route.

  “Hm? Oh, my older brother said he’d die before letting me use the wrecking ball.”

  She said it so matter-of-factly Hunter couldn’t help but laugh. She just shrugged her shoulders and that was that. Her knack for understatement was leaving him reeling. They had to find a spot away from all the noise to really talk. He wanted to learn more about her, find out why her brother had a wrecking ball and get answers to the other questions he hadn’t thought up yet.

  “You have to elaborate.” He stepped between her and a drunk guy about to tip over with beers in both hands.

  “What?” Jesse yelled over the crowd.

  “Come here.”

  Hunter tugged Jesse into a small courtyard, through yet another gathering and out the other side. It was quieter on the side street. Food stands were set up and a small beer garden was roped off. An acoustic guitar was set up to serenade them, but without the ear-drum-splitting headache.

  “Where are you going?” Jesse demanded.

  “I can barely hear you over all the noise.”

  “And kidnapping me sounded like a better plan?”

  “You don’t appear to be struggling too much.” He flashed her a grin, going for charming.

  He stopped at the first vacant table and pulled out a chair for Jesse. She was giving him a wary eye, but the smile was friendly. Sirius was on his side and that seemed to matter for something with her. He helped her situate herself and the dog before dragging the other chair closer.

  “Okay, now, how did you get into blasting?” Hunter leaned forward, his full attention on her.

  “I told you, my brother—”

  “But between that. Where the hell do you learn how to blow stuff up for a living?”

  “Oh.” She blinked at him for a moment. Had no one ever asked her this before? “Well, my brothers were putting together their construction company and all they really wanted me to do was answer phones, which was fine when I was in high school, but after I graduated I wanted to do more. They weren’t about to let me go work for a competing company. We didn’t have the money for me to go to college, since James was just finishing up. So I sort of went and apprenticed for a crew in Odessa and learned that way.”

  “That has got to be the coolest gig I’ve heard about in a while.”

  “You’re a firefighter.”

  “That’s got nothing on blowing shit up for a living.”

  “It’s not nearly that exciting.” Her grin said exactly the opposite. She knew her job was pretty damn cool.

  “We’ll have to agree to disagree.” Hunter cocked his chair toward hers, the better to admire the view. “What about the dogs? How’d you get into that?”

  “Oh, boredom mostly.” She stroked Sirius’ head and shrugged.

  “You are the queen of understatement, you know that, right?”

  “What?” She glanced up, her cute little nose wrinkled.

  “My job’s not that exciting. I only blow things up for a living. Oh, I was just bored so I decided to train my amazing team of wonder dogs to find missing people and save lives.”

  “I do not sound like that.” She sat back and laughed, finally relaxing enough to show him her true colors, and man, did Hunter like them.

  “Oh, I don’t know about that.” He reached down and rubbed Sirius’ shoulders. “What’s your week look like?”

  “You do not have to take me out. Seriously.”

  “Maybe not, but I want to.” And that, for him, was saying something. Hunter didn’t try with women on principle. It was setting himself up for failure, but Jesse had him wanting to try.

  “This is totally fine.”

  “Jesse.” He caught her hand, enjoying the way she squirmed. How did a girl like her survive on a construction site if she couldn’t hold a guy’s hand? “You paid for a date.”

  “I didn’t realize that’s what I was doing.” Her cheeks were a lovely shade of red that spread down her throat and chest. Just how much lower did the blush go?

  “You stood there while Allison explained it all.”

  “Who is Allison?”

  “The woman with all the,” Hunter gestured to his chest, “sparkly stuff.”

  “Oh. Her. Yeah, I wasn’t exactly paying attention.”

  “Because—what? Were you looking at these?” He flexed his arm and winked at Jesse. She, in turn, sputtered, laughing and muttering to herself as the blush deepened to crimson. “You were, weren’t you?”

  “Oh my God, you’re awful.” Jesse shook her head, looking anywhere but at him now as she fanned herself with a napkin.

  “I’m afraid I have to take you out, Jesse, it’s in the contract I signed. Do you really want me to get in trouble?” Okay, that was a lie, but he was quickly getting desperate here. He hadn’t had to actually work for a date in…ever. Besides, making Jesse blush and squirm was a hell of a lot more fun than watching some make-up chick that couldn’t remember his name reapply lipstick. Being with Jesse was…fun.

  “What? Are you serious?” Jesse gaped at him, lips parted, eyes wide. She was so easily fooled, but he didn’t feel guilty enough to come clean quite yet. Maybe after she agreed to a date.

  “Yup.”

  “That shouldn’t be on you.”

  “Well it is. I have to take you out. Don’t make me get in trouble, please?”

  “Why? Because you do that just fine on your own?” She frowned at him, eyes narrowed. Shit. Had she made him that easily?

  “Me? No. I’m a boy scout.” He held up his hand, but didn’t know the first thing about being a scout.

  Jesse’s gaze flicked to his arm and slid to his wrist.

  “What? You think because of my tats I’ve gotta be trouble?” Yeah, he’d gone pretty crazy with the Japanese inspired tattoos, but he didn’t regret them. They symbolized getting his shit together and figuring out his life. It was a constant struggle, but he was on the right path.

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “No, you didn’t.”

  “You…have a vibe.”

  “What kind of vibe?”

  “Trouble. You’re pure trouble.”

  “I’ll have you know the last time I got into trouble was for covering my buddy’s ass. If that’s what you mean, I’m trouble all right.”

  “What did you have to cover your buddy’s ass for?”

  “He was helping rescue a little pussycat. Needed a hand.”

  “Why do I get the feeling you aren’t telling me the whole story?”

  “You’ll have to ask your friend Everly what else happened.”

  That seemed to get Jesse’s attention.

  His phone went off, signaling their time was up. Or at least Sirius had to hitch a ride back to Hopeful Paws with the other pups. Hunter hadn’t had nearly enough time with Jesse. Somehow, between here and the truck, he had to convince her he was worth the risk.

  “Shall we?” He stood and helped Jesse out of the flimsy, plastic chair, racking his brain for something—anything—to convince her with.

  Together, they strolled to the warehouse gala site, but the headlining acts were in full swing, rendering conversation impossible. He still hadn’t come up with anything to say besides what he’d already put out there. The decision was all hers.

  The only person left when they got back was one of the Hopeful Paws employees. Hunter took over loading Sirius and the last few crates into the van, but everyone else had cleared out already. He and Jesse made a final walk through the space before waving the rescue employee out of the lot.

  Hunter was used to women who pretended to be what they weren’t, which was why Jesse surprised him. She was exactly what she appeared to be. An honest, driven girl who’d carved out her niche and made it her own. He found himself not ready to let her go, as though given a few more moments in her presence would gift him with t
he keys to understanding where the hell he’d screwed up.

  They stood together behind the warehouse, the fair just a few yards away.

  “Well, I guess I’m going to head out.” The streetlights bathed Jesse’s face in a warm glow. She nodded back behind him in the direction of the parking lots.

  “You sure? Party’s not over yet.” He inclined his head toward the fair, though if he were honest, he wouldn’t mind taking Jesse away from the noise. He still didn’t know how she’d gotten into training dogs, what she did with her spare time, or if she had a wild streak under all those freckles.

  Her shoulders lifted.

  If he kissed her, would she run? He couldn’t quite decide how it would go once he had his lips on hers, but he wanted to find out. At the right moment.

  He wasn’t a good judge of those things. Usually it was pretty obvious what a person wanted from him, but with Jesse he couldn’t tell. Should he back off, regroup and come at her a different way? Should he push for more?

  Screw it.

  Hunter wasn’t good at games, anyway. He was who he was, and she hadn’t run from him yet.

  He took a step, closing the distance between them and curled his fingers just under her chin. The fair noise drowned out her gasp, but he felt the flex of her throat against his knuckles. Her eyes widened and her lips parted a bit more. He bent his head, their gazes locked.

  She knew he was going to kiss her.

  And she still wasn’t running.

  He dipped his head, closing that last few inches, and set his mouth against hers, suckling that sweet morsel of flesh. She rocked into him, her hands gripping his biceps, nothing shy about the way she held on to him.

  Hell. Yeah.

  Jesse was out of control.

  She knew it the moment she climbed into Hunter’s Jeep Wrangler for the short drive to his apartment. And she didn’t care. She wasn’t entirely sure when or how she’d made the choice to let him take her home, only that it had, and here they were.