Burn It Down

by Jess Anastasi

  Table of Contents

  Blurb

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  EPILOGUE

  More from Jess Anastasi

  About the Author

  By Jess Anastasi

  Visit Dreamspinner Press

  Copyright

  Burn It Down

  By Jess Anastasi

  A Texas Heroes Novel

  When an arsonist targets a kind-hearted park ranger, a firefighter steps up to protect him… and overcome his fear of dating in the process.

  Park Ranger Troy Hurst has his hands full with a long, hot summer causing fires to break out all over the Sam Houston National Forest, and it looks like the weather isn’t the only culprit. But helping two abandoned teenage boys and facing the memory of his own difficult childhood will require all Troy’s strength and courage—he doesn’t have anything left to deal with the increasingly dangerous fires.

  Firefighter Jared Winters has never been one to turn his back on those in need, and Troy and his young wards are in more danger than they know. Even though Jared is still reeling from an abusive relationship and Troy’s never acted on his attraction to men, the heat between them is impossible to extinguish, and before they know it, they’re planning to become foster parents—a family.

  But first they’ll need to find and stop the dangerous criminal threatening homes and lives in Everness.

  CHAPTER ONE

  IT WAS barely 8:00 a.m. and already the Texas sun was baking the yellowed grass and parched underbrush. Troy Hurst squinted against the glare, adjusting his sunglasses as he climbed out of his SUV, unsurprised to find a number of sightseers and hikers waiting for the park rangers’ office to open. He grabbed his small pack and canteen, which was dribbling with condensation from the ice water inside. It wouldn’t stay chilled for very long considering they were facing another day that’d creep over the hundred-degree mark by midafternoon.

  Summer had started early this year and then proceeded to be unusually hot and dry. Having grown up in Arizona, Troy didn’t actually mind the dry heat as opposed to the heavy humidity southern Texas usually offered—like a dragging wet blanket. Nope, he wasn’t one to complain about the weather—he loved being outdoors no matter the temperature.

  His problems all came down to the fact that the longer the dry heat went on, the stupider people seemed to get. The past few weeks alone had doubled the number of serious incidents occurring within the grounds of the Sam Houston National Forest, where he worked full-time as a park ranger. Everything from drunken teenage parties they’d had to break up in the late hours of the night, to hikers getting lost or dehydrated in the woods, campers getting into fights over ridiculous things like noise complaints from neighboring RVs or tents, not to mention Lake Conroe and a whole other set of problems that came with the large body of water and hot weather drawing swimmers, watercraft of all kinds, and fishermen.

  While he’d originally been employed as a law enforcement and emergency response ranger, he’d ended up doing the job of three rangers in the understaffed park over the years, including maintenance, as well as occasionally guiding and overseeing educational groups.

  He adjusted the belt holding his gun, radio, and various other equipment as he approached the rangers’ office, greeting a few people politely, trying not to sound as weary as he felt. He’d been working some crazy hours, on call at all times of the day and night. He just needed a quiet day or two and had been keeping an eye on the long-range forecast, hoping for a storm or break in the unrelenting hot weather pattern so people might quiet the hell down. Unfortunately, there didn’t look to be any relief from the constant smoldering heat in the near future.

  Just as he was unlocking the door, a second SUV pulled up, and he glanced over his shoulder to see Buck—or Bennett Young—arriving. Guy hated his given name and had never answered to anything except Buck since Troy had met him. Buck was the senior ranger and had eighteen years on him but was probably fitter than most twenty-year-olds.

  Troy pushed open the door to the office and let the few people waiting go in, stepping to the side as Buck approached, drinking a coffee despite the heat.

  “Morning,” Buck greeted, tipping his hat in the old-fashioned way he always did. “Another scorcher today.”

  “Looks like,” Troy answered. “Hear anything from Sheriff Hayes about those kids we confiscated all that alcohol from the other night?”

  There’d been about two dozen of them partying in the back of several pickup trucks down near the lakeshore—a deadly combination of deep, dark water and drink could have easily ended in some fools getting themselves drowned. The teens hadn’t been happy when he’d turned up and taken their alcohol and car keys, before calling the sheriff. He probably could have arrested them himself, but he had an arrangement with Hayes to coordinate on less serious infractions, especially those involving minors, most of whom the sheriff knew since the closest town, Everness, was tiny and everyone knew everyone else’s business and then some.

  “Sent ’em off with a warning like usual,” Buck answered as they headed into the office.

  Troy didn’t get a chance to reply as they dealt with a few people wanting to know about the trailheads and what to look out for at this time of year. He made sure they took extra water and logged their routes, hoping he wouldn’t be out rescuing them later in the day because they hadn’t realized exactly how hot it was going to get.

  As he sent off the last couple, he caught sight of the letter he’d left sitting on Buck’s keyboard so the other man wouldn’t forget.

  He cursed under his breath as he checked the time to see it’d already crept past nine.

  “Buck!” He grabbed up the letter and went around the desk, waving the piece of paper. “You were supposed to meet the representative from Everness Fire Department this morning so they can make another assessment of the park’s fire risk.”

  Buck made a face that told Troy exactly what he thought of that idea. Buck had already fielded half a dozen assessments so far this summer from a number of other agencies, but the local fire department was becoming increasingly worried about how dry the national forest was getting. With no break in the weather coming any time soon, the likelihood of a wildfire grew with every passing day.

  “Can you run them down for me?” Buck asked as one of the radios squawked with a call from another ranger station within the huge park. “It’s straightforward enough. They’ll just want to see several different parts of the park and maybe ask a few questions on our procedures. You should be done by lunchtime.”

  He really wanted to say no, because traipsing around after some firefighter set on criticizing park management in the growing heat didn’t sound like the best way to spend his morning, but since Buck had handled all the previous meetings without complaint, he probably should go without a fuss.

  “Call me if anything comes up,” he said by way of farewell as he put on his wide-brimmed hat and left the cool confines of the office.

  It only took a few mi
nutes to reach the main southern gates where the representative from EFD was supposed to be waiting, but of course no one was there. Had they left again since neither he nor Buck had arrived to meet them, or had they gone into the park on their own to check whatever it was they wanted to assess?

  Before he could decide what to do about the possibility of a firefighter wandering the park on their own with questionable hiking experience, his radio crackled with a call about a small boat in trouble on the lake.

  “And so it begins,” he muttered, heaving a sigh before answering the call since he was probably the closest.

  Putting the EFD rep from his mind for the time being, he maneuvered his SUV onto a restricted-access dirt track to reach the lakeshore quicker. His destination wasn’t hard to find since there was a small crowd gathered on the edge of the lake—mostly early swimmers—all staring about a hundred yards out to where one of those small metal johnboats was partially submerged. Two guys in their teens were clinging on to the sides, while a third person seemed to be swimming out toward them, strokes strong and sure.

  Another call came on his radio from the Lake Conroe Coast Guard Auxiliary asking if he needed a rescue boat. Considering the pair weren’t that far off shore, he declined since he could probably swim out there and back by the time the boat arrived from the other side of the large lake. As long as whoever the would-be rescuer was didn’t cause more trouble instead of solving it.

  He secured his gun in a lockbox inside his SUV, then jogged down to the water. He skirted the crowd and quickly stripped down to his underwear, figuring it was no different from swimming trunks and now wasn’t exactly the time to get self-conscious. He didn’t want to get his uniform wet, so there really wasn’t another choice. By the time he was in the water and quickly stroking out toward the craft now three-quarters under the waterline, the other swimmer had reached the two kids and seemed to be making some kind of assessment. Though he couldn’t hear them, between strokes he saw the two young guys awkwardly holding on to the listing craft while listening to whatever the third guy was saying.

  As he finally reached the group, the other swimmer expertly took one of the kids into a rescue hold.

  Troy paused to tread water, catching the man’s startling green eyes. His auburn hair was plastered to his head but still hinted at deep red highlights in the sun.

  “You good to take the other guy?” the man asked, adjusting his hold on the kid confidently and already starting to stoke backward.

  “On it,” Troy replied, forcing himself to turn his attention to the other young man still clinging with wide eyes and short breath to the side of the boat that was almost completely submerged.

  “Hey, buddy,” Troy greeted, reaching out to take his arm. No more than fourteen, his features were pale, and the way he was white-knuckling the boat didn’t make it seem like he planned on letting go anytime soon. “What’s your name?”

  “Aaron,” he said with a slight cough, as though maybe he’d swallowed some water. “I told the other guy, the firefighter, that I can swim so he’d take Lewis first, but I was lying. Lewis was way more freaked out than I am.”

  Firefighter? He resisted the urge to look back at the pair making their way toward shore. Was that the EFD rep he was meant to meet at the gates earlier?

  “No problem. I would have done the same for my friend.” He treaded a little closer, gently tugging on Aaron’s arm. If he didn’t let go of the boat, he was going to go down with it.

  “He’s my cousin,” Aaron answered, teeth chattering slightly. This far out, the lake water was a lot colder a few inches under the surface, and no doubt a bit of shock was starting to creep in. Especially if the kid couldn’t swim, he was probably a hair away from freaking out.

  “How about we join him on dry land, huh? Just relax and float. That’s all you have to do. I’ve got you.”

  Aaron stared at him for a long moment, as though debating whether to trust him, but then the boat gave a sudden lurch and dragged him under a little. Troy swore, tightening his grip on Aaron’s arm and tugging hard. Luckily the kid finally let go of the boat and came to the surface sputtering. He struggled for a second before Troy managed to clamp an arm around his middle, only just keeping both their heads above water.

  “I got you, buddy, but you need to relax and not fight me. Quicker you do that, the quicker we get to shore.”

  Aaron went still in his arms but stayed tense, one of his hands wrapping around Troy’s forearm hard enough that his blunt nails were digging into him. He didn’t worry about it, however. A few nicks in his skin were preferable to a lungful of water if Aaron fought his hold any longer.

  Using his free arm, he stroked and kicked as quickly as he could back to the lakeshore. He was a little out of practice, leaving the muscles in his arm and legs burning by the time he got his feet under him and hauled Aaron up. The kid stumbled the first few steps but then got his land-legs and sloshed unsteadily out of the shallows and up to where his cousin was waiting, sitting on the patchy grass.

  His rescuer stood next to him, sluicing water off his lean form, apparently having shucked all his clothes down to his black boxer briefs like Troy had.

  As Troy stepped out of the water, he found his gaze traveling up and down the tightly toned body of the apparent firefighter, his gaze lingering on the guy’s chest just a little too long.

  He pushed his own wet hair back as he approached the group, the onlookers dispersing now that the drama was over. Aaron flopped down next to his cousin, and the pair sat shivering and panting in silence, probably counting their lucky stars.

  “Thanks for the assist,” the firefighter said, a half smile kicking up his full lips.

  “No problem, it’s kind of my job,” he replied, mentally slapping himself when he realized he was now staring at the man’s mouth. Damn, the guy had full pouty lips most women would have killed for. “Troy Hurst, Park Ranger—law enforcement and emergency response.”

  “Jared Winters, Everness Fire Department.” Jared held out his hand and Troy automatically shook it, of course noticing how broad and firm his palm felt, slight calluses roughening the grip.

  “Sorry we missed you at the gate this morning,” Troy said, not offering any excuse as to why.

  “You’re my guide for the morning, huh?” Jared’s gaze seemed to slip down and up again, and Troy was left feeling too aware of how little clothing he was wearing but firmly telling himself he’d imagined the perusal…. Probably.

  “It was meant to be the senior ranger, Buck, but he got caught up.”

  “No matter, I’m sure you’ll do fine.” Jared’s grin widened as if he’d made some kind of joke, but Troy couldn’t work out what might be behind the words since he was still trying to get his brain back into working order. It’d been a long while since he’d noticed noticed another man, and he’d definitely never felt as struck as he did right in that moment.

  He’d come to the conclusion a while back that he was probably some kind of bi—bisexual or bicurious, he wasn’t actually sure. It hadn’t mattered before when he’d been with his ex-girlfriend Jeanie, and he’d never even bothered mentioning it to her. They’d met when they were both eighteen and spent nine years together before she’d broken up with him and moved to Dallas, more interested in her career and big-city life than a family and wide-open spaces as far as the eye could see. That’d been eighteen months ago, and truthfully, he hadn’t really looked at any other woman—or man apparently—in any way at all since then. At first he’d been completely heartbroken because he hadn’t seen it coming. But then he’d been content enough getting lost in his work, not ready to put the emotional energy into another relationship and admittedly a little anxious over whether he was what anyone would want in a partner since he earned a medium wage and didn’t have a glamorous job or an Instagram-worthy social life.

  He’d loved Jeanie almost blindly, and it was only now he was starting to realize she’d done a number on his self-confidence, slowly wearing him down
over the years without him even realizing. Always complaining that he wasn’t wearing the right clothes, didn’t shave often enough, didn’t style his hair in a fashionable way, didn’t socialize with her friends regularly, wasn’t interested in the latest gadgets or trends. He’d bent over backward trying to be what she’d wanted, and then she’d left him anyway.

  When he’d finally started getting over the heartbreak, he’d kind of just assumed at some point he’d find another girl, then eventually settle down and have the family he’d always wanted. And while he’d always known on some level that he tended to check out guys in a way straight men probably didn’t, and there’d been that one time he’d almost kissed another boy when he was sixteen—and definitely would have if they’d not been interrupted before their lips had connected—for some reason he’d never seriously considered dating another man.

  And he probably wasn’t now. It was just that Jared Winters was a spectacular specimen of masculinity, and his green eyes—like the wet forest in the middle of winter—full lips, and sharply angled jawline would be impossible for anyone to ignore. He looked like he should be on the cover of one of those sexy firefighter calendars.

  “Hey, thanks.” Aaron climbed to his feet, gaining Jared’s attention and making Troy realize they’d been standing there staring at each other in silence for a few moments. “You saved our lives out there.”

  “Anytime.” Jared gave Aaron a quick back-slapping hug before Aaron stepped back to help his cousin to his feet.

  “Is there anyone we can call for you?” he asked, thinking it was a little odd they’d been out on the boat without a parent in sight.

  Aaron shook his head. “Our folks are up at the campground. We should be okay to walk back.”

  “Your dad is going to be pissed about the boat,” Lewis said, sounding worried.

  “If your dad’s boat wasn’t watertight, then he’ll be lucky if he doesn’t get a visit from the senior park ranger or the water authorities.” Troy crossed his arms, settling a knowing look on the pair. Once he’d seen the craft up close, even as it’d been sinking beneath the waterline, he’d been able to tell it hadn’t been seaworthy, so to speak. “And if he doesn’t have insurance to cover the cost of recovery, then he’s in for a headache or two.”