After closing up the store and heading out in my car, I’m so out of it that I end up parked outside my best friend, Rosa-Lee’s house. We’ve been friends since grade school, and Rosa-Lee’s the most level-headed person I know—when she’s not been at the sauce on a Friday night, that is. At college, she picked up the habit of drinking a glass of wine at dinner, which turned into a bottle of wine on Friday evenings to unwind after her job as an emergency room nurse at our local hospital. Two years later, her Friday night habit is a full-fledged way of life. It’s her sacred custom. A thing. She won’t go out on a date, go to dinner or catch a movie on Fridays. Her weekend officially starts on Saturday around noon.
Which is why I’m glad as hell that it’s Tuesday.
I walk up to her front door and give it a knock.
“Rosa-Lee, it’s me,” I call out.
“Ember? It’s open. Come on in,” she shouts back from somewhere in her two-bedroom starter house. I open the door, quickly dragging off my winter boots before walking through the warm yet airy-feeling hallways decorated in soft white and pastel peach, Rosa-Lee’s favorite color.
I find her stretched out on her floral sofa, head propped up by a pink paisley fabric-covered cushion as she binges on prime-time TV.
“Hi. You’re out late.” She lifts her head off the cushion, studying me as I drop my car keys on her coffee table at the center of the living room.
“Thank God you’re here,” I groan, raising her feet off the sofa to make room so I can sit beside her. Easing myself down, I let her feet plop down on my lap.
“What happened?”
“I owe you a hundred bucks.”
Her head tilts to one side and stares at me, curious. “What for?”
“That little bet of yours. You won, okay?”
“I won?” She sits up and crosses her legs, completely ignoring the episode of some crime drama she’s watching, and gives me her undivided attention. I don’t watch TV, so I have no idea what it’s called. “What are you talking about? I’d remember making a hundred-dollar bet with you. And I don’t.”
“It’s that bet. The bet. The fifty-dollar one. The only fifty-dollar bet I’ve ever made…because I was sure it’d never happen. Except it happened…twice.”
I know I’m a bit ambiguous, but this is my best friend. Rosa-Lee is the only person who knows me inside out. She even indulged me and came along on my trip to Vegas, the supportive friend that she is. Although she did spend all her waking hours playing the slots while I was up to no good at Club M. Still, that’s what friends are for. A supportive shoulder, a kind ear, and no judging. And for bets like the one I’m talking about. She has to know what bet this is. There was only one.
Finally, the dull, half-asleep glaze in her eyes disappears, replaced by complete and utter alertness.
“No.” Rosa-Lee shakes her head. “You didn’t. Did you really…” she starts to ask, but probably clues into my disheveled appearance and even more crazed body language. “Oh my God, you did! You banged a firefighter! Who?”
“No one you know, thankfully.”
Rosa-Lee pulls her long, curly auburn hair up into a ponytail with the hairband around her wrist, her dark green eyes riveted to me. Then she blinks for the first time since she figured out what this is about. “But wait. Hang on. You said it happened…twice?” She folds her arms. “Honey, you can’t come over here and give me earth-shattering news like that without all the details. Who are they? How did you end up getting your groove on with two? Wait. When did this all happen?”
To give her the simplest of explanations, I lift my hand and let the pendant of my Club M bracelet dangle from my wrist.
She gasps. Her eyes get as wide as saucers.
“No. Fucking. Way.” She picks up the remote and clicks off the TV without glancing away from me. “You met not one, but two members of that club here? In Reno? And they’re firefighters? Come on, Ember. Do me a favor, okay? Rewind to the beginning, to say, fifteen minutes before it all went down. Then start. Don’t leave out a single detail.”
Taking a deep breath to gather my thoughts, I tell her everything. From what I was wearing, to the lunch-time detour to deliver those baked goods in Lockwood. From seeing Hammer and Deuce for the first time, to meeting them behind the truck stop diner, to getting into their SUV. From their rugged looks, to the feel of every ripple of their muscular bodies and chiseled abs. And other parts too. And about my naughty behavior with these two men. At the same time. Only to find out the next day that They. Are. Firefighters.
“I’m so fucked, Rosa-Lee,” I tell her.
“Yes. You were fucked good, all right. Twice in the same lunch hour,” she adds with a giggle. “How was it? God, I’m so jealous!”
“Stop kidding around, bestie. Of course, it was good. Better than good,” I tell her, because I can still feel Deuce and Hammer’s hands on my skin. I force my legs together to stop myself from reliving the pure decadence of Hammer devouring my pussy as Deuce nipped against my neck.
“I can tell,” she croons. “You have that glow. Like back in Vegas.”
“Okay, but can you focus on the real issue for a minute? I’m here for your help.”
“I get that, but we need to devote a few moments to what happened. Humor me for a minute, all right?” She takes my hand and squeezes it. “You fucked two hot guys at the same time, in roughly the same area code as where we live, and they’re your new coworkers. It can’t get any hotter than that. Well, it can, if you keep hooking up with them, say, at work? No! No! Inside one of the fire trucks. Now, that’d be hot.”
I get to my feet and can’t stop myself from pacing in front of her TV. “No. That’d be the end of my career, and theirs, if we’re caught.”
“No, it won’t. You’re overreacting.”
“I’m not. They’ll be working for my dad. In the same freaking firehouse. I’ll have to see them every goddamned day and act like nothing ever happened. It’s way too close to home. I mean, I know they won’t dare say a word to anyone about what happened. They’re seasoned guys. But…maybe I just don’t trust myself.”
She gets up and steps over to me, placing her hands on my shoulder. “Then, don’t. Just enjoy the fact that you’re possibly the luckiest girl in Reno. Think about it. Two men who are both into you. Casually, at least. And close enough to get your naughty on. Anytime you want. Plus, if they’re smart, they’ll keep it all hush hush, to save their own asses. Can it get any more perfect than that?”
“I think you’re missing the punchline, honey,” I say in a huff.
“Which is?”
“There’s no way they’d take the chance hooking up with me again. Did I not mention how fast Deuce bolted from the coffee shop when he found out who I was? Trust me, I’d be lucky if they nod in my direction anytime soon.”
She smiles and her eyes light up. “Care for another friendly wager? It’ll save you from having to pay me that Benjamin you owe me.”
“I’m not sure I can handle losing any more bets at the moment.”
“Come on. If you lose, you actually win. Because I’m telling you right now…a month won’t pass before they figure out that you’re discreet, able to keep a secret, and more importantly, you’re more than worth the risk.”
She has a point.
Still, I’m not gambling on anyone’s career.
“No more bets,” I reiterate, and step out of her grasp to scoop up my keys. “Anyway, I need to get going. I promised Russell that I’d drop off a bread order at Mr. Jameson’s house as it’s on my way home. That, and I’ll need twice my usual self-control and probably triple the coffee to get through seeing them on their first day on the job…at my workplace. Did I mention that’s going to happen less than a week from now? That means I have to build up a tolerance, starting now.”
“It’ll be fine. Get home safely.” Rosa-Lee throws me an air kiss, picking up the remote as she returns to her sofa. “Let me know how it goes!”
“I will.” I start t
o head out of the living room, but pivot around to look her way again before my foot hits the first marble tile on the hallway floor. In spite of how uncertain I’m still feeling, I’m thankful to have someone like Rosa-Lee to be open with. “Good night, bestie. And thank you for this.”
“Anytime, love. Besides, with my self-imposed carnal dry spell since that lying, thieving son of a bitch whose name will never be uttered in my presence, I’m thrilled that one of us is getting some mileage out of our twenties.”
“Awww, honey,” I hum, making a point not to mention her ex’s name because he’s persona non grata after what he did to her. “You know that celibacy thing can change anytime you decide to get back in the game.”
“Oh, wait. That gives me an idea. How about dinner and drinks at Saddle Up Saloon one of these Saturdays? My treat.”
I feel my nose start to scrunch up and my eyebrows bunch at her invitation. That’s where the firefighters hang out on their time off. Before I get a chance to turn her down, she adds, “Don’t even think of saying no. Those guys start work next week. You’ll need liquid courage and an extra dose of girl-time to prepare yourself. It has to be one of these Saturdays. You need me.”
“Dammit,” I grumble. “All right, I’m in.”
“Sweet! Do you want me to invite Vicky and Jeff?” she asks about her neighbor. Vicky works with me at Baker’s Buns, and her husband, Jeff, also happens to be a firefighter working under my father.
“Sure. The whole thing’s a horrible idea, but why not?”
Rosa-Lee grabs her phone. “I’ll send a group text right now. Gosh, I haven’t seen them in ages. We can make it a night out.”
“Great. Keep me posted. Bye for now, darling.”
I get into my car and start the drive home, reminding myself yet again that I need to stop off at the Pendleton homestead. I can’t resent Russell for this minor detour this time. I volunteered. Mr. Jameson manages the cattle farm that occupies the almost thousand acres of land beside my place. It’s no trouble, really. The house I live in is the old homestead where my late mother grew up. Her family members—parents, grandparents, uncles, and cousins—were all farmers, and some still are today. The Pendleton homestead is the largest and probably the most well-known cattle ranch in the area. It has three family homes, two livestock barns, over a dozen outbuildings for storage, and as many cabins for the ranch hands that choose to live on the premises.
Because my mother’s family did ongoing business with the Pendleton’s, I know the ranch like the back of my hand. I practically grew up here, and spent many childhood summers, holidays, and evenings after school exploring. Which is why it was a natural choice for me to live in my grandparents’ farmhouse after they passed a few years ago. No matter what my life is like or whatever my father puts me through on the job, coming home to this house is the best, most soothing part of my day.
And do I ever need some of that soothing tonight.
Turning past the white wagon wheel from the paved farm access road, I drive onto the gravel driveway of the Pendleton farmstead. I won’t see Hammer or Deuce until they start work next week, but hell, I’ll need a week to mentally rehearse my game plan. The stakes are too high. I have to master my every emotion, action, and even my body language when I’m around them at the firehouse. To do that, the first step requires keeping a safe distance. I’ll focus on the job until my transfer comes through, and hope like hell that I can say no if either of them dares to secretly invite me out for seconds.
God help me.
No, God help all three of us.
Except, if there really is a God, he has a strange sense of humor.
As my car makes it halfway down the well-lit gravel driveway on the way to Mr. Jameson’s house, the third house on the farmstead, I catch a glimpse of Hammer and Deuce’s SUV. It’s no mistake. Deuce is stepping into the driver seat, and Hammer is lugging two large toolboxes into the first house.
Hammer and Deuce.
The two men I chose to have a raunchy, random, parking lot hookup with at the back of an SUV behind a truck stop diner aren’t just firefighters working for my dad.
They’re also my neighbors?
I’m beyond screwed.
Oh. Fucking. Hell.
5
Hammer
“You saw her where?” I lower the pile of lumber stacked on my shoulder to the empty living room floor, and release it with a thud.
Deuce is in the doorway as I straighten to my full height. “I think she just drove by.”
“The main road?”
“No.” He points outside. “Right there on the gravel driveway in front of the house.”
“What, she lives around here too?”
“I don’t fucking know.”
“Jesus fuck,” I complain, and turn to go out the front door again. There’s a lot more of the lumber we bought in a pile outside the house. “Can we catch a break?”
“I don’t know about that either.”
“Was it at least the bakery van that she was driving?”
“No. It was a white Toyota Camry, I think.”
“So, her personal car?”
“Probably.”
“Was she alone?”
“It seemed like it, yes.”
“Fuck.” It’s bad enough that we haven’t even started the job, and shit’s hitting the fan. In our line of work, taking a transfer is like starting over, from the bottom rung, like plankton on the food chain. Well, maybe it’s not as lowly as a candidate right out of fire academy, but it’s not far off. For all we know, it can be a heck of a lot worse for transfers in this town.
Add the fact that we unknowingly fucked our new Chief’s daughter, and it’s pure disaster. Firefighters live by a code. Unfortunately, Deuce and I broke it. In doing that, and by having something to hide before we even start our first day, sets us up for a world of hurt. How can these men we’re about to work with, and their boss, start to trust us if we don’t even fucking deserve it? That’s the point. What went down with Ember is bigger than betraying the Chief. It’s about the entire response team. We’ll be risking our lives day in and day out for one another. If one firefighter is stuck in an out-of-control area of a burning building, he’s got to know without a doubt that each and every member of his team would risk his own life to get him out.
That takes trust. It begins at the station, and ends as we team up to fight some of the toughest natural and man-made emergencies out there. By walking into this new job with shit to hide, we’re setting ourselves up for a clusterfuck out in the field.
And now, we’re finding out Ember has dealings with the family farm in some way? That she may be our neighbor? That fact has not just put us in a bad situation. It’s guaranteed on-the-job Armageddon for Deuce and me.
We’re fucked if we talk and we’re fucked if we don’t.
As I stand there mentally lamenting about what may turn out to be the shortest fucking period of employment in the life of a firefighter, a white sedan approaches on the gravel road. It’s coming from the direction of the main homestead behind ours.
“Is that her?” I ask Deuce.
“It sure is.”
We need to have a talk with this woman. I wave her over when she’s close enough to see me, pointing at the empty space in the driveway beside my SUV. Ember slows down and turns into the spot. Her engine continues to run, but at least she stopped.
She has an unimpressed expression on her face as she lowers her driver’s side window. “Let me guess. You boys are moving in here.”
Deuce and I step over to the side of her car. “Hammer’s family owns this cattle ranch,” Deuce answers for me. “And let me take a wild guess too. You live around here?”
“The next house on this side road.” She looks up at me, still frowning. “You’re a Pendleton?”
“On my mother’s side. What are you doing here at the ranch?”
“Not that it’s any of your concern, but as you asked nicely, I’ll tell you. I was dropping off
an order for Mr. Jameson.”
“Good to know, but that’s not the reason I asked you to stop.”
Ember turns off the engine and steps out of the car. “Why did you, then?” she asks, crossing her arms and tilting her head to one side as she leans her back against the driver’s side door.
I should keep my distance, but even with her less than passive stance, I can’t stop myself from moving in closer. I place a hand on her car beside her shoulder, my chest inches from her head, with our height difference. She takes in a breath as she cranes her neck to hold my gaze. “You don’t feel the fact that you’re our new coworker, our boss’s daughter, and our neighbor warrants a conversation after what we did yesterday?”
“Maybe, but your friend Deuce here ran off like a bat out of hell when he realized who I am. I figured we could just act like yesterday never happened, and tonight too, for that matter.”
On hearing his name, Deuce steps in beside her, leaning against the back passenger-side door with his arm just inches from hers.
“How easy do you think that’ll be,” he asks. “Considering that you live right next door?”
Her lips curl up into a tight, strained smile as she turns to gaze up at him, then back toward me. “Pretty damn easy, I think. I’ll introduce myself with a friendly but professional smile on my face when you two report to work on your first day. We’ll shake hands like we’ve never met before. You’ll run along to do drills, take care of your hoses and other gear, respond to emergencies, and fight fires with your crew. I’ll go back to my job in the administrative offices. After that, I won’t look at you, speak to you, or even acknowledge you exist at the fire hall. Probably out here at the ranch too. And most importantly, I’ll wipe the fact that you’re Club M members from the recesses of my brain.”
“All right. So, one more question,” I say, leaning forward until my mouth is almost touching her ear.
“Go on,” she moans out, her hot breath coming out in a frosty puff as it mixes with the icy night air. She tips her head back slightly until my lips brush against her jawline.
Two Firefighters Next Door: A Bad Boy MFM Romance Page 4