Hope Flames: Hope Book 1

by Jaci Burton

  “Busy. We have a couple of new clients and some great marketing campaigns coming up, so it’s pretty exciting stuff. But, you know, I’m never too busy that I can’t take you on as a client.”

  “Thanks, Mom, but I think I’m okay for now.”

  “All right. But if you change your mind, you let me know. I already have several ideas that I think would boost your clientele. What if you did an adoption day at the clinic, in conjunction with the local shelter? They could bring their animals over, and you could provide reduced-fee services for like six months or a year for every animal someone adopts? That way animals get adopted, and you pick up new clients.”

  Emma was about to open her mouth to object, but then thought about it for a second. “You know what? That’s a really good idea.”

  Her mother shot her a knowing smile. “Of course it is. I’m brilliant that way.”

  There was no doubt her mom was a genius with marketing and promotion, but Emma just couldn’t afford it right now. And the last thing she wanted was her mom’s fingers in her business. But that idea was a good one.

  “I’ll consider it and get in touch with the local shelter. Thanks, Mom.”

  “I can help you with the advertising. I already have some things in mind.”

  She laughed and looped her arm through her mother’s. “I said I’d think about it. Don’t go hog wild with a marketing plan just yet.”

  She loved her mother, but if she did go forward with this plan, she’d have to put a leash on her mom’s marketing genius. The whole idea of going into business for herself was just that—to do it herself. Independence was key.

  So far she was doing all right on her own, minus that night of the break-in when she’d needed Luke’s help.

  She’d been grateful for that, and despite being irritated with him for offering to take her out on a mercy date, she’d never been happier to see him than when he’d shown up at her clinic that night.

  He’d been so sweet to follow her home, too, which she knew wasn’t at all a requirement of his job. It had been him being nice to her.

  And she’d been a giant bitch after he’d offered to take her out.

  Maybe she should do something about that. She just didn’t know how she would go about it. That, too, was going to require some thought.

  After dinner, she went home and loaded Daisy and Annie into her truck, then drove to the park. Daisy would stay right next to her, but she’d been working on leash-training Annie, somewhat unsuccessfully. The pup parked her butt on the trail and refused to move.

  “Come on, Annie. You’ll enjoy the walk. It’s nice outside.”

  Annie looked up at her, offended by the leash and none too happy about the collar, either. But Emma was determined, and she’d leash-trained plenty of dogs. She gave the leash some lax, and walked a few feet away. Annie followed, and Emma continued to move at a snail’s pace, much to Daisy’s chagrin, who was used to the two of them taking the trails at a run.

  Daisy whimpered.

  “I know, sweetie,” Emma murmured. “But we have to do this for Annie.”

  Annie, who no one had claimed yet or shown interest in adopting.

  Emma sighed and patiently worked with Annie for a good half hour, until the pup realized it wasn’t going to win this battle. Annie finally started walking alongside Emma, who gave the pup tons of praise as she clumsily lumbered next to her.

  It wasn’t the run Daisy wanted, but next time she’d leave Annie at home and they could jog.

  When the sun disappeared behind the houses on the other side of the lake, the temperature dropped. Emma zipped up her jacket, not wanting to head back to her car just yet, even though the trails were mostly deserted.

  A few years ago, she wouldn’t have allowed herself to be alone like this.

  But this was the new Emma. The Emma who refused to let fear rule her life.

  When she heard a car pull up slowly behind her, though, she whipped around, ready to grab Annie and make a mad dash back to her truck.

  It was a police car. She leaned forward to see Luke behind the wheel. He stopped and got out, looking sexy in his uniform.

  She gave up trying to be immune to the sexy. The man was hot.

  “Oh. Hi, Luke,” she said, trying to relax her frantically beating heart.

  “Hi yourself. You do know the park closes at eight, right?”

  She grabbed her phone out of her pocket to check the time. It was eight thirty. “I’m sorry. I’ve been leash-training Annie and just lost track of time.”

  She started back to her truck.

  “Hang on,” he said.

  He let Boomer out of his car. The three dogs smelled and greeted each other with a wild wag of tails.

  He started walking with her.

  “You do realize your car is up there,” she said after about five minutes.

  He gave her a smile. “Just doing my official duty and making sure you hooligans leave the park.”

  She couldn’t help the smirk. “Oh, now we’re hooligans?”

  “Well, you look suspect. Never know what kind of nefarious activities you and your cohorts could get up to without me keeping an eye on you.”

  “I see. Well, guys,” she said to the dogs, “looks like we’ve been thwarted.”

  Annie fell off the curb, shook her head, and climbed back up. Daisy was too busy running circles around Boomer to pay much attention to anything Emma said.

  “Huh. Some sidekicks you two are.”

  “I think you need better partners-in-crime,” Luke said as they arrived at her truck.

  Emma scooped Annie up and deposited her in her carrier. “Apparently.”

  She called for Daisy, who hopped into the front seat of the truck. She closed the door and turned to Luke. “Thanks for the escort. And for not throwing me in jail.”

  “I wouldn’t have thrown you in jail, you know.”

  He quirked a smile at her that made her belly tumble. She wished he didn’t have that kind of effect on her. It would be a lot easier if he were just some random guy she could be friendly with. But she remembered that she owed him, that he’d been so nice to her.

  “So, about the other night?”

  He frowned. “The break-in? Is everything all right? I hadn’t heard of any recurrences.”

  “No. Not that. The other night before that night. When you were so nice and offered to take me out. My reception to that was a little . . . unfriendly.”

  “Oh. That.” His lips quirked. “Don’t worry about it. It’s forgotten.”

  “I haven’t forgotten, though. And I was rude. I’m sorry. I told you I was rusty in the dating department. Apparently that includes my social skills. Please accept my apology.”

  “Not necessary. I don’t think my offer was worded in the right way, either. I didn’t mean you couldn’t get a date on your own. Obviously, you’re a beautiful woman, and you sure as hell don’t need me to take you out on a date.”

  He gave her the once-over, the way a man looks at a woman that isn’t at all insulting, just . . . intriguing. Her body fused with heat.

  “Uh, well, wow. Thank you for that.”

  He offered up a smile. “I’ll let you head home, Emma.”

  He was about to leave. She could have left it at that, and she’d be off the hook. But something about the way he looked at her, the fact that he’d walked her all the way down the hill instead of just telling her to hightail it out of the park—

  So she let instinct take over, and she grabbed his arm.

  “Luke . . . wait.”

  He stilled. “What is it?”

  She should have let go of him, but his body felt warm. Solid. And he didn’t seem to mind that she was touching him. In fact, he leaned a little closer.

  Which she didn’t mind at all, either.

  “I’d still like to go out with you, if the offer’s open.”

  “You would, huh?”

  “Yes.”

  He cocked his head to the side and gave her the
kind of half-smile that made her belly clench and all the female parts of her squeal with joy.

  He reached out and tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear. “Are you sure, Emma?”

  Her wary mind said no. Her libido screamed Oh. Hell. Yes. “Absolutely.”

  “Okay. How about Saturday?”

  “Saturday sounds great.” She wasn’t sure about anything, especially where men were concerned. But she’d consider this part of her reintroduction to the opposite sex. “But just as friends, right?”

  “Whatever you want, Emma. The Double-A baseball team has an in-town game. Do you like baseball?”

  “I love baseball.”

  “Great.” He pulled out his phone. “If you want to give me your number, I’ll call you after I figure out game time.”

  She gave him her phone number and put his number in her cell.

  “I’ll see you on Saturday, then.”

  “Bye, Luke.”

  She started to turn away, but this time Luke grasped her arm.

  “Hey, Emma?”

  “Yes?”

  He tipped her chin and brushed his lips against hers. Her breath held and she felt that brush of a kiss all the way to her toes, and every delicious part of her in between.

  He stepped away. “Just a friendly kiss. Nothing more.”

  He smiled at her and walked away.

  She hung outside the door to her truck and watched him and Boomer make the trek up the hill, the muscles of his legs working easily as he climbed the steep incline.

  He also had a great butt. Not that she noticed or anything, because she was only interested in him as a friend. Not in his mighty fine ass. Or the way he had just totally and completely rocked her world with a two-second kiss.

  She grabbed her keys and realized her hands were shaking.

  If he could incite that type of response with a short kiss, Emma wondered if she could survive a longer one.

  She climbed in the truck and started it, then looked over at Daisy, who cocked her head to the side.

  She scrubbed her fingers through Daisy’s fur.

  “I know, Dase,” she said. “I have no idea what I’m doing.”

  Chapter 6

  LUKE FIGURED A baseball game was as safe and unromantic a date as he could plan. Tons of people, beer and a hot dog, and lots of screaming kids.

  Plus, it was Take Your Dog to the Ballpark Day. You had to love Double-A ball. Though Luke would much prefer to have a major league baseball team in Hope, there were certain advantages to having a minor league team in the city. The promotions were one of those advantages.

  The game started at three, and Emma worked at the clinic until noon, so he came to pick her and Daisy up at two. He brought his truck and swung by her condo, taking Boomer with him to her front door.

  She opened the door, and damn if he hadn’t expected her to be low-key and kind of unattractive. After all—baseball game, right?

  Yeah. She had on tight jeans and tennis shoes, along with a white T-shirt. How hot could that be?

  Pretty damn hot, apparently. She’d scooped her hair up in a ponytail, and she looked freshly showered, smelled like strawberries, and his dick twitched. He’d thought a lot about that impromptu kiss he’d given her the other night. He wasn’t sure why he’d done it. Impulse, maybe, because she’d been so stuck on the “let’s just be friends” thing, while at the same time grabbing on to him and leaning in to him. He figured he’d test the waters and see what kind of reaction he’d get.

  He’d gotten a reaction, all right. An uncomfortable one he’d had to live with in his patrol car for hours.

  Emma hadn’t exactly pushed him away when he’d kissed her. She’d melted just a little into him, making him want a lot more than a short kiss.

  And now she had to look smoking hot.

  Shit.

  “Hey, sorry I’m running a little late. We had an emergency surgery this morning, and it took a little longer for me to get through appointments.”

  All this was said as she hurried back into her apartment to grab her bag and keys while Daisy sat dutifully staring up at him, wagging her tail at Boomer.

  Pushing thoughts of kissing Emma—and more—aside, he nodded. “No problem. We have plenty of time.”

  “Great.” She took a deep breath as she closed the door behind her. “Hey, Boomer. Daisy’s really excited about the game today, are you?”

  Luke couldn’t help but smile at the attention she showed Boomer. “Boomer likes game day, too.”

  The dogs piled into the backseat of the truck, and they headed out.

  “Where’s Annie?”

  “In her crate, and not too happy about it, either. But she’s not ready for the ballpark.”

  “How’s training going?”

  “She’s very smart, and oh-so-affectionate. And she ate one of my flip-flops yesterday,” she added with a grimace. “She’s teething.”

  He laughed. “Sounds like a normal puppy to me. Any takers on the adoption front?”

  “Not really. We had a couple people show some interest, but then they never followed up. Everyone wants small dogs, and pit bulls are a tough sell because people think they’re fighting or attack dogs, when they absolutely aren’t, unless someone trains them that way. They’re actually very sweet animals. I finally took the notice down.”

  “Which means you’re keeping her.”

  “I guess so. If I deliver her to a shelter, she won’t last there. And she’s already part of my family. Daisy loves her, and honestly, how could I give her away?”

  “You keep that up, you’re going to need to move out of that house and buy a ranch soon.”

  She sighed. “Tell me about it. I’ve always been a sucker for animals, especially the ones no one wanted. I vowed once I became a vet I’d own several.”

  He made the turn onto the highway. “Then you’re definitely going to need that ranch.”

  “Yeah, that’s right at the top of my list. As soon as I pay off all my student loans and the debt from buying the clinic.”

  “Well, anytime you want to take the dogs out to a place where they can roam free for the day, you let me know.”

  “Okay, sure.” She went quiet for a few minutes before turning to face him. “Why? Do you have a ranch?”

  He kept his gaze on the road ahead of him. “As a matter of fact, yeah, I do.”

  He felt her eyes on him.

  “Seriously?”

  “Yeah. I own a ranch with my brothers, though my older brother Logan runs it.”

  “No shit.”

  His lips curved, and he took a quick glance at her. “No shit. And I wasn’t kidding about running the dogs out there. You can bring Daisy and Annie out there sometime.”

  “I’d love to see it. It’s my dream to own some land at some point.”

  “I’ll take you out there. Logan lives by himself, so I try to get out there as much as I can so he doesn’t become a recluse.”

  “Surely he doesn’t run the ranch by himself.”

  “No, we have hands to help.”

  “But you don’t live there anymore.”

  “Ranching wasn’t my thing. I wanted to go into law enforcement, and Logan had ranching in his blood.”

  “I see.”

  “You two would be a good fit, seeing as how you want to live on the land someday. I should fix the two of you up.”

  She gave him a curious look. “That’s . . . nice of you, but I’m not interested in a fix-up with anyone at the moment.”

  Good, since he really didn’t want to see his brother going out with a woman he had a thing for. He had no idea why he’d suggested it, and had wanted to take it back as soon as he’d said it.

  Not that he was interested in a relationship with Emma.

  But he sure as hell didn’t want Logan having one with her, either.

  Christ, he was a mess.

  Shoving stupid thoughts about women and relationships into the back of his mind, he pulled into the ballpark parki
ng lot and retrieved Boomer from the backseat.

  Dogs would have to be leashed, even though Boomer would likely be the best-trained dog in the ballpark today. With the leash lax in his hand, he and Emma walked side by side, the dogs on the outside of them, much to Boomer and Daisy’s chagrin. He could tell Boomer wanted to walk next to Daisy, but his dog did what he was instructed to do, and that was walk on his left side, just like he always did when they were out on patrol.

  He picked up the tickets he’d reserved, then they walked inside.

  It was a perfect day, forecast in the eighties. Awesome weather for a ball game. There were a lot of animals in attendance, some of them freaked out by the other dogs. Boomer and Daisy did great, though, just like he suspected. They found their seats above the first-base line and settled in.

  “Would you like a beer or a hot dog?” he asked.

  Emma shook her head. “Not yet. I’m just excited to be here.”

  “Have you ever been to a major league game?’

  “No. You?”

  “Yeah. I traveled to Dallas and caught some of their games, and to St. Louis, too.”

  “How exciting. I can only imagine the difference in the stadiums.”

  “It’s a huge difference. Bigger stadium and just a different feel. Kind of epic.”

  “I’ll have to make it a point to get out to the ‘big city’ sometime and catch a game.”

  “Yeah. You should.”

  He was about to suggest they take a road trip and catch one of the games this summer, then caught himself.

  What was he thinking? He wasn’t going to continue this relationship with Emma beyond today. He was taking her out to show her a good time. One-time thing, and then he was done. Where women were concerned, there were no repeat performances. Because when there were repeat performances, one thing led to another, and before you knew it, you were in a relationship.

  And after a relationship came marriage, and he knew what happened then.

  Kiss of death to anything fun.

  They settled in to watch the game while the dogs barked and wriggled and kept their eyes on the other dogs nearby. Lots of people had brought dogs, so it was fun to see them in the stands.