by Erin Wright
“‘A-courtin’?” she repeated softly, laughing, jiggling against his chest in some very delightful ways. “You are adorably old-fashioned.” She sat up, stretching, his shirt molding to her chest in an even more delightful way, and then she smacked him across the head.
“Oww!” he hollered in shock, rubbing his head. “What was that for?”
She settled back against his chest again. “For being an adorably old-fashioned idiot,” she informed him. “You seemed to think I would know what was going on. Since you didn’t deign to tell me, did you think someone else would?”
He shrugged. “It’s Sawyer. I figured you knew as soon as I walked out of my parent’s front door, like some sort of bat signal that lit up the sky. Rumors get around so quickly in Long Valley, I just thought you knew.”
She reached up without even moving much this time, and lightly tapped him upside the head. “That’s for being an adorably old-fashioned self-centered idiot,” she said, snuggling back down against him. “People don’t just stand around in the streets of Sawyer, ready to do nothing but spread the word about what’s happening in Moose Garrett’s life.”
He scrunched up his nose at her words. She was right…even if it’d felt like that was exactly what happened when he was a teenager. He’d once gotten in trouble for agreeing to go to a drinking party being held one weekend on the beach of Sawyer Lake. He hadn’t even gone but the news that he was planning to still made it back to his dad, and he’d been grounded for three weeks after having done absolutely nothing.
Thinking that the gossip chain kept tabs on him wasn’t the fevered imagination of a self-centered idiot, but he took her reprimand for what it was – he should’ve told her what he was doing himself. Just one more mistake on the road to becoming a true adult; a road that seemed littered with hidden potholes and traps for the unsuspecting to fall into.
“So…you thought I was busy marrying Tennessee for the last two weeks?” he asked, and then laughed at the thought. “Sorry, I shouldn’t laugh,” he said quickly when she began to bristle up. “I just…I almost killed myself to get out of that relationship. The idea of marrying her is just laughable to me at this point – literally.”
“I knew you didn’t want to, but the dealership and the approval of your father is a hell of an incentive to hold over you. It would’ve been hard to say no to it,” she pointed out logically.
“I didn’t say no to it for the first 26 years of my life,” he admitted. “Not something I’m proud of, but yeah, it’s true.”
They sat there in silence for a minute, until she slowly turned in his arms and looked up at him. “It may’ve taken you a while to get there, but at least you did eventually,” she whispered, her eyes full of trust and love and admiration. “Plus, you saved Tenny from a marriage that she did not want. She’s probably more grateful to you than you could possibly know.”
“Oh, I didn’t even tell you – Tennessee compared me to a coffee table!” he said with a laugh. “That didn’t exactly do wonders for my pride, that’s for damn sure.”
“A coffee table?” Georgia said with a delicious smile. “You’re definitely going to have to tell me the story behind that.” But even as she was saying the words, she was leaning forward, running her fingertips up his chest and chasing them with her lips and Moose forgot how to breathe, and completely forgot what they were talking about. It was something…
Nope. Totally gone. All of his blood had officially gone south, leaving none for his brain. She wiggled up against him with a naughty smile. “I can tell you’re thinking what I’m thinking.”
“That this couch is way too small for the activity I have in mind?”
“Yeah, something like that,” she breathed.
Just minutes later, as she was folded over the arm of the couch, her delicious ass in the air as he pounded into her from behind, all of the lust and desire that had been suppressed for so long finally allowed to bubble up to the surface, he found out that the couch was just right…in other ways.
Chapter 24
Moose
“Okay, you guys, let’s talk about the best way to pull a hose from a truck,” Jaxson said, standing near the rolled-up hose on the side of the main fire truck. “As you guys know, laying hose is backbreaking work and extremely important, which isn’t always a great combo because the temptation is strong to—”
“Where is my dog?” a man demanded, bursting through the man door of the station. Everyone froze and then turned to him as one.
“Shiitttt,” Moose heard Abby mutter to herself. He glanced over at her and she caught his eye. “Bad news,” she mouthed.
The Long Valley County Deputy wasn’t officially on the Sawyer firefighter crew, but often cross-trained with them to keep up on her EMT and first aid certifications. Wyatt and their soon-to-be adopted son Juan were there that night with her, with both of them claiming to be thinking about joining the department.
Moose guessed that Wyatt just didn’t want to be without his wife, and Juan didn’t want to be without his parents, but hey, it was always fun to have more people at trainings, not less. Plus, with Jaxson reaching out to the younger kids in the area, like Angus and Chris, bringing them onboard as junior firefighters, the idea of Juan joining the team wasn’t really that far-fetched.
It had been a great training session…that is, until this drunk, one-tooth local yokel showed up.
“Is there something I can do for you?” Jaxson asked, stepping forward. Moose moved in beside him. As the deputy fire chief, he figured his place was next to the chief.
“I saw my dog in the newspaper,” the man said, hitching up his belt and puffing up his chest. “Her picture and everythin’ was in there. Y’all found her up in the hills, and I’m here to take her back.”
Moose willed himself not to look towards the corner where Sparky had been curled up, sleeping with her head on Juan’s lap, sharing the space with Maggie Mae, Wyatt’s dog. They were tucked back far enough that they might be able to avoid detection from ol’ eagle eyes here.
At the sound of this man’s voice, though, Sparky let out a whimper and her tail started thumping against the concrete floor as she attempted to crawl up behind Juan and hide from her former owner. Maggie Mae, meanwhile, jumped to her feet in front of Juan and let out a low growl, her eyes watching the new arrival intently.
The man’s eyes searched Sparky out in the darkened corner of the bay. “That was her just now!” he said triumphantly. “Always whining up a storm about somethin’. Worthless piece of shit.” He started to walk towards Juan and the two dogs when Jaxson, Moose, and Troy moved as one to stand in his way.
“That article ran in the paper a month ago,” Jaxson pointed out politely, keeping his voice calm. Even as Moose admired Jaxson’s restraint, he was eyeing the douchebag in front of him, trying to decide if he should knee him in the nuts or the face. Hell, maybe he’d do both. After the bruises and damage Sparky had suffered, he rather figured the man deserved it. “Why so late in responding to it?”
“I don’t take the paper,” the man said with an insolent shrug. “I didn’t see it until my neighbor was rolling it out to use as a dog training pad for his puppy. That reporter sure made y’all sound like heroes, especially Troy. Is that you?” He glanced up and down Jaxson, sizing him up. Moose’s hands curled into fists at his sides.
“Nope, I’m Chief Jaxson Anderson. Troy is a firefighter on my crew, and he has adopted the dog in question. Now go on home and let’s call it a night.”
“I ain’t just walkin’ outta here without my huntin’ dog,” the man snarled. “She’s mine. Had her since she was a pup.”
“Did you make her scared of people?” Troy growled, and Moose almost swallowed his tongue. That was a complete sentence, with a beginning, a middle, and an end. He didn’t realize the man knew how to string that many words together. “Sparky hates most men. Are you why?”
The man shrugged and hitched up his pants again. “I taught her a lesson or two,” he a
llowed, “but only when she needed to learn ‘em. That ain’t the point. That’s my dog, and I want her—”
“A hunting dog?” Abby asked, coming up on the other side of Troy. They’d formed a wall of muscle between the piece of shit and her adopted son and dogs. Moose grinned a little to himself. Fight fair if you can, but cheat if you must, drifted through his mind. He didn’t feel too bad about cheating, honestly. It’d never been a fair fight between this man and Sparky, so why did he deserve a fair fight between him and the Sawyer firefighter crew?
Turnabout’s fair play and all that karma shit.
“The day you lost her out in the foothills, were you out hunting?” Abby continued.
The man’s eyes darted between them, clearly knowing where she was going with this and not quite sure how to get out of it. There were only a few animals on the Idaho Fish & Game’s approved list that could be hunted so early in the year. Most hunters didn’t hit the hills until fall when the deer and elk season opened up. The chances were roughly 100% or so that if he was hunting in May, he was hunting illegally.
“I…I was out target shootin’,” he finally got out. He nodded, pleased as punch that he’d come up with a legal reason to be out shooting. “Cans and shit. Just working on my aim, was all.”
“Did you happen to be off-roading while you were out target shooting?” Abby asked with a cocked eyebrow. “Did you happen to see your tailpipe setting fire to the dead grass as you went along?”
His face went white with shock as he realized that he’d dodged the hunting trap only to walk straight into the “Cause of a wildfire” trap.
“Hold on here a minute,” he said, hitching his pants up so high, he was probably gonna be singing in a higher octave any moment now, “why am I talkin’ to you? You ain’t the police. What do you care where I drove my truck?”
She’d come to their training meeting tonight in civilian clothing since she wasn’t currently on duty, which was probably the cause of the man’s…lack of understanding and respect for who he was talking to.
Moose grinned with anticipation to himself. Abby wasn’t someone to be trifled with, something this guy was about to figure out.
“I’m not a city cop, no,” she said calmly, “but I am a county deputy. I’m surprised you don’t remember me, Billy. After that last time when I got called out to your place ‘cause you smashed in your neighbor’s mailbox, I thought we’d become old friends.”
Billy’s face went even whiter as recognition sank in. “I knew I knew you from somewhere…” he grumbled underneath his breath. His gaze skipped along the wall of muscle in front of him, clearly trying to decide what to do.
Abby must’ve thought it kind to help him along with the decision process, because she said blandly, “Did you know that if you off-road and your tailpipe starts a wildfire, that you’re responsible for all of the costs of that fire? All of the men who worked to put it out, diesel for the vehicles, wear and tear…you’re on the hook for it all. Are you sure you want to claim this dog, and implicate yourself as the cause of that fire? I think the county attorney could draw up a list of fees that you owe, if so.
“After all, this dog was found right next door to where the wildfire started, one where three agencies were called in to fight it. If it’s your dog, then it’s a pretty safe bet to say that it was also your tailpipe. Wouldn’t you agree, Chief Anderson?” she asked, turning to Jaxson, making sure to put an extra emphasis on the title “Chief.”
Before Jaxson could respond, the asshat began stumbling backwards in his haste to beat cheeks for the exit. “Damn dog was gun shy anyway,” he tossed over his shoulder. “Good for nothin’ piece of shit. You’re welcome to her!” The man door banged closed behind him.
It was quiet for just a moment, and then everyone broke out laughing, the kind of laughter that hits after the awful stress of a situation disappears. Moose realized he could take a deep breath again, the fight-or-flight response slowly draining away.
“It’s really too bad you can’t actually go after Billy for that fire, and for animal abuse,” Levi said, once the laughter died down.
Abby shrugged. “I may’ve stretched the truth just a bit there,” she said with a shrug and a completely non-apologetic smile. “It’s hard to prove that someone’s tailpipe is the cause of a wildfire, although in this case, the circumstantial evidence is pretty compelling. The county prosecutor would’ve had to agree to press charges against him, and it would’ve been up to him on whether he thought he could make a good case or not. The chances are pretty slim that he would’ve taken it on, although not completely out of the realm of possibilities. But, Billy is always on the hook for one bullshit stunt or another. He’ll end up in jail soon for something, I promise. He can’t help himself.”
Wyatt, who’d been listening to her explanation from his vantage point of the chair at the forms desk, came striding over and pulled his wife against him, laying a big one on her. “It makes me hot when you get all kickass on a guy,” he growled when he finally pulled away.
“You guys,” Juan protested, clearly mortified that his adopted parents were making out in front of him. “Come onnnn…” Wyatt wrapped his arm possessively around Abby’s waist and shot his son a proud grin.
“I think we’ve learned enough about firefighting for one day,” he said to Juan. “Let’s go home. Your momma and I need to…uhhh…discuss taxes. In the bedroom. Right away.”
Juan patted Sparky one last time – she’d settled down as soon as her previous owner had left – and then pushed himself to a standing position. “I know what you two are doing in there and it ain’t taxes,” Juan grumbled to himself, following his parents out the door, Maggie Mae on their heels.
“Isn’t,” Abby corrected him. “I won’t have you talking like Billy.” The door swung shut behind the Miller family, cutting the rest of the conversation off.
After a few reassuring pets of the head to Sparky, the remaining men went back to training, although Moose only just managed to hang in there by the skin of his teeth. He wanted to go file his own taxes with Georgia. After keeping himself from that very pleasurable activity his whole life, he’d quickly found that it was all he wanted to do. Focusing on almost anything else was becoming harder, not easier, as time went on.
He looked over at Troy who was listening intently as Jaxson walked them through a few simple maneuvers. He’d never been much for talking, but lately, especially since the night of the interview with Penny, he’d come out of his shell a little. Moose wondered if Troy and Penny were also…filing taxes together. Troy was such a private person, Moose wouldn’t be surprised if he found out someday that Troy’d married Penny on the sly and just hadn’t told anyone.
Marriage…now there was a topic of conversation that’d filled Moose with dread almost his whole life, but which now thrilled him to pieces. Just another couple of months, and he could finally do what he’d been wanting to do since he knew what the words meant.
Just another couple of months…
Chapter 25
Georgia
September 2018
“Be careful as you step down,” Moose said in Georgia’s ear, his warm breath sending shivers down her spine. She nodded, trying to keep her feet under her as she felt her way along. Moose had been bouncing along like a little kid beside her, so she knew whatever it was he was about to reveal to her, it wasn’t just a bag of hamburgers and a DVD rental from the RedBox.
Not that she minded an evening in with just the two of them, enjoying life together, but whatever tonight was, it wasn’t that.
“We’re here,” Moose said nervously in her ear, and then pulled the blindfold off her face. “What do you think?” he blurted out.
Georgia was busy blinking, trying to figure out what she was looking at. They were standing in front of a huge house that reminded her in a lot of ways of her aunt and uncle’s home, minus the Georgian columns. It was just as grand and imposing, though, with a three-car garage and a huge façade.
/> “What…where are we?” She looked around, trying to figure out where they were and what she was looking at. It was just after sunset, that time of day of seemingly endless twilight, where the sun threw beams of light into the sky, but all direct sunlight was hidden from the deep valley by the Goldfork Mountains to the west. It was beautiful, and Georgia often thought that twilight was her favorite three hours of the day, but it also wasn’t the best lighting when trying to figure out a puzzle.
A movement caught her eye and she looked back just in time to see Moose drop to one knee in front of her.
“Georgia Rowland, will you be my wife?” he asked, holding the ring box up for her to see. There was a rock the size of Texas in a silver band, but she couldn’t comprehend any more than that because the panic was washing over her as he said, “I put a deposit on the house and bought the ring when that big deal went through with the Gehrings.” He must’ve caught the look on her face, because he stopped for a moment and then said slowly, “Remember? I was telling you about that one. Mr. Gehring was debating between a 7499 and an 8650, and—”
“Why are we talking about tractors right now?” Georgia broke in, a little hysterical.
Moose pushed himself to his feet, pausing for a moment and then shoving the ring box into his pocket. “I want to marry you, Georgia,” he said seriously. “So I put a deposit down on a house, and I bought you a ring. Do you…do you not want to…to…do you want to break up?” The anguish in his voice stabbed at her, and she put her hands out, trying to force physical and mental distance between them.