by Cora Seton
“And why would you think that? I’m the most qualified, I’ve been a Captain at this station for four years.” Sunny stiffened her shoulders, and lifted her chin. “I was going to my official interview with the board today before I got that call to go to your ranch. Nobody else applied, so it’s pretty much just a formality.”
Austin’s red-rimmed, glazed gray eyes shot up to hers and one corner of his full mouth ticked up. “I may be applying for the job, that’s why.”
Chapter Five
‡
Sunny shoved her coffee cup to the side, slid out of the booth and stood to hold out her hand. “Give me the keys to my damned truck,” she said, in a low, lethal tone.
“Sit down and eat,” Austin replied evenly, not making a move to pull the keys out of his pocket. Heat waves practically poured off of Sunny Gleason. He didn’t think he’d ever seen a woman madder. “You afraid of a little friendly competition? Afraid you won’t cut the mustard compared to me?” he challenged, dragging his eyes from hers lift his cup and take a sip.
“There’s nothing to be afraid of,” Sunny snarled, slamming her palms on the table to lean toward him. “You’re hardly competition, so don’t flatter yourself. I’ve been a full-time firefighter for almost seven years now, Captain for four. You’ve played at being a fireman, but you’re a damned ranch hand!”
Her face said she thought her words were true, but her tone of voice said differently. Sunny Gleason was damned scared. She needed to be. This woman was the one who wasn’t qualified to be Fire Chief. If she was given the job, it wouldn’t last. Either she’d be gone in a heartbeat, or all the men at the station would be. Austin had witnessed tonight how tense everyone got when she was around.
He slammed his cup down, and groaned as hot liquid sloshed onto his hand. Wiping it with a napkin, he pinned her with his eyes. “I’ve been a part-time firefighter and medic for nearly seventeen years, since I could volunteer. That means I have just as much—more time served than you do. What I have over you though, is that I know how to deal with the people. The men who serve with me respect me, because I treat them with respect.” Anger surged through him and Austin’s left eye ticked. He put a finger over it. “Have you noticed that your men don’t respect you? Do you wonder why?”
Sunny stood back up and crossed her arms under her breasts, pushing them into pillows at the scoop neck of her dirty white tank top. They heaved with every agitated breath she took, and Austin was mesmerized. “They respect me, or they can hit the door.”
His eyes slid up her long, slender throat over that stubborn lifted chin to meet her angry blue gaze. “Attila the Hun management style? How’s that working for you, Sunshine?” Austin scoffed, leaning forward on his elbow.
Her face flushed and her mouth tightened. “No, the problem is that I’m a woman, and men, especially firemen, are Neanderthals who don’t respect women. I haven’t met one firefighter who is different, except my uncle who had enough faith in my ability to promote me to Captain. Those men will follow my orders, or we don’t need them.”
Austin made a sound like a gameshow buzzer and she flinched—the first crack in her armor that he’d seen. “Wrong. Firefighters are brothers just as much as military men are. We care about each other, and always, always have each other’s backs from rank private all the way up to generals. We need that camaraderie to survive to fight another day. It’s called teamwork, and you need to learn to be a team player, or you’ll never be an effective leader.”
“If y’all are finished entertaining our late night customers with your argument, your food is ready and these trays are heavy,” the waitress said gruffly.
Two more restaurant employees stood behind the waitress with their arms loaded down with steaming trays, and Austin didn’t notice until that moment that several of the bleary eyed diners were staring at them. “Sit back down, Sunny. Let’s just eat so we can get the hell to a bunk somewhere. You’ve worn me out, and I need some sleep.” Austin shoved things aside so the plates could be set on the table.
“Try rephrasing that command, and I might consider it, brother,” Sunny grated.
Austin chewed the inside of his cheek until he tasted blood. He had never met a more obstinate woman in his life. “Please sit down, so we can eat our breakfast…ma’am.”
A victorious smile stretched her soot-covered face, as she slid back into the booth, and opened her napkin on her lap. The waitress rolled her eyes, as she and the men with her sorted out the plates to drop them in front of Austin and Sunny. When they walked away, Sunny looked up from the plate of pancakes in front of her.
“How and the hell am I going to eat all this?”
Austin shrugged, picked up his fork and smashed his eggs into his grits. “You ordered it.”
Staring at the plates, she shook her head. “This will feed me and my whole family. I think it was just the dregs of the um…” She scanned the restaurant, before she leaning toward him to whisper. “The marijuana.”
“Among potheads, I think the term is called the munchies.”
Austin knew he was going to have a hard time finishing what he’d ordered. He couldn’t imagine Sunny Gleason, even as tall as she was, could clean her plates either. But he was going to give it the old school try, he thought, as he shoveled a bite of grits and eggs into his mouth. His taste buds danced as he chewed before downing half his glass of juice.
“I just know I’m all of a sudden starving,” she replied, as she cut her entire stack of pancakes into tiny little pieces, much tinier than necessary for adult consumption.
Austin only did that when he babysat his nephews back in Gladewater. That made him wonder about the family Sunny spoke of a minute ago. Was she married? His eyes dropped to her bare ring finger and for some reason his heart lifted in his chest. Having a kid these days didn’t necessarily mean you were married though.
“Tell me about your family,” Austin invited casually, taking another bite of his eggs. Knowing a little more about this puzzling woman might just open the door to being able to work with her. Hopefully, he wouldn’t have to do that too often. Since they were both on the same level, according to what the Chief said when he offered him the job, maybe they’d have opposite shifts at the station.
“I don’t discuss my family with my co-workers,” Sunny shot back flatly.
Gathering his patience, which took a minute, Austin wiped his mouth. “Remember that teamwork comment? Well that begins by getting to know your brothers. Keeping yourself removed means they’ll never really get to know or care about you, or you about them.”
Sunny’s shoulders stiffened, and she didn’t look up from her plate. “I don’t want them to care about me. I don’t want to know their personal business, and expect them to stay out of mine.” She laid her fork down beside her plate then looked up at him. “If that’s your idea of teamwork, you can have it. Bringing personal issues into the station just creates drama. Trust me, I know. And as far as brothers are concerned, women will never be allowed in that fraternity whether they care or not. I learned that lesson well from the men at the last station I worked at as well.”
That comment, the way she voiced it and the storm clouds that gathered in her beautiful eyes told him whatever happened at that station had a lot to do with her attitude now. His curiosity was piqued, but Austin knew pressing her now would only result in another argument. They were both tired, and really did need to finish eating so they could sleep. It was two a.m., and he had to get back to the ranch in the morning. Besides, he’d probably have an easier time getting information about her situation out of her brothers at the station. He would bet they knew a helluva lot more about her than she thought they did.
Austin hurriedly finished his breakfast, and sat sipping a second cup of coffee while Sunny finished her food. About the only thing she left was half of the huge cinnamon roll, and the melted hot fudge sundae. With a loud sigh, she finally tossed her napkin like a truce flag over her plate, then leaned back against the booth.
“Let’s get out of here,” Sunny said tiredly. “My turnout pants are about to rip a seam.”
Austin’s were too, but for another reason. Watching her lick the damned icing from the cinnamon roll off of her long, thin fingers for twenty minutes had been sheer sensual torture. And damn if she didn’t reach over to slide her finger through the thick gooey icing on the plate one more time. When she popped her index finger into her mouth, she moaned and Austin stiffened more. Her breathy sigh, the way she closed her eyes to enjoy the sweetness as she slowly slid the slick digit from her full lips had him biting back a groan himself.
Short of breath, and wondering how the hell he could be so insanely attracted to such an abrasive woman, Austin slid out of the booth and stood. “I’m going to find that waitress and get our ticket.” Forcing his eyes forward, Austin strode toward the coffee bar where he saw their waitress gabbing with a customer.
After he paid the ticket, he went outside to the truck and found Sunny on the other side waiting to be let inside. Austin clicked the release on the key fob and got behind the wheel. “I’m tired, so I need a place to lay my head tonight. And not in this truck. Are there cots at the station? Or bunks?” he asked as he cranked the truck.
“It’s a volunteer station, and we don’t stay there, so no. There’s a ratty old sofa, but I can attest it’s not very comfortable at all. There’s this one spring that will give you an appendectomy if you’re not careful.” Sunny laughed, seeming as if having her belly full made her much more amiable. Austin needed to remember that for future reference. Always make sure Sunny Gleason ate to keep the peace. Or make sure he had a joint handy to keep her in her happy place.
Well, that wasn’t an option really. Austin didn’t do drugs or condone their use. But with this woman, he may seriously consider it. The guys at the station would probably pitch in to help.
“What about the medics? They work 24-hour shifts, right? Don’t they have a bunkhouse?” Austin asked, looking over his shoulder to back out.
“They are in a separate building down the street. Yes, they have four bunks, but I can tell you, since we have two units, they’re full tonight, unless they get calls.”
“Well, it looks like I’m sleeping on your sofa then whether you like it or not,” Austin said firmly. Expecting her to argue, he continued, “I’m beyond tired, and I don’t want those two medic trucks to have to come and scrape me up off of the road.”
When he didn’t get a response, Austin looked over to see Sunny’s head rolled toward the window and her soft snores told him she was asleep.
“Wake up!” he shouted, dragging his own weighted eyelids up. Her body jerked and her eyes flew to his. “I need you to stay awake to keep me awake. And I need directions to get to your house.”
“But—”
“No buts, Sunshine. Get me to your house, and show me to the sofa. We’re having a slumber party tonight,” Austin said with a tired wink.
“I’d rather snuggle up with a cactus than you, asshole!” She turned toward him to point a finger. “You are on the couch and I hit the eject button as soon as my feet hit the floor, got that? You are not getting cozy with my family.”
Her family. Just the group Austin wanted to meet. Maybe one of them might clue him in as to what happened to this woman to make her as prickly as that cactus she’d rather snuggle with than him.
Chapter Six
‡
Sunny rolled over and the sandpapery texture of the line-dried sheets raked her hardened nipples jolting her awake. She bit back a groan and threw her arm over her eyes to block the bright sunshine coming through the thin curtains at her window. Why the hell her mother insisted on drying their sheets on the clothesline out back when they had a perfectly good, modern clothes dryer, Sunny would never know.
Yes she would—her mother did a lot of things the old-fashioned way and there was no changing her at this late date. Like sticking to the vows she made to a man who did nothing but cheat on her for thirty years, and line-drying his sheets because he liked it even though it was a lot more work for her. Just like she still hung the sheets on the thin rusty wire out back to dry, her mother would probably still be married to James Gleason if he hadn’t divorced her to marry a younger woman. Sunny’s father did her and them a favor by leaving, and his young new wife proved to be the death of him. He had a fatal heart attack while they were having sex ten years ago, two years after they married. Could justice be served any sweeter?
Sunny surely hadn’t shed a tear, or gone to the funeral. The day that man left them when she was fifteen, and her brother seventeen, was the day she cut him out of her heart. Too bad her mother hadn’t been able to do the same. Now, Pauline Gleason was nearly sixty-two years old, about to get on Social Security and also start receiving part of her ex-husband’s retirement fund, the only thing she walked away with in the divorce other than this cracker-box three-bedroom house that needed a new roof.
As of her birthday in a month, her mother would no longer be reliant on the rent Sunny paid to live with her to survive. Sunny could leave without worrying about her. Find a place to rent that would be nice for her and Billy. But only if she got the Chief’s job. That was the only way she could afford to live on her own.
She desperately needed to move out for her son’s sake. Pauline doted on Billy something terrible. Coddled him until he thought it was his due. Let him do exactly what he wanted to do, no matter how much Sunny griped about it. And that made it damned hard for Sunny to discipline Billy when he needed it. Lately, he’d taken to throwing tantrums on those occasions, and running to his grandmother to be soothed. The resentment in his eyes when Sunny ripped him out of Pauline’s arms to put him in his room tore her heart out.
He also now shared his room with Rand, which was a problem. Rand thought filling a four-year-old’s head with bullrider and bullfighter glory stories was a good thing. It wasn’t, as far as she was concerned, but Rand laughed at her when she tried to talk to him about it. If she wasn’t careful, her son could become just like his uncle—adventure and attention seeking. Always looking for his next dose of adrenaline and excitement. Billy would end up in a career that could provide the excitement he craved. Bull riding or bull fighting like Rand, law enforcement like his debauched grandfather, or firefighting like his playboy daddy—and her.
Sunny didn’t choose this job though, it chose her. She fell into the career when she graduated high school and couldn’t afford college. The dispatcher’s job in Carrolton was advertised in the Glanville paper, so she applied. She figured that if she couldn’t do what she really wanted to do, go to nursing school, that job would still allow her to help people. As it turned out, the department put her through medic and fire school on their nickel. Now, firefighting was all she knew, it was her career. But she wanted better for her son.
He would go to college like she hadn’t been able to do. He could be an accountant or an engineer, behind a desk where he’d be safe and she didn’t have to worry about him forever. To get him to that mindset though would take time. And she would have plenty of time once she was promoted to Fire Chief, and hired a new Captain. She would have time to teach Billy boundaries that would help him become a good man. Time to take him fishing and to the ballpark to develop the relationship with him she had been denied by working so many hours. Time to show Billy that he could trust her to help him make wise choices when he needed advice, so he would trust her to be his go-to person when he needed advice.
Lord knew he’d probably need it when he got older.
Being both mother and father to a growing boy was not an easy job, but since they’d lived with her mother since Billy was born, Sunny knew she hadn’t really experienced the full spectrum of that job. She wanted to, and would. Just as soon as she was promoted and had the income that would allow her to live on her own and the time to develop the kind of relationship she wanted to have with her son.
With a sigh, Sunny threw back the covers and a warm, smoked herb odor wa
fted up to her nose, reminding her of what they’d done the night before. She gagged, regretting her decision to shuck her turnout gear and clothes to just fall into bed without a shower at three in the morning when they got home. But she’d been so damned full, and exhausted.
They—and shit, she had Austin McBride to face down this morning. The man who made it clear to her last night he might be the wrench in her plan to become Chief. Well that man would have a fight on his hands if he tried it, because that job was hers.
Sitting up on the side of the bed, Sunny cradled her throbbing skull. Her legs felt like cooked noodles as she pushed up to her feet and staggered to the dresser to find clothes so she could go shower. Her only warning was a short knock before her bedroom door flew inward and Austin McBride’s low-pitched groan mixed with her son’s giggle.
“Ooh sorry, mommy. I didn’t know you were in your birthday suit,” Billy said with another hearty giggle, leaning inside the doorframe to see her from his perch atop Austin McBride’s broad shoulders.
Sunny fumbled in the drawer and jerked out the first thing she could find to press it to her breasts where Austin’s hot eyes seemed to be glued. His eyebrows lifted, but his eyes didn’t move as his lips curved up into a sexy smile. Sunny looked down to see she’d somehow selected the only piece of lingerie she owned, a lacy lavender bustier. Heat crept up her neck to her cheeks, then anger almost blew off the top of her head. She’d told Billy too many times not to barge into her room, and Austin McBride was old enough to know better.
“You’re in big trouble, mister!” she shouted, pointing a finger at Billy whose smile faded, before he ducked his head back out of the room. Her finger swung to Austin who was still leering at her breasts. “Get the hell out of here! And get my damned son down off your shoulders before you put his head through the ceiling. I don’t need hospital bills.” As tall as Austin McBride was it could happen. Sunny had a few inches to look up at the man, which was unusual.