12-Alarm Cowboys

by Cora Seton

  One man stumbled backward, catching his foot on the old barn wood and lost his grip on the hose. The other firefighter struggled with it before he went down too.

  “Fuck.” Cole sprinted to his men, pulling them back by their coats as the flames licked at their boots. The barn wood caught, feeding the fire.

  Once his men were out of harm’s way, he tackled the flailing line. A loose hose was a danger in its own right.

  “Lieutenant, do you want us on the wood pile?” The question came through his radio.

  Cole slammed his body onto the hose before replying, “Negative. Keep that curtain up.”

  The two firefighters that had been blown down regained their feet and grabbed the hose. “Thanks, Lieutenant.”

  He released his hold. “Pull back and soak that pile. If the wind shifts again, I don’t want the barn catching.”

  The men nodded.

  Cole turned around and strode back to the engine. The two women were still there. This wasn’t a movie. Didn’t they have any common sense?

  After checking with Mason to be sure the water pressure was steady, he approached his audience, irritation growing at the petite stature of the blonde. Someone so delicate didn’t belong at a working fire, but like the owner, at least she had clothes on. “Ladies, you need to get back.” He pointed to the rise the golf carts had congregated on earlier.

  The blonde smiled. “Selma sent over churros and iced tea for your men in case they need something.”

  Cole’s blood froze. That voice. He studied the woman and his heart stumbled inside his chest. Her shapely figure proved she’d grown into a delectably curvy woman as he’d always expected she would, but her face was almost the same, just more refined. “Lacey Winters?”

  Her brows furrowed and her button nose wrinkled as she peered back at him. Had he really changed so much in eight years? Yeah, probably. He been a bean pole last he’d seen her…the night he broke it off with her.

  She gave up trying to figure out who he was. “I’m sorry. Do I know you?”

  He should let it go. No need to dredge up the past. He had a fire to control.

  His pulse went into overdrive. Another fire. It couldn’t be coincidence. He scowled at her. “You should. I’m Cole, Cole Hatcher.”

  Even in the reflection of the flames, her face turned pasty white and he kicked himself for revealing his identity. All he needed now was a fainting woman to contend with.

  “You two know each other?” The other woman leaned on one hip, her concern for Lacey evident in the look she gave him.

  At the owner’s voice, Lacey recovered her color. Actually, her face changed from white to an angry flush in a matter of seconds. It reminded him of a flashover.

  “Not that I want to know him.” Lacey handed the tray over to the owner and stepped up to him. She poked her index finger into his chest. Hard. “So, Cole Hatcher. Are you going to accuse me of setting this fire? After all, I’m here, on the same property. It’s not like you need evidence or anything. Feel free to assume the worst. I’m sure it helps to justify the way you treated me.” She pulled back as if touching him made her feel sick. “Good luck with that.” Turning on her heel, she stalked off, her hips swaying enticingly until he remembered where he was and who he was looking at.

  “So you’re the one who broke her heart.” The owner studied him briefly then set the tray on the ground and followed after Lacey.

  Shit.

  Lacey didn’t have a destination in mind. She didn’t even see the dirt road she walked on. All she could see was Cole Hatcher, or rather the new and improved Cole Hatcher. He’d grown even taller and had filled out like a pro football player. What right did he have to look that good?

  “Lacey, wait.” Kendra’s voice stopped her.

  She didn’t want to wait. She wanted to get as far from Cole as she could. That was why she’d applied for the job at Poker Flat in the first place. But Kendra was her boss.

  “Lacey.” Kendra grabbed her arm. “Were you planning to walk into the ravine?”

  She looked at her boss blankly before refocusing on her surroundings in the growing darkness. Shoot. She’d almost walked right off the road.

  She returned her gaze to Kendra and shook her head, her eyes watering at her near miss. She shouldn’t let Cole affect her so much. She was supposed to be over him by now.

  Kendra looped her arm in hers. “Come on. Let’s let the firefighters do their job and you can tell me all about it.”

  Lacey swallowed the lump in her throat. “I’d rather not.”

  “That wasn’t a request.” Kendra tugged on her arm and she gave in. Her boss was twice her size and tough. Besides, Lacey owed her an explanation. Her broken heart and arson charge had been the two deciding factors for getting hired. Kendra only hired misfits and at first Lacey had appeared too perfect.

  She sniffed. Heck, she was anything but perfect.

  “So he’s the one who broke your heart, isn’t he?” Kendra didn’t waste time getting to the point.

  “Yes.”

  “I thought you said he was a cowboy and lived in Orson, Arizona.”

  Lacey pulled up her memory of the young man she’d fallen head over heels for. He’d been six feet tall as a high school senior and as thin as any wrangler, but even then his hard chin had given him a more mature look. Her weakness, though, had been his eyes. Cole Hatcher had always had the kindest green eyes she’d ever gazed into.

  “Lacey?”

  “Yes, he is, he was, I don’t know. I have no idea what he’s doing here or why he’s a firefighter.” Her stomach tensed. The last time they were at a fire together, he held her close as her parents’ carriage house went up in smoke.

  Kendra steered her toward her own casita. “I think we’d better have this conversation at your place.”

  Lacey stopped, forcing Kendra to halt. “We can’t do that. We have guests and they will all be in the main building asking questions, needing food and attention.”

  “Of course they will, and Wade and Selma can take care of them. You and I are going to your casita.” Kendra tugged her into walking again.

  She sighed. She’d finally forgotten about Cole, except for the dull ache of her bruised heart. She’d moved on, gone to college, done what was right, as she always had…except he’d ignored that fact when he decided to agree with the rest of the town.

  Kendra stepped back when they reached the door to her casita.

  Pulling her resort keyring from the pocket in her skirt, Lacey quickly identified her house key and unlocked the door. She flicked the light switch and a pale-yellow glow filled the living room. “Would you like some lemonade?”

  Kendra hooked her arm again and steered her to her white wicker couch with the cactus floral cushions. “No, I don’t want anything to drink. I want you to tell me why you and that hunk of a firefighter out there aren’t living happily ever after on a ranch in Orson.”

  Lacey sat and clasped her hands as Kendra pulled the matching wicker chair over to sit opposite her.

  “I’m not sure where to start.”

  “Okay, then I’ll ask the questions and you answer them. How long had you two been an item?”

  Technically, they had met sophomore year of high school, but it was their junior year that they became an item. “About two years.”

  “How long has it been since you last saw him?”

  She gripped her hands tighter. “Eight years.”

  “And what caused the breakup?”

  Lacey narrowed her eyes. “That stupid arson charge.” Her tone dripped with bitterness she couldn’t control. She’d always been a good girl, and being accused of something she didn’t do had rankled.

  “Ah, so he broke up with you because he thought you were a firebug and as a future firefighter he couldn’t be with you.”

  “Yes. No. I mean, yes, he did believe the accusations and dumped me because he couldn’t be with ‘someone like me’ as he so graciously put it. But he was a cowboy then, not a
firefighter. He was supposed to stay in Orson and take over his parents’ horse ranch.”

  Kendra pondered that information for a moment. “But didn’t you say when I hired you that they ruled that fire as accidental?”

  She shrugged. “Yes, but by the time they made that decision, I was away at school and my reputation in Orson was dirt.” The fact was, she’d been lucky to escape from the burning carriage house. It had taken her over a year to get over the nightmares of waking up in the dark, her lungs filling with smoke.

  Kendra stood. “I want you to stay in this casita all night. I don’t want anyone trying to blame this fire on you.”

  “You believe me?”

  Her boss rolled her eyes. “Lacey, I didn’t have to work with you for a year and let you handle all my money to know you wouldn’t have started a fire. The fact that some idiot who supposedly loved you couldn’t figure it out doesn’t mean the rest of the world is so stupid.”

  Tears welled in her eyes and Lacey threw her arms around Kendra. “Thank you.”

  Her boss gave her a tight hug, then pushed her back. “First rule, don’t let him see your weakness. Got it?”

  Lacey nodded and brushed her tears away with the hem of her western shirt, even though her heart was breaking all over again. Kendra had been a professional poker player and if anyone would know how to appear to Cole, it would be her.

  “Second, don’t give him the opportunity to point fingers. Go about your daily business as if nothing unusual has happened.”

  She nodded. “But what about the real reason the fire started?”

  Kendra scowled. “Shit, that could be anything from more vandals hating our nudist business to a careless construction worker to a guest with an arson record. We’ll let the fire department figure that out. Okay?”

  “Okay.” She straightened her shoulders. “I’ll stay here tonight and review Selma’s inventory. I have it on my computer.”

  Kendra walked to the door. “Good. Maybe you can also check our reservations and see if anyone is due to arrive tomorrow. I’d like to know what kind of guest relation mitigation we will be up against with the police and fire people here.”

  “Already did.” Lacey opened the door for her boss. “No one is due to check in until Wednesday when Ginger and Buddy arrive, unless we have day guests.”

  Kendra smiled. “Good. That’s one thing in our favor. Ginger and Buddy won’t care.” Instead of turning away, her boss shifted her weight, a clear sign she was concerned.

  Lacey’s stomach tightened. “What is it?”

  “I just realized how important it is for me to hire a new security guard. It’s been so quiet this fall I haven’t made time for interviews. Now with your ex in the area, I’m thinking that should become my first priority.”

  She was about to reassure Kendra that Cole didn’t have a dangerous bone in his body, but she swallowed her words as the image of him hefting his fellow firefighters away from the flames came to mind. The teenage Cole certainly didn’t have that kind of strength. Truth be told, she didn’t know this Cole Hatcher at all.

  *

  Cole fell into a cushioned chair in the Poker Flat Nudist Resort’s lobby and lifted the neck of his t-shirt up to wipe his eyes. The material came away dotted with tiny black specks. Shit, he needed a shower. Just a few more minutes and he could head back to the station.

  Wade Johnson, the resort manager, strode away in search of his fiancée, the owner of Poker Flat. The man had stayed up all night with him. Their mutual interest in protecting the horses had Cole thinking. It may be a nudist resort but it was still a resort. He couldn’t pass up a possible opportunity for the horses from his and his grandfather’s ranch. He’d see if he could get a business card.

  Crossing his legs at his ankles, Cole leaned back. He had to admit the resort was first class. The chair he sat in was so comfortable he’d have to be careful not to fall asleep. He glanced at the wooden clock above the receptionist desk. 5:50 a.m. He doubted many nudist guests would be up yet. He could close his eyes until Wade returned. Watching for hot spots all night to protect the desert and the horses had been a strain on the eyes.

  A slight change in air temperature was the only warning he had he wasn’t alone anymore.

  “Oh come on, Selma. You were sitting at your kitchen table twiddling your fingers waiting for the sun to rise. Now you have an extra ten minutes to prep your huevos rancheros.”

  “Humph. Could have used the extra minutes for my beauty sleep.”

  Cole opened one eye. Lacey strode toward the front desk in a pair of white cowgirl boots with fringe, a too short white skirt, and a loose white blouse with tiny pink stars and six-shooters printed on it. The only thing missing was a white hat, except she had that too, in her hand. From behind she made him think of a piece of tres leches cake with strawberries on top. The desire to eat her up hit him in the groin.

  She stopped at the desk and gave the shorter woman with salt-and-pepper hair a quick hug. “You are far too beautiful as it is.”

  The woman ducked away, grumbling, but Lacey smiled after her fondly. Cole’s heart thumped hard in his chest. He remembered that smile. It had made him believe he could conquer the world. Too bad he hadn’t had her with him when he needed to conquer his parents.

  Lacey moved to adjust the pamphlets on the side of the counter. Her shapely legs had a slight tan as they disappeared beneath the ass-hugging skirt. He scowled. She shouldn’t wear such revealing clothes to work. Was she looking to get laid? Her straight blonde hair was caught in a braid on one side of her neck, giving her an innocent look.

  She wasn’t innocent at all. As a randy teen, he’d made sure of that. Need slithered through his crotch and up his backbone. The first time he’d had her petite body beneath his own, he’d been afraid of crushing her. But his little lady was made of sterner stuff on the inside. His balls tightened and he shifted in the chair, his erection making him uncomfortable. She’d been so tight.

  “What are you doing here?”

  Chapter Two

  ‡

  She must have heard the creak of the chair when he moved. Shit. She faced him now from across the room, her stance rigid.

  Leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees to hide his hard-on, he tried for a nonchalant attitude. He didn’t need her to know his body remembered hers. “I never left. There was a fire last night. Remember?”

  Her face softened. “You all worked through the night?”

  He shook his head as much to answer her as at the obvious concern in her voice. “No. I sent the men with the tanker back to the station. Only myself and Mason stayed with the engine to be sure the fire was completely out.”

  She dropped her hat on the desk and sighed. “I better tell Selma. She’ll want to get you breakfast.” Her tone made it clear she wasn’t happy about that. She walked toward the main room, but he didn’t want her to leave.

  “No. That’s okay.” He stood. “We’re heading back to the station now. I’m just waiting for Wade to find Kendra.”

  She hesitated before clasping her hands in front of her and leaning against one of the wood post supports. “If you’re waiting for Kendra, it will be awhile. She’s a night owl and I doubt she got much sleep at all last night. It will take Wade some time to wake her at this hour.”

  “That’s fine. Mason and I will eat when we get back to the station.”

  “Okay.” She stood staring at him but not meeting his gaze.

  The silence became awkward. Hell. They were two adults now. Their relationship had ended a long time ago. Certainly they could have a civil conversation. “Why are you working here, at a nudist resort?”

  Her gaze flew to his and she stood straighter. “You mean how could I stoop so low as to work here? As a matter of fact, after getting my degree in accounting and graduating summa cum laude, I had my pick of jobs, but I chose to work here because these are good people and there is absolutely nothing wrong with being nude.” She put one hand on her hip and n
arrowed her eyes. “In fact, I remember a few times when you were wont to prance around in the buff.”

  Heat rushed to his cheeks. Yeah, as a dumbass adolescent, he may have pulled a couple pranks. But he wasn’t a teenager anymore. “I never pranced.”

  She brushed his comment aside. “Whatever.”

  No, not whatever. “I was a teenager then. What’s your excuse?”

  “I don’t need an excuse. It’s exactly your kind of people who judge nudists that is enough for me to want to help.”

  He stiffened at the image of Lacey without clothes filling his mind. “You don’t actually walk around nude, do you?”

  “What if I do? What’s it to you?” Her chin came up in challenge.

  Shit. Just the thought of her parading around the resort absolutely naked had his heartbeat racing and his cock growing hard. She had filled out so nicely he could imagine what she might look like, but now he wanted to know for sure.

  Footsteps approaching from the large room to the right saved him from saying something he would regret.

  Kendra Lowe walked in and stopped in front of him, not seeing Lacey. “Wade said you needed to talk to me?”

  “Yes, ma’am. The fire is now completely out. Later today you’ll receive a visit from an investigator. He needs to determine why the fire started. Don’t let the construction crew touch anything. They’ll probably want to know what of theirs was damaged. If they get here before the investigator, keep them on this side of the resort or tell them to come back tomorrow.”

  The woman cocked her head. “Very well. I hope the investigation won’t take long. I’d rather my guests not be disturbed too much. As it is, I will have to discount their stay.”

  “Hopefully it won’t, but you have to let the investigator determine the cause of the fire. I’m assuming you had insurance on the new construction?”

  “Of course.”

  Cole grabbed the paperwork he’d left on the side table next to the chair he’d relaxed in for those brief moments. “I’ll need you to fill out this sheet and then we’ll be on our way.”