by Leigh Bale
“Where are the kids today?” He followed her out into the backyard.
She glanced at the swing hanging from the tall tree and remembered the day he’d hooked it up for her children. They’d enjoyed it nonstop ever since. “They’re over at a friend’s house, having a playdate. They’ll be home in an hour. I thought it would make our meeting easier if we didn’t have them interrupting us every five seconds.”
Jared chuckled. “I don’t mind. I’ve become pretty good friends with Caleb and June.”
Yes, she’d noticed. Although June was still a bit reluctant, she was slowly warming up to the man. And Caleb adored him. Megan liked him, too. A lot. And if she let down her guard, it’d be so easy to fall madly, deeply...
No! She couldn’t think that way.
“Last Thursday was their last day of school. I’m trying to find ways to keep them busy during the summer break while spending some quality time with them, too. Tonight, we’re going to watch a movie and eat popcorn together.”
He slid one hand into his pants pocket. “That sounds fun. I imagine being a single working mom poses a lot of challenges. But you seem to handle it all with a smile.”
“Thank you. From what I’ve seen, you’re good with kids, too.”
Oh, stupid. She shouldn’t have said that.
“Well, it’s easy when they’re as sweet as Caleb and June. They’ve got a good mom,” he said.
Ah, that melted her heart as nothing else could.
“Thank you. Why haven’t you ever married?” The moment Megan asked the question, she regretted it. It was too bold. Too personal. But she really wanted to know.
His eyes widened in surprise. “Actually, I was married once.”
Now it was her turn to be startled. “Really?”
“Yeah, but it didn’t work out. Sharon hated the small, remote towns I dragged her to live in for my profession. She was a city girl through and through. While I was working up in the mountains, she found someone else she wanted more than me.”
Oh, boy. Megan wasn’t prepared for that much information. She didn’t know what to say. What to think. And she honestly couldn’t imagine why any woman would ever toss this handsome man over for someone else.
“I’m so sorry, Jared. I didn’t mean to pry,” she said.
He gave a low laugh, but there was no humor in it. “It’s okay. Actually, it feels kind of good to finally talk about it. You’re the first person I’ve mentioned it to since it happened.”
She heard the hurt in his voice and felt like a heel for reminding him of his painful history. She didn’t want to be the person he confided in. It brought them closer somehow, and she couldn’t allow that. No, not at all.
He took a deep breath, as though he were gathering his courage. “It’s in the past and I need to move on now.”
She was trying to do the same with her own life, and she realized how much they had in common. Both of them had been hurt deeply. Both of them had former loves they were still trying to get past. And honestly, she didn’t think she could ever get over losing Blaine.
They stepped beyond the backyard. It widened up into a spacious lot, partitioned by a lawn area with a swing set, a small garden and a tall fence. The mobile kitchen and a semitruck sat off to one side. And Megan resolved to focus on business again.
“I’ve made a number of contacts,” she said, “to hire several more cooks and some high school kids to help cater the meals to the fire crews. If we get a fire in our mountains, I’ll be ready.”
“That’s good.”
Opening the door to the garage, she flipped on the light. She blinked, letting her eyes become accustomed to the dim interior. Jared did likewise, gazing at the shelves filled with tools and camping and yard equipment.
She pointed at several rolls of colored tape sitting on the workbench. “I’m planning to color code the boxes of food, to ensure things like pancakes don’t get sent out to the spike camps without butter and syrup to accompany them.”
He nodded and gave a low sound of approval. “Great! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to eat a dry loaf of bread and apples with nothing but water to wash them down because the caterer didn’t send us any meat and cheese to go with it. Just bread and apples.”
She made a little grimace. “That wouldn’t be much of a meal for a hungry firefighter.”
“Yeah, it isn’t. But when you’re out there working like a dog, you’ll eat anything you can get.”
That made her laugh. She liked this man’s sense of humor and hard-work ethic. Not to mention his gorgeous smile. He was close to perfect. But they wouldn’t even be having this conversation if he wasn’t a hotshot. If she ever gave another man a chance, he’d have a job she was sure would bring him home every night.
Once more, she resolved to keep her distance.
* * *
“Um, will you still need some Cubitainers for things like milk, juice and water?” Jared asked, trying to focus his thoughts back on work. Megan’s question about his marriage had left him feeling a bit uneasy. And yet, it felt good to finally talk about his divorce. He’d kept it all bottled up inside of him for so long that it actually relieved some tension to speak the words out loud.
She nodded. “Yes, if you can get them for me.”
“Do you have the necessary dining tables and chairs for people to sit on?”
Her long ponytail bounced as she nodded her head. “Yes. And the kitchen trailer includes deep fryers, grills and even a tilt skillet for preparing scrambled eggs and mashed potatoes.”
“That sounds great,” he said.
“I’ve also got some additional insulated containers, warming ovens, a propane refrigerator chest and a trailer to haul it all up onto the mountain.” She pointed at each item stacked neatly beside the trailer and a sturdy tarp to cover everything with, in case it rained.
He liked the note of confidence in her voice. The expression of buoyancy on her face. She’d been working hard, and he realized he’d made the right call by giving her the contract.
She stepped past him to display the rows of canned foods she’d already purchased from her grocery supplier and set aside for when she needed it.
Her arm brushed against his chest, and he sucked back a quick inhale. After his divorce, he thought he was immune to ever being attracted to another woman. But that had changed with Megan.
“I can get the Cubitainers in for you next week,” he said, wishing he could keep his mind on their task.
“That should be soon enough. Any idea when we’ll get our first fire in the area?”
“No telling. The weather’s been dry and warm, which provides a lot of tinder for the lightning storms we’ve been having.”
He paused, taking a deep inhale. Even in the musty garage, he caught her clean, fragrant scent.
Time to go.
“I’ll bring the Cubitainers over as soon as they come in,” he said.
“That will be fine.”
She walked with him out to the front of the house.
“Thanks for coming over,” she said.
He smiled, liking the way the sun highlighted streaks of gold in her hair. “Anytime.”
As he climbed into his truck, he felt light and cheerful inside, and he didn’t know why. He’d confided some personal things to Megan, yet he knew without asking that she understood how he was feeling. And that she’d keep his confidence.
Having her to lean on was not something he could get used to, though. Because he wasn’t ready for another relationship—even with someone as capable and pretty as Megan.
Chapter Seven
A persistent ringing woke Megan. Cracking her eyes open just a bit, she squinted into the darkness. A quick glance at the bedside clock told her it was just after three in the morning.
Ring!
She reached for the phone, knocking the clock off the bedside table in the process. It clattered to the floor. Who on earth could be calling her at this time of the night?
“Hello?” she answered, her voice sounding groggy.
“Good morning! You awake yet?”
Jared’s words made her eyes pop open wide. At first, she was confused. But then, her senses returned.
She chuckled. “I am now.”
“Sorry to disturb you so early, but we’ve got a fire. It isn’t big, yet. Just fifteen hundred acres, but it’s zero contained,” he said, his voice upbeat but also serious.
Megan rubbed her eyes, which were gritty with fatigue. She’d received these calls in the past. So had Blaine. They’d come from a different FMO back then, but he’d always sounded energetic and ready to face the coming fire.
“How many workers will we need to feed today?” she asked.
“Two hundred men and women have been called in this morning, with about fifty administrative people to run the incident command post. They’ve called in several more hotshot crews, which will be arriving later this afternoon. You should plan to feed about four hundred people for dinner tonight.”
Whew! Good thing she had enough T-bone steaks stashed in the freezer chest. “Okay, I can handle it.”
“I’ll be up on the mountain by the time you reach the fire camp.” He then proceeded to give her instructions on how to get there.
“Do you know the area?” he asked.
“Yes, I’ve been there before.”
“Good. Just drive carefully and stay safe,” he said.
His caring words sent a tingle of warmth up her spine. “I will. And you, too.”
As she hung up the phone, she realized what she’d said. They sounded like a pair of good friends looking out for each other. And they weren’t friends. Not really. And yet, she couldn’t help worrying about him, and the other hotshots, too.
Shaking her head, she hurried to make some phone calls of her own. Her team was on standby and knew she might call them at any time, day or night.
By nine o’clock that morning, she’d notified her crew, loaded up the trailer, buckled her kids into their seats and was driving her truck along the winding mountain road. They hit a bump that jarred them all, and June gasped. As Megan watched closely for some sign of the wildfire base camp, she was grateful Jared had insisted she use his more reliable truck.
Her crew drove in tandem. She led the way, followed by Frank driving the semi with the mobile kitchen attached. Catherine Brindley, a school lunch cook, and four high school seniors with enough maturity to help with this job, were in a van bringing up the rear. They’d be staying up on the mountain for several days, until Megan brought in another crew to relieve them of their work. She’d hired a couple more cooks and waitresses to man the diner in town, but Megan wanted Frank’s expertise to help set up their operations at the fire camp.
The trailer hitched to Megan’s truck thumped behind at an even clip. It was filled with cooler chests, canned vegetables, fresh salad mix and bags of potatoes for baking. She had enough bacon, eggs, pancake mix, meat, bread, potato chips, trail mix and fruit to make breakfast and lunch for tomorrow. By then, she’d be back up here with another load of food. While the fire lasted, she figured this would be a daily trip, shuttling between the restaurant in town and the fire camp in the mountains. No doubt it’d take a toll on her, but she wanted to ensure everything ran smoothly. And she’d be paid well for her labors, the money a welcome blessing.
Just off the smooth asphalt, she saw a red sign with a black arrow pointing to the west that said Incident Base Camp. This must be it. An alpine meadow high in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The large clearing was filled with red Indian paintbrush, now trampled beneath hundreds of boot heels and tires from large, heavy equipment. Bulldozers, pumper trucks and water tenders. You name it. They were all here, lined up in tidy rows and ready for action.
Clusters of men wearing a variety of yellow Nomex fireproof shirts, windbreakers, spruce-green pants and heavy Vibram-soled boots were moving around the camp in a melee of organized chaos. To the north, the office district had been set up where the operations of the camp took place. Long mobile offices with the words Finance and Check-in stood off to the side near the entrance. Moving nice and slow, Megan pulled into the camp, wondering where Jared wanted them to set up.
“This is it,” she said to her kids.
Caleb and June sat beside her, their eyes wide as they craned their necks to see everything.
Megan gazed toward the south, where dozens of little tents dotted the landscape. Undoubtedly, this was the residential area, where hundreds of men and women slept, ate and got their orders before going out on the fire line each day. A miniature city. From the looks of things, Megan’s catering crew would be up here serving meals for a couple of weeks. Maybe more.
She parked the truck near the check-in. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
Sitting in a booster seat beside his sister, Caleb snapped off his seat belt and leaned against the dashboard. “But I wanna go with you, Mom. I wanna see Jared.”
Megan inwardly groaned. Maybe she shouldn’t have brought her kids with her. But she wanted to spend more time with them. She’d brought them along, thinking they wouldn’t be here long.
“Remember we talked about this? We’re just dropping off supplies, setting up the kitchen, and then we’re going back down the mountain into town. I don’t want you to get into any trouble,” she said.
“I just want to see Jared,” Caleb grumbled.
“He’s working. You know that, son.”
“Where is Jared?” June asked as she gazed out the windshield.
Megan opened her door. “I’m sure he’s here somewhere. I’ll be right back.”
She got out and went to tell Catherine and Frank what she was doing. No sense in everyone getting out of their vehicles right now if they were in the wrong place.
As she approached, Frank rolled down the window of the semi and rested his beefy arm against the outside of the door.
“I’m going to find out where we should set up. Would you mind keeping an eye on the kids for a few minutes?” She pointed to where the kids still remained safely inside her truck, craning their heads this way and that as they looked out the windows.
He waved a hand. “Sure will. I’ll wait right here until you tell me where I should go.”
It wasn’t long before Megan had checked in and received instructions on where to unload their food supplies. As she returned to her truck, she caught herself staring at each man she passed. Some wore yellow or red hard hats, others wore baseball caps, and it dawned on her that she too was looking for Jared. She couldn’t help wondering why that was. She was a mature woman and knew what she was doing. So why was she eager to see him again?
Back in the truck, she turned on the vehicle and drove toward the east side of the command center. The semi groaned as Frank put it in gear and followed behind, with Catherine and the high school kids in pursuit. They all parked near a wide, empty area on the west side of the camp, then hopped out and gathered around for instructions.
“Let’s put up the tent right here with the kitchen over there. I think that will give us the best advantage of sunlight throughout the day.” Megan pointed to indicate where everything should go.
The crew went to work, opening up the trailer and unloading boxes.
“There’s Jared!” Caleb pointed and would have run toward the man, but Megan latched onto his arm.
“Stay here. He’ll come to us.” She didn’t want her boy running around the fire camp. Not with all the big, noisy equipment moving around.
Sure enough, Jared came striding toward them, wearing a white hard hat, his Forest Service shirt, spruce-green pants and heavy fire boots
. He looked handsome, strong and in control, and Megan’s heart gave a powerful thump.
“Let me go, Mom. I want to see him.” Caleb strained against her hand, and his eagerness surprised her.
“You’ve got to wait,” June said. Being the big sister, she tugged on Caleb’s shoulders.
“We’re going to see him, but you kids stay with me. Remember what I told you about safety while we’re up here? No wandering off, or I won’t be able to bring you up here again,” Megan told her children.
“Okay,” Caleb grouched.
Both kids nodded obediently, but that flew right out the window the moment Megan let go of Caleb’s hand. He raced toward the firefighter, screaming with joy.
“Jared! Jared!”
“Hi, Caleb.” Jared welcomed the boy with a big smile and open arms.
Caleb hugged him tight. As Jared swung him around, the child’s laughter filled the air. June stayed beside her mother, seeming a bit ambivalent toward the FMO. Megan felt a hard lump of ice form in the pit of her stomach. Her son loved this man. Which made it even more difficult to pull away from him. And once more, she regretted bringing her kids up on the mountain with her today.
“Hi, there.” Carrying Caleb, Jared greeted Megan with a smile that sucked the air right out of her lungs.
“Hello.” She forced herself to look away as she set a box of canned corn on top of the growing pile.
“Let me call a camp crew over to help. We’ll have you set up in no time,” Jared said.
He set Caleb on his feet, then sauntered off and returned moments later with five strapping young men wearing blue jeans, long-sleeved shirts and work boots. They didn’t hesitate before they each pulled on their leather gloves and went to work. Megan was startled at how quickly they got everything unloaded.
Next, they started laying out the tent. With people stationed on all four sides, they spread the heavy canvas across the ground, pulling and stretching until it was a wide oblong shape. The barracks-style tent was huge, large enough to cover tables and chairs to seat three hundred people at one time. After arranging the support lines, they installed the wooden masts to hold the tent up.