Riley nodded. This thin, shiny sheet didn’t seem like it would provide any protection against the wall of flames coming toward them. But, again, what choice did she really have other than to trust this guy? He seemed to know what he was talking about.
So she climbed into the shelter with him, which was clearly not meant for two people. They had to huddle almost on top of each other to fit. The man made sure the material covered them completely, then told Riley to hold down the sides.
“The winds generated by a wildfire can get pretty crazy. Make sure you’re holding the shelter down so it doesn’t blow off of us.”
Riley did as she was told, and held down the sides. She stared at the silvery material and tried to process the fact that she was lying under a thin sheet of foil with a stranger, moments away from being passed over by a giant wildfire. She still wasn’t convinced that she wasn’t moments from her death, although the man lying next to her seemed unbelievably calm. She realized that she didn’t even know his name, and the thought struck her as funny. She was about to die lying next to someone who was quite literally a complete stranger.
“What’s your name?” she asked, glancing over at him. His deep green eyes turned to her, and his expression softened when his gaze met hers.
“Hunter. Hunter Wilson,” he said.
“I’m Riley Hughes,” she said. “Nice to meet you. Although I wish the circumstances were a little less, um, dire.”
“Riley Hughes,” he repeated. “That’s a beautiful name.”
“Thanks,” Riley said, feeling herself blush at his praise. But she was sure that her cheeks were already so red from the heat that he wouldn’t be able to notice how his words had made her feel flustered.
“Shit’s about to get crazy, Riley. Whatever you do, don’t run, okay? Just hold down the shelter, keep your face to the ground, and breathe in and out.”
“Okay,” Riley said. She felt her heart pounding as she turned her head to press her face against the hard rock beneath them.
The roar of the fire grew louder, and, just as Hunter had predicted, the wind picked up. Riley firmly held down her side of the shelter, and did her best to just keep breathing. As the heat intensified, even breathing in felt difficult. Being in the shelter felt like being on the inside of an oven, and Riley felt like she was suffocating. She started to panic again.
“Hunter,” she gasped out. “I have to get out of here.”
“Don’t move, Riley. Just keep your face to the ground and do your best to keep breathing. I promise you, the air out there is much worse than the air in here.”
Riley did as she was told, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of suffocation that overwhelmed her. Hot, traitorous tears started rolling down her face, and the urge to run became overwhelming.
“Hunter, I can’t do this. I can’t. I have to get out of here.”
Hunter reached over to place his strong arm around her back. “You can do it. Short, steady breaths. We’re almost through the worst of it.”
His soothing voice, and the feeling of his arm around her, calmed Riley enough to keep her in the shelter. She kept her face down, and focused on each short, painful breath. As the long minutes passed by, breathing slowly got easier. The wind from the fire died down, and the unbearable heat started to dwindle down.
When the roar from the fire became a distant sound again, Hunter finally sat up, pulling the shelter off of them as he did.
Riley blinked at the bright light. The smoke had already cleared away considerably, and the setting sun cast brilliant red and orange beams across what was left of the forest.
Below the huge rock where they perched, everything looked like a wasteland. In place of the thick, green forest that had been there an hour earlier was an empty charred space, dotted only by blackened tree trunks. Unbelievable. They had just survived hell.
Chapter Three
Riley couldn’t stop staring at the bleak, charred remains of the forest below them.
“Are you okay?” Hunter asked, genuine concern filling his voice. Riley turned in his direction. Now that the threat of imminent death had passed, she took a moment to really focus on her rescuer. Without his helmet on, she could see that he had short dark hair. It was currently disheveled, but the dark color beautifully complimented the deep green of his eyes. His skintight, dark green outfit made it clear that his muscles had been toned to perfection. But the most gorgeous thing about him was his face. With high, chiseled cheekbones, and tanned skin, Hunter looked like he could have been a model. So what was he doing traipsing around in the woods in the middle of a wildfire?
“I’m fine, just really shaken up,” Riley said. “Who are you, Hunter? What were you doing out here in that weird outfit, carrying all that stuff?”
“I’m a wildfire firefighter. That ‘stuff’ is my gear.”
“You’re a firefighter? That’s the strangest looking firefighter outfit I’ve ever seen.”
“I’m a smokejumper, meaning I parachute into fires that aren’t easily reachable by foot or vehicle. So I wear a jumpsuit to both protect my skin and to hold gear. That’s the big tan colored thing over there. That backpack looking thing is my parachute. Well, was my parachute. I’m not sure how well it stood up to that heat. Ian’s gonna kill me.”
“Ian?”
“He’s my boss. Hang on a minute, I need to radio him. Hopefully my radio is as heat resistant as they promise.”
Riley watched Hunter flip over his jumpsuit and unzip a pocket on the front, which held a small handheld radio. He furrowed his brow as he flipped it on, and smiled when the sound of static noise filled the air.
“Still works!” he said triumphantly, then started switching to a different station. A few moments later, he pushed the talk button.
“Ian, this is Hunter. Come in, Ian. Can you hear me?”
“Hunter? We thought you were dead! What the hell were you thinking? And how the hell did you survive the burnover?”
“Fire shelter. I’m back at the safety zone, and I have a civilian with me. A woman. She’s safe as well.”
There was a long pause.
“Chief? You still there?” Hunter asked.
“Yeah, I’m here. So there was a woman. How did you smell her when no one else could?”
Riley raised an eyebrow. Smell her? That was a weird thing to say. Hunter looked uncomfortable as he answered.
“I think it’s because she’s, uh, she’s special. To me specifically.”
Riley had no idea what Hunter meant by that, but his answer seemed to satisfy his crew chief.
“I should have known,” Ian said. “Listen, Hunter, I know you jumped on purpose, but I told Boise you fell off the rope to save your ass.”
“Thanks, Boss,” Hunter said meekly.
“Yeah, well, don’t think it’s going to save you from an ass-whooping from me when you get back. And speaking of getting back, do you think you and the woman are in okay condition to hike out? Do you have enough supplies? The fire is getting more out of control, and Boise wants all available aircraft on the front lines.”
Hunter looked over at Riley. “Are you in okay condition to hike?” he asked. “It’s probably a two or three day trek.”
“Well I’m fine, physically. I can definitely hike. But I lost all my food and water.”
“I’ve got stuff,” Hunter said, then returned to the radio. “We can hike, Ian.”
“Alright. Keep me posted on your progress. I’m assuming the girl is human?”
“Yup,” Hunter said, looking uncomfortable.
“Stay out of trouble,” Ian said.
“I’ll try,” Hunter replied, and then signed off.
Riley raised an eyebrow at him. “That was an interesting conversation.”
“Yeah, uh, my boss is a funny one,” Hunter said, avoiding eye contact with Riley. He started putting on his jumpsuit. “We should at least get down off the rock and to the forest floor before it’s completely dark. It’ll be softer for sleeping. I’ve
got some food and water, as well as a water filtration canteen. So if we can find the big river that runs through this forest, we can easily replenish our water supply.”
Hunter finished strapping on his gear, and then started heading for the edge of the rock. “Let’s go,” he said.
Riley followed him as he made the steep trek down the rocks and to the forest. When he reached the bottom, he found a spot he liked and started taking off his gear again. It seemed like a lot of work to put everything on and take it off for a short walk, but Riley surmised that wearing the gear must have been easier than carrying everything. As he wordlessly started getting out water and what looked like protein bars, Riley suddenly realized that she hadn’t even thanked him for saving her life. She had been so overcome by the moment that she hadn’t even taken a moment to express gratitude to her rescuer.
“Hunter, listen, I don’t even know what to say, exactly, because words seem so trivial. But thank you. You saved my life. I was minutes away from being burned alive, and you saved me.”
Hunter looked up at her, and Riley could have sworn that his green eyes were churning like an ocean. But it could have just been the fading daylight playing tricks on her.
“It was nothing,” Hunter said. “I didn’t have a choice. I was drawn to you, and I had to come rescue you.”
“Well from what your boss says, it sounds like your crew was all escaping and you chose to stay behind to help me. What happened?”
“Here. Come sit and have a protein bar, and I’ll tell you the story. Then you can tell me a little more about yourself, Miss Riley Hughes.”
Riley grinned and moved over to where Hunter was sitting. She loved the musical way he said her name, and she definitely wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to sit a little closer to the sexy firefighter who had just saved her life.
Chapter Four
Hunter stared into the light of the solar powered lantern he had set up. He had to avoid making eye contact with Riley for a moment, because the sight of her, combined with her scent, was driving his bear wild. They had been talking for hours, which maybe wasn’t the best idea since they had to get up early tomorrow for a long day of hiking. But the conversation had been so easy and natural, like they were two old friends catching up.
He had told her about his work as a smokejumper, and about the failed mission yesterday that forced the crew to head to the safety zone. He told her he knew she was out there and needed help, but that no one on the crew believed him, so he jumped away from the rescue helicopter at the last minute. He dodged her questions about how he had known, simply telling her that he just knew. Trying to explain to her that he had a bear’s sense of smell didn’t seem like the best idea at the moment. She’d already had quite enough excitement for one day.
After he finished telling her his story, he asked her about herself. She seemed reluctant to talk at first, but, once she got going, the words came out like a flood. He got the feeling that she had been starving for someone to listen to her stories. She told him about losing her longtime job and boyfriend at the same time. Then she told him about her decision to come camping and hiking on her own, admitting rather sheepishly that perhaps her solo trip hadn’t been the smartest idea. Hunter listened without passing judgment. He couldn’t blame her for being hotheaded and wanting to do things on her own. After all, she’d lost everyone she thought she could trust in a very short span of time.
As she finished her story, she confided in him that she didn’t know what to do next. She had dreams of opening her own bakery, but thought the idea seemed too farfetched. Hunter didn’t offer advice, since he didn’t know much about bakeries or business ownership. He just listened, and this seemed to satisfy her. The heavy shadows that had been clouding her eyes since the moment he met her slowly lifted.
She was beautiful. Her hair was the darkest shade of brown he had ever seen, and her eyes sported the same color. Even though her face was grimy and covered in soot and sweat, he could tell that she had smooth, soft skin. Her long, lean legs drove him crazy as she innocently crossed and uncrossed her ankles during the course of their conversation. When she finally laughed, the sound warmed his heart like a cascade of warm, summer raindrops.
A desire to make things better for her overcame Hunter. He didn’t know how, but he would find a way to help her find a new path for her life that fulfilled her, and kept that sparkle in her eyes and that laugh on her lips. He could listen to that laugh for hours.
She fell silent as she finished listing out all the reasons that she knew a business of her own would never work, and they both stared at the lantern together for a few moments.
“I think you should go for it,” Hunter finally said.
“Really? Why?”
Hunter shrugged. “It’s what you really want to do. You can find a way. And what better time than now, when you don’t have another job demanding your attention? You seem like a really sweet, good person, and I firmly believe that things work out for good people in the end. Sometimes it’s a long road to get there, but things will work out the way they’re supposed to.”
Riley didn’t look convinced by his little speech, but she rewarded him with a smile anyway. “Thanks. I appreciate the vote of confidence.”
Hunter felt himself warming at her smile, and he quickly changed the subject. “We should get some rest. We’ve got a long day of hiking ahead of us tomorrow.”
Riley nodded, and Hunter thought he saw a shiver pass through her body. She was only wearing cotton shorts and a t-shirt, and the nights out here could get pretty cool.
“Do you want to borrow some of my flame retardant clothes?” he asked. “I have a few sets with me. They all look like this sexy dark green pants and shirt set I’m wearing. Not the most fashionable outfit ever, but the long sleeves and pants will keep you warmer overnight.”
Riley smiled at him again. “That would be awesome, actually. I’m freezing. And I was wondering what was up with the dark green long underwear.”
Hunter laughed. “Make fun of it all you want, but the heat resistance on these babies is amazing.”
Hunter got her an extra set of the flame retardant clothing, and then pulled out a small sleeping bag. “Here, take this as well. I only have one, and you should use it.”
Riley started to protest, but Hunter held up his hands to stop here. “I’m used to going without creature comforts, trust me. You should take it.”
Riley acquiesced with a grateful look on her face. After everything Riley had been through today, Hunter knew she would appreciate a softer spot to sleep. He turned around to give her privacy while she changed clothes, brushing away as much soot as possible from a nearby spot on the ground. He set up one of his gear bags to use as a pillow. When Riley called out that she had finished changing, he turned off the lantern and then lay down to try to sleep.
“Night, Riley,” he said.
“Goodnight, Hunter. Thanks again for everything.”
He grunted in response, and closed his eyes. The exhaustion he felt should have made sleep come quickly, but his swirling thoughts kept him awake for quite some time. He still couldn’t believe that he had let go of that helicopter rope. Ian was going to let him have it when he got back to base. Zach would probably jump in, eager to have the chance to give one of the crew members a hard time. But Hunter didn’t care. The woman sleeping a few feet away from him had been worth whatever grief his alpha was going to give him. Hunter shuddered when he thought about what would have happened to her if he hadn’t gone back to save her. The fire had been moving quickly, and it had burned hotter than any wildfire Hunter had seen before. He hadn’t said anything to Riley, because he didn’t want to freak her out, but he had even wondered briefly whether the fire shelter would be enough to keep them alive in the intense heat.
They had survived, though, and now he had two or three days to spend hiking with her. He had been secretly overjoyed when Ian told him that Boise didn’t want to send a rescue helicopter for them. Hiking o
ut of here meant more time with Riley, and more time to show her why they were meant to be together. Since she was fully human, he couldn’t just outright tell her he thought they were fated to be lifemates. He had to use more subtle tactics, and romance her the old-fashioned way. Three days to do that in the middle of a forest of ashes might not be the easiest task in the world, but Hunter was determined to try. If nothing else, he had saved her life. That had to count for at least a few brownie points, right?
After tossing and turning on the charred ground for the better part of an hour, Hunter finally drifted off to sleep. Visions of Riley in his arms danced in his head as he drifted off into dreamland.
* * *
Early the next morning, Riley felt herself being shaken awake by two very strong hands.
“Riley! Riley, wake up,” came a vaguely familiar voice, cutting through her dreams.
Riley grunted and rolled over, trying to shake off whoever it was that was trying to wake her up from the delicious dream she’d been having. The dream was a recurring one, where she ran through a green field, barefoot, chasing a tall, muscular man with no shirt on. His back muscles had rippled while he ran, and she wanted to see his face. But he was so fast that it was hard to even keep up with him. This time, she had almost caught him in the dream when an insistent voice from beyond her dream world had brought her out of the green meadow with a sharp jolt. She opened her eyes, annoyed, and saw a group of black tree trunks towering above her. The smell of burnt wood greeted her nose, and the events of the past day came flooding back to her as she saw Hunter’s face hovering over her’s.
“Wow, you are not a morning person, are you?” he said. It was more of a statement than a question.
“Too loud,” she croaked out. How did he have so much energy right now? When she sat up and looked over to her right, she saw that he had almost completely packed up his bags already. He had left the zipper on one of the bags open, probably so he could replace the sleeping bag she was currently using.
Fire Bear Shifters: The Complete Series Page 11