Setting Off Sparks (Jupiter Point Book 4)

by Jennifer Bernard

  But he didn’t want to leave Jupiter Point. This was where he wanted to be.

  Plus, there was Lisa.

  In fact, literally—there was Lisa. Getting out of Brianna’s red truck, which had just pulled up next to the reception building.

  Surprised, Finn made a sudden movement that nearly sent him sliding off the roof. He clutched the roof beam to keep from tumbling at her feet in a pile of sweaty man. Jesus, was there no end to the ways in which he could embarrass himself in front of this woman?

  He took another peek at her. God, she looked good in a pair of snug blue jeans tucked into hiking boots. She wore a dark green fitted hoodie that clung to every soft curve. Her dark hair hung down her back in a sleek braid and she wore an Astros baseball cap. She was smiling at Rollo, who staggered slightly as Brianna leaped into his arms.

  She must have felt his stare, because she glanced up, her eyes meeting his from under the bill of the cap. Her smile dropped slightly, then came back—but different. More cautious.

  Of course she was cautious. He’d been rude to her at Sean’s wedding. Damn it. He didn’t want things to be uncomfortable between them. He wanted her to smile at him with just as much ease as she smiled at Rollo, the big bastard.

  He waved at her, hoping it came off as confident and casual, rather than terrified that he might lose his grip on the roof beam. Of all moments to see Lisa again. He had the worst damn luck with this girl. Maybe it really was destiny—karmic payback for all his misbehavior back in LA.

  From behind him, Josh snorted. “Dude, if you’re going to play Romeo, you need to be the one on the ground.”

  “Would you get off—” he started to snarl at his friend, then realized that was a bad idea. “Would you help me down from here?” he asked in a lower voice. “I might have overdone it a little.”

  Josh got it instantly. He might joke around a lot, but he was always there when you needed him. “Hey, Rollo! I got a cramp in my leg. How about you set up that ladder?”

  Once Rollo had anchored the ladder into place, Josh gripped Finn’s forearm and helped him get his left foot securely onto one of the rungs. “You got it?” he asked in a low voice.

  “Yeah, I’m good from here. Thanks, man.”

  “No worries. I didn’t know—”

  “It’s okay. No biggie, just some residual tightness in the scars. I’m working it out. Mostly it’s fine, I just have to keep moving. Don’t…don’t say anything, okay?”

  Josh hesitated. Finn knew what he was thinking. If his mobility was compromised, he shouldn’t be working wildfires.

  “You know something, Josh? I’m going to take you guys up on that training offer. I could use the help.”

  The other fireman grinned broadly. “Now you’re talking. I can’t wait to kick your ass up and down Heart Attack Hill.”

  “Keep dreaming, daddy-o. I’ll be so far ahead, you’ll be stuck in last week.”

  “Now get your ass down there and flirt with the tower girl.”

  Finn flipped him the bird. Universal sign for “we’re cool now.”

  9

  Lisa tried not to feast her eyes on the sight of Finn descending the ladder in faded work pants and a tool belt. A tool belt. That thing looked much too good on him. It wasn’t remotely fair. It wasn’t right that he should have extra color in his face from being out in the sun and that his hair was all rough and tumbled from the breeze up on the roof. And when he reached the ground, the smile he flashed her ought to come with an extra dose of oxygen. Because she couldn’t quite catch her breath afterwards.

  That smile was so potent, it almost distracted her from how much he was limping as he came toward her. But not quite. Not that she planned on mentioning his limp, after she’d put her foot in it last time.

  “We’re here to help out!” Brianna called from the safety of Rollo’s embrace. “We brought snacks and our willing and able bodies.”

  Rollo growled something in her ear that made her blush. Despite her determination not to, Lisa glanced at Finn. He looked like he was trying hard not to laugh.

  “You always know just how to put things,” Finn told Brianna solemnly.

  Brianna stuck her tongue out at him. “Watch out, or I’ll explain the life cycle of the birch beetle again.”

  “At the larval stage, they’re encased in a hard shell, which they lose upon reaching their adult stage,” he recited with a wink. “And you thought I wasn’t paying attention.”

  Brianna and Rollo burst out laughing. “I tend to get carried away when it comes to certain topics,” she explained to Lisa. “Everyone knows to just tune me out if I start talking about biodiversity or other absolutely riveting subjects. Except Finn, apparently.”

  The funny thing was, Lisa could have told Brianna that would be the case. Even though she didn’t know Finn, not really, she knew things about him. She already knew he paid attention to details. Just look at how he’d recognized her from that silly photo. She knew that he tuned in easily to other people’s emotions. Even at the tower, when she thought she wanted to be alone, she was wrong. The highlight of that hiking trip was that brief encounter with Finn.

  That was what made him so charming, in fact. The other day, Molly had listed off all the nice things he’d done for her—bought her an Audible subscription for her birthday, sent her postcards from LA, and of course, flowers every time he came to Jupiter Point. His charm came from his thoughtfulness.

  Oh God. Please don’t let her develop some kind of crush on the guy.

  “So how can we help?” she asked the group. Josh and Tim had joined them on the tarmac.

  “How much carpentry have you done?”

  “Um…zero?” She laughed. “But if anyone has an injury, I’m your girl. Maybe I should just be the standby medic. How’s everyone feeling so far?”

  She saw Josh slide a glance at Finn, whose jaw tightened.

  “Great,” Finn said. It was perfectly obvious to her that he wasn’t doing great. Macho men and their pride.

  Josh snorted. “I may have gotten a splinter. It’s a real pain in my ass. Or something is, anyway.”

  “Such a funny guy.” Finn rolled his eyes. “No one needs medical attention, unless it’s Peavy from postpartum male stress. And Josh from prepartum male panic.”

  “Damn, does that cause baldness? Cuz the world can’t afford to lose a work of art like this.” Clowning around, Josh grabbed at his shaggy blond hair. Finn cuffed him in the shoulder while Rollo and Tim Peavy laughed.

  Brianna spoke to Lisa in a stage whisper. “In case you wondered, yes, they’re always like this. It’s a wonder they ever manage to put out a fire the way they never stop joking around. It’s like they’re in a sorority or something. Kappa Delta Dumbass.” The affectionate way she wrapped her arms around Rollo’s middle took the sting out of her teasing words.

  The men laughed good-naturedly.

  “Kappa Delta Dumbass, I like it.” Josh mused, stroking his chin. “Join for the laughs, stay for the life-threatening situations.”

  Brianna made a face at him. “Great, make me feel bad. You know I’m teasing. And you can’t be mad, because Rollo saved your life and I’m engaged to Rollo. So it’s almost like I saved your life.”

  As they all continued to tease each other, Lisa once again found her gaze drifting to Finn. Even though he was laughing as much of the others, she knew he felt apart from them. It was his body language, the way he hung back just a little, the way he let Josh take center stage, the slight hesitation before he chimed in with a comment.

  As a newcomer, she was the most apart. But Finn was too, and she couldn’t imagine why. He was a fireman just like the others, just as fit and good-looking and confident. Why wasn’t he right in the thick of things like Josh?

  And why was she so curious about him anyway?

  After much discussion, they decided to eat the sandwiches she and Brianna had brought, then figure out the next phase of the cleanup. Lisa volunteered to get the cooler from the truck, and
before she knew it, Finn was walking beside her.

  “Listen, Lisa. I want to apologize for my rudeness at the wedding. I didn’t mean to brush you off like that when you asked about my limp. Most people never notice it, so you caught me off guard. I like to pretend it isn’t there, but that’s just stupid.”

  “It’s not stupid. I can understand that. You’re a physically fit guy who works with his body. It’s no wonder it’s hard to adjust.”

  Even that comment seemed to make him uncomfortable. “Yeah. I hope to be one hundred percent someday very soon.”

  She didn’t say anything to that. Based on her experience, he’d never be exactly the same again. Scar tissue didn’t behave the same as unmarred skin. But maybe that dream would motivate him.

  “Don’t hold back. I can take it,” Finn said.

  “Excuse me?”

  “You look like you want to say something. Something I don’t necessarily want to hear.”

  “You can guess all that? I didn’t say anything.”

  “Not out loud.”

  At the truck, Lisa reached into the bed for the cooler. Finn did the same thing at exactly the same time, and their arms brushed. A spangle of sensation made her heart skip a beat. “I can get this,” she told him.

  “As can I.” The stubborn set of his jaw made her draw back and cede the cooler to him.

  “Look, you really don’t have to prove anything to me. I’m a nurse. I can tell you overdid it on the roof and now you’re trying to pretend everything’s just peachy. But guess what? You can pretend all you want, but your body knows best. Your body knows exactly what’s going on.”

  He swung the cooler over the side of the truck, then put it on the ground. With one arm braced on the truck bed, he narrowed his dark eyes at her. This close, she saw they were several shades lighter than brown, shot through with amber and copper. “Okay, then. You tell me. What’s going on with my body?”

  Her throat went dry. He smelled so good, like sunshine and sweat. “I’m not your doctor.”

  He leaned closer, voice lowering to a growl. “And I’m not your patient. I’m asking anyway.”

  She swallowed hard. She didn’t know why Finn had decided to aim his incredible charm at her. Of all the women who probably wanted his attention, why her? She had no defense against it except to repeat her “low profile” mantra. And she could barely remember it when he was looking at her like that.

  She scrambled for an answer. Her brain cells seemed to have left her high and dry. “I can’t really give you a good answer without a thorough, hands-on,” she swallowed even though her throat had gone tight, “evaluation.”

  He stared at her. Her blood pumped in her ears. Awareness jumped between them, vibrating like a bass guitar string.

  She groaned silently. What had made her throw that “hands-on” in there? It sounded much too flirtatious. Which it wasn’t. Or was it?

  He flashed a sudden grin. “Damn, I just figured it out. I’m doing this all wrong.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You win.”

  “I do?”

  “You do. You just won yourself a patient.”

  She stared at him.

  “I’m treating you like the medical professional you are. I need your help, Lisa. As you probably know, I was injured in a fire and suffered extensive burns along the right side of my body. My doctors are back in LA, so I’ve been on my own with the rehab. I haven’t been doing so well with it and I’m worried that I’m backsliding. And I can’t do that. I need to get back on a hotshot crew. I’m about to kick my training into high gear and I need your help. I need you, Lisa Peretti.”

  “I have a job.”

  “You have a part-time job. I happen to know you only spend three afternoons a week with Molly. I think you can squeeze me in. And the fact is, I was hurt in the line of duty. No nurse with a conscience could turn me down.” Clearly, he believed he’d outfoxed her. His wide smile said it all.

  But she had a few tricks up her sleeve.

  “Fine.” She folded her arms across her chest. “You’re right, I can’t turn down a request for my help, especially because I have some experience with burn scars. I helped my grandfather recover from a kitchen accident. You remind me of him.”

  He winced, but his smile only dropped a little.

  “You’re staying at Rollo’s, right? I’ll come to his place on my next day off, which is in two days. And now that I’ve accepted the job, you should know that I never date patients.” Now it was her turn to smile at him triumphantly. Boom.

  But all he did was raise an eyebrow. “That just proves how confident I am in your skills. I’ll be cured in no time. Let’s pencil in dinner for, say, a month from now?”

  She laughed. Darn it, how did he always do this to her? “Let’s start with the rehab for now. By the time we’re through, you might hate me. They didn’t call me Nurse Badass for nothing.”

  He bent down to pick up the cooler, his muscles flexing under the thermal fabric. The intense look he gave her from under those dark eyelashes made her shiver. “I almost wish I could hate you. It would make a nice change from wanting to rip your clothes off.”

  He headed back to the others while she stood there, her nerves jumping all over the place. Pretty soon, he’d be taking his clothes off and she’d be putting her hands all over his body. Heaven help her. Sure, she had experience with burn scars. But she’d never worked with anyone who radiated sex appeal the way Finn did.

  10

  When Finn got back to Rollo’s guesthouse after the work party, an email from the private investigator waited for him.

  I found a news article from Rhode Island that could be a good lead. Do you have the funds for a trip to the East Coast?

  Finn scanned the article, which was very brief. A family by the name of Joao had been killed in a house fire exactly twenty-five years ago. They were an immigrant family from Portugal that lived in a rundown duplex that probably had expired fire extinguishers. A three-year-old child had been rescued from the scene. The photo accompanying the article showed a crying baby wrapped in a blanket, held in the arms of a firefighter in full bunker gear.

  He stared at it, examining every detail, hoping it would jog his memory. Had that blanket belonged to him? Was that the firefighter who had burst into the room in an orange halo of flames? The one who had pulled him from the toy chest and run with him toward the window? In his memories, they’d flown out the window like birds, but his grown-up mind knew there must have been a ladder.

  He couldn’t be sure, but it was definitely worth a flight to Rhode Island. He emailed the go-ahead to Ericsson.

  Then he went to the bathroom and popped some Tylenol for his soreness. He stared in the mirror as he swallowed it down. His scar ran from cheekbone to jaw, but it didn’t touch his eye socket. One inch higher and he could have lost his eye. Or the scar could have changed the shape of his eye.

  He knew how lucky he was that it hadn’t been worse. He liked the scar on his face, as if he’d been marked by fire. The scars on his body, on the other hand…

  He lifted his shirt to remind himself—or maybe to check if they had magically healed in the meantime. Nope. Still ugly as hell. Ridges of scar tissue made up a kind of topographical map of flesh. Some of the scars were angry scarlet, some were flamingo pink, others the color of mucus. The one time Annika had seen him without a shirt, she’d gagged. The doctors had suggested more plastic surgery, but he refused. He couldn’t bear another stint in the hospital. They’d never fix all the scars anyway, and he wanted to spend his savings on a detective, not more doctors.

  And now Lisa was about to see the whole gruesome sight.

  He left his shirt off—the sensation of cloth against the scar tissue still unnerved him. Then he sat down at his laptop and did some searching for the name Joao. It turned out to be one of the most common names in the Portuguese language.

  He remembered the voice of his mother, like the low murmur of a lullaby, b
ut he remembered it in English, not a foreign language. Or was his mind automatically translating it into the language he knew best? Wouldn’t he remember some Portuguese words if he was really Elias Joao?

  He wasn’t even sure why he was pursuing this. If this news article was correct, his birth parents had died in the fire that he remembered. What was the point of tracking down the truth, battling Stu, shelling out money for an investigator?

  He squinted at the caption on the photograph. “Providence firefighter Joe Pike rescues child from house fire.”

  Ericsson would be pursuing this lead. He should just let the man do his job. But instead he pulled up a travel site and punched in a search for flights to Providence. Maybe that firefighter would remember a face better if it was right in front of him.

  Rollo Wareham lived in a sprawling cliff-top property with a stunning view of the Pacific Ocean. Lisa had heard that he came from a wealthy banking family, even though she never would have believed it from his down-to-earth manner. When she knocked at his door, massage supplies in hand, he answered in bare feet and sweatpants.

  “Sorry, Finn’s not here.” The big, bearded man scratched at the back of his neck. “He’s been gone a couple of days. Want to leave a message?”

  “Yes.” You’re a jackass, that was what she wanted to say to Finn. “No. That’s okay, we must have got our signals crossed. He hired me to do some post-burn therapy with him.”

  A funny expression crossed his face. “Doesn’t sound like something he’d want to miss. Lord knows he could use it. He’s been a mess since the burnover.”

  “No, not that kind of therapy. I’m a certified nurse. I’ve had good success with some massage techniques…never mind.” Why was she explaining herself to him? “Just tell him I came by and maybe we’ll try again some other time.”

  But probably not. The fact that she’d been looking forward to this appointment was a big huge red flag. The fact that he’d missed it—even bigger. Finn had probably gone back to Hollywood and found another actress to date.