The Firefighter to Heal Her Heart

by Annie O'Neil

  Her back arched instinctively more fully toward him as, in a single fluid moment, his lips met hers. She drew in a breath and began to tentatively explore. His full lips moved in complete synchronicity with her own. Soft, curious, intimate. She didn’t know how, but he tasted like the beach.

  Any doubts she’d had about kissing Jack slipped through the floorboards as if she had shed an overheavy winter coat. All she could feel now was Jack. His lips tasting, teasing her own, not into submission but into a sensual communion. He spread the fingers of a broad hand across the small of her back, the other slipping up her spine, his thumb shifting along the delicate curve of her neck until it came to rest in the shallow hollow at its peak, where his fingers tangled themselves among the curls at the back of her head.

  She felt tiny in his arms, delicate, safe. Her breasts grazed lightly across his chest, her nipples responding with a lightning-quick response. She felt her hips push into his hands as he wrapped his fingers round them, firmly holding her in place. Unable to resist, she pressed into him, her lips seeking more, her fingers finally able to thread themselves through that deliciously thick, sun-bleached hair of his. She had to stop herself from tipping back her head and letting out a full-throated laugh of delight. She was kissing Jack Keller! It was better than she had let herself imagine. He smelled amazing—like burned-sugar caramel—he tasted sexier and she wanted more.

  * * *

  Jack had to resist the urge to scoop Liesel up in his arms, carry her into her bedroom and have his incredibly wicked way with her. As each moment passed, resisting was becoming a greater challenge.

  A low moan escaped his lips as he felt her breasts sweep against the thin cotton of his T-shirt. There was little doubt her body was responding to his touch. If she were to press in much closer, Liesel would be just as aware of the effect she was having on him. A full-blooded, inescapably male response to her incredibly sexy figure.

  Her slim waist? Perfect for tracing with an index finger. He felt his thumb graze the underside of her breast and her body tipping toward him at the sensation. He buried his head in the crook of her neck and shoulder, as pure white as the driven snow, fighting the urge to relieve her top of its bright red buttons.

  Willpower, Jack. She’s worth the wait.

  He couldn’t resist tracing his lips along the creamy length of her neck, his teeth taking a cheeky tug at her earlobe as his hands made a slow-motion journey from her collarbone, down her sides to her hips. As he kissed her, he could feel a low groan of satisfaction vibrate along her throat, a soft rush of air crossing her kiss-swollen lips.

  He drew both his hands along her back, his fingers tracing upward as he teased more soft kisses out of her. Suddenly unable to resist his body’s desire for more, he pulled his thumbs along her jawline, drawing her even closer to him, daring her to meet the passionate intimacy of the kisses he wanted to give her. His teeth tugged softly at her lower lip. He took a deep breath of her sun-warmed meadowy scent, tongue tracing the deep red contours of her rosebud mouth. Her tongue met his in teasing little suggestions that she could give as well as receive. He felt her small fingers slip away from his hair, her fingertips playing along his time-enhanced five o’clock shadow. He tipped his chin up as first her lips then her tongue teased its way down his throat toward his Adam’s apple. He heard himself respond with a deep moan of carnal approval.

  Crikey. She was really bringing out the caveman in him. And he liked it. Jack captured both sides of her face in his hands and held her back for a moment, eyes caught in each other’s gaze, each of them taking deep lungfuls of river air. Did she want him as badly as he wanted her? This could go further—much further. Her eyelids quickly shifted from a sexy feline smolder to a wide-eyed question. It was then that he felt the beeper buzzing against his leather belt.

  Fire. He had to go.

  CHAPTER SIX

  GIVING A GRIN and a wave to Jack as he headed off to the fire had taken incredible willpower. Liesel knew she had only just managed a halfhearted attempt to look cheerful at best.

  She flipped the security hook onto the screen door and let herself sink back into the deep sofa cushions. Evening over!

  Her fingers lifted to her lips. She could still feel the heat in them, the tiniest of pulses waiting, wanting more. Who was she kidding? Her whole body was virtually vibrating with desire for the man. Desire unfulfilled and, from the looks of things, likely to stay that way. She tipped her head back against the headrest, willing herself not to cry.

  You are bigger and better than this. It’s what he does for a living so just...just...just what?

  Get over it?

  Hard to do.

  Don’t see him ever again?

  Possible, but not easy, considering the local population head count.

  Suck it up and see where this goes, even though it’s facing all your fears at once?

  And we’re back to “get over it.”

  Her fingers dangled over the edge of the sofa and grazed the surface of the telephone. Cassie! She would know what to do. Bless her, the poor woman had been left high and dry by a no-goodnik husband a couple of years earlier and she had hit the dating train—such as it was out here—as if it was the last caboose out of town. She was always positive, open to new ideas and didn’t seem to get knocked back when things didn’t work out. “Aim high and stay true!” Her familiar motto rang in Liesel’s ears as she dialed her friend’s number.

  “And how can I help you tonight, Miss Adler?” Liesel laughed at her friend’s greeting. She always forgot about caller ID.

  “Hey, Cass, I’m in a bit of a bind. I just...um...” How should she put this exactly?

  “I knew it! I knew it would be today!” Cassie interjected.

  “Knew what?”

  “You kissed the fireman!”

  * * *

  “Are you sure Kev doesn’t mind?”

  “Are you kidding? He is living the life of Riley up at Murray General. He’s their star patient.” Cassie dipped her finger into the cookie-dough bowl and took a swirl of the mixture onto her finger as if it were icing. “Plus, he’s got the promise of some of your delicious baking first thing tomorrow. We both love it that you bake when you’re upset.”

  Liesel couldn’t help sticking her tongue out at her friend.

  “Besides, he gets a whole hospital full of doctors to make sure he doesn’t go all crazy deflating-lung boy on me again.” Cassie concluded her statement by licking the remains of the dough off her finger with a wide smile of satisfaction.

  Liesel laughed, happy to see her friend back in good spirits after the day’s extreme stresses. Talk about wrenching! She was surprised Cassie looked as energetic as she did.

  “This is a ripper of a recipe, Liesel. The boys are going to love these.”

  Liesel felt an awkward twist in her stomach. It was just one large blond-haired man she cared about. And that was going to have to stop. Cue: more baking!

  “I was thinking of doing a batch of my pecan cinnamon rolls, as well. Those are good anytime of day so it doesn’t matter when they get back. I could just drop them off tonight and they could heat them up whenever.” Baking for Jack was one thing. Seeing him when she didn’t really know where she stood? That was a whole other kettle of fish.

  “You know, I was chatting with Jack the other day—”

  Liesel’s eyes shot up and she felt herself tense. Oops. There goes my poker face.

  “About Kevin,” Cassie emphasized heavily, unable to keep the amused grin off her face. “For their CFS cadets thing. I thought it might help give him some confidence. Anyhow, it came up that they are still looking for volunteers.”

  “No.” Liesel’s response was solid. “I told you, now that I have Liam, it’s just not an option. He’s already lost one parent to—”

  “I know.” Cassie
laid a hand on Liesel’s arm, steadying her frenzied stirring. “I wasn’t talking about going out and fighting fires, you dill. I was talking about the odd shift, cooking for the boys when they come back from a job. You know, make ’em all feel like heroes with your fluffy cinnamon rolls.”

  Liesel shot her a reluctant look and shook her head. She knew she was being petulant but how was she going to make it clear that she just did not want this in her life? She wanted Liam to have a father again one day—and a guy who went out and fought fires for a living? Not going to work.

  “Do you want to see him again? It’s not like you’ve had a fight. He got a call to work.” Cassie pressed on. “Do you want a relationship with Jack or not?”

  Liesel’s nose began to tease her with the telltale prickle and she forced herself to retrain her eyes on the well-beaten cookie dough. It had had enough of a beating and so had she. Cassie had a point. It wasn’t as if he’d kissed and fled the scene. He’d held her and caressed her and unleashed a heated swell of sexy feelings she hadn’t experienced in a long time. But she still had to play it a little cool. Right?

  “Who wouldn’t?” Or not so cool. She pulled baking sheets out of the cupboard, actively trying to avoid eye contact with Cassie.

  “I really like him. I can’t even begin to explain to you how nice—more than nice—it was to be with him. And tonight...”

  “Tonight?” Cassie tried to gently tease more out of her.

  “Tonight, when we kissed, it was— Oh, I don’t know—this is going to sound nuts.”

  “Takes one to know one,” Cassie shot back, encouraging her to continue.

  Liesel sent her a teary grin, wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand and began spooning lumps of cookie dough onto her baking trays.

  “Tonight, when we kissed, it was as if the universe was saying to me, ‘It’s all right to move on. You’ll always love Eric and the times you had, but it’s all right to move on. Especially with a guy like this.’ And then Jack’s beeper went off and I knew he was going to a fire and all of the sudden the universe was saying exactly the opposite!”

  “I think you’re giving the universe too much credit.”

  “Yeah? Well, look where it got me last time I didn’t listen!”

  Liesel snapped out the words, slapped the tray into the oven, clapped the door shut and began on a second batch. It was all she could do not to scowl at the fluffy combination of butter, flour, eggs, chocolate chips and dark brown sugar. Her love life, or lack of one, might be a disaster, but if she had anything to do with it, the whole of Engleton would be enjoying fresh cookies in the morning.

  “Liesel.” Cassie softly broke into the silence. “I am listening harder than I ever have. I almost lost my boy today. My son would’ve died if it hadn’t been for you. That puts things in perspective.”

  Tears sprang to Liesel’s eyes afresh. How could she have been so thoughtless? She turned to her friend, ashamed of her petulant behavior. Ditching the cookie-dough spoon, she threw her arms around her friend in a big bear hug. “I’m so sorry, Cass. That was a horrible thing for me to say.”

  Cassie returned the hug with a big squeeze then held her friend out at arm’s length. “Look, I can’t tell you what to do with your life. But from where I’m standing, you’ve been itching to get back to the business of living for a while and, as far as I can make out, the universe—if that’s what’s talking to you—is saying here’s a perfect chance. Jack couldn’t be more gorgeous, he obviously fancies you and, yes, he has a dangerous job. But that’s what you’re drawn to, Liesel, men who live on the high-octane side of life. It’s who you are, as well. I saw you today.”

  Liesel’s eyebrows shot up. “I was just doing my job.”

  “It’s a lot more than a job to you. It’s your passion—and you like to push it to the limit. I saw the pride in your face when your rubber glove valvey thing worked. You saved my boy and not everyone could have done it. Face it, love, life with an IT guy just wouldn’t cut it for you.”

  Liesel couldn’t help but giggle. The local computer genius had tried to ask her out a couple of times, but her gut instinct had said, I don’t think so, in the blink of an eye. Despite everything, she knew she was more adrenaline junkie than computer geek. She embraced Cassie again, this time with a happy laugh. It was pointless to try and contradict her friend. Cassie had her down to a T.

  * * *

  Jack was bone-tired. He leaned his head against the cool tiles of the shower, grateful to feel the jets of water shooting down his back. They’d been twenty minutes late to the fire. Twenty minutes late meant an easily containable bushfire had nearly spread out of control. Luckily, the wind had been on their side this time. Next time? Luck shouldn’t play a role at the CFS. If he hadn’t been with Liesel—

  “Hey, Cap’n! Get a move on. Breakfast is here!” The shout came over the shoulder-height shower curtain.

  “What?” He quickly rinsed the soap off his face. “We don’t have anyone scheduled on today.”

  “Looks like one of the Jack Keller fan club has come to the rescue once again! Hurry up, mate, or I’ll eat yours, as well.”

  “What are you talking about, Nate?” Jack pushed aside the shower curtain, wrapping a towel round his waist.

  “Don’t play bashful, Captain. Surely you know—”

  “Know what?” Jack cut him off, pretty sure he knew what was coming.

  “Hey, don’t get me wrong.” Nate’s voice went serious. “We all appreciate how hard it must be to be Ol’ Man Gran—I mean, Granville Keller’s son. It’s a lot of weight to take on your shoulders.”

  “Right.” Jack tried to keep from clenching his jaw. “What was the fan club crack about, then?”

  “Nothing, mate. Honestly.” Nate raised his hands in surrender. “Us married blokes think it’s great you’ve got the ladies flocking over to cook for us after a big fire, that’s all.”

  Jack tilted his head in the direction of the dining hall. “You best get out there, then.”

  He toweled off quickly, his hunger diminishing by the second. So the boys saw him as Granville’s son before they saw him as captain, did they? He wondered if they still imagined him in short trousers. Was he going to have to prove to his father and the entire population of Engleton that he had grown up and was making something of himself?

  He squared himself up, ready to play it cool to whoever the woman was who’d shown up to cook breakfast. He hoped she had a thick skin because today wasn’t his day—and if TLC was what she was after, it didn’t look as if it was going to be hers, either.

  * * *

  “Smelled so good, I couldn’t wait for a shower.”

  “Please—” Liesel gestured at the laden trestle table just outside the kitchen hutch “—help yourself to as much as you like.”

  She grinned as the soot-covered man accepted a plate of fresh-off-the-grill eggy bread with a side of bacon. She couldn’t help but shoot an anxious look over his shoulder to see if a certain someone had entered the dining hall.

  At the very least, she knew her stress baking had come up trumps. Cassie had taken Liam to the hospital to visit Kev so she had been free to chop, dice, bake and scramble in the station’s catering-sized kitchen.

  Steaming cinnamon rolls, eggy bread, a huge bowl of fresh fruit and a platter of scrambled eggs surrounded by thick-sliced, locally made bacon were all being demolished by the crew. They’d been out all night and were obviously famished.

  Liesel gave a chagrined chuckle at the empty kitchen. Cassie may have railroaded her into serving up breakfast to the exhausted volunteers, but she could see from the smiles on their faces she had done the right thing. She hadn’t met a lot of people in Engleton these past few months, but it was easy to see these men were part of a proper community. It looked fun out there, all the laughing and gentle joshing despite the
obvious fatigue they all felt. Like family.

  She couldn’t help but wonder what Jack would think of her efforts, if he was there at all. She hadn’t seen a single golden whisker since the crew had returned. A little shiver tickled its way down her spine as her fingertips remembered tracing along Jack’s soft shadow of stubble.

  Before Cassie had come over and knocked some “straight talk” into her, Liesel had been ready to give up the ghost on pursuing a romance with Jack. Stupid or not, she didn’t need her innermost fears thrown in her face every time the man’s beeper went off.

  Yes, she really, really liked him. More than a lot. And so did her son. And Jack seemed to like him, too. Something she didn’t take lightly.

  In between making batches of baked goods she’d sat down and thought about it. Hard.

  Eric had always said she had one shot at “being Liesel” so she’d better make the most of it. She knew she wasn’t going to be able to shrug off the past in one fell swoop, but step by step, day by day...

  From the snippets of conversation floating through the kitchen hatch, it was clear it had been a tough night but one when no one had been hurt.

  Thank you, universe!

  * * *

  An unexpected sexual charge surged through him when Jack laid eyes on Liesel, looking so natural in the station-house kitchen. Her clingy sundress didn’t help calm his body’s response, either. Every fiber in his body wanted to vault through the kitchen hatch, pull the shutters down, lift her up to the counter, dispense of her flimsy dress and begin to kiss and caress her the way he’d wanted to last night.

  He tried shrugging off the heated sensations. One thing was for sure. His response to her told him everything he needed to know. If the station was going to work, Liesel was too big a distraction to be in his life right now.

  She turned around and spied him, those emerald-green eyes of hers bright with expectation—with hope.