Every day, one way or another, I thank her for saving me. She normally tells me to shut up, or rolls her eyes and says that I would’ve done it for her or any of the guys. But today she falls quiet instead.
Reaching over, she takes my hand, and squeezes it gently.
“So now we’re even,” she says.
“How’s that?” I ask, and wait for her snarky reply.
“We saved each other, Joe.”
God I love this woman.
My breath catches as our eyes meet. She nods. There’s an intensity in her gaze that can’t be denied. I hold my arms open. “Come here, sweetheart.”
She gives me a lazy smile and navigates her way onto my lap carefully. She doesn’t need to be so tentative. I keep telling her not to worry. I’m healed and strong as ever, albeit with a metal rod in my leg.
When I pull her close, she nuzzles her face against my neck.
“This is nice,” she whispers
“Hmm,” I hum. “I love you, T. Rex.”
I can feel her lips spread into a smile, and I swear I sense her heart fluttering as she lets out a contented sigh.
“Ditto, Murphy. Now shut up and give me a kiss.”
And I do.
Also by Ruth Clampett
Wet ~ L.A. Untamed Series Book 1
Animate Me
Mr. 365
Work of Art ~ Book 1 The Inspiration
Work of Art ~ Book 2 The Unveiling
Work of Art ~ Book 3 The Masterpiece
Work of Art ~ The Collection
Many thanks to those of you that
take a moment to leave a review
~ it’s much appreciated.
Acknowledgements
The experience of writing this book made my admiration for firefighters and their families grow tenfold. I have so much appreciation and respect for the brave women and men that put their own safety on the line to help others.
Thank you to my wonderful friends who have held my hand through the creation of this story: Erika, Susi, Dawn, Kellie, Suzie, Lisa, Glorya and DJ. And a big shout out to my #1 girl, my daughter Alex, who always inspires me and lets me know she’s proud of my efforts. It was such fun working with her on the BURN trailer.
I love our community of indie bloggers, authors, and readers and I’m so grateful for their support of my work. Thank you!
Huge thanks to my wonderful content editor, Angela Borda, who with great humor and grace pointed me back to the correct path with this story every time I veered off course. Her many talents and kindness make me look forward to the editing process.
My cover designer, Jada D’Lee is the yin to my bookcover yang. She puts up with my nit picky ways and outlandish suggestions. The requirements for the BURN cover had all the potential to create a hot mess ☺ and yet once again Jada made magic. Thank you so so much, my friend.
It’s been a delight working on promoting BURN with Jenn Watson from Social Butterfly PR. She has an astounding ability to calmly talk me through my anxious musings, and make me laugh at all the crazy. Our friendship is the icing on the cake.
Thank you Flavia Viotti and Meire Dias of Bookcase Agency for believing in me, and my stories. I appreciate your support so much.
Many thanks to Melissa, of There For You Editing, for cleaning up the error of my ways…and to Christine of Perfectly Publishable for doing a terrific job formatting.
Love and thanks also to smart friends Elli, Helena, Marla and Angie who all contributed to the book’s final polish. And a special second shout out to Elli Reid for her amazing and inspiring Pinterest board for BURN.
Finally, a heartfelt thanks to you, dear reader. Writing is my passion and I love my characters like old friends. The fact that you read my work and share your enthusiasm for it completes the circle of joy for me in a profound way. I am very grateful.
About the Author
Ruth Clampett is a 21st century woman aspiring to be Wonder Woman . . . now if she could only find her cape and magic lasso. Meanwhile she’s juggling motherhood, a full-time job running her own art business, and writing romance late at night. Travel is her second obsession after writing, and it’s enabled her to meet reader and writer friends all over the world. She’s happily frazzled, and wouldn’t change a thing about her crazy life.
The rooms in her home are all painted different colors and her books are equally varied, infusing humor, drama, and passion into the romantic lives of strong heroines and their worthy and determined counterparts.
Ruth has published seven books: Animate Me, Mr. 365, the Work of Art Trilogy, WET and BURN. She grew up and still happily resides in Los Angeles, and is heavily supervised by her teenage daughter, lovingly referred to as Snarky, who loves traveling with her mom with a sketchbook in hand.
Connect with Ruth
RuthClampettWrites.com
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