by Hart, Taylor
Rescue Me
Park City Firefighter Romance
Taylor Hart
Contents
Copyright
Introduction by Daniel Banner
Foreword by Cami Checketts
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Excerpt of Rescue My Heart by Christine Kersey
Excerpt of Two Hearts Rescue by Daniel Banner
Excerpt of Promise Me Love by Jennifer Youngblood and Sandra Poole
Also by Taylor Hart
All rights reserved.
© 2016 ArchStone Ink
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews. The reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form whether electronic, mechanical or other means, known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written consent of the publisher and/or author. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. This edition is published by ArchStone Ink LLC.
First eBook Edition: 2015
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the creation of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Introduction by Daniel Banner
A Conversation from Summer 2016
Between 3 Bestselling Authors (Checketts, Hart, and Kersey): Hey Daniel, we’re writing a firefighter romance series. Do you want in?
Me (on the inside): Yes I totally do, oh, I can’t wait, how long should my book be, when should I have it done holy cow you ladies are the greatest ever of all time!
Me (on the outside): Cool. Why me?
3 Bestselling Authors: You’re a firefighter. Oh, and uh, you have mad writing and editing skills.
3 Bestselling Authors (to each other): Should we tell him Nicolas Sparks wasn’t available?
Six months, seven million emails, and dozens of interviews later, four Park City Firefighter Romance books are ready to thrill you, touch you, inspire you, and make you swoon.
In my 15 years on the job, I’ve worked side-by-side with over a thousand of America’s Bravest. The men and women I’ve known make excellent studies for romance characters because they are fit, selfless, daring, passionate and without exception—imperfect. Kersey, Hart, and Checketts (dare I include myself?) have captured the essence of the beautifully flawed lives that so often result from a career that injects its members into the public’s worst day. When true love is added to the mix, sparks fly and things really heat up.
Experience the bravery, the struggle, the emotional pain, and the passion of heroes as they face their fears, their demons, and their pasts en route to finding lasting love. It may just surprise you who is the hero and who is the one in need of rescue.
It is my pleasure to introduce the Park City Firefighter Romance Series.
Daniel Banner, Author of Two Hearts Rescue
Foreword by Cami Checketts
The day I met Taylor Hart is forever emblazoned in my memory. We were at a writer's conference, and through a friend of a friend ended up at lunch together. I immediately decided that Taylor and I could be best buddies. She has a wicked sense of humor and I love that she always has a smile on her face and a positive, never-backing-down, attitude.
As we've become close friends over the past couple years, I have said many prayers of gratitude for Taylor's expertise, talents, and willingness to help others. It is unreal to me that she is also one of my favorite authors.
I hope you love Taylor's latest novel as part of the fabulous Park City Firefighter Romances. Rescue Me is fast-paced, fun, and heartfelt.
Happy reading,
Cami Checketts, Author of the bestselling Billionaire Bride Pact Romance series
Dedication
I’m so grateful for the men and women who risk their lives—believing in the best part of humanity, believing people deserve to be rescued even at the possible cost of their own lives. This book is dedicated to the brave men and women who run into burning buildings everyday! Thank you!
1
Damon Freestone stared down at the five-mile trail run he’d just done. It had been fun. As fun as Damon could deal with at the moment. Truthfully, he hadn’t even felt it. All he’d known when he’d gotten off his first full forty-eight-hour shift at Park City Fire Department was that he needed to do something to get his mind off everything.
Sucking in air, he pulled the water bottle off his hip and took a long drink. Honestly, it hadn’t been that bad of a shift, considering it was his first one since he had come back from Boston. And he had been demoted to a truckie.
His mind flashed to his first day as captain six months ago in Boston, to the burning building. At this point, he usually clamped down on the memory and refocused his thoughts. At least, that was what he’d been taught to do by the stupid shrink he’d been forced to see for weeks on end after it had all happened. The one who told him none of it was his fault. After all, he’d followed protocol. Squeezing the bottle between his fingers, he crushed it and then tucked it back into the water holster at his hip. Forget the shrink.
His mind opened to that day—his first call as the captain at Boston Fire. He’d done everything right. They had vented the building first and then sent in the truck crew to make entry and start search and rescue.
They’d pulled out twenty bodies.
The fire was moving fast. He could hear his men clearing the rooms. He could see it in his mind as easily as if he’d been in there himself. They were good men, trained properly. His mind was clear as he barked out orders. Everything was going down perfectly.
Until he heard Trev call out. “Chief, she’s hurt!”
At that point, it was like lightning struck his heart, and he instantly knew who Trev was talking about.
Jamie. The candidate. The new girl who had only shown up a week ago.
Without thinking, his feet went into motion.
“What the—!” He called, running to the truck and donning his air mask. He’d already had turnouts and SCBA on before they even arrived.
Corey was by his side as he moved toward the building. “Cap, you can’t go in there. You have command. We need your eyes out here. There are still ten guys in there.”
But come hell or high water, Damon was going in there. Time lost all meaning. He barged through the burning doors, sucking air from his tank and trying to see her, trying to feel her. He keyed his radio. “Trev, where is she?”
“I … part of the wall has fallen up here, I can’t get her out.”
Climbing the stairs quickly, he rushed straight to where he’d sent Trevor. The smoke was awful, and he could barely see through it. The hungry flames snapped at him as he made his way to Trev who was trying to figure out how to get her free. Springing into action, he rushed to the beam that had fallen, using all his for
ce to push it off, but it wouldn’t budge.
On the radio, he heard the battalion chief. “Freestone, what are you doing? Get your butt out here.”
He ignored it, struggling to find a way to free Jamie.
The battalion chief ordered everyone to abandon the building then started calling out his crew one by one, telling them to get out. Air horns blared long blasts of four tones, the symbol to evacuate. The fire had burned long enough that either this thing would flashover soon or the whole building might come down.
Even though Damon could feel the blow was coming, he couldn’t leave yet. He scrambled to get another board and make a lever to push the beam.
Trev stayed by his side without asking and helped him push the lever.
“Freestone! Clark!” The battalion chief barked, calling the two of them.
Damon pointed at Trev. “Get out!”
Trev shook his head. “I’m staying with you, Cap.”
The battalion chief’s voice pierced the radio. “Then you are both fools that are going to lose your jobs.”
They pushed and levered the wood until Jamie’s leg came loose. Damon picked her up and carried her out of the apartment, down the stairs and into the pandemonium outside.
The building had the decency to not flash until both he and Trev were out. Flames tumbled over their heads and the pressure forced Damon down to his knees. He climbed to his feet and ran toward the medics.
As he laid her body on the stretcher, ambo crews and firefighters swarmed them, helping them take off their equipment. Damon sucked in the cool Boston night air.
The battalion chief walked over with anger in his eyes and stared at him. “Freestone, you made the wrong call.”
All Damon was concerned with at the moment was making sure Jamie was okay. He saw them intubating her.
“Is she breathing?” he asked Craig, the main paramedic.
When Craig didn’t answer, he began investigating the equipment they were using, and then the other medic pulled out an AED and shocked her chest.
“Breathe.” He commanded her, getting on his knees and feeling emotion bubble up in his throat. Emotion he never let out anywhere besides a punch to the face of his sparring partner at the gym in the morning.
His battalion chief was next to him, his hand on his shoulder, as Damon watched the crew frantically try to get a pulse, get all the smoke out of her so she could breathe.
Shedding his turnouts, he hopped into the ambo with them. The medics worked efficiently, doing everything they could, but in the short ride to the hospital, he watched her unresponsive lips go blue. He watched her die.
When they pulled the stretcher out and ran her into the hospital, he ran with them down the hall, listening to the paramedics give their report to the doctors.
Can’t find a pulse, too much smoke in her lungs, gave her albuterol, cortisone, a plethora of other drugs.
His mind couldn’t decipher all of it. In truth, it was the first time he didn’t feel absolutely involved in the scene, but more like a bystander watching it all unfold.
As he watched them cover her with a sheet, he knew it was his fault. She’d died because he’d sent her in too soon.
He wished it had been him instead.
2
As Samantha stood at the cool water’s edge atop the cliffs looking over Park City Lake, she didn’t know what she was going to do.
Well, of course she would jump. All through law school she’d been teased for her adrenaline junky ways. Even though she was a type A personality and a complete goody two-shoes, as her sister Zoey obnoxiously called her, her one dark, guilty pleasure was doing semi-crazy stunts.
To her, they didn’t seem all that crazy. She grinned. Okay, yeah they did. Last year, when she’d graduated from law school, she and Zoey had jumped out of an airplane, skydiving as a celebration. Whether celebrating or not, Sam loved the thrill of the outdoors. The climbs, pushing your body to its max. She didn’t run to stay fit, though that was a major perk. She ran to push herself.
She’d heard about the cliffs on this lake. That’s why she’d parked at the bottom today after work and come here.
New to Park City, she quickly found she loved the ambiance of the town. All of it was one big running trail, in her book. Though it was spring, she couldn’t wait for winter. Downhill skiing was gonna kill it.
It hadn’t been her choice to move here from Denver, but what could she say? Law school wasn’t cheap, and it didn’t pay her jack crap to take a stupid job around Denver.
This job with a private practice in Park City had sounded perfect. She would still get to do her passion, family law, but the firm had a bunch of departments. Unfortunately, for right now, she was stuck in real estate. Yawn. The head honcho, Luke, had a bunch of holdings he was subdividing and needed her help to run the projects with the developers and make sure all the contracts were in place.
Snore.
He promised eventually she could do family law; he just needed someone more as a project manager for the moment.
He’d thrown in living accommodations in the form of an old cabin with the perfect trails to run, so all of her income could go to paying her loans or helping out Zoey.
Her other sister, Janet, had told her not to help Zoey, but Janet was a brat, so Sam tried really hard to avoid any texts and calls from her at all costs.
Sometimes the best kinds of family were the ones who weren’t there.
Shedding all her clothes except the one-piece red swimsuit, she put her Tevas in place. If she didn’t have her Tevas, climbing back up here would be painful.
Then she went right to the edge and stared down at the clear water. She’d done her research the night before. This was the perfect place to jump. Most of the people on the websites had encouraged diving. The side of the cliff was craggy, and the water looked biting. Sam knew it would be cold. Not freezing, but it was only June, and mountain water in June was anything but warm.
She imagined a perfect dive and prepared herself. Colorado had been filled with lots of opportunities for outdoorsy stuff, but she hadn’t lived right next to them. She’d had to take extra time to drive up to the mountains. Here, she was smack in the middle of it all. It was one of the reasons she’d taken the job.
Truthfully, the only thing she minded about being away from Colorado was being away from Zoey. “Be safe, my sister.” She whispered, putting out her arms and getting ready to jump.
“Stop!” Someone called from behind her.
The intensity of the voice took her off balance, which wasn’t optimal since she was standing on the edge of a cliff. She tried to look back, but the momentum from leaning forward carried her over. So, instead of a beautiful dive, she found herself flailing though the air and hitting the water like some teenager out on a date with their friends just messing around and cliff jumping.
After the painful impact with the water, she felt simultaneously irritated with the guy and concerned. Was he hurt? Did he need help? Regretfully, she emerged from the cold, clear water and looked up. He stood at the top, staring down at her.
“What?” She shouted.
“That was stupid.” He boomed out the words.
She wanted to give him a gesture, but she didn’t.
She began to swim for the other side of the shore, ignoring the man at the top.
Suddenly, a huge splash came next to her, and she watched as the man popped up out of the water.
Truth be told, he was handsome. His dark hair was the perfect length. He had chiseled features, with complimentary eyebrows and piercing blue eyes. At that exact moment, they were mad eyes. “What were you doing?”
Instantly put off, she swam harder for the beach. “I don’t know who you are, but I am none of your business.” Just then, her foot got caught. Not just caught, it felt like something was pulling her shoe off as she stepped on it. “Ah!” She hesitated and stopped, treading water. Or trying to. “What the—?” A rock or something sharp had hooked her shoe, and now she
couldn’t get free. Realizing this, she unvelcroed the Teva.
“What?” He was coming to her side.
More and more irritation swept through her.
“Nothing,” she said as she ripped the shoe completely off and freed her foot. The effort it took put her off balance, and she fell back into the water. After getting back up, she swam for the beach, annoyed the guy had made her screw up what would have been a perfectly executed dive.
Somehow, when she pulled up at the rocky beach, he was already there.
His chest was bare, and all of his perfectly defined muscles were on display. He looked like a bodybuilder. He was also tall. She figured he had to be six foot two. His whole body glistened with water, and she couldn’t deny the feelings stirring inside of her.
She stood and then kneeled down to put on her Teva. “Why don’t you tell me why you messed up my dive?”
He looked incredulous and pointed to the cliff above them. “Do you know what they call that cliff?”
Her heart raced. “Park Rock Cliffs.” She answered.
A derisive laugh came out of him, and he smoothed a hand through his hair. “Uh, yeah, but do you know what the locals call it?”
She didn’t even want to still be speaking to him, but now she had to know. “No.”
“Satan’s cliffs.” His face screwed into a rude face. “There are a couple deaths there every year.” He broke the connection and stepped farther up onto the beach. “I think you should do some research because jumping off those cliffs will eventually get you killed.” He stopped then looked back disdainfully. “Especially when you’re gearing up for a headfirst dive. Stupid.”
It was one thing that he may be a concerned citizen watching out for her. It was a totally different matter that he thought he could be all superior and tell her what do to. “Look, I don’t know who you are, but next time, let the devil just take me, okay? Because if you didn’t notice, I didn’t need any help.”