Married by Christmas: Park City Firefighter Romances

by Hart, Taylor

  “Holy crap,” Will said. “It is her.”

  Tom hit Will in the shoulder.

  “Ouch!” Will cried out, grabbing the shoulder he’d just said was perfectly fine.

  “Sorry,” Tom said, but he leaned into Will and stood on tiptoes, trying to get a better look up ahead.

  Time froze as he watched her—if it was Emily—jog up the trail and disappear into the trees. There was no doubt for him, though. He’d seen the exact same image twelve years ago, sophomore year. They’d been all set up to fish at Bearclaw Lake, and Emily had run back to the car to grab something. Tom had just stood there and watched the image of perfection jog away and into the trees. Yes, it was her. Breathless, Tom met Will’s eyes.

  Will pulled off his hat and turned it around. “Well, what are you waiting for, stupid? Let’s catch up to her.”

  Despite his earlier restraint, Tom found himself plowing through the crowd. “Excuse us, got to get up the hill fast. It’s an emergency.” He switched into firefighter response mode and tried to carefully, but forcefully move the tourists as he pushed them out of the way. He made sure they didn’t fall, holding to them and squeezing past.

  Where were his lights and sirens when he really needed them?

  “Out of the way, people!” Will called out behind them. “Move it or lose it.”

  Tom heard people complaining and calling out as they fell by the wayside.

  Even though it didn’t take them long to get to the top of the trail, through the trees, and into the parking lot, it wasn’t quick enough. A rusty-orange Ford Mustang was peeling out of the parking lot, and the woman’s blonde hair whipped in the wind.

  Tom felt rejuvenated. It was really her!

  “There she is!” Will burst into a sprint. “Hurry! Get in the car! Let’s catch her!”

  Chapter 4

  The wind was blowing through her hair. Beautiful sights were all around her. What more could Emily want? Oh. Right. Her boyfriend.

  Pushing that thought away, she focused on the road. It was a small road, and at every turn, it became this one-lane maniacal show where you waited for the car coming to finish and then took your turn. The guidebook mentioned that you took turns, but people didn’t seem to have gotten the memo and were riding on the tails of the cars in front of them.

  Frustrated, she waited for a long stream of six cars to make their way forward. She’d been told the drive up in the morning was much easier than the ride down in the afternoon because more people had come to Hana and it would be crowded. She was experiencing that right now.

  She flipped on the radio, but she couldn’t get a station. Since streaming music through her phone would kill her battery, she sat in silence, trying to think about the serene environment and enjoy it. The trouble was that when trying to just enjoy serenity, all Emily could think about was how she should have been enjoying this with Brett. He would have insisted on driving, and they would be laughing and talking about all the sites they’d seen that day.

  When she’d originally planned to come over for her boss’s wedding, and Brett had agreed to come with her, they were going to come one day before the rehearsal dinner and wedding and then stay an extra three days after, coming home the day after Christmas. It’d almost made her forget that she’d planned to come to Hawaii with Tom for their honeymoon. Almost.

  She and Brett had even booked a helicopter ride for Christmas Eve that went over to Molokai and dropped you into the rainforest, where you could walk around for twenty minutes before it took you across all of Maui. It’d sounded like a dream, and it cost what a dream would cost. She hated to go by herself on the helicopter ride, but it was all paid for. It just felt wrong to not go. Usually, she and Brett split everything, but she’d complained the helicopter was too much, so Brett had paid for it, telling her he wanted to. It had surprised her that he’d stepped up and paid.

  Of course, Tom had never let her pay for anything.

  Dang it. She hit the steering wheel. Why was she thinking of Tom again? Even when Tom had no money in high school, he’d taken a job working a couple of nights a week as a mechanic to earn money. He’d never let her pay for dates. At the time, she’d thought Tom was romantic, but she’d grown up now. Women had rights, and she’d gone through all the feminist arguments about paying for things. Brett was sensible. She’d always told herself as much when he would wait for her to pay her half of their outings. Tears pooled in her eyes thinking about it. Because it’d kind of ticked her off that Brett was always so sensible.

  Now, all she could think about was that little wedding ring Tom had held out for her when he’d proposed. And that night by the river. She pounded on the steering wheel again and cursed. No! She didn’t want to think about that.

  A horn blew, and her eyes flicked open.

  “Go!” a guy in a car behind her yelled.

  She realized she was holding up the line. Startled, she started driving. Unfortunately, she’d taken off after another car on the other side of the corner had already decided to go. That car honked at her, and she swerved to push her car as far to the right as she could.

  The cars ended up scraping as they passed, and the people in the other car flipped her off, which increased her panic. As much as she wanted to flip them off back, she didn’t, since knew it was her fault. Stepping on the gas, she rejoined the never-ending line of cars headed down.

  For an hour, she stayed in the traffic down the side of the mountain, wishing it would end. Wishing she’d never come on this stupid road to Hana. Wishing she’d never come to Maui for this wedding.

  She was unable to stop the tears from falling. Usually, she could dive into her own work and ignore the feelings of frustration that were associated with Brett, but right now she couldn’t do anything except focus on all the bad things about her and Brett’s relationship.

  Sure, she reasoned as she wiped her cheeks, maybe she hadn’t been as invested as she could have been, but she had to face what it was—a relationship of convenience. He’d asked her to move in with him a few weeks ago, and she was glad she’d refused. Even though he’d made a point of letting her know, in a spreadsheet, just how much money they would save.

  She wouldn’t do it. This was simply a way to pressure her into sleeping with him, but she didn’t want to just move in and sleep together. She wanted marriage. Wanted a man with whom she could see a future. Wanted … she would never admit it out loud, but she wanted what she’d given up ten years ago.

  A sign for coconut ice cream beckoned from the side of the road, and she took a chance and pulled over. There were only a couple of cars, so she found a spot quickly. Gathering herself, she grabbed some cash and got out.

  The ice cream was more than delicious, and she found herself conversing with the guy who owned the little stand. “I hope you like it,” he said, the wrinkles around his eyes creasing.

  The guy looked to be her father’s age, and she smiled at him. “Thank you. This is so good.”

  The guy nodded emphatically. “The best ice cream on the island.”

  Someone moved behind her. “So where is your man, pretty woman?” The voice sounded familiar, and hackles rose on her neck. The dark-haired man from earlier moved next to her.

  Fear spiked through her, and she commanded herself not to look afraid. She opted to be ticked off. “He went on without me, but I don’t think I need an interrogation.” Walking quickly, she threw the ice cream carton in the trash and got into her car. She didn’t need some weirdo following her around.

  Chapter 5

  Tom laid on the horn as he almost ran into the tourist van ahead of him. “Go!”

  Will looked like he would hulk out. “Freaking cow!”

  Tom laughed. It was stupid to think they could catch someone on this road. There was no way around anyone. In fact, they were stuck until the car in front of them moved. His mind raced as he saw all the hazards of an accident on this road. Park City had enough bad roads in the mountains that were a nightmare in the winter, but
this road was something else. “This road never gets snow,” he mused.

  Will frowned, giving him a confused look. “So?”

  “I can’t get my mind wrapped around a place that never gets snow.” A good eight months out of Tom’s year was usually spent with snow in some form.

  Will laughed. “Right!”

  The cars started moving again, and Tom asked the question he didn’t want to ask. “Do you think that was really her?”

  Will nodded, trying to look around the line of cars. “And she was driving an orange Mustang, so we should be able to track it. Even though there are a ton of Mustangs on the island, most of them are red.” He pounded a hand against his door. “Like this one, but there are not many like hers.”

  It was incredible to believe that Emily would actually be here, and it was unnerving that Tom still had this kind of reaction to the woman. Now, he couldn’t stop himself from probing his brother with questions. “So what was she up to when you saw her at the game?” he asked, his voice stilted.

  Will gave him a knowing glance, but he didn’t make a thing of it. “She was just there with her sister. Like I said, they had gone with her client. We didn’t talk long, but Trina kept asking about you and gave Emily some definite looks.” He laughed. “Trina is still crazy.”

  The Kent brothers had always treated Trina like their little sister.

  Will grunted. “Anyway, I asked Emily if she was married. She coyly told me she was in a serious relationship.” He chuckled. “You know how her sister is. She made a slashing-across-the-neck motion behind her.”

  Tom thought of Trina and laughed. “She’s hilarious.” He didn’t know if it was good or bad that it made him feel better to think that her sister didn’t like the guy.

  “Trina had a son.” Will snorted. “He was cute. Elliot.”

  It surprised Tom to think of Trina with a kid, but it shouldn’t have. Just because he thought of himself and Emily like they’d been in the past, it didn’t mean they still were.

  Stupid. He ran a hand across his sweating forehead. This side of Maui was a lot cooler, but it was still humid. He sighed and relaxed back into his seat, letting all the drive to find her fade away. “I don’t think it matters if we find her, does it?”

  Will balked. “Of course it does.”

  “Even if she is here, she’s in a relationship.”

  “Maybe,” Will said slowly. “I didn’t see her here with anyone today.”

  “Why would she be in Maui alone?” Tom asked, feeling more frustrated. This whole thing was a wild goose chase. Not that they were really chasing anyone with this traffic that was barely moving. There was no way to pass even if they wanted to. And he wouldn’t think about the fact they’d wanted to honeymoon in Hawaii together. No, he would not think about that.

  For a moment, his brother didn’t say a word. Then he asked, “Why are you in Maui alone?”

  “I’m not.”

  “You’re not with a woman.” Will smirked.

  “Dude, do you ever know when to shut up?”

  This just elicited roaring laughter from Will.

  Tom imagined what the guys back at the fire station would say about his predicament. Well, most of them knew he didn’t have a honey to take, but if they heard he was chasing his old high school girlfriend around the island, he’d never hear the end of it. He imagined what they would say: “She ran from him ten years ago, and she’s still running.” Or “The only Kent brother who runs after women instead of the other way around.” Even better: “Kent should’ve eaten the whole fruitcake.” He snorted, amused by his own jokes.

  Out of nowhere, a coconut ice cream stand popped up. Will pointed at it. “Turn there. We’ll get some ice cream.”

  Tom was way past stopping. All he wanted to do was get down the mountain and off this road. He didn’t turn. “No way.”

  Will grumbled and pushed himself up, staring at the place as they passed. His arm bolted out. “She’s there! She’s eating ice cream! Hey!” He cupped his hands around his mouth. “Emily!”

  Chapter 6

  Emily jolted, hearing someone call her name again. She’d just gotten into her car, but the top was down. She turned in her seat, noting the dark-haired guy was still looking at her.

  “Emily!” She heard it again.

  Putting the car in reverse, she moved to the road, glaring at the weirdo guy. “I told you—my boyfriend!” She pointed to the road. It was absurd that she felt the need to prove the lie, but the guy was creepy. Flustered, she turned around, then saw a line of cars passing, but they were shielded by trees and foliage.

  “Emily!” The call came again and sounded like it was getting farther away from her.

  In a panic, she started her car and pushed her way into the line of bumper-to-bumper cars driving by. Confused and a bit nervous, she tried to see who was ahead of her. Who would even know her? Melissa, Alice, Eden? They were some women who were her friends at the firm, but they weren’t flying in until tomorrow morning. She’d planned it this way to have time alone with Brett. They were all on the airplane right now. It could be other people from the firm. Yes, she consoled herself, it had to be someone from the firm.

  * * *

  The next morning, Emily was up way too early. Maui was six hours behind East Coast time. It was five a.m., and it felt way late. Pushing the covers off, she laced up her shoes. The wedding was at the Marriott on the Kaanapali side of Maui. She’d noticed it had a great boardwalk next to the beach that linked a bunch of hotels. It would be perfect for running and seeing the sunrise.

  An hour later, she stood on the boardwalk by her resort, feeling out of breath and happy. She loved a long run in the morning. She took off her running shoes. The sun was peeking over the horizon, and she itched to have her feet in the sand. There were hardly any people up, but she still took her shoes and socks with her and sauntered down to the beach.

  Her feet sank into the sand, and she closed her eyes for a second and thanked God for everything good in her life. The feel of the sand. The gentle lapping of the ocean. Wasn’t this what it meant to have faith? Have gratitude? She’d grown up praying, but recently, she’d tried to develop an attitude of gratitude every morning. And right now, in this moment, she did have everything.

  This sense of peace was welcome. Even though her friends got in this morning, they’d all agreed they would get some rest and meet at the rehearsal dinner. Which was kind of funny, because Mr. Owens had invited everyone who could come to the wedding to the rehearsal dinner, so it was basically just the early birds. Many more were coming in that night and would just be there for the wedding the next day.

  She didn’t want to admit to everyone that Brett wasn’t coming. She didn’t want to deal with all the questions. It made her feel vulnerable. Maybe it was because she was an attorney and hated to come to the table with anyone from a position of weakness, but she hated feeling vulnerability and not being able to do anything about it.

  Her cell buzzed in her hand. Glancing down, she saw it was Brett. As much as she didn’t want to answer, she still had a niggling hope that he would say he was at the airport and needed a ride. She pressed accept. “Hello.”

  “I know you’re mad at me, and I know it’s going to be a hard couple of days for you.” His voice was tentative.

  Her heart sank. He wasn’t at the airport. If he was, he would have already told her he was there. “What, Brett?”

  He sighed. “Look, babe, this trial, you know the kinda stakes that are rolling, a human life. It’s really—”

  “I know.”

  “Listen, I wanted to ask you if you might want to just come back after the wedding tomorrow and not stay the extra days. I’ll book Cabo for next month.”

  “What?” This was asinine.

  He rushed on. “Be with me for Christmas. That way you wouldn’t lose your vacation days, and you could still go with me. My treat.” He said it like it was a grand, sweeping gesture only a gentleman would give her. Like he was off
ering to take a bullet for her.

  But she knew Brett was the kind of guy who would hide behind her. He was terrified of dying and had admitted that was part of the reason he worked so hard to get his clients off. Irritation swept through her, but she remained calm. “And what about the seven-hundred-dollar helicopter ride?”

  He sighed. “I’ll eat it.”

  “Really?” Even though Brett had actually paid for that, she’d paid for the extra hotel room nights.

  “I’m trying to offer you an olive branch here.” He clicked his tongue.

  “Olive branch? No—the olive branch was supposed to be you coming with me to this wedding, remember? Especially after I found all those texts on your phone.” She’d been telling herself they hadn’t meant anything, but now she knew that was a lie.

  “Hey.” His voice got severe. “You know I didn’t encourage those at all. When you work with people, sometimes they get the wrong idea.”

  She wanted to point out she’d never worked with anyone who had gotten the wrong idea from her. Even though she hadn’t seen any return texts from him, it still felt suspicious. “Whatever.”

  “I was hoping you would see that I’m coming to the table to negotiate, but it’s clear you don’t want to negotiate. That’s fine. I guess you can just be mad and do all of your stuff by yourself. Have a good time.” His voice clearly betrayed that he didn’t want her to have a good time. “We’ll just have to hash this out when you get back.”

  Before she could even think about it, she blurted out, “I’m done.”

  “What?”

  “I’m done, Brett.” Complete calm fell over her, the kind that gave her the edge in closings at trials. The kind her co-workers said made her be able to think clearly under pressure. Her brain automatically skipped to the details, the fine print, and the exit strategy of business. “I’ll ask my assistant to arrange for someone to pick up my things Thursday evening. If you’re not there, please leave them in the hall.” They spent a lot of time at each other’s places, but they had never even spoken of marriage. Now, in the sea of all these minutiae, she wondered why she’d never pushed it.