Brooke felt awful for Sam. She tried to keep her distance from the men – after all, they were all her students. But out of all of the men, she was probably closest to him. While some of the other men hardly seemed to care what she had to say or didn’t really respect her because she wasn’t a Shifter, Sam always seemed to treat her with respect.
Plus, he’s cute.
She had to scold herself not to think that way.
It wasn’t fair that he’d failed because of a little error. Well, maybe little wasn’t the right word – but the day he’d taken that exam, he’d been completely and utterly worn out. She had the distinct impression that Sam was the kind of guy who would push himself to succeed, and he’d probably pushed himself just a little too hard this time, and it resulted in him absolutely bombing the test because of one little error.
And the worst part? Though she wanted to help him out, give him a chance to retake the test, she wasn’t allowed to let him. The Forest had a strict set of rules and guidelines, and retests and make up tests were strictly forbidden. She’d even heard from her father that the first couple of guys to get cut from the squad were cut just because they’d been a few minutes late. She knew there was no chance for Sam.
That didn’t mean he was out of the running, though. If he almost aced every test, quiz, and bit of homework that he had to, he would pass the class, scraping by with an 80 percent. It wasn’t impossible – and for someone like Sam, she knew that he would try his hardest.
She didn’t know if it would be good enough.
She’d offered to help him with the homework, and of course, he’d refused. She didn’t know what to think about that.
Did I overstep my boundaries?
She was in the classroom grading papers. An early evening had fallen, brought in by another fresh set of storms. She’d considered trying to get home before the storm hit earlier in the day but had decided against it. She always did her best work from where she worked, so she’d stayed.
There was a light knock at her door and Brooke turned, expecting to see her father and hoping to see Sam – she scolded herself for that one – and instead saw Sergeant McCready standing there. He looked stern and somehow thoughtful at the same time. His beard was frosted with ice; the men must have been out doing something. It could have been anything from the snippets of conversation she’d picked up from the men, like being forced to navigate through a blizzard. Or like her father had told her, they often did endurance exercises outside to prepare the men for any sort of inclement weather. Or this could be something completely different. Maybe it hadn’t been an exercise at all. She’d picked up enough to know that the Forest usually used two different squads: one was on call for 12 hours, the second for the next. It seemed to work out well for them. She wasn’t sure where the recruits fit into it, though.
“Have a minute, Miss Slater?”
Brooke put down the pen she’d been using to grade the paper over Fire Science and It’s Spread by Jake Love. So far, he’d been doing a passable job on explaining how fire spread using what they’d learned.
“Please, call me Brooke. And I have as much time as you need, Sergeant.”
He looked uncomfortable for a second. She knew this was a man used to formalities, the comradeship that came from being hard and always serious. Calling someone by their first name and not their earned name or title was probably a foreign concept to him. Then he nodded.
“Okay, Brooke. Since he’s in your class, I wanted you to be one of the first to know. Jake Love is no longer part of the Forest.”
She looked down at the paper in front of her. He hadn’t been her favorite – Because you know who is, she reminded herself – but he’d always done well enough. He would have probably gotten just under an A on this paper.
Instead of finishing it, however, she picked it up and dropped it in the trash can.
“Makes my job a little easier,” she said, though she felt more than a little uneasy. She knew that out of the twelve recruits, four were gone now. Two had left before she’d started the class and the third she’d never gotten to know, though she was glad for that. This was the first man that had left her class after she’d started teaching.
And it won’t be the last. As long as it’s not…
“I wanted to check in the progress of the other recruits. It might not seem like it but that part of their training is almost as important as the physical part.”
“Looking at this curriculum you guys handed me, I can believe it,” Brooke agreed. It was almost like a college level fire science degree compressed down into a few short months. It was certainly the most rigorous curriculum she’d ever seen in her life, and she’d felt like she’d seen some tough ones before. “We’ve had a few…” She didn’t know how to word it exactly. “Less than perfect scores.”
“Don’t sugarcoat it,” McCready ordered. “Who and how bad?”
“Michael Rucker, with his grades so far –”
“Is he going to pass or not?”
“No,” Brooke said, looking down at the paper he’d written. He hadn’t been getting a firm grasp on things. She hadn’t been sure if she should tell him that his fate had already been sealed or not – but it looked like she wouldn’t have to, based on the look on McCready’s face.
“Damn shame, too,” he muttered. “He’s good out there. Strong as a damn bear.”
“Maybe there’s some way…”
“There’s not. You know as well as I do that we follow strict guidelines here. We’ve never bent or broken them for anyone, and we’re not about to start now, especially with the suits breathing down our back.”
Brooke inwardly grimaced, hoping that McCready didn’t notice. One of those suits was her father – though she did her best not to take McCready’s words to heart. He’d been a part of something that had changed and she was part of it – was she one of those suits?
“Anyone else?” he asked.
She hesitated.
“Anyone else?” he repeated.
“There’s one more. Samuel Carver had a very low test score,” she said. It didn’t make her feel good to be saying that. Looking at McCready’s face, he didn’t like it, either. If he had been disappointed that Michael Rucker hadn’t done well enough to advance, she didn’t know what to call this. This was something else.
“How low?”
“He hasn’t failed out,” Brooke was quick to say. And I’m glad of that. “But he’s close. And he knows it. He made a mistake and skipped a question on a multiple choice exam. He answered the questions right – just one question below where he should have.”
McCready grimaced. “Details are important,” he muttered, though there was some doubt in his voice. “Hell of a way to fail out…”
“He hasn’t failed out yet,” Brooke reminded the Sergeant. “If he does well – extremely well – on the rest of the work, he’ll pass.”
“That’s good to know,” McCready said. “And the rest?”
“It looks like the others should be fine. They’re all well above the fail line.”
“Good,” McCready said, though it didn’t sound good. She had the suspicion that Sam Carver was one of the favorites around the fire station. She couldn’t blame McCready for being disappointed. There was just something about the man that made you just instantly like him.
“And remember,” the Sergeant said as he made his way towards the door. “There’s no take backs. No re-dos. No going easy. As unfortunate as it is…”
“I know,” Brooke said, nodding. With that, the Sergeant left and Brooke turned back to grading the last of the papers.
She saw Samuel Carver’s name at the top of a paper and looked at it. He was a good man – but she wasn’t going to go easy on him. She was going to do her job, even if it hurt to do so.
But she needn’t have worried. His paper was nearly perfect. Close enough where she didn’t need to take off any points, anyway. She knew he’d poured his heart and soul into making sure everything was typed
correctly, formatted right, and researched. He’d done it.
But this is only the first paper since the test. He still has a long way to go.
She was rooting for him, even though she knew she shouldn’t be.
There was another knock and she saw her father standing there. He looked tired but he still managed a smile.
“Want a ride home?”
“Can you give me five minutes to finish up?”
“Take your time,” he said, sitting down at a chair at the front of the class. She finished up the last paper she had to grade and then set it to the side with the others.
As they made their way towards the front doors of the station, her father said, “I just got done talking to McCready. He says we’ve lost another recruit and that Samuel Carver is close to failing.” She nodded. “This year, we need men to pass. We need good men to pass. My bosses aren’t happy with what’s happened in the years previous.”
“I know.”
“I’ve been told to keep an eye on Carver,” he said. “They say he’s a natural.” She didn’t say anything to that. “Go easy on him, hon’.”
“I can’t, Dad,” she said. “You know that.”
He gave her a hard look and she instantly knew that he wasn’t kidding. He was dead serious; he wanted her to let Carver slip by.
I can’t. Even though I’ve taken a personal interest in him, I can’t just sit back and let that happen. I have to do my job.
“Just think about it,” her father said, leading the way. They walked past the part kitchen, part mess hall, and she glanced in for just a moment. There was Sam Carver – he was sitting there, smiling and talking to someone. She hoped that he would look up and their eyes would meet for the briefest of moments – but he just laughed and tore off a piece of bread and then she was past the door, and he’d never seen her at all.
Sam found himself in the Chief’s office. He’d never met Rawls, though he’d seen him come in and talk to a couple of the guys one afternoon. Sam felt for the man – not only because of his injury, but because he’d lost command of the Forest and it had been turned over to the higher ups like Sharp and his second in command, Crichton, who’d just replaced McCready as Sergeant this morning.
The mood around the fire station was strained, to say the least. Half the guys, notably Haley, Graham, and O’Brien, were extremely vocal about the restructuring. Peterson was silent and thoughtful, though anyone that spared him a glance could see there was a storm brewing underneath his calm exterior. Buck, Ortega, and Norris all tried to keep the peace, while the rest of the guys, including the recruits, did their best to keep their heads down.
And then there was McCready. The Chief had introduced Crichton to the men over breakfast, breaking McCready down a rank in front of everyone. It had been insulting and embarrassing, though McCready took it all in stride.
No one seemed to hold it against Sharp – everyone could tell he was just as much as a victim as everyone else in this. But Crichton – that man was a suit, through and through. Sam had the sneaking suspicion that he didn’t answer to Sharp, not truly. He answered to Sharp’s bosses and the Chief’s hands were tied.
What a year to get into the Forest.
So he sat and waited and waited and waited. Finally, he heard the door open and Sharp and Crichton walked into Sharp’s office. Sharp took a seat behind the desk, Crichton standing behind him. Crichton had extremely bright golden eyes. They looked like they didn’t miss a beat. As they moved over Sam, he felt an uncomfortable feeling wash over him. He had to force himself not to shiver. Something about the man put him on edge.
“Samuel Carver,” Sharp said, leaning forward and extending a hand. “I don’t think we’ve had a chance for a one on one conversation.”
Sam spared a glance at Crichton standing over Sharp’s shoulder and then turned to Sharp, trying his best to ignore Crichton. He shook Sharp’s hand. The man was older but still had a surprisingly strong grip.
“I’ve heard good things.”
“Thank you, sir,” Sam said. In most situations, he wouldn’t find himself nervous around the Chief. After all, he was here to fit in with the Forest, and what better way to fit in than to get along with the Chief? But Crichton was still there, watching with his predatory eyes, almost as if he was hanging on every word between the two men.
“Sergeant McCready,” Sharp began, but Crichton made a small coughing noise behind him. “Excuse me. McCready said you were one of our brightest recruits. If not the brightest out of your class.”
“That’s high praise, sir – I don’t know if I can accept it.”
“You will,” Sharp said, leaning back in his chair and smiling. February had rolled around but the weather hadn’t improved whatsoever, and Sam could see wet sleet slapping at the window behind the man. “I’m sure you’ve caught that things around here have been changing lately.”
Sam was uncomfortable for a few moments but thought it best not to lie. He nodded, not trusting himself to say anything.
You and your bosses are going to ruin the Forest. Take something that’s the absolute best and turn it into – what? A PR stunt?
“Trust me,” Sharp said. “That wasn’t my idea.” His eyes flicked over to Crichton, but from the other man’s position, he couldn’t see them. “I’m just the man they put in charge.” Sam knew that that wasn’t entirely true. Even Sharp wasn’t calling the shots. He was just another pawn in the entire scheme of things. For a moment, Sam almost pitied him – and then he remembered that somehow, someway, he was also a pawn.
“Can I speak freely, sir?” Sam asked. Now, Sharp nodded. “What am I doing here?”
“It’s twofold, Carver. Brooke – Miss Slater, that is – has told me that you’re dangerously close to failing out of the Forest.”
“That’s correct,” Sam said. He could feel the blood rushing to his ears and his heart pumping. Shame was washing over him. He couldn’t bring himself to say more.
“That brings me to my next point. After some discussion, we have decided that out of this year’s batch of recruits, we’re looking for a sort of – face, to represent us. We’ve decided we want that Shifter to be you.”
Sam noticed that Sharp never said who we were.
“A face, sir?”
“I’m sure you’re aware that we’re really pushing for some new blood in the Forest. Morale is low across the board. We need someone new to revitalize the Forest. To bring it into the light.”
“And you want that to be me?”
“We do,” Crichton said and Sam almost jumped. He hadn’t expected the man to speak. His voice was surprisingly high for a Shifter of his stature. “What Sharp is trying to say, and this doesn’t leave the room – and we’ll know if it does – is that we’re trying to bring the Forest into the world, so to speak. Humans out there know Shifters exist. Some embrace them, some ignore them, some refuse to believe we exist. But our goal is to make the Forest the first public Shifter organization. Show the world, and those that hate us, that we’re a force of good and we’re just like everyone else. What better way than to prove that than to go public with a group of elite firefighters that save humans each and every day? And what better way than to show a new recruit – you – a man who is just like everyone else, clawing their way up from nothing to succeed. It’s the perfect story. People like an underdog.”
Sharp looked uncomfortable. Sam suspected that the Chief was working up to something like this – but with just a little more tact. Obviously, Crichton didn’t care about that. He cut straight to the chase.
And thinking about it, Sam felt uncomfortable. He’d never joined the Forest to be famous. He’d never joined the Forest to be a public figure, or to help propel the organization into the limelight. He’d dreamed about joining the Forest because he’d wanted to help people. He wanted to save lives.
“You’ll be allowed to retake your test, of course. Get you back on track. We wouldn’t want our lead Shifter to fail out, would we?” Crichton asked
.
“I can’t do that,” Sam said. “It’s not allowed…” Even the words sounded weak in his ears.
“We’ll make an exception,” Sharp said. “You won’t have to worry about that. We want you to be on the fast track.”
“To where?”
“Without saying too much, we feel that you’re destined for greater things than just being a member of the squad,” Crichton said. “All you have to do is sit back, relax, and let us carry you to greatness.”
Sam opened his mouth to say that he couldn’t, that he wouldn’t, that he hadn’t joined the Forest to be a pawn, hadn’t joined the Forest to be some kind of higher up, some suit, that he wanted to save people, that he wanted to help people, but when he did, Crichton said, “Think on it a few days, Sam.”
“You’re dismissed, Carver,” Sharp said. “I’m sure McCready is looking for you. He has something special planned for today, I’m told.”
Sam just stood up and nodded. Crichton warned, “Remember, this stays between us. We have great things planned for you, Sam. Great things. You’ll be on the fast track to greatness.”
“And Carver?” Sharp asked. He turned around and looked at the Chief, feeling pity for the man. He had been forced into a spot he hadn’t wanted to be – just like Sam had been, now. “I wanted you to hear about this first from me. There’s going to be a sort of, public relations dinner and party at my house this Friday. You and the rest of the recruits, plus the men of the Forest, will all be in attendance, plus some of my bosses and those who oversee things. It’s where we’ll be coming out with these new ideas. There will be a small news team there, a few reporters, that kind of thing. We’ll get you briefed beforehand. But this is your official invitation. The rest of the men will get their own invite shortly. Don’t forget a date.”
Sam just nodded and left the room, feeling his head spinning. It was hard to think straight. How had things turned out like this?
Bear Heat: BBW Fireman Bear Shifter Romance (Firefighter Bears Book 1) Page 9