by Susan Stoker
“You’re going to regret this!” the woman called out. She was resisting being put in the back of one of the deputies’ cars. “Mark my words! You. Will. Regret. Killing. My. Son!”
Taco turned away from the hysterical woman. The fire still raged behind him, and there was a lot of work to be done.
Two weeks later, on a Saturday, Taco and Driftwood were grocery shopping to stock the fire station’s pantry. Quinn had decided to accompany them, just so she could spend more time with her fiancé. They were having her former neighbor, Willard, over for dinner again the next night, and she was buying the ingredients for veal parmigiana.
Taco was impressed that Driftwood had made good on his dinner invitation to the man. Willard had truly been innocent of everything that had happened, and Taco knew his friend felt bad for thinking he was the one behind Quinn’s kidnapping.
And, surprisingly, Quinn and Willard had hit it off extremely well. Beth and Sledge had eaten with them one night, and had rigged up a computer program that could talk as Willard typed. Taco had heard all about how hilarious Willard apparently was, and how the girls had laughed all night.
Taco was glad for his friends. They’d been through hell, and it was nice to see them both so happy now.
They were all laughing and chatting their way through the grocery store when they turned a corner—and Taco’s cart slammed into another.
“Oh!” the woman pushing the cart said in surprise.
“I’m so sorry,” Taco apologized immediately.
“It’s my fault,” the woman said. “I should’ve been paying attention.”
“Koren?” Quinn asked.
“Quinn?”
“The one and the same!”
“I almost didn’t recognize you with short hair!” Koren said.
Quinn laughed. “Because my birthmark was so hard to miss?”
“It actually looks like it’s faded,” Koren said with a little forehead wrinkle.
“Well, it has. I’ve been getting laser treatments,” Quinn explained.
“Cool!”
“Oh, Koren, this is my fiancé, John, and this is his friend, Taco. They’re both firefighters.”
Koren gave them a little wave. “It’s good to meet you.” Then she stared at Taco for a beat longer. “Were you on the news recently?”
Taco immediately felt uncomfortable around Koren. For one, she had long blonde hair, like Jen had. And any reminder of that colossal mistake he’d made wasn’t good. But he also felt uneasy for another reason. He couldn’t put his finger on why…just that she made him nervous.
“Yeah, he was the firefighter who found that poor kid the other week,” Quinn told Koren.
“Oh my God. That was terrible. I’m so sorry. That had to be really hard on you.”
Her words were sympathetic and polite, but Taco was already tired of being in the spotlight for that unfortunate event.
Though, for some reason, Koren recognizing him didn’t irritate Taco.
But then, not being pissed off about it actually pissed him off.
Internally shaking his head at how ridiculous he was, Taco merely nodded at her.
Koren stared at him for a moment longer, as if she were trying to read his mind, before turning back to Quinn. “Well, it was good to see you again. I was sorry to hear about what happened to you too. Man, how crazy.”
“You can say that again,” Quinn agreed.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” Koren said, directing her words at both Quinn and Taco. “I need to get going. I’ll see you later.”
The second she was out of earshot, Quinn smacked Taco on the arm.
“Ow!” he yelped, grabbing the spot she’d hit. “What was that for?”
“For being rude to my friend.”
“I wasn’t rude!” he protested.
“You were. I wasn’t setting you up for 90 Day Fiancé or something. Jeez.”
“What’s that?”
“A reality show. Anyway, you didn’t have to be so mean to her.”
“I wasn’t mean. At least, I wasn’t trying to be.”
Quinn looked around before stepping up to him and saying quietly, “I know she kinda looks like Jen, but the blonde hair is where the similarity ends. I don’t really know Koren, but she was nice to me. She’s not a psycho. Stop beating yourself up about what happened. It’s done and over with.”
“I know.”
Quinn sighed, then nodded. “Good. Now, we still need breadcrumbs. Did we pass them already?”
Driftwood had been watching the interaction, but hadn’t spoken, which Taco appreciated. He’d already gotten the third degree about not giving up on women or dating from the crew. He didn’t need it again.
As they continued down the aisle and turned to head to the next one, Taco glanced over at the checkout lanes. Koren was standing in line, waiting for her turn to check out. She wore a pair of jeans that hugged her ass and thighs, and a tank top that showed off her curvy frame. Her hair might’ve been like Jen’s, but their bodies were as different as night and day. Jen had been stick-thin, while Koren had curves in all the right places.
She was tapping her foot to an unknown beat. She was also staring down at her phone, probably doing what everyone else did when they were bored…scrolling through Facebook or something. She looked perfectly happy to be standing in line. Not irritated or impatient. It looked like she could stand there all night.
Unlike Jen. She was always irritated about something. And she hated waiting. Now he knew it was because she thought she was above everyone else, and should get preferential treatment. And when she didn’t, she’d turned ugly.
Shaking his head again, Taco turned his attention back to what he was doing…namely, shopping for the station. He had to stop thinking about Jen. And he definitely wasn’t ready to start dating again. Nope. He might not be ready for another ten years or so. If ever. Women were trouble. If he was going to start dating again, he needed a woman with no baggage, a good relationship with her family, no threat of homelessness…no drama, period.
Right. As if. He knew women like that were few and far between. Which meant he was safe.
Taking one last look at Koren, he swallowed hard. She had bent over her cart, resting her forearms on the handle. He couldn’t help but look at her ass. It was at the perfect height for him to grab hold of her hips and—
He stopped his thoughts right there.
No. He wouldn’t think about sex. The last time he got too desperate, he’d ended up dating a psycho cult leader. It didn’t matter that they’d never actually gotten to the point of having sex…he’d been loyal to her and had done his best to help her fit in with his friends.
Turning his back on Koren and her delectable ass, he tried to convince himself that she was probably a bitch.
Regardless, and apparently unable to help himself, he turned his head yet again, and saw Koren smiling at an older lady holding a loaf of bread and a ham. She was gesturing for her to go ahead of her in line.
Sighing, Taco hurried to catch up with Driftwood and Quinn.
So what if Koren was pretty. Nice. Down to earth. Already friendly with Quinn…
She still wasn’t for him. Nope. No way. No how.
Poor Taco. Look for his book, Shelter for Koren to come out SOON!
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Also by Susan Stoker
* * *
Badge of Honor: Texas Heroes Series
Justice for Mackenzie
Justice for Mickie
Justice for Corrie
Justice for Laine (novella)
Shelter for Elizabeth
Justice for Boone
Shelter for Adeline
Shelter for Sophie
Justice for Erin
Justice for Milena
; Shelter for Blythe
Justice for Hope
Shelter for Quinn
Shelter for Koren (July 2019)
Shelter for Penelope (Oct 2019)
* * *
Delta Force Heroes Series
Rescuing Rayne
Rescuing Aimee (novella)
Rescuing Emily
Rescuing Harley
Marrying Emily
Rescuing Kassie
Rescuing Bryn
Rescuing Casey
Rescuing Sadie
Rescuing Wendy
Rescuing Mary
Rescuing Macie (April 2019)
* * *
SEAL of Protection: Legacy Series
Securing Caite
Securing Brenae (novella) (April 2019)
Securing Sidney (May 2019)
Securing Piper (Sept 2019)
Securing Zoey (Jan 2020)
Securing Avery (TBA)
Securing Kalee (TBA)
* * *
Ace Security Series
Claiming Grace
Claiming Alexis
Claiming Bailey
Claiming Felicity
Claiming Sarah (Sept 2019)
* * *
Mountain Mercenaries Series
Defending Allye
Defending Chloe
Defending Morgan
Defending Harlow (July 2019)
Defending Everly (Dec 2019)
Defending Zara (TBA)
Defending Raven (TBA)
* * *
SEAL of Protection Series
Protecting Caroline
Protecting Alabama
Protecting Fiona
Marrying Caroline (novella)
Protecting Summer
Protecting Cheyenne
Protecting Jessyka
Protecting Julie (novella)
Protecting Melody
Protecting the Future
Protecting Kiera (novella)
Protecting Alabama’s Kids (novella)
Protecting Dakota
* * *
Stand Alone
The Guardian Mist
Nature’s Rift
A Princess for Cale
A Moment in Time- A Collection of Short Stories
Lambert’s Lady
* * *
Special Operations Fan Fiction
http://www.AcesPress.com
Beyond Reality Series
Outback Hearts
Flaming Hearts
Frozen Hearts
Writing as Annie George:
Stepbrother Virgin (erotic novella)
About the Author
New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author Susan Stoker has a heart as big as the state of Tennessee where she lives, but this all American girl has also spent the last twenty years living in Missouri, California, Colorado, Indiana, and Texas. She’s married to a retired Army man who now gets to follow her around the country.
She debuted her first series in 2014 and quickly followed that up with the SEAL of Protection Series, which solidified her love of writing and creating stories readers can get lost in.
If you enjoyed this book, or any book, please consider leaving a review. It’s appreciated by authors more than you’ll know.
www.stokeraces.com
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