Wildfire Sweethearts. Leigh Bale

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Chapter Two

      The following morning Tessa sat in the training room at the hotshot base with the rest of her twenty-man crew. Leaning her elbows on the desk in front of her, she tried to act interested in what the men were saying but couldn’t quite meet that goal. Since all but the superintendent and captain were seasonal employees, they’d been apart all winter long and had a lot to catch up on, but all she could think about was Sean. She hadn’t seen him since yesterday. Or Brian, the crew’s superintendent, and Rolland, their captain. And she wondered what was delaying their arrival.

      “Thanks for the eats, Tessa.” Harlie took a big bite out of a chocolate-covered doughnut with pink sprinkles on top. On her way into work that morning, she’d picked up a box of pastries from the local bakery. It was a great morale booster.

      The other men added their thanks.

      She just smiled and took a sip of her hot chocolate.

      “Hey, Tessa. Nice tan. Where have you been all winter? Hawaii?” Dean Clawson waggled his eyebrows at her. As a freshman hotshot, he was new to the squad, and she could already tell he was a big flirt.

      She glanced at the man’s sandy-blond hair and pale skin. Within a week, she knew he’d be beet-red with sunburn. But by mid-August, he’d be a sun-bronzed firefighter. Women would be flocking to his door. But not her. Since her breakup with Sean, she wasn’t interested in dating anyone.

      “I’ve been in Montana. And I’m afraid that bleached body of yours is gonna fry this summer.” She spoke deadpan, without blinking.

      The men roared with laughter.

      “Ouch!” Harlie said.

      Their joking was all in good fun, but as the only woman on this crew, she had to hold her own with these macho maniacs, or she wouldn’t survive long.

      Sean came in from the side office, followed by Jared Marshall, the fire management officer. A tall, athletic man with dark blond hair and dazzling blue eyes, Jared had married Megan Rocklin two months earlier. Megan was the owner of the only restaurant in town and one of Tessa’s best friends. Unfortunately, they hadn’t given a lot of notice about their nuptials. Tessa had been in Missoula going to school at the time and regretted that she’d been in the middle of midterms and unable to attend the wedding. But she’d sent the newlyweds an ornate crystal vase and a heartfelt congratulations note.

      Hmm. What was the FMO doing here? And where were Brian and Rolland?

      “Good morning, and welcome back.” Jared waved the group into silence while Sean stood leaning against the wall.

      To begin, Jared gave a short, motivational speech about working as a team and watching each other’s backs. He then introduced the two newest members of the crew.

      Dean and Ace grinned as they stood and bowed gallantly, undoubtedly showing off to hide their insecurities. Knowing they had a lot to learn, Tessa cheered with the rest of the men. Jared waited for the noise to settle down.

      “One last item of business before you start your training. I’m sorry to say that Brian has resigned. He got married in January and moved to Portland last week to be with his new bride.”

      Pete nudged Harlie with his elbow and smirked as he whispered loudly. “See? I told you so.”

      A snicker filtered through the men. Tessa would never understand why they found humor in the simplest of things but realized it was merely a pressure valve for the serious work ahead.

      “Additionally, you may have heard about Rolland Simpson’s wife and eldest daughter being killed in a car crash last week.”

      A round of gasps and sympathetic sounds came from the group.

      “Is Rollo all right?” Harlie asked.

      “Yeah, but he’s real torn up about it. His youngest daughter survived the crash. Rollo wasn’t with his family at the time, but he may not be able to return until the end of the summer fire season. It’ll take him some time to get things sorted out. We’ll hold his position open for the time being,” Jared said.

      That meant the leadership of their crew had all but been wiped out. So, who was going to lead the team?

      “Sean has been selected as your new superintendent,” Jared continued. “I know you’ll agree he’s highly qualified to be your crew leader and you’ll give him the respect due to his position. Since Rollo will be gone for the time being, I’m counting on all of you to help Sean with that extra work.”

      Tessa’s mouth dropped open. She hadn’t expected this. No, not at all. Her ears felt clogged, like she was submerged under water. Not in a million years had she thought Sean would be her boss. The leader of the entire hotshot crew.

      Hearing the news, Pete sucked in a startled breath. Harlie and Tank’s expressions remained stoic. And Tessa knew why. Most of them had been there that fateful day when Zach had died. They weren’t sure that Sean was up to this new task. At least, not so soon.

      Why hadn’t Sean told her about his promotion? Yesterday, in her apartment, he’d had plenty of opportunity. A year ago she would have felt proud and delighted by the news. But right now she couldn’t help wondering if he could be trusted to look after the crew’s well-being.

      The men broke into mild applause, but she could see the doubt in some of their eyes.

      Tessa forced herself to clap her hands. She did so with misgivings. After all, Sean had been a squad leader when Zach was killed. But what if he’d been too inattentive, or took an unnecessary risk? It could have been a simple error. One little bad decision that had gotten Zach killed. A tiny bit of information that had been excluded from the incident report. It was one thing to see Sean every day. To work around him and interact. But taking orders from him as he steered the crew through numerous dangerous situations was another matter entirely.

      It appeared that she had no choice. Not if she wanted her job.

      “Okay, I think that’s it. Stay safe out there, take care of each other and fight fire.” With a satisfied nod, Jared made his exit to return to the forest supervisor’s office.

      Tessa didn’t say a word as Harlie slid a disc into the overhead projector and Pete switched off the lights so they could watch a training film on how to deploy their new fire shelters. She tried to focus, but her gaze kept wandering over to Sean. Dressed like the rest of the team in a navy blue T-shirt, spruce-green pants and a pair of White’s vibram-soled fire boots, he sat on a corner of the desk at the front of the room. He folded his muscular arms, his jaw locked as he stared at the overhead screen.

      He turned his head and pinned Tessa with a gaze so intense that she actually squirmed. She looked away quickly, trying to forget what this man had once meant to her. Trying to push aside her doubts over his possible role in Zach’s death.

      A short time later the crew went outside to exercise. They started with calisthenics and graduated to a three-mile hike up a sharp incline with their forty-five-pound packs on their backs. Tessa stifled a groan and focused on the space right in front of her feet. Good thing she’d kept herself in top physical condition during the winter months or she wouldn’t have been able to keep up. She did everything she was asked to do, trying to numb her mind to the arduous months ahead. СКАЧАТЬ