Her Firefighter Hero. Leigh Bale

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       Chapter Three

      “Mommy, that man’s here.”

      Megan looked up. Caleb stood in the doorway of the laundry room in their house.

      “What man?” Down on her hands and knees, Megan wrung out a dripping rag into the mop bucket. She blew a long tendril of hair out of her face and glanced toward the threshold again. Jared Marshall stood there, tall and imposing. Little Caleb stared up at the man, a look of hero worship filling his eyes.

      “Oh!” Megan’s mouth dropped open and her eyes went wide. She almost groaned out loud, thinking this day couldn’t get much worse. Why did this gorgeous man have to catch her mopping up a mess from the leaky washing machine?

      Dressed in his Forest Service uniform, Jared held several white papers in his big hands. In a rush, Megan sat back with a thump, taking in the bronze shield pinned to the left front pocket of his drab olive green shirt. He looked so official. So imposing.

      Bracing her hands against the floor, she pushed herself to her feet, a knot of tension tightening at the back of her neck.

      “Hi, Jared. I didn’t expect to see you today.” She dropped the rag into the bucket, noticing that her wet fingers were wrinkled like prunes.

      His gaze swept across the room. He observed the washing machine pulled away from the wall, the tools resting on top of the dryer and the sheen of water still covering the damp floor.

      She felt nervous and out of sorts having this man in her home. Her house wasn’t fancy, but it was normally clean and comfortable. So, why did he have to show up just now, when everything was in a mess? And why did she care what Jared Marshall thought about where she lived anyway?

      He chuckled, the low sound sending a shiver up her spine. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I guess we keep surprising each other.”

      “Yeah, we sure do. You caught me at a bad time. The washing machine sprang a leak.” Her voice sounded unnaturally high to her ears.

      She turned and moved the bucket out of the middle of the floor. Facing him, she lifted her chin, trying to retain a bit of dignity.

      Pretending not to notice her predicament, Jared waved the papers in the air. “I brought over the contract for you to sign. I took it over to the restaurant, but they told me it was your day off. I figured you wouldn’t mind if I stopped by.”

      Her breath whooshed from her lungs. “Of course not. I only go into the diner on Mondays if they get swamped by customers. It’s usually our slow day. I was trying to catch up on some laundry, but it didn’t work out quite as I’d planned.”

      She took a step, her tennis shoes squeaking against the tile floor.

      She indicated the towels and a load of soggy clothes still sitting inside the washing machine drum, half-filled with water. They were waiting for a spin cycle that wouldn’t come, and Megan dreaded rinsing the clothes before wringing them out by hand. With everything else she had to do today, she didn’t need this problem to cope with. She wanted her laundry clean and put away.

      “Jared can fix the washer, Mommy,” Caleb said with confidence.

      Both Jared and Megan snapped their heads in the boy’s direction, looking surprised. Jared closed his mouth and his gaze zeroed in on the washing machine. June joined Caleb, watching the scene with wary eyes.

      “I pulled it out away from the wall, so I could get at the problem,” Megan said.

      But the truth was, she didn’t have any idea how to fix the machine. Megan had used the wrench to shut off the water, but not before she’d been doused by the spray. She pushed a limp strand of hair back behind her ear, highly conscious that she must look horrible. No makeup. Her hair a mess. Dressed in worn blue jeans and a ratty sweatshirt.

      “I have no idea how to fix the leak,” she confessed.

      And the drowsy little town of Minoa didn’t include a plumber. Folks usually dealt with problems like this on their own. It was expensive to bring an expert in from out of town. Blaine had always handled these situations for them, which was just one more reason she missed him. She’d been about ready to call Tim Wixler, to see if he might be able to come over after he got off work. Now she didn’t want to ask for Jared’s help, but she sure could use it.

      “Looks like the washing machine made quite a mess,” Jared said.

      “It did. Water was all over the place. Huh, Mommy?” Caleb scrunched up his nose as he gestured at the walls and floor.

      Megan dried her hands on an old towel and heaved a disgruntled sigh. “Yes, I was just cleaning it up.”

      “My dad always fixed the washer,” June said in a slightly defensive tone.

      Jared quirked one brow in an endearing smile. “He did, huh? I’ll bet he was very handy at fixing things. Do you mind if I take a look?”

      June didn’t respond. She just studied him, her eyes narrowed with suspicion.

      “Please do. And thank you.” Megan stepped back to let him through, tugging on her children’s arms to get them out of the way.

      Right now, she didn’t care that Jared was a wildfire fighter. She’d be grateful just to have her washing machine back in commission. Besides the added expense of buying a new machine, she didn’t have time to drive into Reno to shop for one right now. If necessary, she could do it when she went into the city to buy the extra equipment she needed to cater meals to the firefighters, but that wasn’t her preference. Her budget was stretched too tight already.

      “Why don’t you read through this while I see what I can do?” Jared handed her the contract and scrunched his tall frame into the narrow alcove behind the washer so he could inspect the hoses connecting the machine to the faucet.

      Megan took her kids into the kitchen, where they all sat at the table and she pored over the contract. There were two copies, and she assumed one was for her. She’d just signed on the bottom line when Jared came in wiping his damp hands on a towel.

      Caleb popped out of his seat and stood wriggling with anticipation. June folded her arms and scowled at the man.

      “You СКАЧАТЬ