Finn’s Find (Love in Mission City)

Chapter 1

Finn

Summer was truly the best time of year and, as I headed away from the firehouse on a beautiful Friday night, a sense of right permeated my being. The sun was only just beginning to crest the horizon as we were just past the summer solstice—when the long, lazy days were the norm.

I eased my pickup truck to a smooth stop at the red light on the Number Seven highway.

I was headed into Vancouver to enjoy some nightlife.

Having the next three days off meant plenty of relaxation time.

Time to head to a bar on Davie Street in downtown Vancouver and see if I might get lucky.

Those bars were only an hour away from my hometown of Mission City, British Columbia, but a world away in temperament.

Vancouver was a lively, bright, and vibrant metropolis.

Mission City was a sedate, friendly, and very small town.

I loved both for different reasons.

Plus, on Sunday, I’d head over to the Abbotsford Hospital and visit the pediatric oncology wing. Nothing made kids light up like seeing me wearing my firefighter department T-shirt and talking about blazes I’d fought.

The sound of a motorcycle’s powerful engine arrived before the actual bike. As it came along the driver’s side of my shiny new truck, I cast a casual glance over at both the bike and the rider.

Holy hell on both counts.

The sleek crotch rocket shone in the waning sunlight.

The equally sleek rider, though, was really who caught my eye. Slender and ripped.

I mightn’t have been able to be certain under the black leather…but I knew. Had seen enough gorgeous men in my time to spot a work of art. A thing of beauty.

He turned his head to face me. All dark skin, scruffy chin—with just a hint of silver in his stubble—and stunning cheekbones. His mouth begged to be kissed. Finally, behind those mirrored sunglasses, I was certain I’d find dark-brown eyes.

Unexpectedly, he slid his sunglasses down an inch and regarded me over the rims.

Holy hell.

Yep. Dark brown and stunning.

He looked me up and down.

All copper-red, short-cropped hair, long pale arms and, behind my own sunglasses, dark-blue eyes.

After the moment where our gazes held, he turned and took off.

Crap, green light.

And then, damn. Missed opportunity.

Because I so would’ve forgone a trip to Vancouver to tap him. Or better, have him tap me…

On that thought, I started to pick up speed. Attending too many accidents on this highway had me driving carefully. Usually, things didn’t end well when people were speeding. Occasionally, they didn’t end well for the wildlife.

Like the bear who’d been hit by a truck.

Seth Jacobs—a local RCMP officer—had insisted I check the bear thoroughly. No balls? Female bear who might have cubs nearby.

I snickered.

I’d pointed out to the venerable Royal Canadian Mounted Police member that he had the gun.

We’d checked together.

Yeah…balls.

We’d arranged for the bear to—

Holy fuck.

I’d just caught sight of gorgeous motorcycle-riding god when a minivan ran the red light and damn near plowed into the guy.

He hit the brakes, almost went ass-over-teakettle, and somehow kept control. He went off the road and mounted a grassy embankment. After a long moment, he eased his bike to the ground, stepped away, and started shaking his fist at the retreating minivan.

Rodney Saunders glanced back to the intersection he’d just blown through. He saw me and winced as he sped by.

Little shit.

Setting aside my desire to hit speed dial and warn emergency dispatch, I was more concerned about the rider. After ensuring the intersection was clear, I headed across it and pulled onto the shoulder.

Several cars shot past me, going way too fast.

Once I confirmed I was safe to proceed, I hopped out of my truck and rounded the hood of my truck. “Hey, man, are you okay?”

"Yeah, man. Fine. Wow, that was close..." He took off his helmet and inhaled deeply—clearly trying to get his breath back.

My breath caught. Not just from the near-miss—although that definitely contributed to the lack of oxygen to my brain. Even more, though, was the beauty of the man before me. After nearly swallowing my tongue, I managed, “Are you sure you're okay?”

Then, as if seeing me for the first time, he met my gaze. “I am. Truly. Thanks for stopping.”

“Never would’ve considered doing anything else.” I held up my hand, and with the other one, yanked out my phone. I hit Seth’s number.

He answered on the first ring.

“Hey, Finn, to what do I owe the pleasure? I thought you were—”

“Rodney Saunders is illegally driving his mom’s minivan. He blew through a red light at Keystone and nearly hit a motorcyclist on the highway. The guy’s okay, but Rodney was hightailing it toward Mission City—”

“On it. I’ll get a statement later. Burgundy, right?”

“Yep.”

He hung up without even signing off. Not that I’d expected him to. He had work to do. Hell, I didn’t even know if he was on duty tonight. Even if he was enjoying a rare night off, he’d be working with dispatch to alert on-duty cops.

I let out a long breath. “Okay. Sorry about that.”

He offered a sardonic smile. “You’re alerting the cops?

I don’t have a problem with that.” He tapped his helmet to his thigh.

“You know, despite the danger of crotch rockets, I never thought that would be the way I died.

I mean, that would've been a really sucky way to die. I always envisioned it would be different—like saving a toddler in a house fire before succumbing. You know, like, heroic?”

I grinned. “Nah—leave that shit to me.”

“Oh.” He gave me a once-over.

He was tall—about six feet, but I was taller at just a touch over six three.

“You’re, uh…” He scratched his chin.

“A fireman. Yeah. Mission City born and bred. I studied firefighting at the Justice Institute after I finished my Bachelor in Electrical Engineering at BCIT. I always wanted to be a firefighter, but my mom said I had to get a degree first, and that was way more than you needed to know.” I could’ve told him how much I adored my mom.

How, as a single parent, she’d worked hard to raise me right. How I always wanted to make her proud.

How, upon witnessing my graduation from the JI, she’d said exactly that.

“I like your mother’s reasoning.”

“Yeah.” I ground my toes into the grass.

“You sure you're okay? You can come back to my house if you need to recover some more...” Holy hell, did I just proposition the guy? No…I did the neighborly thing and invited him back to my place so I could properly check him out. Wouldn’t want to bother the doctor at the hospital when I can… What? Do as good a job?

Except he really did look okay.

“When a cute guy like you invites me to his place, it's usually not for me to recover.” He smirked.

“Oh.” My mind jumbled as I tried to parse his words. “I was going to say coffee, but, you know. I used the word recover instead. But if you want to be a little more unsubtle about it...?” I smirked right back. Never let it be said I wasn’t up for the opportunity to flirt.

“How about we do coffee in the morning? I’m a little sore and need to do some, you know, exercise.”

“Well, I can certainly oversee any exercising you might need to do.” I gave his awesome body a thorough examination. “I should check you over.” When I finally met his gaze again, I arched an eyebrow. “My place okay?”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He walked over to his bike.

I followed.

Together, we righted it. Aside from the dust that covered the polished surface, it really appeared like it had survived unscathed.

Much like its rider.

“Follow me? You okay to ride?”

“Yeah. You know, I like riding in more ways than one. And no, I don't have any plans until tomorrow morning. We can do coffee then.”

“Excellent.” I might’ve almost swallowed my tongue.

“I’ve always wanted to fuck a fireman.” He gave me another lazy, long, leisurely perusal.

Despite what had just transpired, my cock perked up. “Give me thirty minutes, and you can say you have.”

I headed to my truck, ensuring my butt jiggled in just that way.

His whistle emboldened me as I got into my truck. Turning around took a bit of effort on our parts as traffic was heavy with people heading into the city.

Still, we managed and soon were on the way to my place.

With him riding behind.

Hope that’s his favorite place to be. Well, he had said he wanted to fuck a fireman. And this fireman definitely wanted to be fucked.

I pulled up outside my little cabin and tried to see it from an outsider’s perspective.

My grandfather built it. He and my grandmother passed it to my mother when she had me. She gifted it to me when I graduated from the JI.

I didn’t want her to go, but she insisted she was tired of living out in the country. She found a little studio condo in the heart of Mission City and was, to my surprise, flourishing.

On that thought, I parked my truck, tucked my sunglasses into the visor, and hopped out.

My unique companion used the kickstand for his bike. He dismounted—giving me a tantalizing view of those muscular thighs—and headed my way. As he did, he removed his helmet.

His shorn black hair attracted my notice again. Then he removed his sunglasses, and those stunning dark-brown eyes caught my gaze. Here, in the shadow of the trees, the pupils were so big that I barely saw any of his irises.

I stuck out my hand. “Finn. Well, my mother named—and still calls me—Finnegan. She named me after the dog on Mr. Dressup. Which I suppose is better than being named Casey. Well, I’ve heard of a few famous Caseys, so maybe not the end of the world.

Not that I ever admit to being named after a dog—” Well shit, dumbass, you just did…

The handsome man shook my hand.

Strong, but not overpowering.

“Ulysses. After the James Joyce novel. I read it once. Wasn’t all that impressed. But my lit teacher loved it, so I wrote a paper about it. She was thrilled and gave me an A-plus in the class.”