Chapter 4
Chapter Four
DRAKE
“You didn’t tell me the woman from the cat rescue a few weeks ago is a schoolteacher,” I say as I push through the double doors into the fire department’s dayroom.
The guys are sitting around, killing time between calls.
The smell of burnt coffee and last night’s pizza lingers in the air.
A game of cards is abandoned on the scarred wooden table, and ESPN plays on the TV mounted in the corner.
It’s not glamorous, but it’s starting to feel like home since I moved here a few weeks ago.
Bear runs a thumb under his suspenders. “Ember’s your daughter’s teacher?”
“Yeah.” I can’t stop the grin tugging at my mouth. “She had another tumble. I think I make her flustered.” Memories of her red cheeks matching her hair stir something low in my belly that I haven’t felt in a long time. Maybe this move really was the right call—for both me and Sienna.
Phoenix, my oldest pal, pats me on the back with his tattooed hand. “You should get back in the dating game, Draco.”
I nod, thinking about Ember Sparks. I’m not exactly sure what it is, but she’s sparked something in me, that’s for sure. “Maybe I will.”
“Funny,” Hollywood says, smirking with his sparkling white teeth. “I tried hooking you up with that hot chick last weekend at the bar, but you weren’t interested.”
“She was hot, yeah. But so are a hundred other women in this town.” I shake my head, chuckling to myself. “Ember’s more of a hot mess.” She’s chaos and fire wrapped up in curves and cat fur. My wife always said I had a hero complex, and I’m thinking she was right.
Bear whistles low. “Sounds like someone’s already smitten.”
I clear my throat, trying to play it cool. “So… who usually does the fire safety talks at the elementary? Might be good PR if I take the next one.”
Hollywood barks a laugh. “PR my ass. You just want an excuse to hang around the classroom and wave your hose at Miss Sparks.”
Bear rumbles, “Next he’ll be testing out her smoke alarm… in the bedroom.”
The lads snicker, and I roll my eyes, but my cheeks heat anyway. They’re not wrong. “Do you know her?” What I really want to ask is whether she’s married.
Phoenix rubs the bristles on his jaw. “I don’t, but Chief does—she’s his sister.”
My heart slams into my stomach, acid climbing my throat just as the chief pushes into the room.
Conversations die. Chairs scrape. Chief Sparks commands attention without saying a word.
Broad shoulders fill the doorway, blocking out the morning sun.
He scratches his short salt-and-pepper beard, eyes dark as soot scanning the room.
“What about my sister?” His voice is low and even, but it makes the hair on my neck prickle.
“Draco here thinks she’s hot,” Hollywood pipes up, the traitor grinning as if pouring gas on the fire.
“I… er… I don’t think she’s hot. Definitely not hot.” Heat rises in my chest. Now I’m the one flustered as Chief Sparks stares me down. I should have known she was related with the same bloody last name. I just never put the two together.
Chief’s eyes narrow, pinning me like I’m a rookie caught out of line. “You saying my sister’s ugly?”
“Fuck, no.” The words tumble out before I can stop them. “She’s gorgeous.”
The lads explode in laughter. Hollywood slaps the table. Phoenix nearly chokes on his coffee. Bear laughs from the corner of the room.
My ears burn hotter than a three-alarm blaze.
Chief just keeps staring, one brow arched. “Gorgeous, huh?”
I open my mouth, then shut it again, because whatever I say next is only going to dig me deeper.
The lads keep laughing, and just like that, the nickname Draco rings louder than ever in the room—half dragon, half idiot with a death wish.
“Careful, Draco,” Bear rumbles through his laughter. “You’re about to get barbecued.”
Hollywood smirks. “Guess we’ll be planning a funeral if he shows up at Sparks’ place with flowers. Cause of death, Chief’s fist.”
Phoenix leans back in his chair, grinning like the devil. “Nah, Chief’ll just make him muck out the truck bay for the rest of his career. Man’ll be polishing rims till he’s eighty.”
“Either that or cat rescue duty,” Bear says.
“It was cat rescue duty that got him into this mess, by the sounds of it,” Phoenix says.
I roll my eyes, but the heat creeping up my neck betrays me. “You lot done?”
“Not even close,” Hollywood fires back, still grinning. “Gotta admit, though… you’ve got balls. Chief’s sister? That’s a line even I wouldn’t cross.”
Chief doesn’t crack a smile. He just plants himself by the coffeepot, pours a mug as if he’s got all the time in the world, then takes a slow sip. His dark eyes never leave mine.
The room goes quiet again, tension humming like a live wire.
Finally, Chief sets his mug down. “One thing you need to understand, dragon boy.” His voice is steady, but heavy enough to crush a man flat.
“My sister’s old enough to make her own decisions on who she dates, but I can guarantee, you’ll be the one who needs rescuing if you get yourself involved in her chaotic lifestyle.
” He turns and mutters something about crazy cats while he stirs his coffee.
“Yessir,” I murmur, because what the hell else am I supposed to say?
The lads lose it again, the sound bouncing off the walls.
“Don’t worry, Chief,” Phoenix chimes in, slapping my back. “We’ll keep an eye on him. Make sure he doesn’t start breathing fire on your sister.”
The nickname rings out again, louder this time, everyone joining in. “Draco! Draco! Draco!”
I bury my face in my hands. Bloody perfect.
“You know what?” Chief takes a slow, smug sip of his coffee. “You want the school talks? They’re all yours, kid.”
The lads all explode again in laughter.
“Wait. What?”
Chief’s eyes glint with dark amusement, his smirk hidden behind his mug of coffee. “You might think you’re smokin’ dragon boy, but my sister doesn’t date. You’d have more chance of tapping Bear.”
Bear wiggles his eyebrows at me with a hearty laugh while Hollywood wipes the tears from his eyes, and I realise I’ve just been stitched up by the whole damn firehouse.
The alarm bell shrieks, cutting through the laughter, saving me from further humiliation. The crew shoot to their feet, chairs scraping, laughter replaced by the thunder of boots as we grab our gear.
Adrenaline replaces embarrassment. This is the rhythm—one minute you’re the butt of the joke, the next you’re suiting up to save someone’s life.
And as I pull on my jacket and climb into the engine, I can’t help the grin tugging at my lips.
Even with Chief breathing down my neck and the lads roasting me alive…
Ember Sparks is still one hot, gorgeous mess that I want to roll in.
Chief’s sister or not, there’s no harm in making a few more friends in this town.
Besides, it’s not like I can get it on with my kid’s teacher.