The Line of Fire (Half Moon Lake Heroes: Red Line #3)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

ADAM

“And then he pissed all over the tire.” I chuckled, thinking back to the fiasco from earlier that week. “The look on Logan’s face was priceless.”

I shook my head as three kids bolted past me.

It was still hard to believe the Half Moon Lake Fire Department had gone from five single guys—well six if you included Seth, who’d just joined the crew in April—to this.

I looked around at all the couples and kids filling Jay and Sarah Mitchell’s backyard for their daughter’s third birthday party.

Technically, Nora wasn’t Jay’s biological daughter, but he’d claimed her as his own after meeting his now wife, Nora’s mother, two years ago.

“I struggled to keep a straight face when he explained it was what his parents always had him do when he needed to pee.” Sarah’s eyes twinkled with humor. She was the kindergarten assistant at the school we’d visited and didn’t seem at all shocked by the kid’s behavior.

“Kind of surprised Logan’s head didn’t explode.” Jay smirked. “I’m almost sad I wasn’t there to witness it.” He was home that day with a sick Nora, or he would have been with us laughing his ass off too. With a nod at the almost empty bottle in my hand, he asked, “Need another beer?”

“Sure.”

He leaned over and pressed a kiss to Sarah’s cheek. “Need anything?”

She shook her head, placing her hand on her newly obvious baby bump. Jay had been over the moon since finding out his wife was pregnant. His excitement bubbled over when he’d recently brought in ultrasound pictures to show all of us.

At nearly thirty, I never thought I’d want this life. Had always been good with casual relationships. Women I dated thought they’d be able to change me. Fix me. Make me want that. But there was nothing wrong with me. No tragic back story. I just didn’t think I wanted marriage and kids.

Until recently.

Maybe it was watching all the guys around me settle down over the last two years, starting with our Lieutenant, Owen McKinley.

I glanced over at where he stood with his wife Cece and their little girl, Grace.

Luckily, sleeping with the chief’s daughter hadn’t ended in a complete clusterfuck for him.

After Owen was Jay. And then recently our driver, Logan Murray—who had an almost unhealthy obsession with our rig, but even more of an obsession with Jay’s sister, Izzy—fell to the lure of family life. Izzy had gone from nanny to his twin girls to a permanent addition to their household.

I scanned the people in the backyard. Even the grumpy-ass new guy, Seth, had found someone. Only single guys left were me and Zack.

Speaking of my best friend since we were old enough to cause trouble together… Zack headed my way just as Sarah turned to talk to Jay’s sister Angie and her fiancé, Wyatt. Like I said, lots and lots of couples.

Zack wrapped his arm around my neck. “Guess what I just found out?”

I sighed. Who knew what nugget of information he was going to tell me. I never understood how he was always the first one to hear shit. It was like he was a gossip and rumor magnet. “I don’t know, but I’m sure you’re about to tell me.”

“Lyla broke up with the guy she was dating.”

Oh. That. Did he think it was shocking news? The guy was an utter tool bag. Frankly, I didn’t understand what took her so long to end it. “Yeah, I know.”

“So what’s your plan?”

“My plan?” If he was about to ask me if I was finally going to make my move, I seriously might punch him. I wasn’t sure how many times I needed to tell these guys we were just friends.

“Yeah, to get your girl.”

I shrugged away from him. “I’ve told you before we’re just friends.”

“Bullshit,” Jay spat out as he stepped up next to me, holding out a beer. “None of us are buying that crap.”

I didn’t need them to believe it. Maybe when Lyla and I first met I wanted something to happen between us.

But at the time, she was my student in the EMT class I was teaching.

Then, as luck would have it, she was placed at our station as soon as her training was completed.

She considered me a coworker and I had been officially friend zoned.

Which was fine. I wasn’t planning to mess that up and make things awkward at work.

It wasn’t like we could avoid each other either. I had my EMT certification in addition to being a firefighter and was paired with her multiple times a month. We had to work in close quarters and together as a team. There was no way I would jeopardize that. Or our friendship, for that matter.

I crossed my arms over my chest and looked around the backyard, seeking out the girl in question.

Her dark brown hair that held a strong hint of red to it fell in tight curls down her back, a striking contrast to the royal blue dress she wore.

In certain lighting, especially sunlight, her hair looked almost completely red.

Zack chuckled. “Exactly.” He lowered his voice before adding, “We all see how you look at her when she’s not paying attention. Time to help you come up with a plan.”

“Drop it,” I snapped, narrowing my eyes. “I mean it, dude. Let it go.”

Zack stared at me for a beat before finally crossing his arms with a pout. “Fine.” The word came out like a kid who’d just been told no. “But,” he added, pointing a finger in my face, “when you stop drifting down the river of denial, I have ideas for your grand gesture.”

Jesus Christ. What the hell was wrong with him?

I ignored the smirk Jay still had aimed at me and pushed away from both assholes. “I’m going to get some food.”

After stepping inside and grabbing a plate, I began filling it with a little bit of everything on the kitchen table.

“All this food will totally add ten pounds.”

I looked up and raised a brow at Lyla as she grabbed her own plate.

“Don’t start with all that crap.” I pointed my fork at her, reiterating the same thing I’d told her a million times. “You look great.”

I wasn’t going to make things awkward by telling her that her full tits, round ass, and slight curve to her hips would make any man fall to his knees. Except for me. Because again, I was just her friend.

“It wouldn’t be so bad if the weight went to my boobs, but it’ll go straight to my ass.”

Again, I didn’t understand why that was a problem. But I didn’t plan on voicing that either. We filled our plates, and I snatched an extra piece of corn bread, placing it on her plate. She had to have at least one piece.

“Ugh. You’re a bad influence.”

I shrugged. “You’re welcome.”

She rolled her eyes, but I didn’t miss the slight pull of her lips as she fought a smile. “I saw you picked up the EMT shift tomorrow.”

“Yup, we’re working together. Are you excited?” I shot her a smirk. “We can grab food at Mamacitas between calls.”

I hadn’t planned on picking up a shift on my day off, but when she told me it opened up, I’d jumped at the chance.

I probably wouldn't have if it were anyone else, but she was one of my favorite people to ride with and I always looked forward to working together.

She was smart—knew her stuff but was also willing to learn. And she made it fun.

“And that’s why you’re my favorite.” She popped an olive in her mouth and turned, walking back outside.

I followed her to a table where Logan and Izzy were sitting.

His twin daughters were still running around the yard somewhere.

Lyla took the seat next to Izzy and the two started chatting.

Lyla had originally become friends with Izzy over a year ago when their mutual friend Nicole had introduced Izzy to her group of friends.

I sat across from Logan, smiling as I listened to Lyla rave about Izzy’s ring. “Congratulations, man.”

We all knew he was going to pop the question last night. I wasn’t so sure how all that was going to turn out back in May, especially since Logan didn’t want to take my advice and talk to Jay before anything happened with his sister, but it all worked out in the end.

“Thanks.” Logan’s lips lifted into a wide smile. It was good to see him so happy and smiling so much lately. It was obvious Izzy brought that out in him.

The rest of our crew began filling chairs at the long table.

Multiple conversations were happening at once, and I sat back, taking it all in with a smile.

We might be a loud, chaotic bunch, but I loved it.

We felt more like family than anything else.

Something I wished I’d had growing up. It was just my mom, me, and my sister, so now that our crew had grown, incorporating women and kids, I finally felt like part of a big family.

Lyla laughed and it drew my attention to her.

She caught my eye and raised a brow. I sent her a wink and she rolled her eyes.

This was the dynamic we had. I could openly flirt with her, and she would brush it off with a roll of her eyes or a shake of her head.

Because we were just friends. Nothing more.

After everyone finished eating, we sang happy birthday to Nora and had cake.

The party began winding down, and people started to leave.

Families with smaller kids were the first to clear out, their kids either exhausted from running around or hitting a major sugar crash.

I was just about to head out when Lyla stepped back into the yard.

She’d said she was leaving a bit ago, so why was she back out here?

“I need a jump,” she announced.

Standing across from me, Zack hid a smirk behind the lip of his beer bottle just as Logan leaned over close to me. “Better go help your girl.”

“She’s not—” Why was I even bothering? “Jesus, never mind.” I pushed away from the group and headed toward Lyla. “Come on, I got ya.”

She turned, walking back around the side of the house. “It’s been one thing after another this week. Like ending things with Ted wasn’t enough, I’ve been puked on, lost one of my favorite earrings, and now this.”

Her ramblings jarred my memory. “Oh, I found it.”

She spun without warning, and I collided into her with an oof, almost toppling us both to the ground. My hands braced against her lower back, keeping her upright, while I found my footing. Most of the time her clumsiness was endearing. Other times, I was just glad to have quick reflexes.

With her hands flat against my chest, she glanced up at me, blue irises shining bright, pulling me in.

Long lashes framed her eyes and freckles dusted her fair skin.

A loose curl fell in front of her face, and I fought every urge to brush it back.

Ensuring she was stable on her feet, I stepped back quickly, before she could feel my reaction to having her in my arms.

Dammit. I’d been so good about controlling my physical reaction to her.

But that was twice in the last week I’d failed.

Maybe her having a boyfriend had helped me put her in the completely off-limits just-friends category.

I needed to figure out how to get back there now that she was single again.

Because the last thing I needed was for her to figure out I actually found her attractive.

That would ruin everything, I was sure of it.

“Sorry,” she mumbled. “You found my earring?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I went back this morning and found it. It was a lot easier to spot in the daylight.”

I’d meant to give it to her when I got here, but totally forgot and left it in the car. Before I realized what she was doing, she closed the distance between us and wrapped her arms around my neck.

“Thank you.” Her warm breath skated across my skin.

Fucking hell.

My mom. My sister. Baseball. Snakes. I continued to think of five more things that I found undesirable.

My shoulders finally relaxed after she stepped back and turned, moving forward again. I stared after her, hoping that was the last incident of having her pressed against my body. At least until I could figure out how to stop my dick from reacting to her touch.

Maybe taking that shift with her tomorrow wasn’t the best move. But working together wouldn’t involve touching. It’d be fine.

And it would be the perfect way to place her firmly back into the coworker and friend category. My plan was foolproof.