Sneak Peek
The firefighter next door is a spark in my life I never saw coming.
For seven years, my life has revolved around one thing: raising my spirited little sister.
Dating is on the back burner, at least until she graduates.
But when Scott, the cute next-door neighbor, bursts into my world, everything changes.
His adventurous nature lures me out of my comfort zone
His kindness, to my sister and me, melts my guarded heart.
He sees past my tough exterior and challenges me to let go and live.
But he holds a secret that connects us in ways I could never imagine.
His life is filled with danger where any call could be his last.
And my sister is my main priority.
If I let him extinguish my fears, then maybe we can create a love story worth telling.
And if I can’t, I could lose him forever and let these flames of love burn out before they truly begin .
Chapter One
Scott
I stir the pot of chili with a wooden spoon, then scoop some out and blow on it. I taste it, and as usual, I went a little heavy on the spices. But I like it. I’m a chili expert, in my own humble opinion. I hear Chance, my Dalmatian, whine behind me and turn to him.
“Buddy, this stuff will do terrible things to your digestive system. And seeing as you sleep at the foot of my bed, I’m not going to subject either one of us to that.” I take another taste, then turn the burner down to the lowest setting. In an hour, it’ll be perfect.
I work four days on and three days off as a firefighter. Tonight is the first day of my three-day break. My only plans are to do nothing after I eat a massive amount of chili. When my innate fireman smoke detector goes off, I open the back door and sniff the air, then go to the front door to do the same. It seems to be coming from the house next door, which someone recently moved into after being empty for as long as I have lived in my house. As I step outside, I can hear the harsh screeching of a fire alarm going off. I run across the yard to the neighbor’s front door and bang loudly, but I doubt anyone can hear it over the sound of the alarm. I slip into fireman mode and kick the door in, then dash to the kitchen.
The woman I have only seen from a distance is at the stove about to pour water on a pan of grease that is burning and has spread to the nearby curtains. I grab her and push her out of the way, then take a frying pan from the dish drainer and put it over the flames. I then rip down her curtains and drop them in the sink. I turn on the water to extinguish the flames and use her sprayer to put out the wall that has caught fire behind the curtains.
When the fire is completely out, I turn to her. She is standing with her hands over her ears, in shocked disbelief at what just went down. I take a chair and climb on it to dismantle the smoke detector. She seems frozen in place, and I take her out of the kitchen to the living room. She comes out of her trance when she sees her kicked-in front door.
Her jaw drops open. “What happened to my door?”
“I just saved you from making things worse…”
She looks at me. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“But I had it handled.” She looks at her door again. “You kicked in my door.”
“It was locked. And no, you didn’t have it handled. If you had poured that water on the fire…”
“Are you a fire expert?”
“Actually, yes.” I offer her my hand. “Scott Pierce, Ridgemont FD. ”
“You just happened to be driving by?” She ignores my hand and looks outside as though she expects to see a fire truck parked in her driveway.
“No. I live next door.” I smile at her. “Are you okay?”
She takes a breath. “I’m sorry. I’m being rude and unappreciative. I’m Mariah Templeton. Thank you for coming to my rescue.”
“It’s what I do.”
She goes to examine the door closer. “Was it locked?”
“Yes. I wouldn’t have kicked it in otherwise. And you couldn’t hear knocking over the alarm going off.”
“Will my insurance cover this?”
“I’m sure it will. But I’d be happy to fix it for you. You just need to repair the frame on the one side and get a new lock.”
“Do you make a habit of kicking in doors?”
“It does come with the job. But the fire department has a pretty nifty tool that doesn’t require brute force.” I rub my thigh. “It’s a little easier on the fireman, too.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I just need to walk it off.”
“Right. Because you’re a big, tough fireman.”
I grin at her. “Do you have something against firemen?”
“Of course not.” The way she says it doesn’t quite convince me.
“I’ll check out the damage to your kitchen.” I head for the kitchen and look at her stove. Other than smoke damage, it seems to work fine. I glance at her over my shoulder. “A quick scrub should clean this right up. The stove isn’t damaged.” I move to the window. “I’m afraid your curtains are a goner. Along with the rod. And you’ll need to repaint the wall, but the drywall is fine, as are the cupboards.”
She nods. “Thank you. I’m not sure what happened.”
“Just next time your grease catches on fire, don’t pour water on it. ”
“I actually know that, but I guess I panicked,” she sighs.
“That’s understandable. You see flames, your gut reaction is to pour water on it.” She nods. “So, I’ll go get some tools to fix your door. I think I have a lock lying around I can put in.”
“I’m sure repairing things after putting out fires isn’t in your job description.”
“It’s fine. I can’t leave you with a door that won’t close.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll be back in a few, Mariah.”
I leave and return to my house. Chance runs out as I open the door. My front yard isn’t fenced, but he knows not to leave the yard. Now that Mariah is living there, I need to make sure he doesn’t wander next door.
“Hey. Stay in the yard,” I holler at Chance.
Chance ignores me while he sniffs at something under my dead flowers. I have a problem remembering to water them.
I search the garage for the lock I know I have somewhere. I can’t remember why I bought it. But it’ll come in handy now. I finally find it in a plastic tote. I also have a bin of miscellaneous pieces of lumber. I find a piece that will work to fix the trim I broke behind the strike plate, then grab my toolbox. I’m not a carpenter, by any means, but I can do minor stuff around the house. Generally, I do minor stuff around my mother’s house and my sisters’ houses. One of the downsides of being the only male in the family.
When I go back outside, Chance isn’t in either of our yards. When I get to Mariah’s door, I hear someone talking, who doesn’t sound like Mariah.
I step through the open door and find Chance sitting with a teenage girl. She looks up at me, then smiles.
“Coach Scott? ”
I recognize her as one of the new girls on the volleyball team I coach for the after-school program.
“Brittney?”
She continues to pet Chance. “Did you kick our door down?”
“Yeah. I’m afraid I did.” I hold up my supplies. “But I’m here to fix it. So Mariah’s your…?
“Sister.”
“Right. Okay.” I’m not sure what the story is here. They seem to be the only two people living in the house. But I can definitely see the family resemblance. They have the same auburn hair, brown eyes, and slight build. “Did Chance walk right in your door?”
“Yeah. He’s so cute.” She kneels down and Chance licks her cheek.
“Don’t tell him that. It’ll go right to his head,” I chuckle.
Mariah comes out of the kitchen at the sound of our voices. “Oh.”
I smile at her. “The dog is mine, but I didn’t bring him over. He came through your open door. I believe Brittney belongs to you, though,” I tease.
She walks over to Chance and pats his head. Chance continues to wag his tail, clearly loving all of the attention. Apparently, she likes fire dogs more than she likes firemen.
Brittney smiles at her and nods toward me. “He’s my volleyball coach. The one I was telling you about.”
Mariah looks at me. “Oh. Coach Scott. You live next door.”
“Yes. I do. I had no idea Brittney lived here.”
“She speaks highly of you. Even though she’s only been to two practices.”
Brittney blushes. “Mariah!”
“That’s not a bad thing, Brit.” Maria smiles.
I smile. “Big practice tomorrow, and we have a game on Saturday afternoon.”
“I’ll be there. I’m excited,” Mariah says.
I look at Mariah. “You’re coming to the game?”
“Yes. Of course.”
“Good.” I glance at the door. “I’ll get to work on the door. And I can take Chance back home if you want.”
“He’s fine.” Mariah returns to the kitchen.
Brittney leaves Chance and bounces over to me. “Can I help?”
“Let’s see. How about you hold the other side of this doorknob while I take out the screws?”
She holds onto the doorknob. “So, do you think we will win the game on Saturday?”
“Of course. The only team we need to worry about is the one from North High. They’re really good. I think they have a couple of ringers from the school team.”
“That’s not fair.”
“There are no rules against it, but I agree. You guys are great though and can certainly hold your own. Even against a rigged team.”
I remove the doorknob, and Brittney sets it on the floor. “What else can I help with?”
“Hmm.” I remove the two broken sections of the trim and hold up the new piece I’d brought with me. “This is a little short. So, I’ll replace it in a couple of days. Let me remove the strike plate, then you can hold this in place while I nail it in.”
“Okay. Cool.” Brittney smiles, happily helping.
With Brittney’s help, I finish the door and then test it to make sure it closes properly. There is just a two-inch gap at the top corner from the trim being too short. And the wood is unpainted.
Mariah comes back into the room, and I show her that the door closes and locks. “I can get a longer piece of wood for the trim and replace it tomorrow. I’m off for two more days.” I hand her the key.
“Seems you fight fires even on your days off,” Mariah says jokingly.
“Only if they’re at my neighbor’s house.”
“Again, thank you,” Mariah says more seriously.
“Well, you owe me now. If my house catches fire, I expect you to come kick my door in.”
“You can count on it.”
“And get Chance out,” I plead.
“Of course! Wait, he doesn’t go to work with you?” she asks.
“Actually, he does. So, you only have to worry about him if I’m not at work.”
“Good to know.”
I sigh. “I’ll get out of your hair now.”
“Thank you for fixing the door,” she says gratefully.
“You’re welcome. It’ll probably smell smokey for a few days.”
“Great! I think we’ll go out to eat tonight.”
“Sounds like a plan.” I head for the door, then stop and turn back. “I’ve got a pot of chili on the stove. You’re welcome to join me. Or I could bring you some over.”
She shakes her head. “No, you’ve done enough.”
“Okay. If you change your mind—you know where to find me.” I look at Chance. “Come on, boy.” He slowly gets to his feet and follows me outside. “I know you like the ladies. But I think we’ve worn out our welcome.”