Chapter 2
CHAPTER 2
B ecket Hayes stared at the screen in front of him. One of the guys had called in sick, so he’d come in early to call in a replacement. Fortunately, Becket loved his job. Hell, he lived and breathed his position as fire chief.
And the call couldn’t have come at a better time. He’d needed an escape from his fiery neighbor, with her cute hazel eyes and button nose. At some point, arguing with her had become a highlight of his week. The insults she threw his way never failed to make him smile.
Not that that was why he’d gone out there. That tree did need a trim. It blocked his external cameras from catching some of their street. And that was a problem.
He didn’t just have the cameras because the former SEAL in him took safety seriously. There’d been a string of break-ins here in Amber Ridge in the last few months. Three, to be exact. Something his brother had told him even before it was reported in the local news.
Whoever the perp was, they were good at picking locks, taking everything they could find that was worth anything, then getting out without leaving a trace.
Jesse had put more deputies on patrol, but for Becket, that wasn’t enough.
So, yeah, he wanted a good view of his street, and if his pretty neighbor wasn’t happy that those cameras covered her front yard, well…that was too damn bad.
He rose from his chair and moved out into the long hall. He passed the training room, the bathrooms and dorms, and a couple more offices. At the end of the hall was the gym, but he turned left into the kitchen and dining area.
Teddy and Moose sat at the table. Teddy was one of the younger firefighters, while Moose, an older African American, was probably their longest-serving firefighter at the station.
“I’m not kidding, she was hot .”
Moose frowned at Teddy. “A woman you met in a retirement village parking lot while you were visiting your grandmother was hot?”
“Why do you ask like that?” Teddy looked up at Becket. “Beck, back me up here, man. Women who visit grandparents at nursing homes can be hot, right?”
Becket stopped at the coffee machine. “I can confirm, women with grandmothers can be hot.”
But why the hell, when he thought of hot women, did Sky come to mind?
Because her curves had looked damn good in those tight jeans this morning? Because her ample chest had pushed against the thin material of her white shirt?
Fuck, he needed to get her out of his head.
“See.” Teddy shoved Moose in the shoulder.
“Shove me again, kid, and you’ll be going on that date with a limp.”
Becket smirked. The two of them fought a lot. But to be fair, Teddy could be a cocky ass. He’d only joined their station a couple months ago, and yeah, he was good, but he also knew it.
Teddy scoffed before looking at Becket. “Hey, did you replace Mac?”
“Yeah, Irene’s here.” Irene was another older firefighter at the station, and his second in charge.
Moose shook his head. “Too many kids calling in sick. Back when I started, we’d pull double shifts and still get on with our business.”
“Not sure that’s good either,” Teddy said, lifting his coffee. “You need sleep in this line of work.”
Moose straightened. “Hey, when I was young, I didn’t need much sleep to survive.”
It was true. How many nights had Becket gone without sleep when he was a SEAL? Too fucking many.
“Beck, how’s your brother and his woman?” Teddy asked.
Becket’s fingers tightened around the mug. Jesse’s partner, Aspen, had been kidnapped, and just when he’d gotten her back and thought she was safe, she’d been put in danger a second time by someone no one had ever suspected.
Just like Becket, Jesse was former special operations, but when someone you loved was in danger, that training didn’t take away the fear.
“They’re both just trying to move on.” Jesse had taken a month off work and had only just gone back. It had taken him a long time to feel safe enough to leave Aspen.
Moose shook his head. “There are some real sickos around these days.”
“There’ve always been sickos around,” Becket said quietly. He’d run into his fair share during his time in the military.
The move from SEAL to firefighter had been a pretty easy one. He was still putting his life on the line to help others. A common misconception was that firefighters only fought fires—they didn’t. They performed rescues and attended medical calls. They had to be prepared for incidents like vehicle extractions and the release of hazardous materials.
The job was full-on, which was why training was hard and not everyone made it.
Suddenly, the alarm rang through the station, then the radios sounded.
“Station 8, there’s a vegetation fire on some land at five-thirteen Maple Terrace, Amber Ridge,” the dispatcher said.
Becket cursed and took one last sip of coffee before tipping the rest down the drain.
Moose and Teddy were already on their feet, and they all ran to the apparatus bay. Footsteps sounded around him as other firefighters moved to the engines. Everyone pulled on their jackets and helmets before Becket got into an engine cab with Irene, while Moose and Teddy climbed into the back.
He pressed his foot to the floor as Irene tapped the address into the GPS. The house was less than five minutes away. They’d make it there in three.
Irene turned to look at him. “What was that big-ass smile on your face when you got to work today?”
“Is it a crime to be happy?” he asked.
“No, but there’s usually a reason behind it.”
“Nope, just happy.” It was a damn lie. Anytime he saw Sky in the morning, he couldn’t wipe the damn smile from his face.
“Why do I not believe you?”
Because you’re perceptive . “Would I lie to you?”
She scoffed. “Yes. You lied to me yesterday about eating my donut.”
“That was Moose.”
“Hey!” Moose jumped in. “Don’t bring my name into this.”
“It was Moose,” Teddy confirmed. “I saw him.”
Moose slapped Teddy in the back of the head.
“Ow.” Teddy rubbed his scalp. “Beck’s the one who said it.”
Irene turned to look at the guys. “Everyone needs to stay away from my donuts.”
Becket bit back a grin. Irene loved her donuts, but unfortunately for her, so did others at the station, and not everyone was above thievery.
He’d worked at the station for five years and been the chief for two. Moose and Irene had been there for a hell of a lot longer, so this donut shit wasn’t new.
They pulled into a long dirt driveway and saw the fire, right in front of the house.
“Damn,” Teddy said. “That’s a big yard fire.”
“And it’s close to the house,” Moose added.
It was. It was also getting dangerously close to the forest around it.
He stopped the engine and they all got out, the truck behind them doing the same.
Becket pulled out his radio. “Battalion 1428 on scene. We’ve got a one-fifty by one-fifty spot fire, moderate rate of spread, but growing closer to the forest. A single-structure home close by at threat.”
His team pulled out the hoses as the door to the house opened and an older lady came out. She looked to be in her mid-sixties and held a dog in her arms. If the fire wasn’t their focus, he might have stopped and questioned what the hell kind of dog it was. The thing was almost bald, with random bits of hair sticking out. Becket wasn’t a dog person in general, but that one was damn ugly.
He crossed over to her. “Ma’am? My name’s Becket Hayes. I’m the fire chief. Did you call this fire in?”
“Yes, I did. Oh my, it’s gotten big.”
“What’s your name?”
“Rosemary Symes. And this is Bella. I made a little fire to burn off some of our old items, but it just grew out of control.”
How the hell she had thought starting an uncontained fire on land surrounded by forest was a good idea, he had no idea. He’d talk to her later. “My team’s taking care of it. Please stay back.”
The woman nodded, and Becket returned to the crew. Everyone worked in threes, with one person holding one end of the hose and another holding the body, then the third controlling the tap.
“Ready water,” Moose called.
The water was turned on, and Becket watched as his team worked hard to put out the blaze.
When embers flew through the air, Becket cursed and pointed. “Spot fire.” He rushed to grab another hose, flatten it out and connect it. Irene came behind him to hold the line, then he sprayed water onto the smaller spot fires.
It took them about twenty minutes, but finally, his crew put out the flames.
Damn, he loved his job. He loved the rush of adrenaline. The way his crew worked together as a team. And he loved knowing he was making a difference.
When he returned to Rosemary, she placed a hand over her chest. “Oh, thank you all so much!”
“You can’t start another fire, Rosemary. Not here. If the wind had changed, the entire mountain could have gone up.”
“I’m sorry. I haven’t been living in this house for too long. I didn’t realize.”
It seemed more like common sense to him. “Now you do.”
Half an hour later, they were packed up and back in the engine.
Becket leaned his head back as Irene drove.
“It feels good to help people, doesn’t it?” Irene said, almost to herself.
“Hell yes, it does,” Teddy confirmed from the back seat.
It was why Becket had become a firefighter after leaving the military. He wasn’t built to sit behind a desk. He needed to be in the middle of the action. He needed the hit of adrenaline. The knowledge that he was saving people from the front line.
He felt Irene’s eyes on him without even looking. He shot a glance her way. “What?”
“Just wondering if you’re gonna tell us what had you in such a good mood this morning yet.”
Jesus . She wasn’t going to let it go. “I wanted to trim a tree outside my house.”
“And…” Teddy pushed, when Becket didn’t give any more.
“And…my neighbor had a problem with that.”
“Why would she have a problem with you trimming a tree in your yard?” Moose asked suspiciously.
“ Her yard. But it overhangs into mine.”
Irene chuckled. “Okay. Now I’m getting it. You tried to chop her tree down, she said no, and you wouldn’t let up because you’re a pushy bastard.”
“I prefer to think of myself as persistent,” Becket corrected. “And why are you on her side?”
“Because she’s right.”
He grabbed his chest, feigning hurt. “Five years working together and this is the loyalty I get?”
Irene snorted. “Telling you when you’re wrong is loyal. Now, you want my advice?”
“No.”
“Leave her and her tree alone.”
The corners of Becket’s lips lifted, because unfortunately for Sky, that wouldn’t be happening. Not until Jesse caught this thief and Becket knew they were both safe.