Chapter 6
Colton
The late afternoon sun hung like a blood orange in the smoke-hazed sky, turning the Rocky Mountains rust and amber. Beautiful, if he forgot what caused it. Colton stood outside the makeshift shower facilities at Anaconda High School, the air thick with ash and filtered light.
Deanna appeared from the women’s shower trailer, and Colton forgot how to breathe.
Her wet hair captured the copper light in loose waves past her shoulders instead of the usual bun.
She wore clean jeans and a gray T-shirt that clung to her, making her more attractive than if she’d dressed for a night on the town.
Her gaze found his as she toweled her hair and a smile lit her face. “Stalking the shower facilities, Sky King?” She wrung water from the wet ends. “That’s either creepy or desperate.”
“Waiting my turn, actually,” he said, gesturing to the men’s facility where a line had formed. “Apparently the Lolo Hotshots wanted to quit smelling at the same time.”
“Rookie mistake. Got to time it right. Crew change is amateur hour.” She draped the towel around her neck. “The pros know to shower at weird times.”
“And here I thought smokejumpers didn’t need to shower. Part of your mystique.”
“Oh, we shower. We just do it better than everyone else.” She paused as if to reconsider how the last part of her comment must have sounded. “Timing-wise, I mean,” she added quickly.
Colton gave her an amused nod. The woman in front of him was a straight-up professional. No games, no flirting. That intrigued him more than it should have.
“I know I invited you for a coffee but how about dinner instead? Unless you were plannin’ to split an atom or invent a new way of fightin’ fire.”
She arched an eyebrow. “How did you know splitting atoms was my thing? Sure, dinner works.”
That put him in a great mood. They ambled toward the cafeteria, navigating through a sprawling cityscape of tents and scattered equipment.
Deanna eyed the horizon. “Magnificent view of the Pintlers.”
He followed her gaze. “Looks like a Bob Ross painting.”
“Not to mention all the smoke inhalation, but sure, that’s an artistic take on it.”
“Thanks for the buzzkill,” he said. “Are you always this romantic?”
“Only on days ending in ‘y.’” She held the cafeteria door open for him. “After you, Sky King.”
The cafeteria smelled like industrial-strength comfort food: meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and stale coffee. They loaded their trays, and Deanna fixed on her food, avoiding eye contact with a table of women whose hostility radiated her way.
Colton motioned Deanna to an empty table in the corner, away from the main flow.
“Good seating choice.” She set down her tray and pulled out a chair.
“Hard to miss the cold shoulder those ladies gave you at this morning’s briefing.” He glanced at the table of women who’d regarded Deanna like she’d keyed all their vehicles.
Deanna stiffened. “I’m sure you’ve heard the stories by now.”
“I’ve heard stories about a lot of people. Doesn’t mean I believe ’em.” He lifted a forkful of food. “Here’s a doozy. According to the rumor mill, Ace intentionally crashed his plane for insurance money.”
“That’s terrible!” she burst out, nearly choking on her meatloaf. “How can people say such horrible things?”
“That ranks right up there with what’s the meaning of life.” He plunged a fork into his mashed potatoes. “So, what’s your story?”
She pushed food around her plate. “Which one? The one where I’m a predatory homewrecker or the one where I’m compensating for daddy issues with a string of man-eating power plays? Or my personal favorite, where I’m secretly a black widow who’s done away with three previous boyfriends.”
“Three?” A corner of his mouth twitched. “I heard it was five.”
She gave him a dour look and stabbed a forkful of green beans. “By next fire season, the gossip mill will kick it up to an even dozen.”
“It can’t be all that bad.” When she didn’t respond, he said, “Can it?”
“Oh, it can.” She waved her empty fork around. “The truth is, I was competitive in all the wrong ways.”
His fork paused in midair. “How so?”
“Ever meet someone who had to win at everything? Best times on the obstacle course, first one up the hill, the one who could throw back shots of tequila without flinching?” Her face tightened.
“I turned relationships into competitions. If a guy had a girlfriend, he was worth chasing. If I could get a guy to choose me instead of his girlfriend, it was a win.”
“Sounds like you needed validation.” Colton shoved a forkful of food into his mouth.
Her brows lifted. “What do you mean?”
“You wanted proof you deserved to be chosen.”
She straightened. “Did you minor in psychology, Dr. Sky King?”
“No, but at ten thousand feet, a person thinks about his own questionable choices.” He sat back. “How about now? Still need validation?”
She hesitated. “Nope. My head is in a better place now. Helps to throw myself into my job. Pun intended.”
“Ha, good for you.” He dropped the napkin on his plate. “Want to know why they call me Sky King?”
“Because you rule the skies?”
He chuckled. “I used to think I owned the sky. Pushed limits and took risks. I’m amazed I survived to the age of thirty. I had to prove I flew better than the other pilots.”
Deanna rested her fork on her plate. “Do you still do that?”
“I cleaned up my act after a crash four years ago. Bad weather on a fire near Bozeman. Killed one of the best pilots I ever knew.” He fiddled with his bottle of water. “I realized being the best dead pilot wasn’t a crowning achievement. You know the saying about no old, bold pilots.”
“Is that why you were so insistent about us getting to our safety zone yesterday?”
He gave her a direct look. “You had a close call. Didn’t want a repeat performance.”
She laughed. “Have I told you about our grizzly encounter? First, a lodgepole pine tried to spear me, jumping an Idaho fire, and my chute got hung up and I had to self-rescue. Then a grizzly showed up while we were opening the cargo box.”
“What did you do?”
“Waved my Pulaski and yelled at it. The griz wanted away from the fire more than it wanted us.” She gave him a crooked grin. “My pucker factor topped out at eleven.”
Colton let out a low whistle. “Most people would have panicked. You’re like a cat with nine lives.”
“Let’s say I had a wake-up call,” said Deanna. “Nothing like almost becoming a snack for a bear to reconsider your life choices.”
“And here I thought my emergency landing in a mountain meadow qualified as dramatic.”
She laughed. “Give me a break. You landed an air tanker in a meadow the size of a postage stamp. I hung from a tree like a demented pi?ata.”
“A pi?ata who stared down a grizzly without flinching.”
“Oh, I flinched, all right. Not to mention how humiliating it was when I landed in that lodgepole.” She rolled her eyes. “What’s wrong with us? Are we crazy or what for doing these badass, dangerous jobs?”
“We want to make a difference,” he said. “We have protective instincts. We save what we can and who we can.”
She gave him an imploring look. “You really think that’s it?”
“Here’s what I know. You ran toward a crashed plane instead of away from it to help a pilot. And you also saved twenty-three homes at Elk Ridge yesterday, with smart firefighting tactics and solid leadership.”
“Yeah, but that’s the job we do . . .”
“No,” he cut in. “That’s character. The job is how you show it.”
“Thanks for the compliment.” Deanna sipped her water. “Tell me about Ace. How long have you two been flying together?”
“Eight years working for Precision Aviation out of Helena. He’s the closest thing to a brother. Drives me nuts, but I trust him with my life.” He grinned. “Speaking of Ace, here’s his current crush.”
Kylie appeared at their table, dropping into an empty chair with her tray. “Mind if I crash your party?”
“The more the merrier,” said Deanna.
Kylie attacked her food with enthusiasm. “Have either of you heard anything more about the missing equipment?”
Colton straightened. “What missing equipment?”
“Oh, that’s right, I saw someone hanging around the supply cache last night,” said Deanna. “But he took off before I could get a good look at him.”
Colton glanced between them. “I spend too much time in the air. Fill me in.”
Kylie dropped her tone. “Someone’s been taking chainsaws, fuel cans, and radios without signing them out from the cache manager. Westlake thinks it could be connected to the fuel contamination.”
“Sabotage and theft?” Deanna frowned. “What the heck is going on?”
“Good question.” Colton thought for a minute. “Lots of expensive equipment sitting around with minimal security. Wonder why someone is messing with it. Attempting to bring down air tankers isn’t something the average citizen does.”
“No, it isn’t.” Kylie’s face brightened. “I heard Ace was here. Know where he is now?”
“Discharged this morning and supposed to be resting. The guy doesn’t know how to sit still,” said Colton.
“Typical pilot,” quipped Kylie. “All ego and no sense.”
“Speaking of which,” said Colton, seizing the opening, “do you know when the jump crews are rotating out?”
Deanna shot him a look, but Kylie missed the fishing expedition entirely.
“We’re here another week, assuming the fire spreads. Why?”
“We need to coordinate resources for, uh, planning.” He was a crummy liar.
Kylie’s radio crackled. “Sumner, need you at the jump shack.”
“Duty calls. You two behave yourselves.” Kylie wiggled her brows and breezed out of the cafeteria.
After she left, Deanna asked him, “What do you mean by planning?”
“Don’t tell Kylie, but Ace bombards me with texts, asking about her.” He tried not to sound annoyed. “A dozen notifications pinged my phone when I landed this afternoon.”
Deanna laughed, and the sound delighted him. “Poor Ace. Kylie’s going to eat him alive if he keeps this up.”
“Or not.” He pushed his empty plate aside. “Sometimes people surprise you.”
“Right,” she said. “Sometimes they do.”
They stayed as the cafeteria emptied around them. Outside, daylight had faded to purple twilight, and the mountains became shadows as the fire lay down for the night.
“I should go.” Deanna made no move to stand.
“Early briefing,” he agreed, not moving either. He’d rather sit here and talk.
“Long day tomorrow,” she reminded.
He blew out a sigh. “Always is.”
She eased from her chair, gathering her tray. “Thanks for the conversation.”
“Anytime.”
She made it three steps before turning back. “Colton?”
“Yeah?”
“The guy I mentioned, the one near the supply cache last night. I told Westlake about it first thing this morning.”
“Good. I’m sure he’ll have security on the cache tonight,” said Colton.
“Between the fuel contamination, the missing equipment, and a guy sneaking around after dark, it creeps me out.” She shook her head.
He peered at her. “Go get some sleep. Be safe tomorrow.”
“You be safe, too.” She pointed upward and winked at him. “By the way, that wasn’t a flirty wink. More like a co-worker stay-alive wink.”
“Thanks for clarifying.” He sent back a slow one of his own. “This is my flirty wink.”
“Good night.” She laughed and headed for the door.
Colton stayed put while the last light drained from the sky through the cafeteria windows. The Pintler Mountains had faded to silhouettes, and the smoke column from the Copper Creek Fire billowed from the flames.
Something had started between him and Deanna, despite this fire growing darker in more ways than one.
As he drove to his hotel, the fire’s glow reflected in his rearview mirror like a warning. Tomorrow he’d be back in the air. Deanna would be on the ground, along with whoever was sabotaging their firefighting efforts.
These uneasy thoughts followed him to his room, where sleep took its sweet time coming. When it finally crept up on him, he flew a drop run through an endless canyon. A beautiful woman sat beside him, her scent burning like a blaze he couldn’t put out.
Nor did he want to.