One Night with the Fire Captain

Prologue

Harper

Ipull into the gravel drive just as dusk settles over the lake, my headlights skimming over the cabin tucked into the trees.

Hocking Hills feels removed from real life, like the world loosens its grip once you get far enough from Columbus.

Carlie wanted quiet for her twenty-sixth birthday weekend.

A break from the hospital. From everything. I want that for her, too.

Carlie had worked her ass off throughout school, never taking breaks, never letting up on herself.

She graduated high school early with dual enrollment, so by sixteen, she had her diploma and her associate’s degree.

I was in awe when she graduated med school at the top of her class at twenty-four.

She is the smartest person I know. I am lucky to count her as my best friend.

And the truth is, I need a break, too. Things with David have been… well, a mess. We broke up, or we’re on a break. He wasn’t clear about what he wanted, and to be fair, neither am I. Which feels wrong. He’s perfect on paper, but that doesn’t mean much.

I am determined to put David out of my mind and just have fun with my best friend and her friends. They’re all a little older than me, but I’ve never minded that. Older people make me feel grounded, like there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.

Laughter drifts from the deck as I grab my bag. And then I see him, and I’m not grounded anymore.

Aiden Sloan stands near the firepit, one hand wrapped around a beer.

Thirty-four. Carlie’s brother. He wasn’t around much when we were younger—at twelve years older than me, he had already hit adulthood while we were still figuring out ourselves—but Carlie has always looked up to him.

I’ve heard his name my whole life. I’ve just never really looked at him before.

He looks up, and my stomach drops a little.

Broad shoulders that stretch his shirt over them. Sharp blue eyes that see too much. His stubble shades around the brooding frown that’s always on his face, even in childhood photos on their family’s walls. A forearm tattoo peeks out at the edge of the rolled sleeve of his green plaid flannel.

There’s something behind his eyes that makes my stomach flip. Never used to. But right now—

Suddenly, Carlie comes out of nowhere, squeals, and pulls me into a hug. “You made it!”

“Wouldn’t miss it.”

She pulls me straight to her brother. “Harper, you remember Aiden.”

His mouth curves, slow and deliberate, as he almost squints at me. “You’re Harper Myers.” It almost sounds like a question.

“The last time I checked, yeah,” I tease before I can stop myself.

His eyes flick over my face, warm and unapologetic. “You grew up.”

Heat crawls up my neck. “So did you.”

He chuckles and knocks his beer back. “Good to see you.”

“You, too.”

Carlie’s phone rings then, the sharp sound slicing through the moment.

Her expression shifts as she listens. The next thing I know, she apologizes a dozen times, already grabbing her keys.

An emergency at the hospital. She’s not even on-call this weekend, but being a pediatric emergency medicine doc, it comes with the territory.

Most of the group decide to head back with her to the city.

She hugs me and gives one more apologetic, “I’m sorry to drag you out here—”

“No worries. Go save babies. We can celebrate you another day.” But I’m not sure it’ll happen. She’s always so busy. But her work is more important than a birthday party. I smile and offer, “I’ll clean the place and lock up when I’m done.”

“You’re a lifesaver—”

“I’ll help out,” Aiden interjects.

She smiles, pure gratitude in her eyes. “You’re the best. Both of you. Gotta go.” She takes off behind the rest of her friends, and suddenly, it’s just us.

There isn’t much tidying to do, since everyone was here for only a few hours. As the sun sets, me and Aiden sit by the fire with a bottle of wine between us. The lake is still, and the forest around it goes dark before the sun is down. Late autumn blows crisply over us.

“So,” he says, pouring my glass. “What’s your major?”

“Hospitality.”

“What made you want to get into that?”

I take a breath and a swig of the sweet wine. “Your sister, sort of.”

“How so?”

Heat rushes up my cheeks. It sounds lame to every guy I have ever told, and I don’t feel like being judged right now.

But I’m also not willing to lie to those piercing blue eyes.

“When we were kids, I hated being home. I love my family now, but back then, things were… rough. It felt like I didn’t have a real home.

But Carlie always welcomed me. Even though she’s a little older than me, she never made that an issue, and always included me with her same-age friends.

Everybody should have that in their life…

a place or a person that feels like home.

” I shrug. “So, I like making people feel welcome. Hospitality felt like a natural fit.” And now, I brace for the mockery.

He smiles. “I’m glad she could do that for you. Everyone deserves a home.”

I blink a few times, because I don’t know if I heard him right. “Seriously?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Every other guy I’ve told that to teased me about it.”

“You know some shitty guys, then.”

I snort a laugh at that. “You’re not wrong.”

“Carlie says you’re about to graduate. You excited to be done?”

“Terrified,” I admit. “Is that normal?”

He smiles, softer this time. “Yeah. Means you care.”

Our knees brush. Neither of us moves away. In fact, I’m fighting the urge to move closer to him. I blame the chill in the air, but I’m lying to myself, and I know it. “What do you know about caring about a job?”

“I’m a firefighter. Caring is a good fifty percent of the job.” He takes my glass to refill it.

“You’re not what I expected,” I say quietly.

“Careful, Sunshine,” he murmurs as he pours. “That usually isn’t a compliment.”

I meet his gaze, pulse racing. “I meant it as one.”

His fingers linger when he hands me my glass. The air between us hums under my skin. I should say something about my boyfriend.

But we’re on a break. I don’t feel like explaining all of that to Aiden, when I’m not even sure I understand it. David was adamant. He said, “I just need some time away from you to figure things out.”

Maybe I do, too.

But Aiden is Carlie’s brother. Older. Brooding. Too damn off-limits in a dozen ways I shouldn’t even be cataloging.

I tell myself I’m imagining the pull. That I’m tired of David’s bullshit. That long study sessions and school stress have muddled my head. But when his dark blue eyes meet mine, something tightens in my chest. A quick fantasy springs to mind—him holding me as we watch the sunrise.

Stop that.

But he’s nothing like the men I’ve been around lately.

My classmates are mostly jocks and guys who think a hospitality degree is something you use to meet women.

Aiden looks at me like he’s listening, not just waiting until it’s his turn to speak.

He’s not some gate-keeping, pompous film studies major, or in David’s case, a math prodigy with too many suits.

It makes me uncomfortable. It makes me want to lean in. So I don’t.

“So, why did you stay when everyone else left?” I ask.

“You shouldn’t be left behind in a cabin in the woods all by yourself, cleaning other people’s messes because you’re too good not to. They took advantage of your kindness, and that’s shitty of them. The least I could do is try to help.”

Is that the only reason?

I don’t ask it out loud. But I want to. I want to know whether the heat I feel is one-sided.

Now, it’s just the two of us by the fire, the bottle of wine between us dwindling, much like the space between us. I could pretend not to notice, but he smells too good for that.

Shake it off. If I keep going down that rabbit hole, I’ll ask what I shouldn’t. There’s a nasty scar along his left wrist. “How did you get that scar?”

“Shard of tile. An elderly woman had slipped and fallen in her shower, cracked the tile with her head. I didn’t see it until I was picking her up.”

“Damn. I guess I never thought about first responder injuries that come with the job.”

That makes him laugh. “Happens more often than we’d like, but it’s worth it.”

“Do you like the job, or do you endure it?”

The question strikes at something he hesitates to say. “Huh…”

“You don’t have to talk about it,” I blurt.

He shrugs. “I don’t mind. Most people don’t ask about my work, so I’m not sure how to answer.

Enduring the job is something I never considered, to be honest. I love what I do.

Helping people, helping their pets, saving their homes…

it’s like you said. Everyone should have somewhere that feels like home. ”

“People don’t ask about your job?”

“No. I think they assume they know what it’s like to be a firefighter. Too many TV shows and movies about it, I guess.”

The man is a puzzle I want to solve. “That sounds lonely.”

I must have hit a nerve. His eyes flash, then his voice goes low. “You’re dangerous. You know that?”

“I’m nosey, so yeah. I hear that, or something like it, a lot.” The air shifts. Thickens. I know exactly where this is going. I should stand up, grab my keys, and drive back to campus this instant. That would be the smart thing to do.

I have a boyfriend… don’t I?

Not really. David said as much. More importantly, I don’t want him. David is the good-on-paper guy. The one my parents like. He makes sense in the grand scheme of things.

Aiden does not make sense. There is no reason I should feel his gravity, pulling me to him. But I do.

Instead of running away, I lean in, studying his haunted blue eyes as they follow my movements. His gaze settles on my lips, and I can’t breathe.

The kiss happens like a breaking point.