Slow Burn Read online

  There’s a certain kind of beauty in some women that shines through no matter what they might look like at the moment. That shelter employee had that aspect to her; she looked like hell warmed over, but I could still tell she was a hottie. The name tag on her light blue work shirt said her name is Jess. All I know is that Jess ruined her good looks running around saving a bunch of animals this morning, but still had something that caught my eye in a big way. In the back of my mind, I imagined taking her back to the station house and ripping those wet clothes off her.

  The rest of the day is relaxed. Linville Fire Department typically gets anywhere from three to six calls in a day, about normal for a town of thirty thousand. Today, though, we just have that one. After we clean and have lunch, I change into some workout shorts and take a nap in one of the station’s beds, thinking about Jess the beautiful trainwreck. My imagination starts to go wild and I picture her naked. I have to pull a blanket over me so nobody walks in and sees me lying here with a boner, because I’d never hear the end of it. I’m still hard when I fall asleep.

  Chapter 3

  Jess

  Bianca wakes me up at daybreak, before the sun is even out.

  “Bianca! Bianca! Good girl!” she squawks, over and over. It starts quietly enough, but when Mindy, my bulldog mutt, begins growling at her, it soon builds to a crescendo. I drag my sore ass out of bed and feed the two of them. I also feed the four cats I’m temporarily housing in my spare bedroom. Mindy spent the night sniffing at the door of that bedroom and growling. When Bianca first piped up around dawn, Mindy ran to the cage to growl at her instead. I don’t think she likes these new tenants much.

  As I start my day, I can’t shake the feeling that yesterday was all just a dream. The fire, the ensuing panic, the crazy scene with all those animals in the parking lot, and the handsome firefighter who came to the rescue. Every muscle in my body seems to be aching today, testifying to the reality of yesterday’s horrible events.

  I’ll be meeting this morning with Grace Addison, the founder of the Wrenwood Animal Shelter. Grace’s late husband made a fortune in real estate in Cedar Rapids, and she started the shelter in his honor when he passed away a decade ago. She had already heard about the fire when I called her late yesterday. After confirming that all the animals survived, she told me just to relax and get some sleep.

  So, I’m supposed to visit her house this morning to talk about the tragedy. At this point, I have no idea whether she’ll want to rebuild or just throw in the towel. Grace is in her eighties now and may have just had enough. That, of course, would leave me without a job and with no income.

  I eat breakfast and get ready to go, my mind continually drifting back to the anonymous firefighter. Just thinking about that face and those eyes gives me a thrill. I take Mindy for a long walk, hoping to distract myself and relax, but it doesn’t work. That man has burned his way into my brain.

  I stop by the shelter on my way to Grace’s house, and find myself in tears before I can even park my car. The place is a true disaster, with only a few pieces of metal framing still in an upright position. Everything else is just a jumbled black pile, still drenched from the water poured on it. I walk around and try to see if there’s anything that’s salvageable, but it’s hopeless. What isn’t destroyed is mangled beyond use.

  I arrive at Grace’s right on time. She’s happy to see me and looks wonderful. We haven’t met face-to-face in nearly a year, and I can’t get over how strong and energetic she is for her age. Her short gray hair and stylish clothes give her an elegant look that matches her tall, thin frame.

  “Do you have any idea how this happened, Jessica?” she asks. Grace always calls me by my full name.

  “None whatsoever. It started at the very back of the building, along one wall of the warehouse. Within half an hour, the entire building was engulfed. There was no way to save anything.”

  “Except the animals and the staff,” she corrects me. “The most important parts. I’m just grateful no one was hurt.”

  I think again about the firefighter who rescued those kittens, pushing his image away so I can concentrate. “Of course. Like I said last night, we’ve moved all the animals except a handful to other area shelters. They’ve agreed to house them until they can be re-homed, since we obviously won’t be up and running again for months, if ever.”

  “What do you mean, ‘if ever’?” Grace asks. “We’ll start rebuilding as soon as the insurance company cuts me a check.”

  That’s music to my ears. Grace and I discuss some of the details about how we’ll proceed. She says since we must rebuild, she wants it done properly. The current building—well, the former one, now—was originally a feed store that she had converted for use as a shelter. This time, she wants to have the new shelter designed as such from the ground up.

  Since Rhonda and I have been co-managing Wrenwood for the last few years, Grace insists on paying our salaries during the downtime. She wants us to earn it by volunteering at other area shelters, but that’s fine by me. The other six employees will need to look for other work, though—bad news for Anika, Dylan, Nicholas, Amber, Madison, and Greg.

  When I leave Grace’s house around noon, my path back home takes me down Colver Boulevard, past Station House #3 of the Linville Fire Department. It’s the closest station to the shelter, so I decide to stop by and thank the men for their hard work yesterday. And maybe get a chance to find the name of that one guy.

  There are four men manning the station, and three of them were on the crew at the fire. They recognize me and we talk about the shelter. After thanking them profusely for their hard work, I ask, “Is the guy who saved the kittens here today?”

  “Ty? No, he’s got the day off,” replies the Assistant Fire Chief, a red-headed man named Kevin. “Is there something you need?”

  Ty. I like the name. Short and sexy.

  “No, I just wanted to thank him for running into a burning building to save those little furballs. I can come back some other time. Will he be around tomorrow?”

  “Actually, he’s got some scheduled time off. Won’t be back until Monday.”

  Shit, that’s four days from now. “I guess I’ll come back then.”

  On my way home, I have a brainstorm. I spend the next couple of hours baking two of my sour cream raisin pies from the recipe my grandmother left me. They’re the most amazing things you could ever hope to eat. By three o’clock they’ve cooled enough for me to drive back to the fire station and surprise the men there with one. Of course, they’re delighted and appreciate the gesture.

  “I set aside a slice for Ty. Is there some way I can get it to him? Maybe you could give me his number?”

  Kevin looks at the other men, then back at me. Am I that easy to read?

  “Why don’t you just take it by his house and give it to him personally? He’s on call during his time off, so I know he’s in town.”

  Wow. I thought I’d have trouble getting his phone number. It’s a little strange that his boss would so easily divulge his home address. I guess maybe Kevin trusts me because he was around me for a while at the fire. Or possibly, he’s doing it to prank Ty, to send a young, grateful woman with a homemade pastry to his house. Regardless, I agree, trying not to sound too enthusiastic about it.

  Though I’ve never heard of the street, Google Maps tells me it’s less than five miles away. It’s a long road that’s practically rural, with the houses spaced at least a hundred yards apart on huge lots. I find the address and park alongside a dark blue pickup truck in the driveway.

  After touching up my makeup in the mirror, I take the pie and knock on his door. I have a knot in my stomach that makes me feel silly. After all, I’m just thanking a firefighter for helping me out. Nothing more than that, right? Right, Jess?

  When there’s no answer, I ring a second time, then knock. Still nothing. Disappointed, I head back to my car. Just as I’m about to open the door, I hear a dog barking from behind the house. It’s too loud to be from o
ne of the neighbors’ places. Maybe Ty is in his back yard.

  I walk around the side of the house to a wooden fence, just a little taller than I am. The sound of splashing water combines with the barking. I don’t want to just walk into this man’s yard unannounced, so I plan on calling him from the fence if he’s indeed back there. I tip-toe to look over.

  The big yard is surrounded by several beautiful old oaks that provide shade around the perimeter. In the middle is a bean-shaped swimming pool, not huge, but not too small, either. I see Ty, or at least a man I presume to be him, in the pool, his shoulders and head above the water. His back is to me, so I can’t see his face, but he has scruffy light brown hair. I watch as the dog, a big black Lab, runs to the pool and drops a red ball into the water, then starts barking. The man throws the ball and off goes the dog to retrieve it.

  It’s such a sweet sight that I want to keep watching for a minute before I interrupt. About the third throw, the dog loses track of the ball and instead brings back some kind of rope toy, extending it over the pool but maintaining his grip on the other end. The man grabs the rope, and he and the dog both pull hard. It looks like the man might win the fight, but the dog holds his own and eventually is victorious, having wrested the rope from the man’s grip.

  “Dammit, Beau! Get back here!”

  I laugh to myself as the dog stands a few feet back from the edge of the pool, just far enough that the man can’t reach the rope.

  “All right, this means war!” the man shouts. He turns my way and I see his face just before I duck to avoid detection. It is indeed Ty the firefighter. I wait until I hear him say, “Gimme that!” before I dare to look again, anxious to check him out in his bathing suit.

  Instead, I’m stunned to see him in his birthday suit.

  That’s right, Ty is having a naked tug-of-war with his dog.

  I’m shocked, by the idea that he’s running around naked in his yard in broad daylight, by the sight of his incredibly toned body, and by the beautiful appendage swinging between his legs.

  Oh, my.

  I watch for about a minute, unable to take my eyes off this man’s… well, his everything.

  My trance is broken when I suddenly see the dog running right towards me, barking like crazy. Shit, I’ve been seen. I duck before Ty turns to look, and run in a crouch back to my car, hanging onto the pie so I don’t drop it. I reach the car breathlessly, open the door, and climb in, setting the pie on the passenger seat.

  At that moment, the front door of the house swings open and I see Ty standing there, a light blue towel wrapped around his waist. He’s looking at me, so I get back out of the car.

  “I rang the bell, but nobody answered,” I say, fumbling for words. The dog continues to bark. “Sounds like your dog heard it, though.”

  “Yeah, I was out back in the pool,” he replies. “How did you find me?”

  “Kevin gave me the address. I hope you don’t mind me coming here—I brought you something.”

  I grab the pie and approach the house, and Ty meets me halfway, one hand holding the towel in place at his hip.

  I open my mouth to speak and feel the breath leave my body at the sight in front of me. This man is flawless. His big shoulders, his broad chest, his flat belly, that bulge in his towel that I quickly look away from. And the face, oh my god, the face. He’s beautiful, in the manliest way that word could possibly be applied.

  “A pie? Did you bake it yourself?”

  Regaining my composure, I say, “I did. I wanted to find some way to thank you for what you did yesterday.”

  It occurs to me that getting naked with him would be a much better way to thank him.

  “What kind is it?”

  I keep looking him directly in the eyes, because if I check out his naked torso again, I won’t be able to resist another peek lower. Just minutes ago, I was watching that thing as it swayed between his thighs.

  “Sour-cream raisin. Grandma’s recipe.”

  He takes the pie from me.

  “Sounds amazing. Come on in and have a piece with me.”

  Ty turns and walks towards the house. I follow, then he stops at the front door to let me go through first.

  “I’m Ty, by the way. We didn’t properly introduce ourselves yesterday.”

  I stop in the doorway.

  “Jess,” I say, instinctively extending a hand. Without thinking, Ty releases the towel to shake my hand, then grabs it again when he realizes it could fall. He’s balancing the pie in his other hand as he secures the towel.

  “Oops. I’m naked under here,” he says, then gives me a suspicious look. “Hey, you did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

  “No, I…” He’s already got me flustered.

  “I’m just kidding, Jess. Go on in.”

  I enter the house and he follows. It’s a very masculine place, with lots of wood and a color palette consisting mostly of browns and dark greens. Cleaner than I would have expected a man’s house to be.

  Ty sets the pie on the kitchen counter, then grins and extends his non-towel hand, saying, “Now I can shake without risking indecent exposure.”

  I shake his hand and when his firm grip closes around my fingers, it sends a jolt throughout my body. I can’t relax because I’m still trying to recover from the pure thrill of the last few minutes. Jesus, did I really see that in the backyard?

  Ty’s upper body is sinewy and ripped, with just the right sexy amount of hair. And the bulge in that towel is a constant reminder of his lack of underwear. Is he not even going to put clothes on?

  I focus on his face and try to smile.

  “Nice place,” I say, unable to form any other intelligible sentence.

  “Thanks. It’s kind of big, since it’s just me and Beau.” Saying the dog’s name reminds him to open the sliding door and let him in, and the next thing I know I have a huge dog right in front of me, eager to interact.

  I kneel and give him a good rough petting, instantly confident that this dog is not a threat to do anything except lick me to death. In seconds, I’m petting him and we’re fast buddies.

  “He likes you,” Ty says. “He doesn’t always like strangers, especially women.”

  “You bring a lot of strange women home, do you?”

  I meant it to be funny, but it just kind of clunked. Luckily, Ty laughs.

  “Not exactly, but there have been a couple strange ones, I’ll admit.”

  He grabs two plates from the cupboard, allowing me a quick glimpse of his back and towel-clad butt. His calves are muscular as well. Holy shit, this guy is so fucking hot, and I don’t know how much longer I can keep from grinning like a fool after what I’ve already seen today.

  Setting the plates on the counter, Ty grabs a pie server and forks, then carefully serves up two slices.

  “This was really thoughtful of you, Jess. You didn’t have to go to all this trouble.”

  “No trouble,” I reply. “And you earned it. I’d have never forgiven myself for forgetting those kittens. Especially since they were probably the easiest of all the animals to rescue.”

  “Still, I was just doing my job. But I do appreciate the pie.”

  He takes a bite and his eyes grow big when he tastes it.

  “Oh my god,” he says, mumbling with his mouth full. “This is amazing.”

  “Grandma knew what she was—”

  I’m interrupted by Ty’s phone, sitting nearby on the counter, as it erupts in a loud fire-alarm ring tone. It frightens me for a second, then I realize that of course a firefighter would have that sound on his phone.

  Ty jumps up, though, quickly swallowing his pie. “I’m on call today and that’s my signal to come in. There must be a big fire that they need extra men for. Sorry, I’ve got to go.”

  He hurries off down a hallway, and I start to walk to the door, then stop, not knowing what I should do. I glance in his direction, and just before he enters a room at the end of the hallway, he removes the towel and I’m treated to a second of per
fectly muscled ass before he disappears inside.

  He re-emerges wearing only jeans, walking toward me as he slips into a T-shirt. I can’t help but look, and though he quickly gets the shirt on, I see a trail of light brown hair leading down his belly into his pants, and I know that’s a sight I’ll remember.

  We rush outside and Ty opens his truck door.

  “Don’t you need your equipment? Shoes and socks?”

  He pats the large metal storage bin in the truck bed behind the cab. “It’s always in the truck.”

  He starts to climb up, then stops and turns to me.

  “Do me a huge favor,” he says hurriedly. “I don’t know how long I’ll be. Can you feed Beau for me? His bowl is on the floor next to the pantry, and the food is just inside the pantry door. Give him a full bowl, then let him outside for a few minutes once he’s done.”

  “Sure, no problem. Is the door locked?”

  “The front door is, but the sliding door on the patio never is.”

  I must look surprised, because Ty adds, “Beau is my security system.”

  “Okay. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it. Go!”

  He nods, then says, “And I forgot to put that pie away. Stick it someplace safe or Beau will eat it before I do.”

  He comes to me and plants a kiss on my cheek. “Thanks,” he says as he jumps in his truck. Seconds later, he’s flying off down the road.

  When the truck is out of sight, all I hear are the sounds of nature. I stand in the middle of the driveway, the sun warming my face as a breeze rustles the leaves of a huge oak tree in the front yard.

  He kissed me. The hot firefighter kissed me.

  Sure, it was barely a kiss, but he smelled like man and chlorine and dog, and it was a distinctly intoxicating combination. Either that, or my brain is still fried from all the male body parts it’s just seen.

  I check the front door and it is indeed locked, so I go around through the gate in the fence. Beau barks for a second when he sees me through the sliding door, but once I open it, he dashes out past me into the yard.