Page 17 of Burning Escape (Chasing Fire: Alaska #3)

“Yeah. They still don’t know what the spray was, but officials have been up there and tested everything.

They said it’s safe, so her husband is going to pick her up tomorrow.

They’ll take Joann and the baby back to the Refuge too.

With the new bottles and a handheld pump to express milk, Josiah should be set.

He’s already gaining weight, and Joann is going to come back for a checkup in a couple weeks. ”

“Good.” Orion didn’t say anything else.

“So…why did you want to work out here instead of the weight room at the base camp?” Tori stared him down.

“Like I said, I wanted to come to town to check in with the sheriff’s office in person. Make sure there was nothing else at your apartment.”

“Yeah, but we did that. We could work out somewhere else.”

They walked into the open gym. A row of treadmills and elliptical machines ran along the wall of windows facing the mountains. The smell of disinfectant and sweat was familiar, as well as the clink of weights and the running fans. She stopped at the empty front desk and faced Orion.

He looked down at the counter and picked at a piece of tape holding down the paper schedule.

“I wanted you to run me through a workout for my shoulder. It’s still sore, and I thought the machines here would be safer than the free weights out at base camp.

But I need to be back to normal before we jump again. ”

“So you don’t want the others to know you’re injured?”

“Not until I know how bad it is. I’ve had this happen before in high school, and it’s already a lot better. I just need to strengthen it since it’s been over a week of doing nothing.”

She frowned. “Which is what a body needs to heal. You should really have a medical professional check it out.”

“You are a professional. So you can check it.”

“I’m a fitness trainer. I have no physical therapy experience. And I have no way of knowing if there’s damage to tendons or ligaments or muscle.”

“Tori. Please. Just put me through the paces. If you don’t think I’m up to snuff, I’ll get it checked out. But give me a shot. Why pay big bucks to some doctor if I just need to do some exercises?”

His earnest plea, and probably those big blue eyes staring into hers, went straight to her good sense and turned it to mush.

“Fine, but you’re going to tell me why it’s so important that you’re willing to take the risk of fighting fires with a bad shoulder.

You shouldn’t be jumping out of an airplane with a parachute if you’re hurt. ”

She moved behind the desk to get the paperwork set to start Orion’s membership.

“Hey, you’re back? I thought you were off until fall.” Callum, one of the gym’s owners and resident handyman, came from the break room. He gave her a hug. “I’ve had a lot of members upset that you’re gone for the season.”

“That’s odd, since I let all my regular clients know I wouldn’t be here.

They’ve all been assigned to other trainers.

” She smiled, wondering who was giving him a hard time that she was gone.

“But I found you a new customer. Thought I’d get him signed up and show him around. Don’t worry, I won’t punch in.”

Callum laughed. “Wouldn’t care if you did.

You’re worth every penny. A lot of people are here because you’re good at what you do.

You have the right amount of push and concern that helps our clients reach their potential.

So…” He slapped Orion on the shoulder—his good one.

“I leave you in good hands.” Then he walked over to a woman struggling with the rowing machine.

“See.” Orion grinned. “I’m in good hands, like he said. So lead on, trainer.”

She showed him to the shoulder press and set it at the lowest weight. “Let’s see how you do. But you have to be honest with me about your pain level.”

He sat on the bench and pushed the bars up. He didn’t wince, but he did press his lips together tightly. She watched his well-defined muscles contract and release.

As a professional, she had no excuse for the warmth pooling in her middle as she continued studying Orion’s physique. She pulled her hair back off her neck and threw it in a messy bun with her hair tie. “It’s warm in here.”

“Is that why you look flushed?” Orion looked concerned.

Which only made her cheeks heat even more. Time to redirect. “So why does this job mean so much to you?”

“It’s my legacy. My grandfather was a smokejumper back in the day.”

“It’s nice that you want to make him proud.”

“I never had the chance to meet him. He died fighting a wildfire when my mom was young. But where I grew up, everyone knew about him. Told me stories of his courage and bravery. Until last year, I didn’t know who my father was, so I grew up wanting to be like my granddad.”

“I get that, not knowing your dad, but why this way? Why being a smokejumper?”

Orion did a few more reps before responding. He dropped his arms and shook them out. “Because when it counted, I wasn’t brave.”

“What do you mean?” She led him over to a different machine to work on lateral raises. He didn’t say anything for a while.

“Come on, Ry. I shared my shameful past. Nothing you say can top that.”

He glanced at her and sighed. “In junior high I had some not-so-great friends. I justified it by thinking I could be a good influence on them, but that wasn’t the case.” He used his forearms to push the levers up.

“Got into a bit of trouble?” Tori’s eyes caught on his biceps and lateral deltoids showing off their perfection thanks to the fitted athletic shirt he wore.

“Yeah.” He did a few more reps on the lowest weight setting.

“Cutting class and doing dumb pranks. But the worst of it was the time we rode our bikes to an old barn. Bobby stole cigarettes and a lighter from his dad. I knew smoking was wrong. I grew up at a camp dedicated to fighting forest fires. I knew how flammable that barn was. There was dry, old hay in the loft and all over the ground. I should’ve said something. But I didn’t. I was too chicken.”

“Did it catch fire?”

Orion allowed the weighted bar to drop. “Burned to the ground and almost killed a firefighter who was trying to put it out. All because I was too scared to do the right thing.”

“I might know a little about that. I think I was so worried about being left out or left alone that I got caught up in all sorts of situations. Were you caught?”

Orion slowly nodded. “I’ve never seen my mother so disappointed.

” He looked up at Tori, so much shame and sorrow in his gaze.

“She made me go to the hospital to see the firefighter who was injured and apologize. He had burns over half his body. I’ve never seen someone in that much pain. And it was my fault.”

“Aw, Ry, you were a dumb kid. We all do dumb stuff. It’s not like you meant for the fire to happen or for that man to be hurt.”

But Orion didn’t look her in the eye. He stared out the window. “I haven’t been able to get his words out of my head though. He said, ‘I thought Jack Price’s grandson would’ve known better. Think about what kind of man you want to be before it’s too late. Your mother deserves better.’”

“So you’ve been trying to make up for it since?”

“Something like that. And of course, my mom blamed herself for my stupid choice and the fire. Which made it so much worse. I was the one responsible. Not her. So I want to prove to my mother that I can be a man she can be proud of, like my granddad. This is how I can do that.”

“That’s a lot of pressure to live up to. I’m sure your mother and your grandfather, if he were alive, would be proud of you, even if you weren’t a smokejumper. They’d be proud of you because of the kind of man you are, not because of the rescue work you do.”

He was one of the kindest, hardest-working men she’d met. A real hero. Couldn’t he see that?

“What about you? Why are you so adamant about being a smokejumper? Aren’t you trying to prove something to your sisters? To all those people who said you were bad or weak?”

Was that what she was doing?

“I only want to prove something to myself. That I can do hard things on my own. Because I’ve been there. I’ve been on my own and scared out of my mind. Every fire is a battleground, and I want to fight to win. To help others so they won’t have to fight alone.”

“Seems like you help a lot of people here too though. What about that work?”

She loved working here, but it wasn’t hard. And she needed to stay strong. Challenged. But rather than answer his questions, she moved him on to do delt flies. Orion sat on the bench and grabbed the bars in front of him.

“Keep your elbows straight and swing your arms out to the side.” She watched him do a full set.

“Let’s see your range of motion.” Tori indicated for Orion to stand. She took his arm and had him test his range, push and pull against her hand, trying to ignore how good it felt to be close to him, how different it was to work with him compared to anyone else.

“Tori! I thought you were gone.” Damian, one of her regulars, came over, a white gym towel hanging from his neck. “Does this mean I can sign up for some sessions with you?” His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at Orion for a beat.

“Oh, I’m not back. At least, not for good. Just helping out a friend here.”

“That’s too bad.” Damian smiled at her.

It didn’t do anything for her. Not like Orion’s smiles that made her feel like dancing and twirling to music.

Stop comparing him to everyone else! You can stand on your own two feet, Mitchell.

She made introductions and answered another question for Damian. Since she was there, she gave him a few pointers with his workout routine and then went back to Orion.

“Be honest. What’s your pain level with the exercises?”

He wrinkled his nose. “About a three. Which is nothing a little ibuprofen won’t fix. And I doubt a doctor will say anything different.”

If they could even get to an orthopedic doctor. He’d probably have to go to Anchorage for that. “Are you sure?”

“It feels sore, but the exercising and stretching were fine. I’ll keep working on it.”

“And you’ll tell Jade if you don’t think you can do the job?”

“I can do the job.”

“Good.” But could she trust herself working with him? Now that she didn’t have the rivalry driving her, she was falling for him way too fast.

And he might be hero material. But that only meant that he deserved more than what she could offer.