Page 24 of Fire Fight

Not that I was sure I’d ever reach that point.

All that was to say, something about Aspen McKay had drawn me in the first time I laid eyes on her, and I’d spent every second since that call worried about her.

According to Sutton, she was stable when they dropped her off, but her burns were a concern. Aspen seemed like a tough woman, though, and somehow I knew she’d be okay.

Still, I wanted to see it with my own eyes.

I was damn near itching to get off shift the morning after so I could go visit her at the hospital.

Unfortunately, after shift, I desperately needed sleep. Typically, I worked one twenty-four hour shift with two days off in between, but the lieutenant on first shift—the one that came before ours in the rotation—had to take some unexpected personal time off, so I stepped up to cover him. Doubles were no joke, especially in my line of work, and I was exhausted.

I lived about fifteen minutes out of town, right on the edge of my family’s land. When I moved home five years ago and decided I was staying for good, I built my spacious house. Maybe one day I’d fill it with a wife and kids. I’d never really envisioned myself as a family man outside of my mom, brothers, and little sister, but maybe that would change if I met the right woman.

I resolutely didnotentertain the flash of dark hair and set of peculiar brown eyes that flashed through my mind.

I loved living out here. After spending five years in Chicago followed by another three working campaign fires in northern California, I savored the peace and quiet. I was close enough to town that it didn’t take me long to get to work, and we’d cut a dirt track through the woods ages ago so I could go to the ranch for family dinner without having to go all the way around the craggy hills in between.

My driveway was shaded on both sides by towering pine trees that provided cover year round. The narrow lane approached my house with an attached garage that sat at the edge of a large swatch of field. Hitting the button over my head in my truck, I waited for the garage door to open and pulled inside.

Once I was parked, I turned it off and leaned my head back against the seat, closing my eyes and basking in the stillness broken only by the ticking of my cooling engine.

Finally finding the energy, I got out of the truck and approached the door leading into my mudroom, punching in thecode to quiet my security system as it began beeping with the breach.

As I did every time I entered and exited my house, I silently cursed my brother, Trey, for forcing me to install the ridiculous system.

I lived in no man’s land, and I could protect myself. I didn’t need the bells and whistles doing it for me. Especially not when I knew he could easily access the feed to the cameras he’d set up around the property whenever he wanted.

He was taking the termbig brothera bit too literally.

Unceremoniously, I tossed my bag through the door into the laundry room, not even having the energy to walk it inside. Then I kicked off my boots and padded down the hall, past the open kitchen-living-dining room and down another hallway to my room.

After stripping naked, I climbed into the cool sheets and heaved a sigh of relief, all the tension bleeding from my muscles as I relaxed into my mattress.

But sleep didn’t come easily, my mind still whirring with thoughts of Aspen and that fire.

I had so many questions, not only about her, but about this fucker that had tried to take her from this world.

With each year that passed without a single clue or lead, it felt like any chance of catching the guy slipped further and further away.

But…he’d never left anyone alive before. And Aspen wasn’t simplyanywoman—she was a private investigator now personally invested in the case, more so than whatever had drawn her to it in the first place.

Aspen had an admirable sort of tenacity, and I knew she’d stop at nothing to catch this guy, even if it meant putting herself back in danger. The thought didn’t sit right with me, and though I knew it was a bad idea for a thousand different reasons, I alsoknew I’d be keeping an eye on her once she was released from the hospital.

I couldn’t quite pinpoint what about this woman had me twisted in knots, but for once, I wasn’t questioning it or planning on running from it. Never before had I experienced the electricity that coursed through me when Aspen was near. For once, I wanted to chase that feeling, to run headlong into the storm.

As a rule, I didn’t do relationships. While I’d done a lot of work to heal and better myself from my disastrous teenage years, I didn’t have the mental or physical energy to devote to making someone else happy. A serious, deeply committed relationship seemed inadvisable when I wasn’t sure I was all that happy myself.

With Aspen, I wasn’t looking for anything beyond a couple nights—or maybe weeks—spent buried in her tight little body before she left town. That was all I could spare, and I had a feeling she was in a similar boat.

At last, with thoughts of her cinnamon eyes and perfect pink mouth floating at the forefront of my brain, I fell into a deep sleep.

When I woke again,the sun had mostly set, and my stomach rumbled insistently. I got up, ate, showered, and headed for the hospital.

Upon walking through the doors of Dusk Valley Memorial, I was reminded how much I hated the place.

I’d been standing in a third floor hallway when I found out my dad was dead.

I’d spent more than a few nights in my youth having my stomach pumped from overindulging in things that were bad for me and nearly cost me my own life.