Page 56 of From the Ashes

“Were there, like, people inside?” Honestly, being a firefighter sounds hot in theory, but when it’s the person you lo…the person youcare about…racing into a compromised building that’s spewing flames, the sexiness pales in comparison to the anxiety.

“No, they got out. Had to rescue a couple dogs though.” He says this with total nonchalance as he continues shoveling food in his mouth, making me so glad I prepared it.

“Isn’t that scary as fuck?”

He shrugs. “Isn’t climbing on the back a fifteen-hundred-pound bucking horse scary as fuck?”

He has a point, but somehow that doesn’t seem as bad. Perhaps it’s because I know how to do that, and I don’t know shit about fighting fires.

Sensing my need to change the topic, Phoenix takes it somewhere I wasn’t prepared for.

“I thought that call in Wyoming was bullshit. If the judges didn’t catch your foot position during the ride, the score should stand. That’s on them, not you.”

I can’t help my grin. “You watch my rides?” Phoenix hesitates to answer so I goad him a little. “C’mon, Phoe, you aren’t the liar in this relationship. Don’t start now.”

He rolls his tired eyes. “We aren’t in a relationship. And I’ve seen a few.”

“A few, huh? Maybe we could pull them up and you could critique them. Tell me where I need to improve.” I throw it out there almost as a joke, and maybe to make him a little uncomfortable, but actually, it’s a great idea.

“Um, yeah, sure,” he reluctantly agrees.

After breakfast, Phoenix goes upstairs to sleep and I clean up the house. Barn chores won’t require any more work until the evening feeding.

I’m on the couch when Phoenix comes back downstairs a while later.

“I thought you’d be going stir crazy and want to be outside,” he says, sleep still thick in his voice.

“It’s hotter than Satan’s ball sac, and if I can’t ride, I see no reason to be that miserable.”

“Well, the house and the barn look great, thank you.”

I feel the heat of my blush in my cheeks as Phoenix walks around the couch and sits on the opposite end.

“It’s what I’m here for,” I point out, like my insides aren’t fucking preening at his compliment.

“You, uh, want to watch a movie or something?” he asks, a bit of hesitation in his voice.

He isn’t making eye contact with me, and I can tell we’re both nervous about how this is going to go. It’s the first week in what will be our “normal” routine, and it’s clear neither of us thought through how our down-time would play out.

Choosing to be a wiseass like he and I tend to do in these situations, I crack a wide smile. “Sure. You got Brokeback Mountain?”

“Oh, fuck all the way off.” Phoenix rolls his eyes, but laughs as he says it, and the tightness in my chest lightens ever so slightly. “That shit’s depressing.”

He ends up picking one of the newer James Bond movies, and when he gets up for a drink, I stretch out along the couch. Coming back to sit down, he eyes my legs on his side and waits for me to move them.

I don’t.

“You only have one couch in here, deal with it,” I say like it’s no big deal that I’m all in his space.

“I only have one couch because I livealone.”

“Not for the next three months.” I grin.

“Don’t remind me.” The corner of his mouth twitches and I know he’s fighting to hide his smile.

When he picks my legs up, sits down, and allows my legs to stay draped across his lap, my heart rockets to the moon.

Chapter 26