Page 12 of Rescuing Dr. Marian (Made Marian Legacy #1)

“Too young. Should have gotten a properly trained dog. I’ll be lucky if she can track anything by next summer.” He didn’t bother turning around. “She has the tracking instincts of that fish in that movie who can’t remember shit.”

I let out a snort. “You sound like those people from the plane who talked about that guy with the dog and the thing.”

He turned just enough for me to see the edge of his lip quirk up. “To Wade,” he murmured, glancing at me for a split second.

“To Wade,” I said, remembering the cheers from the crowd.

It wasn’t friendship, but at least it was a little further from homicide than we were a few minutes ago. That was a start.

Before I could ask how he’d ended up at SERA, we were interrupted by a knock and a cheerful voice calling through the screen door. “Hey, bunch of us are heading to Timber for pizza and beer. You guys want a ride?”

Robyn, SERA’s program coordinator, glanced between us with a big smile. “Come on. It’s always good for the instructors to bond before the students arrive.”

“Yeah, sounds good. You coming?” I asked, turning to Foster.

But the scowl on his face made it clear he wasn’t interested in bonding… at least not with me. “Nah. Told Trace I’d catch up on certification paperwork.”

“Right.” I sucked in a breath and nodded at Robyn. “Let’s go.”

Timber buzzed with activity—tourists with kids overflowed the outdoor seating while SERA instructors filled the right side with noisy laughter.

“Rosso Inferno,” my cousin Alex said, shoving a glass of red wine into my hand.

He’d left his parents’ vineyard in Napa to take over Timber only two years ago, and being able to spend time with him in Legacy had been a side benefit of spending the summer here. “I dare you to call this one pedantic.”

I blinked at him. “I’ve never called a glass of wine pedantic in my life.”

Even though my mind was still back in the cabin with Foster, I made an attempt to listen as Alex vented about dealing with the overly picky local fire marshal who’d been harassing him for months over kitchen upgrades.

“‘Ongoing infraction mitigation,’ he says.” Alex made finger quotes. “‘It takes as long as it takes, Marian.’ What I’d like to know is at what point I can sue Chief Stick-Up-His-Ass Kincaid for harassment.”

“Ha.” I studied the slanting sunlight hitting the surface of the wine.

“Tommy,” Alex said. “You with me? What’s up?”

I blinked. “Sorry. Head was in the clouds. Just thinking about job leads.”

“Job leads here?” His eyes widened. “Fuck yeah. That would be amazing.”

I shook my head. “San Francisco. I have an interview with Stanford, but UC Davis might be hiring, too. ”

Alex looked disappointed. “But Hazel’s here. And Ella and the rest of us.”

He wasn’t wrong. I loved Legacy—had loved it since I was a kid arriving for my first visit with Gran and Gramps. My cousins and I had spent summers here for years, and several of us had fallen in love with the place enough to make it home.

“I do love it here,” I reminded him. “You know I do. But the only place around here that would even come close to the kind of work I do is in Billings. And I don’t want to live in Billings.”

We both knew I was too ambitious for a career in Billings anyway. In New York, I’d been well respected, admired, rewarded with opportunities I’d never get outside a big city.

A woman with double braids and a black Timber apron speed walked over. “Boss, need you in the kitchen. Juni’s threatening to leave over that new fire extinguisher placement.”

Alex sighed and stood. “Maybe you’ll at least agree to murder a fire marshal for me before you go. Doesn’t pay well, but comes with free wine and pizza.”

I rolled my eyes as he walked away. Nearby, a SERA helo instructor and swift-water instructor argued good-naturedly about white-water rafting shoes. I moved closer and tried to listen, though I hadn’t been rafting since college.

By the time pizzas arrived, the wine had eased my mood’s sharp edges. I was deep in conversation with a few of the other team members about creating a swift-water rescue exercise when I noticed Foster and his dog settle at the far end of our tables.

Trace clapped him on the back and moved a plate with a pizza slice on it in front of him. Chickie’s tail wagged so hard it banged against the metal chair leg.

“…operational coordination between rescue swimmers and medical personnel under time pressure, right?”

I blinked back at Robyn, who was looking at me expectantly. Trace had chosen her as program coordinator because of her ability to bring people together, to break the ice, and I felt like an ass for making her job difficult.

“Oh, er, yeah. Right.” I flashed her a friendly smile. “It’s rare to get this crossover training opportunity.”

She grinned back, setting her loose, blonde ponytail swinging.

From his end of the table, Foster shot me a ferocious scowl that had my smile dropping away.

I tried to focus on the conversation despite my distractibility.

Over the next hour, I realized Foster was friendly and easy with everyone except me.

When he talked about search and rescue, his face lit up—the same engaging manner he’d had in Hawaii.

He commanded attention, was charismatic and kind.

I selfishly wanted a piece of it. My jaw ached with the urge to force him to look at me, but he refused. Throughout the entire planning session, he did the bare minimum to engage with me, only asking and answering questions when necessary.

By the time the group broke up, I was exhausted and annoyed. If the stubborn asshole couldn’t treat me like an equal part of the team, then fuck him.

I stood to follow Robyn back to her car when my sister Hazel walked up. “Hey!” I said in surprise .

Her face brightened. “Tommy, what are you doing here? Avery’s working late. I could have met you for dinner.”

Before I had a chance to explain about the staff dinner, Robyn realized I wasn’t with her and turned back to see what had happened. “Oh hi, Hazel. We were just finishing up a staff dinner.”

Hazel smiled at her. “Sounds fun. Hey, do you mind if I borrow my brother for a few? I can run him back to SERA when we’re done.”

Robyn hesitated before pressing her lips together in an understanding smile. “You bet. See you back there, Tommy.”

Hazel watched her walk away before turning and rolling her eyes at me. “She’s obviously into you. The signals are so much clearer for straight guys,” she murmured. It wasn’t the first time she’d made a similar comment, but this time, it annoyed me.

“You jealous that Robyn is more interested in me than you? Because your wife might have feelings about that.”

She laughed. “Easy, tiger. I happen to be picking up pickle-topped pizza because my wife is having pregnancy cravings. I adore Avery and have no interest in bubbly blonde women half my age.”

“Sorry.” I felt like an ass and muttered my apologies. “Long day.”

Just then, Foster walked by without a glance. Chickie, however, stopped and waggled her tail at me, sniffing my leg and nudging my hand. When the leash pulled at Foster’s hand, he turned back to see what had distracted her.

“Who’s this cutie?” Hazel asked, squatting to pet the pup. What happened next proceeded in slow motion. She turned to see who owned the dog and recognized Foster. From Hawaii. I hadn’t even remembered she’d seen him.

Her eyes went wide, lips parting in shock. I tried to smooth over the awkward moment.

“Uh, heh, um, H-hazel, this is Foster Blake. He’s…

he’s the search and rescue instructor for SERA this summer.

He’s standing in for Desi until Trace can find a permanent replacement.

Foster, this is my sister. Well, one of them.

Hazel, I mean. My sister. Hazel. She has a twin. There are two of them. Chloe.”

So much for smoothing over the awkward. My sister stared at me as I stumbled over my words. I was known for being cool under pressure, so it was highly unusual to see me off my game. In the history of my life, there seemed to have only been one person who could make me this stammery and weird.

“How did this happen?” she asked, waggling a finger between me and Foster. “Did you tell Trace to hire?—”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Foster’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise.

“No!” I said quickly. “No. I didn’t know he was coming. I had no idea he… well, it doesn’t matter. He’s here, and I’m here, and… we’re all here. For SERA. For the program. Which starts tomorrow. So we should probably head back. To bed. To sleep, I mean. To get sleep. In bed. Not together!”

My face seared with heat as I tried not to think of my bed only a few feet away from Foster’s.

“There are two beds,” I added lamely, as if more words about the sleeping arrangements would help .

Hazel tilted her head at me. The edges of her lips turned up as if this was suddenly incredibly funny. “I see.”

I closed my eyes. “Jesus fucking Christ.”

“Mmhm.” Hazel glanced between me and Foster. “Well, someone’s obviously fucking someone. Foster, it’s nice to meet you. Would you mind driving Nimrod back to SERA for me? Thank you ever so much.”

My face ignited with embarrassment, not only at the implication that Foster and I were sleeping together but also at the old nickname, one I’d gotten before I’d even been born.

“Nimrod Nickelback” was only trotted out these days when my sisters or Uncle Teddy wanted to hammer home a moment of my stupidity.

Once Hazel had disappeared into the restaurant without even a glance of apology, I took a deep breath and considered shouting a very bad word at her back.

“Don’t do it,” Foster said softly, tilting his head at the families seated nearby. Several kids eyed Chickie with interest. “You’ll regret it.”

I glanced at him. “Doubt it.”

“C’mon. Truck’s over here,” he said in a gruff voice.

“I can catch a ride with someone else,” I insisted, not wanting him to do me favors. And definitely not wanting him to continue to bear witness to my humiliation.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Let’s go.” He tossed Chickie’s leash handle at me before striding off—a neat trick that forced me to follow rather than turn back to find another ride.

I silently fumed as I fell in line behind him, pulling the pup along.

She trotted happily beside me, taking quick sniffs at interesting things.

Every time she leaned down, her ears dragged the ground in a way too cute to ignore.

It softened my mood’s sharp edges so that when we reached Foster’s Sheriff’s vehicle, I wasn’t quite as homicidal as I’d been after my sister’s teasing.

Until Foster opened his mouth to speak.