Dakota Heat (Book 3 - Dakota Hearts) (2 page)

When she’d counted the money, she’d gasped, not knowing whether to be flattered that the officers in the department cared that much about her well-being, or be offended that they wanted her out of town so badly. Since Bobbi had been on duty when she left, Summer hadn’t had time to thank her friend for all she’d done for her before Summer left the city.

Adam finally closed the folder and handed it to her. “Did you find everything you need last night?”

“Uh, yeah. I guess.”

“Good. It’s the dormitory is rudimentary but has everything you’ll need for the time being. I was told that some of the local rooms at the motel in town might open up soon now that some of the emergency crew that came into town over the winter will be leaving. You might find it more comfortable there.”

“No, it’s fine.”

“We have briefings every day in the room you were in earlier. Most of the fire crew is required to do an hour of physical training every day, but that’s not necessary for your job in dispatch. But feel free to use to the equipment in the Quonset hut if you want. I just ask that you wait until most of the crew has done their daily workout.”

“Sure.”

Adam stood up from his seat behind the desk and glanced quickly out the window at the crew of fire fighters who had already arrived. The briefing room she’d sat in earlier would soon be full of Hotshot fire fighters.

“Matt and I go way back to college. I was glad to get his call about you doing dispatch for us this fire season. Even though this is your first season in fire dispatch, Matt has high regard for your instinct and dedication. I think you’ll do fine here.”

“Thank you.”

Despite being close to the same age as the police chief in Providence, Adam looked older, with salt and pepper hair and deep creases around his eyes. She guessed him to be close to forty, or maybe a few years beyond. As he looked at her, his forehead creased.

“What are you holding back?” she said.

He chuckled. “Matt warned me about you. Very direct. That’s good. I just wanted to say that no one knows about what’s going on back in Providence but me. Matt would like it to stay that way. I’ll be checking in with him each week just for peace of mind. He’ll keep me abreast of what is going on there if anything happens in the meantime. All I want you to do is concentrate on settling in. I see you’ve already met our squad leader, Sam McKinnon.”

“Excuse me?”

“The man you were talking to in the briefing room when I first arrived.”

How could she forget? Summer forced herself to be as nonchalant as she could. “Oh, him.”

Adam chuckled.

“What?”

“I’m not sure he’s used to that kind of brush off from women. He’s got the reputation of being a bit of a charmer with the ladies. Don’t say you didn’t notice.”

Her mouth dropped open. “He only handed me a bottle of water. We didn’t even have a chance to exchange names before you called me in here.”

Adam smiled knowingly.

“I’m sure that will change. Sam likes to know the people he’s working with. It doesn’t surprise me at all he sought you out before I had a chance to introduce you to the crew. He is one of the best Hotshots I’ve worked with. He doesn’t let anything get in the way of doing his job safely.”

She nodded. “Then I guess we’ll get along fine.”

# # #

The sun was setting over the hills when Sam turned onto the lane that led away from the basecamp in Rudolph. It had been a long day. First days always were. And they’d get longer as fire season got busier for all of them.

No matter how many times he’d tried to get a moment to talk to Summer Bigelow, his efforts were thwarted. A new crew member had a question. Adam needed supply orders to make sure they had enough equipment stocked and ready to go before the prescribed burns they were planning got underway.

And every time he’d had a free moment again, Summer Bigelow was nowhere to be found. He’d only learned her name when Adam had announced her as a new dispatcher at the briefing. He’d given one last look around the makeshift building that housed basecamp and then decided to head back home.

He could feel the fatigue climb up his arms and legs, sneaking its way into his back as he climbed into his SUV. Anticipation that a meal would be waiting for him at home made sudden hunger roar in his belly as he drove. The rumbling only grew louder as he focused on the quiet sense of comfort that being home gave him as he drove down familiar streets of his hometown.

A small Honda sitting cock-eyed on the shoulder of the road caught his attention and had him pulling over. His hunger forgotten, he put his SUV into park and killed the engine before climbing out in search of the driver of the car. The trunk of the car was open and a duffel bag and suitcase were scattered on the ground as if whoever had put them there was searching for the right tool.

“Need any help?”

He saw the blond mane of hair fly up quickly, covering the woman’s face. But he knew exactly who it was. She shook her head to clear the strands of hair from her face. The terrified look on her face shocked him until her eyes showed recognition.

“You,” she said. “No, I’ve got it.” Summer grunted as she struggled with the tire wrench.

“You sure about that?”

With one big push, she lost her balance and fell back against the ground, the force pushing her hair away from her face.

Her face turned flush. He wasn’t sure if it was from embarrassment or exertion.

“Well, maybe not. There’s always one stubborn lug nut…”

“And you’re determined to conquer it.”

“Damn right,” she said, chuckling softly. Smooth. Musical. He liked her laugh and the mellow sound of her voice.

“Gotta love an independent woman.”

“What?”

“Nothing.” Sam extended a hand to help her up to her feet.

“I’m all set.” As Summer got to her feet, Sam watched her wipe the back of her jeans with her hand. His eyes were immediately drawn to the shapely curve of her buttocks and he suddenly had a longing to run his hand over the same path her hand had just traveled.

He cleared his throat. “Let me give it a try.”

“I told you. It’s stuck.”

Sam took the tire wrench and placed it into position. He put a little force behind his push. One, two pushes and then the bolt turned.

With a grin of satisfaction, he said, “There you go.”

Her shocked look had him laughing.

“You weakened it. I just finished it off.”

Summer rolled her eyes. “You don’t have to make me feel better. Thanks for the muscle but I can take over from here.”

He stood up and let Summer take his place by the flat tire. She lifted it off and set it aside. Sam took the spare tire she’d propped up against the side of the car and rolled it over to her and said, “We didn’t have a chance to be properly introduced this morning. I’m Sam McKinnon.”

She glanced up at him before picking up the tire and placing it in position on the car. “I know. Adam mentioned it.”

“He did.”

“And you were there when he introduced me to the crew this morning, so I’m guessing you know my name.”

He grinned. “Yes, I do. Summer Bigelow. You’re a long way from your home in Providence, Rhode Island.”

She stopped what she was doing and stared up at him with a deer-in-headlights look that left him cold. “How’d you find that out?”

“You have Rhode Island plates. Providence was just a lucky guess.”

She began turning lug nuts to secure the tire. “Oh.”

“You sure you don’t want me to help you with that?”

“Changing a flat tire was one of the first things my father taught me when I learned to drive. He said I had no business operating a motor vehicle if I couldn’t get myself out of a flat tire.” She tightened the lug nuts with the tire wrench, giving a grunt for added emphasis with each turn. “Damn lug nuts get me every time. Please don’t tell anyone you had to help me. I’ll never be able to show my face amongst the guys.”

He raised his hand as if making an oath. “Your secret is safe with me.”

Sam picked up the flat tire, rolled it to the back of the car and dropped it into the trunk. Once he had that securely in place, he picked up the duffel bag and suitcase.

“Leaving us already?” he asked.

The little Honda slowly floated back to right as Summer released the jack. When she was done, she stood up, wiping her hands on her backside again. Damn, that simple move drew his attention away from his question and had him forgetting what he’d asked.

“No, just moving house,” she said. “I stayed at the base dormitory last night.”

“Which is a Crew Haul that consists of a cot in a tin can trailer. Yes, I know it well.”

She chuckled. “I’m sure you do. But I was thankful for a place to sleep after my long drive. I could have slept on the ground and still slept. I got a call this afternoon about the…an open room at a motel around here so I’m going to stay there. That is if I can find the motel.”

Standing by the car, Sam got a really good look at Summer for the first time. His throat went dry, looking at the blue of her eyes and the soft color of her medium length blond hair against the setting sun behind them. She had her hair pulled back in a messy pony tail as if she’d haphazardly tied it when she’d discovered the flat tire. Her round face and high cheekbones made her look more delicate than he imagined she was. Her pink lips were pursed just a little as she looked up at him, as if waiting for a response.

“The motel is near the center of Rudolph, next to the diner and across the street from the clinic where my brother, Hawk, works as a doctor. If you follow me you can’t miss it.”

Summer smiled up at him and it actually stole his breath away. Good Lord, when was the last time he’d gone weak in the knees over a female smiling at him? But there was something there…a hesitation that didn’t seem quite right.

A few shorter strands fell across her face and she nervously pushed them behind her ears as she spoke. “Thanks, but I’m not sure of the name of the motel. I’m sure I can find it on my own.”

“There’s only one motel in Rudolph. It’s not hard to find. Just a few turns off this road. I’m going that way anyway.”

She seemed to weigh his offer, but her hesitation had him wondering why. “I appreciate that. My GPS started giving me fits somewhere between South Bend and Des Moines and hasn’t recovered since. So I’m not trusting it to find my way around these back roads.”

Sam pointed to his SUV. “I’m stopping in the diner for a bite to eat. Do you want to join me?”

Her mouth dropped open, her lips still pursed in that way she did earlier. He liked it and it made him want to bend his head and brush his mouth on hers just to taste how sweet those lips really were.

“Oh, I don’t think so,” she said. “I need to unpack and go through my notes and—”

He raised an eyebrow. “Are you always this dedicated to your work?

“Yes,” she answered quickly.

With a slow smile, he said, “I like that. But all work and no play is not good.”

“Something tells me you get your share of play time in.”

Sam laughed at that. “Just don’t listen to any rumors. I swear they’re all lies. I will have lots of distraction now that I’m home, though.”

“Yeah. Okay, well it was nice to formally meet you, Sam McKinnon. I’m sure we’ll see lots of each other.”

His fingers curled around hers as her hand slipped perfectly into his. “I’m counting on it.”

Sam stared at her wordlessly for a long moment before realizing that she was standing by the driver’s side, door ajar with one foot inside and the other on the road.

“We should get off the side of the road like this,” she said, the words rolling off her tongue quickly.

“Right.”

A moment later, Sam was left watching Summer Bigelow from his rear view mirror. There was a cautiousness about her that she tried to hide. But the fear in her eyes as she popped her head up from behind the car, along with the relief in recognizing him had Sam wondering what was really scaring her.

The few minutes that he’d spent with Summer had told him two things. She was not here because she’d planned to be here. And the expression that had come over her when he’d offered to bring her to the motel was enough proof for him that she afraid of something or someone.

As he drove, Sam wondered just what would make a woman like Summer that frightened. But what concerned him most was that he didn’t just want to know what demons she feared enough to be that scared when she’d seen him. He suddenly wondered why he seemed to be so curious about the woman at all.

# # #

“You want me to spend the entire day with Samuel McKinnon?” Summer asked before she could stop herself.

“You have a problem with that?” Adam asked, clearly surprised.

“No, of course not,” Summer replied, forcing her expression to remain impassive even as she felt heat rising in her cheeks. Of course she had a problem with that. After yesterday’s embarrassing fiasco, she’d done nothing but dream up ways to avoid the sinfully handsome fireman so as not to relive yesterday’s humiliation.