Controlled Burn (23 page)
Authors: Shannon Stacey
There would be no tricking the man into revealing something that would get Tina off her back.
“You know,” she said, still holding half her cheeseburger, “I
really
want to enjoy this meal more, and I can’t with this hanging over my head. What’s it going to take?”
“I gave it some
thought before I came, and I think you should come with me.”
“Where?”
“To where I’m going.”
Keri set the cheeseburger on the plate. “For two weeks?”
The length of time hardly mattered, since she couldn’t return to California without the interview anyway. But she’d like an idea of what she was signing up for.
“Whether you’re there for two weeks or not is up to you. For
each full day you stick it out with the Kowalskis, you get to ask me one question.”
Keri, unlike Joe, did have a poker face and she made sure it was in place while she turned his words over in her head. “When you say the Kowalskis, you mean...”
“The entire family.” The dimples were about as pronounced as she’d ever seen them. “Every one of them.”
Her first thought was
oh shit
. Her
second, to wonder if
People
was hiring.
Joe reached into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out a folded sheet of spiral notebook paper. “Here’s a list of things you’ll need. I jotted it down in the parking lot.”
Keri unfolded the paper and read the list twice, trying to get a sense of what she was in for.
BRING: Bug spray; jeans; T-shirts; several sweatshirts, at least one
with a hood; one flannel shirt (mandatory); pajamas (optional); underwear (also optional); bathing suit (preferably skimpy); more bug spray; sneakers; waterproof boots; good socks; sunscreen; two rolls of quarters.
DO NOT BRING: cell phone; Blackberry; laptop; camera, either still or video; alarm clock; voice recorder; any other kind of electronic anything.
She had no clue what it meant,
other than Joe wanting her half-naked and unable to text for help.
Copyright © 2010 by Shannon Stacey
Author Note
The processes and organizational structures of large city fire departments are incredibly complex, and I took minor creative liberties in order to maintain readability.
To first responders everywhere, thank you.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to Angela James and Carina Press for your constant support.
Also available from Shannon Stacey
and Carina Press
THE KOWALSKI
Series from Shannon Stacey
Suggested reading order
Also available from Shannon Stacey and Harlequin
ALONE WITH YOU
And stay tuned for
FULLY IGNITED
, the next book in the BOSTON FIRE Series from Shannon Stacey, coming soon
About the Author
New York Times
and
USA TODAY
bestselling
author Shannon Stacey lives with her husband and two sons in New England, where
her two favorite activities are writing stories of happily-ever-after and
driving her UTV through the mud. You can contact Shannon through her website,
shannonstacey.com
, where she maintains an almost daily blog, or visit
her on
Twitter,
twitter.com/shannonstacey
, and her Facebook page,
facebook.com/shannonstacey.authorpage
, or email her at
[email protected]
. To find out about other books by Shannon
Stacey or to be alerted to new releases, sign up for her monthly newsletter here
or at
bit.ly/shannonstaceynewsletter
.
Tough. Dedicated.
Meet the men of
BOSTON FIRE
,
book one
“This is the perfect blend of sweet and sexy for those who
love a bit of firefighter action!”
—
Heroes & Heartbreakers
Lydia Kincaid left Boston to get away from the firefighting
community—but family is number one and her father needs her help running the pub
he bought when he retired. Soon, Lydia finds it hard to
resist the familiar
comfort and routine, and even harder to resist her brother’s handsome friend
Aidan.
Aidan Hunt is a firefighter because of the Kincaid family.
He’s had the hots for Lydia for years, but if ever a woman was off-limits to
him, it’s her. She’s his mentor’s daughter. His best friend’s sister. The
ex-wife of a fellow firefighter. But his plan to play
it cool fails and soon he
and Lydia have crossed a line they can’t uncross...
The addictive
BOSTON FIRE
series
continues with
FULLY IGNITED
(March 2016).
Connect with us for info on our new releases, access to
exclusive offers and much more!
Visit
CarinaPress.com
We like you—why not like us on Facebook:
Facebook.com/CarinaPress
Follow us on Twitter:
Twitter.com/CarinaPress
If you love Shannon Stacey’s happy-ever-afters, you won’t
want to miss
A FIGHTING CHANCE!
All work and no play makes Adeline Kendrick a dull girl, so
when she heads to a casino resort for a friend’s bachelorette weekend, she’s
ready to have a good time. Until she runs into Brendan Quinn, professional
fighter and the one who got away—the one her family
drove
away—and
things take a turn for the interesting.
Running into his ex won’t
shake Brendan. Even if it brings up
the old pain of loving her when she was only slumming. Even if she looks
really
good. In fact, what better way to get over the past than to
take advantage of the still-sizzling chemistry running hot between them? He’s
there to win an MMA fight, but he won’t say no to a little physical relief of a
different kind.
But when the weekend
is over, Adeline isn’t ready to give up
on her second chance that easily. Brendan is still the one for her, no matter
what her family thinks. Now, if only she can convince him of that...
Connect with us for info on our new releases, access to
exclusive offers and much more!
Visit
CarinaPress.com
We like you—why not like us on Facebook:
Facebook.com/CarinaPress
Follow us on Twitter:
Twitter.com/CarinaPress
THE KOWALSKIS series by
New York
Times
bestselling author Shannon Stacey
THE KOWALSKIS
, book
one
THE KOWALSKIS, book two
THE KOWALSKIS, book three
THE KOWALSKIS, book four
THE KOWALSKIS, book five
THE KOWALSKIS, book six
THE KOWALSKIS, book seven
THE KOWALSKIS, book eight
THE KOWALSKIS, book nine
Fall in love with the
New York Times
bestselling
series from Shannon Stacey, available now at
CarinaPress.com
and wherever ebooks
are sold.
