Firefly Mountain (3 page)

“Yes? He said
yes
?” Gini clapped her hands then grabbed on to Haddy’s arms. The two of them square-danced back to Gini’s office. Giggles echoed off the high ceilings and wide-planked wood floors.

“I didn’t think he would go for the idea,” Haddy said.

“Me neither. Did you see the way his brows furrowed down to his nose when I suggested the notion?” Gini chuckled as she pictured the chief’s face.

“I think it’s the cause that got to him. He’s got three dogs and four cats. Says they belong to his kids, but I’ve seen him in town walking the dogs. They’re as much his family as his wife and kids are. Maybe more so.” Haddy sunk into the leather reading chair across from Gini’s desk.

“A calendar of hunky firefighters is the perfect way to raise money for the Burnam Animal Shelter. It’s going to stir things up in this sleepy town.” Gini patted herself on the back and bowed as if in front of a crowd.

“You are a genius,” Haddy said. “I kneel at your feet. Figuratively, of course. This skirt is new, and I’m not about to ruin it worshipping your brilliance.”

Gini grabbed a sheet of paper off her desk, crumpled it, and tossed it at Haddy.

“I bet you’ll want to be involved in every aspect of this assignment though, won’t you?” Gini pointed an index finger at Haddy.

“Hell, yeah. If you think I’d miss a chance to put sexy firefighters in seductive poses while you take longer than necessary to photograph them, you, my friend, are sadly mistaken.”

“Okay, we need to plan the shoots so no one is inconvenienced, and Chief Warner doesn’t regret his decision.”

Haddy grabbed a notebook off the end of Gini’s desk. Pen in hand, she wrote down everything Gini said. When they were done, they had a solid course of action mapped out.

“I’ll go by the station tomorrow and talk to the chief,” Gini said. “I’d like to have the fighters come to my farm for the photo shoot. Between you and me we’ve got plenty of animals so we can play up the firefighters-are-compassionate-to-animals angle.”

“My bird, dogs, and bunnies would love the chance to pose with some hunks,” Haddy said. “Come to think of it,
I’d
love the chance to pose with some hunks. Maybe we can take a few extra shots, ones that aren’t necessarily calendar appropriate?” Haddy licked her lips.

“You and my brother think so much alike.” Gini let out a long breath. If it wasn’t Jonah making a lewd but funny comment, it was Haddy.

“Your brother is an outstanding guy,” Haddy said. “Deliciously outstanding.”

“When are you going to come out and say you want him?” Gini laughed at the way Haddy’s mouth dropped open. “You know you do. I think you two would make—”

“Was that the door?” Haddy popped up from her seat and scurried out of the office.

Left alone, Gini shook her head. Though teasing Haddy was fun, who was she to tell someone else how to handle their love life? She didn’t know the first thing about relationships. She had her farm and her pictures. That’s all she needed.

That’s all she could have.

“Here comes trouble.” Jonah angled his chin to the station’s front doors where a woman—perhaps an angel—with long, wavy hair the same color as Jonah’s entered.

Patrick nearly dropped the hose he was inspecting for splits. He fumbled around, got tangled, then relaxed long enough to set the hose down without looking like an idiot. He hoped.

The woman’s smile lit up the station, and her legs, impossibly long and shapely, balanced on a pair of sandals that crisscrossed leather straps over manicured feet. The slim-fitting tank dress she wore made her eyes sparkle a deep shade of blue. A simple necklace of small white seashells gave her a carefree summer look. Patrick could almost smell the ocean as he looked at her.

Stop looking
. He forced his attention back to the hose at his feet.

“Hey, sis,” Jonah said. “Looking good.”

Patrick glanced over in time to see Jonah spin this goddess around in a circle. When she laughed, his heart pounded in his chest. The dimples gracing the smooth skin of her cheeks captivated him. He actually took a step away from the hose and closer to her before he caught himself.

What’s wrong with you?
Patrick turned toward the equipment storage room. He’d get some supplies and continue with his task. He’d focus.

“Patrick, wait up,” Jonah called.

Patrick swallowed, his throat desert dry, and turned around. A crowd of fighters had come to surround the woman now. Patrick’s jaw tightened as the men laughed with her. Some of them even touched her, and she smiled along with them, teased, flirted.

And then her eyes connected with his, and she nudged playfully past the wall of fighters to come to him.

Patrick flicked his gaze to Jonah, who stood right in front of him now.

“Gini, come here,” Jonah said. When she sidled up next to Jonah, he slung an arm around her shoulders and ruffled her hair.

What did that hair feel like? Silk probably.
Patrick stuffed his hands in his pockets afraid he’d try to touch the golden waves.

“Knock it off, Jonah.” Her voice was music, perfectly suited to that jolly expression on her flawless face. She edged Jonah away with her hip.

“Patrick Barre, this is my older sister, Gini Claremont.” Jonah barely sidestepped the punch Gini launched into his shoulder.

“I told you to quit calling me your ‘older’ sister,” she said. “It’s not necessary. We’re only two years apart.” She turned that smiling face to Patrick and held out a slender hand. “Nice to meet you, Patrick. You sure you want to join this band of uncivilized brutes?”

Patrick stared at that outstretched hand, let his gaze travel up that tanned forearm to the subtly sculpted bicep and finally, to the bare shoulder where curls of sun-streaked hair feathered over her soft skin. It had to be soft. It just had to be.

Gini’s wiggling fingers snapped Patrick out of his dream. He took her hand and confirmed what he’d been thinking. She was an angel. No doubt about it. When her fingers closed around his hand and she shook lightly, Patrick had a wild notion to stop time and hold her hand forever. Stupid notion because now he wanted to do so much more than hold her hand. That’s why he dropped her hand and took three steps back to put some distance between his hormones and her perfection.

Hormones. That’s what it was. He’d been alone for a long time, but he was still a man with needs. She was a beautiful woman. Only natural he’d be attracted, stirred up, by the sight of her. It would pass.

“Nice to meet you too.” Patrick jammed his hands back into his pockets, but leaned against the wall beside him. Casual. He could be casual.

“Patrick’s a fire investigator,” Jonah told Gini. “Got an amazing dog around here somewhere too.” Jonah scanned the vehicle bay looking for Midas.

Patrick pointed a finger under the stairs where Midas was curled up. As if knowing people were talking about him, the dog’s head popped up. He rose to all fours and scuttled out from his sleeping spot. Once Midas was in full view, Gini let out a breathy sigh.

“He’s absolutely gorgeous.” Her eyes flashed to Patrick for a moment, then she walked over to Midas. She gracefully bent, offering a bonus view of one toned thigh, and cupped the dog’s muzzle in her hand. After setting her oversized purse down, she let both hands rub Midas from ears to tail. The dog flopped down onto his back and made little satisfied doggy noises as Gini scratched his belly.

Patrick watched, wishing she’d give him some attention like that. Jonah elbowing him in the gut snapped him out of his fantasy.

“Knew that dog could rake in the ladies. What did I tell you?” Jonah went to join his sister in spoiling Midas.

Gini let Jonah take over and rose to her feet. As she walked back to Patrick, he watched her eyes comb down the length of him. What did she see? What would she think of what she couldn’t see?

“You just move here?” Gini asked.

Patrick nodded, watched her chew on her bottom lip. If she thought she was going to get to know him, she was wrong. He couldn’t allow it. She wouldn’t like what she got to know anyway.

“From where?” Her hands tightened on the strap of her purse.

“Rhode Island.”

Her fingers fascinated him. Though they were clean and her nails obviously cared for, her hands also looked used as if they’d seen some hard work. His own hands were a total disaster. Calloused and scarred—not as bad as other parts of him, of course—his hands had been splintered, sliced, pricked, skinned, and once, broken from pinkie fingertip to wrist. He flexed his left hand thinking about that incident.

“I went to school in Rhode Island. RISD, Rhode Island School of Design,” she said. “Master of Fine Arts in Photography.” She dug around in that mammoth purse and extracted a complicated camera.

Every muscle in Patrick’s body tensed at the sight of that camera. He hated, no, loathed pictures. He always looked like a miserable prick in photographs. Something about having that lens zoom in on him made him think it could see through his clothes. To what was hidden underneath them. To what he tried so hard to forget.

“Ah, the more attractive Claremont.” Chief Warner broke the silence Gini’s camera had caused.

“Hey,” Jonah said. “I heard that.”

“Sorry, kid, but it’s true. Your parents definitely gave all the beauty to this one. Don’t you think so, Barre?” Chief Warner asked.

The corner of Gini’s mouth curled up as she waited for Patrick’s response. He was in a sticky spot, and she knew it.

“Indeed.” He hoped that was a safe answer. Judging by the fact that the dimple deepened in Gini’s cheek, Patrick assumed she approved of his response.

“Does that make me the smart one?” Jonah asked.

“No, it makes you the ugly one.” Gini stuck her tongue out at her brother and sent the chief into a fit of laughter. She let Chief Warner lead the way to his office.

As the door closed, Patrick let out the breath he’d been holding. The breath that was keeping him from going to pieces.

“My mother wouldn’t say I was the ugly one.” Jonah cuffed Patrick on the shoulder and went back to his duties.

Patrick studied Jonah for a moment. Jonah and Gini had no idea what ugly looked like. He could show them. He wouldn’t, but he could.

****

Inside Chief Warner’s office, Gini unrolled her plan of attack on the calendar idea. The chief did a great deal of nodding and smiling. Encouraged, Gini filled in all the details hoping she and Haddy hadn’t left out anything important.

“So I can photo the fighters in rounds of two so I’m not leaving you understaffed at any given time,” she said.

“Sounds okay to me.” Chief Warner leaned back in his chair. “Your daddy came to see me the other day.”

Gini’s shoulders tensed. “He did?”

The chief nodded. “Told me how important the animal shelter is to you. I mean, I knew you volunteered there. Heck, everybody knows that about you. But, I didn’t know pet therapy is what helped you with your…your, ah…you know, situation.”

Gini hated that the chief knew about her situation. She hadn’t wanted to tell him, but once her daddy retired as chief he insisted they sit the new chief down and explain it all to him. It was the safe, responsible thing to do, her daddy had said. And he’d been right. Damn him, he was right. Didn’t make sitting there across from the chief any less uncomfortable though. The way he was looking at her with a mix of sympathy, curiosity, and a touch of fear had her feeling like a monster.

She’d kept it in check though. Hadn’t had an incident in nearly ten years. She kept things light and fun. Didn’t get involved with people who pissed her off. Meditated, practiced yoga, gardened, worked with the animals at the shelter and on her farm. All of that kept her balanced, peaceful. She loved her work, her clients, her assignments. Never had an angry thought at the studio or behind her camera lens.

Still, the possibility was there. Always lurking beneath her calm, centered exterior. The chance of her temper rising and…

Gini shook her head to chase away the negative vibes. She cleared her throat and said, “I’d do anything to help out the shelter. They’ve been good to me over there. Giving me my own keys, letting me work and visit there whenever I want. I think this calendar will pull in a lot of money. Money that can go into expanding the shelter, adding more full-time vets and a clinic perhaps.”

“A good cause, Gini. A real good cause. I’m sure all the men will be willing volunteers, but I haven’t told them yet. Figure they’d be more likely to say yes to a sexy little thing like you than an old geezer like me.”

Gini let the “sexy little thing” comment go. After all, hadn’t she worn this dress—one she knew made her eyes electric—to be more persuasive? To get the men in a generous sort of mood? A questionable tactic, but Haddy had talked her into using it. It had already worked its magic when she’d come into the station. The compliments had flown around the vehicle bay like moths to a bright light.

Smirking, Gini stood. “I hope they all agree. You’ve only got twelve of them, and I need all twelve to make the calendar.” She paused and sent the chief a grin. “Unless you want to pose.”

“My posing days are over, sweetie.” He patted his generous stomach. “Since I’ve been behind this desk, I’ve let the years catch up with me.”

She shook hands with the chief, thanked him, and stepped back into the vehicle bay. Chief Warner was right behind her. He whistled loudly, causing her to wince and cover her ear.

“Gather around, men. Miss Gini here has a favor to ask all of you.”

Jonah was the first to stand in front of her. He winked encouragingly. Gini had already discussed the calendar with him over coffee in her kitchen this morning. Of course he was all for the opportunity to get shirtless and be photographed. She knew he wouldn’t have any objections. He’d offered several posing options as he fixed her barn door, some of them involving exposing a tease of butt crack. The two of them had laughed until tears ran down their cheeks.

Gini waited until all the fighters were in range. She scanned the assembly and noticed the new fighter, Patrick, at the back of the crowd, hands in his pockets again. She judged he had to be over six feet tall, and every inch appeared muscled and fit. His dark hair and beard were neatly trimmed, his navy uniform pants and polo shirt spotless. Something in the broody hazel eyes told her there was more than a superhero firefighter there.