Page 69 of Fireline

A chance to finally make her peace with the flames.

But…she didn’t want it.

All she wanted was…Booth. The man who’d shown her that love conquered all. That there was more to life than hiding her heart and praying she’d never get hurt. Because when the pain came, God would always be there to give her the peace she’d so desperately sought all these years.

“Tucker, wait—” Her voice hitched.

Tucker cocked his head, eyebrows raised. The others stared.

Nova swallowed, nerves and epiphany battling as she met Tucker’s gaze. “I appreciate the opportunity. It’s no surprise to anyone that it’s been my goal, my dream. But I think someone else should be crew chief. I…I don’t want the job.”

Tucker blinked. Cleared his throat. “Nova, I…um…I wasn’t going to name you.” He rubbed his neck, avoiding her gaze now. “I, uh, I actually already appointed someone else crew chief earlier.”

“Oh.” Nova couldn’t restrain a nervous laugh. “Wait, you said she was experienced.”

Everyone swiveled to look at JoJo, whose eyes were giant round question marks. “Uh-uh. Not me.”

Nova looked at Tucker. “You mean there’s another female candidate besides us?”

At that moment, the hangar door swung open, and a tall woman with a single dark-blonde braid down her back strode in, looking cool and collected in her incident command uniform. Her serious brown eyes scanned the room.

“Everyone,” Tucker said, “meet Jade Ransom, your new crew chief.”

Booth leaned against the corrugated metal of the temporary fire center, watching the sunset bathe Nova in golden light. The lingering rays danced across her red curls, setting them alight like glowing embers. All around them, cicadas trilled to life.

After the chaos of recent days, this peaceful stillness felt fragile. A momentary respite before the winds shifted again.

Nova adjusted her stance and settled the crutch pads under her arms. “So…that didn’t go how I expected.”

“Tell me about it.” He kept his tone casual, giving her an easy out from whatever shadowed her features. “Everything okay?”

For a long moment, Nova simply studied him. Behind those deep green pools, something weighed on her. “You know, I was serious when I told Tucker I didn’t want the job.”

Booth blinked. “Words I never thought you’d utter. I thought this was your dream. To rise up the ranks.”

“Was. It was my dream.” The wind blew her hair across her face. She gathered it and tucked it behind her ear. “Something shifted in there. All at once I realized it’s not what I want.”

“So, no hard feelings about…what’s her name?”

“Jade. And no. She’s a fantastic smokejumper and an excellent leader. There’s no one, man or woman, better suited for that role right now. I meant what I said. I’m not seeking advancement.”

His eyebrows rose. All this time he’d assumed her drive to lead mirrored his own former ambitions. That familiar fire burning inside, demanding they scorch every obstacle to reach the summit of their careers.

“Well, if you’re happy, then I’m happy.” He couldn’t help needling her a bit though. “What made the mighty Wildfire Girl change her mind about leading the charge?”

Nova’s shoulders squared and she straightened on her crutches. He rubbed the back of his neck, hoping he hadn’t overstepped some invisible line with her. He’d trod so carefully around the firm boundaries laid since their first meeting, and he didn’t want to trigger anything that would make her erect those forbidding walls again.

“I realized there’s more to life than just fighting wildland fire.” Color bloomed in her cheeks. “I want to make a life…with you. That is…if your life has room for me in it.”

Booth looked up, meeting Nova’s steady gaze and slight smile. The sight sent his pulse hammering as her meaning crystallized.

The words, so simple yet hugely loaded, reverberated through his chest like gunfire. Heat rushed his face, and his jaw went slack.

Then Nova looked down. “Forget it, that was stupid?—”

Booth crossed to her in two strides and captured her mouth with his.

She fisted one hand in his shirt. His hand cupped her cheek and traced the soft line of her jaw with his thumb. The touch sent a jolt through him.

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