Page 1 of A Gift for her Festive Firefighter

Chapter 1

CADE

Cade stared ahead impatiently as he filled the tank on his old truck, watching the numbers flip with tiny little clicks on the gas station pump that was older than him. There were two stations in town, and honestly, he preferred this one because it felt more personal. You had to go in and pay with a card or cash instead of just swiping it at the pump. It gave him a chance to grab a cherry ice, a bag of Cheetos, and a stick of beef jerky – his ‘go-to’ brunch on his days off.

If chemicals, food coloring, and preservatives were good for you, Cade would be immortal. Turns out, it was the exact opposite, and he was waiting on the results from another weird looking mole being removed from his arm – only to hear his phone ring. Grimacing that he was standing at the gas pump, he answered it regardless.

“Tell me it’s nothing…” he blurted out, not bothering with the greeting or small talk. Yeah, he was starting to get a little nervous and buying stock in sunscreen now like a big ol’ pasty dork you see on the beach carrying an umbrella with a white streak on his nose.

Once was a surprise.

Twice was concerning.

Three times on his arm – yes – Karma fully had his attention now. No more ‘baking in the sun’ while on duty or relaxing in a plastic pool on the deck of his apartment balcony. Nope. He always had a baseball cap on his head, wore long sleeves shirts over his T-shirts no matter the temperature outside, and should have stock in Coppertone sunblock now.

“Well, okay – if you say so. It’s nothing.”

That voice.

That was not the words of the nurse at the doctor’s office – and he recognized the smart-alecky voice that had ordered him about several times on the jobsite, had saved his life more than once, and had been the person he had to give his notice to a few months ago.

Reese Carpenter.

The man had been his engineer, then his captain, and not a few months into becoming the fire chief. When a spot opened up here in Sweet Bloom that Cade could not pass up – and was currently getting his butt handed to him daily. Reese was the man he had to turn in his resignation to… and that had been harder than he ever imagined.

“Heyyy, Reese. How are you doing, brother?”

“Don’t gimme that – are you coming home yet?” the older man chuckled knowingly, and Cade flinched. The temptation to return to Ember Creek with his tail between his legs was awfully appealing at this point because he was really struggling here.

“Nawwww,” Cade drawled, trying to sound tough and arrogant. “Why would I come back to Ember Creek when all I have there is your ugly mug to boss me around?”

“Then nothing’s changed – has it?”

“Nope,” he laughed, listening to the fire chief and wondering what was going on. “Now, while I know you miss me hanging around all the time and being your wingman at the bars…”

“Oh, you know me too well – yup. That’s me. Bar-hopping like a wild man every weekend,” Reese joked, causing both men to laugh easily. Cade knew the other guy never went out with the guys. He was very down-to-earth and exceedingly private.

“Still crushing on your girl, Eileen?”

“Hush. Let’s talk about you.”

“You are? Seriously? When are you going to ask her out?”

“I did – and she said ‘no.’ Now we are talking about you, remember?”

“What about me?”

“Well, you answered the phone wanting to hear it was ‘nothing,’ so I’m assuming it’s actually something – or someone?”

“Just another stupid mole removed by the doctor. Turns out that if it's black and heart-shaped, it’s a bad thing.”

“At least you got it looked at…”

“True. Now I can worry about the big ‘C’ taking me out long before a fire does – which doesn’t seem too far off sometimes,” Cade muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

“What’s going on, Cade?” Reese began gently. “Wanna talk?”

Cade hesitated, feeling like a fool. One of the reasons he’d left was Reese moved Chase Marks up into the position of captain on the truck instead of him. While he loved Reese like a brother and the other firefighter would do a great job, it stung that someone else got the position he had his eyes on. When the call came from Sweet Bloom, Cade jumped into the deep end and was still trying to figure out how to swim.

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