Page 63 of The Firefighter's Fate

And then I see something. Over Connor’s shoulder. A banner for a woodcutting competition.

“Look at that,” I whisper. “A woodcutting competition. I bet you like to do that.”

He turns to glance at the banner.

“Yeah. Maybe.”

“You should enter it, Connor.”

His head sharply turns back to me.

“No way, Ember. I won’t win.”

“Do it,” I say.

“No, I’ll embarrass myself. I’ll lose miserably.”

I stare him down.

“Do it, Connor. I’d like to see you try. For me.”

30

EMBER

My pestering works - Connor enters the woodcutting competition. And, despite what he says, he doesn’t end up embarrassing himself.

Quite the opposite, in fact.

He wins it.

And he wins it so freaking well.

God, it is fun watching him do his thing. I sit on the bleachers with all the other women and watch, enrapt, as the competing men take off their shirts and swing their axes. We’re all watching for educational purposes, of course.

And Connor is the most stunning of them all, I have to say.

He rips off his shirt, displaying his impossible chest to the world. His firm pecs. His toned muscles. Those tattoos along those biceps.

All of it.

Damn.

He looks slightly self-conscious with his shirt off in front of all these staring people as he readies himself to cut some wood. It’s cute how nervous he is, but soon he is in his physical element once he has a giant axe in his hands.

The sound of woodcutting fills the air as I continuously gawp at the man’s topless torso.

Whack!

Whack!

Whack!

Connor clearly wins ahead of all the other men. He goes so fast with his swinging… his muscles on full display working their magic as he grinds down the wood. It turns out his physique is not just for show – but he really is a powerful, strong man. And he is perfectly capable with any tool placed in his big hands. It’s evidently not the first time he’s had to cut wood.

And, for his award for winning, he is given another plush doll. This one is a lion. It’s as big as the panda.

And he immediately hands it over to me.

---