Page 16 of Some Cowboys Brave the Flames

Charlie frowned at his statement.

“What?” he demanded with a laugh. “Is it bad that I want to be good at my job?”

“Of course not.”

“Then what’s that look for?”

This time she stopped to face him. “You know I don’t like what you do for a living.”

He chuckled. “Yes. You’ve made that very clear.”

“So forgive me if I don’t fawn all over you when you tell me you’re here so you can keep the job I loathe.”

“Why do you hate it so much?” He couldn’t help asking her. The disappointment she had in him because of his job more than confused him. It occasionally made him wonder if she might share some of the feelings he had for her.

Charlie groaned with frustration. “Do I have to have another reason besides the fact that you could get hurt—or worse? What if one day you don’t come home?”

His lips quirked upward. “So you’re saying you’re worried about me.”

“No—” she stammered far too quickly. “I’m saying that my brothers like having you around.”

“What about you?”

She ignored the question, though her face started filling with that delightful pink again. “And speaking of my brothers, I wouldn’t want any of them to be smoke jumpers either.”

He lifted his chin, folding his arms once more. “Okay. You think it’s dangerous and no one should do it. That’s fair. Now, tell me, if no one is doing that job, then what happens to the people whose homes are being burned to the ground? Who’s going to help them when they need it most?”

Charlie didn’t answer.

“You shouldn’t feel that way about a job that saves lives. Someone has to do it. Why not let it be someone like me who’s actually good at what I do?”

She huffed out a frustrated breath. “I don’t expect you to get it.” With that, she stormed away again.

Sheesh. Today, she was in a mood. He needed to come up with something else to talk about if he wanted to ensure they finished their walk.

This time when he caught up to her, he kept jogging—mostly in place—while she continued walking. “Okay, change of subject. What were you reading?”

Her eyes flitted up to meet his. “Why do you want to know?”

He fought the widening of his smile. He already knew she had an affinity for romance. She’d kept the cover well hidden from his view, but if he were to make a wager, he would guess it was that genre. Ash shrugged. “Maybe I need some reading material for when I’m on call at the station.”

Charlie rolled her eyes. “Somehow I don’t think we’ll share the same interest in books.”

“Why not?”

She gave him one more quick baffled look. “Do youlikeromance novels?”

“What are we talking?” Ash mused. “Romantasy? Western Romance? Christian Romance? Romantic Suspense? Dark?—”

“Okay, okay, I get it,” she said, throwing her hand up for him to stop. He didn’t miss the small smile that practically tore at her lips—a smile she hid behind a fake yawn. “If you must know, I was reading a cowboy romance.”

At the very moment he started laughing, she snapped, “Don’t laugh!” She stopped walking and her arms folded tightly across her stomach.

He shook his head, wiping his brow with his forearm. “I’m sorry. Butcowboyromance? Youlivewith a bunch of cowboys. You can’t be serious.”

“Oh? And what would you suggest I read?Heroromances?”

Ash noted the way her eyes swept over him in an obvious attempt to make him uncomfortable. So he trailed his tongue along his lower lip before rolling them into each other just to toy with her. As expected, Charlie flushed. He chuckled. “Tell me about this cowboy romance. Anyone we know?”

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