Page 9 of Single Mom for the Firemen

“Seems like you’ve got a busy day ahead,” I remark to her, taking my cue to leave. “I’ll catch up with you some other time, huh?”

“Sure,” she replies, flashing me a grin. “I’ll see you around.”

And with that, I head back to the trail, and make my way toward our cabin once more—even if all I can focus on is the warmth of her presence just a few inches from mine, and that aching need to pick up right where I left off with my womanizing ways.

4

VANESSA

Pacing back and forth,I wait for Lara to pick up the phone. It feels like a lifetime since I last heard her voice. The two of us have worked together for so long, seeing each other day in and day out at the office, that not speaking to her for nearly a week seems like an eternity.

She snatches up the phone after a few rings, and she sounds breathless as she greets me.

“Van, hey. Is everything okay? Anything going on? You and Callie?—?”

“We’re fine,” I assure her with a slight laugh. “But I appreciate your concern, I really do. We’re settling in here great. The place is gorgeous. I knew your family was rich, Lara, but I didn’t think it was this kind of rich…”

“Oh, come on,” she laughs. “It’s not that much.”

“It really is,” I reply. “And it’s so kind of you to give it to us, really. We’re super grateful.”

“It’s the least I can do,” she murmurs. “Given that a story I published got you into this mess in the first place…”

She falls silent for a long moment, and I can practically sense the gears in her head turning. “So what are you calling about?” she finally asks.

I might have taken that as an insult from anyone else, being so forward, but I know how busy Lara is. She’s not being rude—we both know how crazy life can be in the world of journalism, and she’s as clear as I am that I wouldn’t have phoned her unless there was something I needed to speak about.

And there is. I flick my tongue over my lips and pause for a moment before I hit her with it, fiddling with my coffee cup perched on the breakfast bar to build my courage.

“I have a story I want to write.”

She falls silent, as though sure she must have heard me wrong.

“I’m sorry, did you just say…?”

“I have a story, Lara. And I think it’s a good one.”

She lets out a long sigh, a rush of static down the line.

“You’re meant to be lying low,” she reminds me, but I can hear the hint of a smile in her voice. She might not want to admit it, but she’s intrigued to hear what I have brewing. “You don’t need to be thinking about work right now…”

“I can’t just turn it off,” I protest. “Not when a damn good story falls into my lap, especially…”

“Okay, go ahead,” she tells me, and I can hear the familiar creak of the chair in her office as she leans back into it. “What have you got for me?”

“So,” I begin. “I met these guys who live in the forest not too far from your cabin—three brothers, they’re volunteer firefighters who take care of the place during the summer. But get this—they used to be Navy SEALs.”

“What, all three of them?”

“As far as I can tell.”

“Sounds like you’ve been doing your research.”

“Of course I have,” I reply, and I flick my tongue over my lips, preparing to give her the news. “I want to write a story on them.”

She falls silent.

“You want to write a story on these guys?” She sighs. I know it’s not what she expected, but she could sound a little more enthusiastic about the offer…

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