Page 2 of Burning Hearts

And not just the fires.

This one might be fifteen acres now, but by tonight it would spread to a whole lot more. So they’d parachute down and cut a line. Starve it of fuel. Make the world a little bit safer. One battle at a time. One jump at a time.

One breath at a time.

His firefighting mentor’s voice echoed in his ears.

Skye said, “What did the sheriff tell you?”

Logan turned from the window and sat, weighed down by more than his gear. “Hasn’t seen Tristan, hasn’t spoken to Jamie. If she really is looking for her brother, Jamie could be who-knows-where right now.”

“But someone saw her at the Midnight Sun Saloon a week ago.”

He shrugged. “Maybe they were mistaken.”

Or he’d missed her.

Skye patted his shoulder. “Want me to talk to Rio?”

Her husband, the FBI agent? “Pretty sure he has better things to do than look for a woman who doesn’t want me to find her.”

Jade made her way down the aisle of the plane, cutting off whatever Skye was about to say. “Turning final, sixteen hundred feet!”

Every smokejumper on the plane yelled back, “Copy that.”

Logan glanced at Skye, who grinned at him. He wanted to roll his eyes, but she knew he loved this as much as she did. Lived for it.

They lined up at the door.

Vince and Tori. Cadee and Orion. Logan and Skye lined up behind them. Then JoJo and Jade. Partners. Teammates.

Who knew what this summer season would bring? If he found Jamie, great. He’d do what he’d come to Alaska to do and tell her how he felt—how he’d always felt. If not, he still planned to jump headlong into every fire that came at them with the reassurance this was what God had put him on this earth to do.

Their spotter, Mark, came to the door, where hot wind rushed in to beat at their jumpsuits. He pushed out two crates. Supply drops. Tools. Gear. Medical supplies just in case. Not much, but enough it might be the difference between life and death if something happened out here in this forbidding landscape.

Logan adjusted his straps and checked the rest of his gear. “‘The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you.’”

Skye said, “‘He will never leave you nor forsake you.’”

Vince grunted, but the rest of them knew the drill by now. This was who Logan was these days.

Orion was the one who said, “‘Do not be afraid.’”

Logan finished the words from Deuteronomy by saying, “‘Do not be discouraged.’” Voicing it sent an unwelcome note ringing in his heart. He hadn’t found Jamie yet.I don’t want to be discouraged.

But the fact was, he’d come to Alaska for a very particular reason—and it wasn’t to get up close and personal with the local wildlife. Or to face any of the fights they had in Montana, running from bad guys who wanted a war between the US and Russia. Searching for the truth hidden in the Kootenai National Forest.

This was about a girl, of course.

The one that got away—because he’d left her. Broken it off. Walked away.

One in a line of mistakes where Jamie was concerned. He was here to get her back. Or to keep her safe, if she really was traipsing all over Copper Mountain trying to find her brother.

Logan pushed all those frustrating thoughts away. If he didn’t focus up, he was going to hit the ground and become a permanent part of Alaska.

Jade said, “Ready?”

Logan nodded.

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