Page 25 of Burning Hearts

They passed the wood sign that said “Midnight Sun Wildland Firefighter Base.”

Finding a parking space took him a couple of laps around the lot, but he managed to squeeze in beside Mack’s vintage motorcycle and the lifted truck covered in dirt that belonged to Mitch.

“Come on, I’ll show you to the office and introduce you to Commander Newman.” Logan shut his door and reached in the back for his smokejumper gear.Ouch.“Actually, I probably need to get checked out by the medic.”

“Afterward, will you show me around?”

Logan nodded. “Of course.” He figured he would need the fresh air after Tucker tore him a new one for getting involved with local gunmen.

She switched out some things between her pack and her duffel and swung the pack over her shoulder. “Need help carrying anything?”

Logan shook his head.

“Just in case I didn’t say it before…” She looked almost nervous, staring at him over the roof of the car. “Thanks for coming in there to get me.”

“You’re welcome, Jamie.”

At one time he’d thought he would spend the rest of his life with her.

But now it was time to let her go.

* * *

Half an hour later, after she’d told Tucker Newman all about the compound and her brother and he’d put in a call to the sheriff, Jamie was finally alone. Tucker’s assistant had gone home for the day so she could pick up her kids from school, and the commander had sequestered himself back in his office off to the side.

Leaving her alone in the open area.

She sat in the waiting-room-style chair and tugged out her laptop, leaving the one from the compound in her bag. She used her personal device to get on the Wi-Fi and sent an email to Samuel, updating him on everything that’d happened. She asked him to run GPS on the ring she’d slipped in Tristan’s pocket.

Once she was done and the email was sent, the clarity of focus passed. Everything rushed back, so many things vying for the forefront of her mind. Most of them centered around Logan and what they had been through today.

Her stomach rumbled. They’d given her coffee, but it had long since worn off.

Two women appeared in the open doorway.

“There you are,” the brunette with the short hair said. “I’m Raine, and this is Sanchez. Maybe you don’t remember. I’m terrible with names.”

Jamie said, “I remember you guys.”

Taking the time to introduce all of them to her as they passed had been such a typically Logan thing to do when he expected her to leave at the first available moment and go back down to Last Chance County.

He didn’t mean for her to connect with the people who lived here. He definitely wasn’t expecting her to want to stay and hang out with new friends. He was just so unflinchingly polite.

Sanchez looked her up and down. “Soyou’reJamie.”

Jamie frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Raine turned to glare at her friend. “Sanchez, we were trying to be cool about it.”

Raine looked back at Jamie. “Logan told us you might want a tour of the jump base. Dinner should be ready in an hour, and the smokejumpers will be back by then as well. Things will get busy.”

It hadn’t occurred to Jamie until now that she was probably staying overnight. Logan didn’t want to show her around, even though she’d asked him for a tour. Most likely he wanted to maintain his distance until she left. “I had a hotel room in Copper Mountain. I guess I’m not going to make it back there tonight.”

Raine tipped her head to the side. “I can have someone grab your stuff for you and bring it over if you want.”

That meant Jamie probably needed to check out of the hotel. Things were so up in the air right now. She stood. “You know what? I would love a tour.”

Even with all the walking they’d done this morning, she had been sitting for a while.

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