Page 95 of Always a Bridesmaid
Now he got a bit more than that—mostly whenever his dad or brothers wanted something. They jabbed at him about being the reliable McGuire, until they were the ones who relied on him.
Since he didn’t want to get into that, he focused on Violet’s other question. “As for my career, we had a drought one year, and there was a big fire.”
Ford spun Violet around in his arms so that her back met his chest and pointed across the lake. “Over in that ridge. Fall of my junior year. The fire crews worked endlessly to put it out. I thought ‘now that’s a badass job, running toward the flames instead of away from them.’ Before that, I’d been set on becoming a stuntman.” He rested his chin on the top of Violet’s head. “I talked to a few of the firefighters when they came into Martin’s Trading Post, and one of them told me I should become a paramedic, since it’d open up my options. When I looked into certification, I stewed over whether I was smart enough to learn all that medical mumbo jumbo. But you might have noticed I’m a tad competitive—”
“Just a tad?” Violet teased, and he gave her ass a light smack that only made her giggle.
“Addie needed to take anatomy as well and bet me she could get a better grade, and it was on after that.”
Violet relaxed against him, her fingers drifting across his forearm and soothing his inner turmoil about spilling so many personal details. “When did the search and rescue and dog training enter the picture?”
“Sorta stumbled into them. There was a lost hunter, and I’m familiar with the area, so I helped out. The Talladega Search and Rescue asked if I’d be interested in joining the team, and it was nice for people to want me around instead of waiting for me to leave so they could whisper about my family.”
Violet gazed up at him, adoration gleaming in her eyes. He wasn’t sure he deserved all that, but his heart swelled that she obviously did.
“The guy who trained me also trained canine units, and he was about to retire. When he asked if I wanted the job, I about gave him a heart attack with my enthusiastic yes.”
Man, he was in deep now. While the gang accused him of being the loudmouth, mostly he blew hot air and talked shit. Flavored the conversation with jokes. When it came to real talk, he’d only ever gotten this intense with Addie.
For a moment, he second-guessed taking Violet into the alcove.
But then she twisted to face him, the smile on her face turning her from gorgeous to woman-of-his-dreams material. She kissed him softly and rested her head against his chest. “I love everything about what you told me. Are you ready to concede that you’re, indeed, a good guy?”
“Don’t know that I’d go that far,” he said, and she tipped her head up enough that he could see her roll her eyes.
That cemented his decision. If nothing else, he wanted to sear this memory into his brain. That way, no matter what happened later, he could recall the night nothing existed besides him and the woman making a mess of his insides. “We’d better get on with what we came here to do—besides sex, of course.”
“Of course,” she said, her husky voice suggesting she was reliving their session underneath the big Alabama sky.
Linking his fingers with hers, he led her into the alcove.
A pile of ash from fires past sat in the pit where he’d cook any fish he’d caught.
Ford turned on his flashlight and ran the beam over the walls. “The outer rocks have all those different names and colors and flags painted, and I was thinking…” He dug through his bag until he came up with the spray paint. “We should make our mark here, where only we can find it.”
Shit.With that out in the air, he wished for the ability to undo, undo. It was such an absurd idea. “Or is that stupid?”
“Not stupid,” Violet said, hijacking the purple paint. “I’m going to get to work, because otherwise I might cry over such a perfect gesture”—sure enough, her words came out clipped—“and then you’ll go calling me overly dramatic.”
The peck she bestowed on his cheek set off fireworks in his chest. “If it makes you feel better, I’m fairly certain I’m the one obsessed now.”
“Not sure you’ll agree once you see how old-school I’m about to go on you—don’t make fun.” The can rattled as she shook it, and then she wrote her initials. She added a plus sign underneath, and next came his initials. “Do I add the TLF?”
“I don’t follow,” Ford said.
“True love forever, duh.”
Was she asking…? Even scarier, did he…?
Relax. It’s initials, not a proposal.
His heart palpitated and expanded, and it hit him that he might just be developing L-word feelings for this woman. “Do it,” he said.
Violet connected the L and used the bottom part as the middle of the F, and he did recall seeing that in high school. After she’d completed the F, she drew a big heart around the entire thing.
Using the white can in his hands, Ford painted the petals of a flower. He exchanged the white paint for the purple and outlined the image. “There you go. It’s a violet.”
“Aww.” She pressed her lips together, one hand going to her heart. Then she lifted the white can, the tip aimed at a blank spot of rock. “I have to add one more thing.”
