Page 24 of The Hotshot's Prize
“It’s a gift,” she says, dramatically flipping her hair. Then she gives me a serious look. “But for real—whatever this was, you are not stupid for feeling something. You’re Ella freaking Murphy. Brave. Smart. Beautiful. And worthy of love, whether it’s from somehothotshot or anyone else.”
I nod slowly.
The ache’s still there, but it’s less sharp now.
Maybe Zack was just a spark in the dark.
Maybe that’s all he was ever meant to be.
But a tiny, reckless part of me hopes our story isn’t over.
Chapter Eight
Zack
The ridge smells like gasoline and tension.
Boots crunch over dry pine needles. Radios hiss static. There’s not much talking. Just the heavy, buzzing quiet of a team that knows what’s coming.
We’ve done all the prep. Mapped the line. Dug the trench. Cleared the debris. Every angle’s been checked and rechecked. The plan is simple—light a slow, controlled burn west of the Switchback Trail. Let it eat through the underbrush before nature has a chance to do it for us.
But the wind’s wrong.
Not dangerously wrong. Not yet. But it’s…inconsistent. Moody.
I glance at the sky, blue streaked with thin clouds, and check the handheld again. Nothing new. Conditions still read as “go.” But my gut’s twisting anyway.
“Everything okay?” Jonah asks, walking up beside me with his drip torch in hand.
I nod once. “Yeah. Just…watch the draw. Wind’s unpredictable. I don’t like the feel of it.”
“Copy that.”
He walks off, and I’m left staring into the woods, trying not to think about her.
Ella.
Her eyes. Her pretty smile and wry humor. Her body curled against mine like we’d known each other for years instead of hours. The way she looked at me, open, trusting, like I was worth more than a romp in the sack.
I didn’t ask for her number.
Didn’t even tell her how I felt.
God, what the hell is wrong with me?
I tell myself it was the rush. The job. The call. I was distracted.
But the truth is simpler. More pathetic.
I was scared.
If I’m being honest with myself, I knew the second I saw Ella that she would change my life. And I was scared of what that might mean.
I’ve been trying to prove myself to my dead dad for so long, trying to be a hero like he was. Jumping into dangerous situations was my normal, but being with Ella made me want a new normal, for the first time. Made me want more. With her.
I’d give anything to rewind four hours to get the chance to tell her that.
The radio crackles. “Ignition point one ready.”
