Page 31 of Take Me Now

“Probably. She’s friends with Janet. She’s also nosy as hell. Before you know it, she’ll be setting you up with someone, so watch out. I love her to pieces, and she has cancer.”

“Oh fuck, man. I’m sorry. Cancer sucks.”

“No shit. She’s already had chemo more than once, so she’s passing on it this time. She says she doesn’t want to feel like shit anymore. She really wanted Alice and me to be together.”

Beck cut in again, “And, conveniently, it worked out.”

Jonah flashed him a wry smile. “It did. We wanted to get married while my grandmother’s still around.”

“That means something. And if you know, you know.”

We were at Wildlands, a local favorite hangout. It was a lodge on the waters of a lake in town that catered to tourists during the summer and stayed busy throughout the year with the restaurant and bar. It had an outdoorsy vibe with wide plank hardwood flooring and exposed wooden beams crisscrossing the ceiling. With Willow Brook on the edge of the wilderness in Alaska, this was a draw for tourists in the summer months.

We’d commandeered a large round table in the corner. In the few months I had been here, a mix of us from the firefighter crews got together here, usually once a week. So far tonight, it was Beck, Chase, Wes, Jonah, Ward, and me.

Just then, Levi Phillips came striding up to the table, hooking his hand around the only empty chair left and sitting down. “Hey, guys.” He glanced around. “Did you already order food? I’m fucking starving.”

As if on cue, our server arrived just then. He served beers to those of us who had already ordered, took Levi’s drink order, and everyone’s food orders.

“Your timing was perfect,” Beck said as the server hurried off.

“Is everyone on your crew back in town now?” Ward asked.

Levi nodded. “Those of us who got stuck because of engine problems with the helicopter just returned this afternoon.”

Beck held his beer aloft. “Here’s hoping we’re almost done with fires for the season.”

“How far into autumn does fire season usually last?” I asked.

Ward wiggled his hand back and forth as he took a swallow of his beer. Lowering it, he replied, “It varies. Between the three crews, we’ll probably rotate out at least once or twice more. These days, though, the season seems to be stretching longer. Summers are drier and warmer. Once the snow stays farther north, we should be good to go. It’s not that fires don’t start at all in the winter, but they don’t spread much because the snow helps contain them.”

“What do we handle in the winter?” I asked.

Beck chimed in, “We cover for the town crew here when they need us and do training stuff. If needed, we head to the Lower 48 to help with fires. That’s not too often, but maybe once or twice. It’s nice for it to be quieter, though. If you like to ski or do any backcountry stuff for the winter, you’ll enjoy winter here.”

A while later, after we had finished eating, Alice, Jonah’s new wife, appeared. She smiled around the table. “Hey, guys.” She rested her hand on Jonah’s shoulder. “Going to be ready to go soon?”

From behind her, Tiffany and Farrah approached. The moment I saw Farrah weaving through the tables, awareness sizzled down my spine and my body tightened. I hadn’t seen her for three days. Three days that stretched too long in my mind. She’d danced through my thoughts every fucking spare moment. Falling asleep was an exercise in trying to shut off the replay of our night together.

Her eyes met mine as she got closer to the table, and I saw awareness flickering there. Her steps faltered for a beat. Tiffany stopped beside Wes and said something. Whether or not anyone noticed the fact that Farrah and I stared at each other for what had to be a full minute, I didn’t know. I was fully caught up at that moment with the heat and electricity sparking between us.

ChapterTwenty-Two

FARRAH

I had to drag my eyes away from Cooper’s, trying to ignore the heat rampaging through me. My pulse raced so fast that my breath was short. People all around us were laughing, talking, eating, and drinking, basically carrying on like normal people did in social situations.

Meanwhile, I was awash in desire, feeling restless and unsettled. I had actively avoided Cooper since our night together. That in itself was unnerving for me. I literally craved seeing him. I hadmissedhim.

I’d never missed a man before. I didn’t crave anyone. This wasn’t something that happened to me. I kept trying to convince myself it was just that we seemed to have this lightning in a bottle kind of chemistry. The kind that didn’t come along very often and was startling in its intensity.

I took an unsteady breath and swallowed as I forced myself to look around the table. I shifted on my feet, my eyes drawn to Cooper again. When I met his gaze this time, I thought I saw understanding mingling with a flare of protectiveness. It actually made me feel better. Holy hell. What was happening to me?

I managed to take another shaky breath. When Alice said something to me, I turned to her. “What?”

* * *

“Hey!” a voice said behind me as I walked across the parking area behind Wildlands.

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