Dakota Heat (Book 3 - Dakota Hearts) (5 page)

She leaned back in her chair, surprised she was being so open about a memory that had haunted her for years. All eyes at the table were on her as she recollected what happened.

“I crawled into my closet with the phone and called 911. I could hear the burglars downstairs, but when their voices became louder, I started to hyperventilate. I was sure they were going to find me in the closet and do God only knows what to me when they did. The female dispatcher on the other end of the line became my lifeline. She talked to me calmly and told me everything would be okay, that the police were on their way. It probably only took the police about five minutes to get there, but it felt like an eternity.”

“You must have been so terrified,” Donald said.

“I was. I heard their voices in the upstairs hall and then the dispatcher—her name was Elaine—told me the officers had arrived at the house. One of the burglars ran out the kitchen door when he saw the cruiser outside. The other guy hid in my room and closed the door. For the longest time all I could hear was my heart pounding and the sound of Elaine’s voice reassuring me on the phone. The guy in my room eventually gave up and was arrested.

“I was so shocked when I met Elaine the next day when I went to the police station. She was this little woman who was barely five feet tall and about ninety-five pounds. But while I was on the phone with her she was a giant, larger than life. I knew then how powerful that lifeline was for someone in need. So I trained to be a dispatcher and my best friend, Bobbi Collins, went to Johnson and Wales and eventually became a police officer.”

“Wow, that’s quite an experience,” Sam said.

“I told my story. Why did you want to become a fire fighter?” Summer asked.

“Sam had a fondness for blowing things up when he was a kid,” Kate said dryly.

Ethan laughed. “Yeah, he figured he’d better learn how to put fires out since he was so good at starting them.”

They all laughed and Summer found the tension that had plagued her since she’d left Providence was finally draining away. It was the first time she’d felt completely comfortable and safe since she’d arrived in Rudolph and gave her hope that she might just be able to get through this after all.

An hour later, Summer was saying her good-byes and Sam was walking her to her car. The smell of cool spring night wrapped around her and the sound of frogs mating in a nearby pond filled the air.

“You didn’t have to walk me out,” Summer said when she reached the car.

Sam leaned in close and she could smell the familiar scent of musk and soap that had tickled her senses earlier at the dinner table.

“I know. But how else was I going to kiss you if I didn’t?” he asked.

Summer swallowed to help keep herself from responding impulsively. She couldn’t deny she’d thought about kissing Sam McKinnon. How could she not? The man was a teenage dream. But she refused to be his plaything.

“You’re so damned sure of yourself, McKinnon. What makes you think I even want you to kiss me?”

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to take from you what isn’t offered. I’m not like that.”

“And I’m not the kind of woman who throws herself at a handsome man.”

His eyebrows raised playfully as he bent his head, giving her ample access to reach up and kiss his mouth if she’d wanted to.

“You think I’m handsome, huh?”

She rolled her eyes and took a small step away from him, hating herself for doing so as much as admitting the obvious. Summer could see how the waitress at the diner had become so enamored with the man in high school.

“Don’t tell me I’m the first to say that to you, Sam McKinnon, because you’d be lying.”

“You’re the prettiest girl who ever said that to me.”

“That was strike two.”

His eyes narrowed. “How did I already get to two? Seems to me you’re the one who is playing.”

“How do you figure that?”

“You can’t tell me you don’t know how beautiful you are. And you are so very beautiful. Every male Hotshot in that briefing room can’t take their eyes off you, including me.”

She’d noticed the attention of the other men. And yet, the only person Summer cared was paying any attention to her at all was Sam.

Abruptly, he backed up and drew in a short breath. “Tomorrow is my day off. Yours too I think.”

Confused by the sudden subject change, Summer blinked. “Uh, yes.”

“I mentioned to my mother that you were looking for rentals in the area. She said she’d check around, but wasn’t sure since most of the available rentals are filled with people who are still displaced after the floods last winter. The fact that you got a motel room at all is a huge deal. Most of the guys from out of town are still bunking in the basecamp dormitory.”

“Oh, well, then I guess I’m lucky to have the room I have.”

“Yeah. The only other room, other than the ones here in my parents’ house, is the room over the garage.” Sam pointed to the dark windows above the two-car garage. “It used to be my brother Wade’s room. But since he’s been gone, well, my mother can’t bring herself to clear it out.”

“Gone?”

“He was presumed dead in a tsunami that hit an island off the coast of Asia where he was working as a Peace Corp worker.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

Sam sighed as he shrugged. “Even after nearly five years it still feels a little surreal. I keep expecting him to run up the driveway and put me in a headlock like he used to do when we were kids.”

“Something tells me you deserved it.”

Sam chuckled. “Yeah, I probably did. It’s one of the reasons why my mom is always so worried about Ethan and me.”

“Of course. She already lost one son. Who could go through that heartache and survive twice?”

“Exactly. Anyway, as I was saying, I have tomorrow off. I was thinking of riding out to the areas where we’ll be doing some prescribed burns next week, just to get a feel for the damage to the land. I know the area, but I also know it’s changed quite a bit since the winter. Would you like to go?”

It was her day off and the thought of spending the day holed up in her motel room or doing laundry seemed depressing.

Summer held Sam’s gaze, biting her lower lip unconsciously as she considered his proposal. “Sure,” she said before she could talk herself out of it.

“Okay. I’ll pick you up at the motel early then?”

She nodded.

His dark eyes were warm as he smiled at her. “Goodnight, Summer,” he said softly.

“Goodnight, Sam.”

As she climbed into her car and turned the key to the ignition, Summer watched Sam walk back to the house. She couldn’t drag her gaze away from him. The way he moved with each step, the tone of his voice, and the way he made her feel just being near him enveloped her like a warm blanket.

As she pulled out of the driveway, disappointment tugged at her gut, replacing the warmth she’d felt.

Sam had forgotten about the kiss.

# # #

They’d spent the day driving through the most beautiful country Summer had ever seen. With everything Providence had to offer, Summer had never seen hills and space like she had seen here. She talked of her childhood in Providence and Sam entertained her with stories of the childhood antics of the McKinnon clan. Of that, there were many, making Summer laugh until she cried. They were a close bunch and the loss of their older brother, Wade, had devastated them all.

“When we got word about Wade, Mom closed down the diner and I don’t think she got out of bed for a week after the memorial service,” Sam said as he parked the SUV in a parking lot near a scenic trail for hikers.

“Where were you?”

“I was based out of Colorado at the time. My father threw himself even deeper into work at the oil company. I’d never seen my parents so divided. They’ve always been devoted to the family, always there for us. But this happened and…I really didn’t think they were going to make it.”

“How’d they get through it?”

“Kelly found out she was pregnant. Kelly was Logan’s wife. She died just over a year ago. They have a little boy named Keith, named after my brother Hawk.”

Summer chuckled wryly. “How did he get the name Hawk?”

“It’s a long story,” he said, getting out of the SUV. She did the same and took in a deep breath of mountain air. The sun was high in the sky and warm against her face.

“So having a grandchild changed everything for them?”

“Pretty much. Having Keith come into the family gave my parents a reason to get up in the morning again. It’ll never take the sting out of losing Wade. But it did change them and they got through it.”

They fell in step as they walked down the hiking trail.

“I hope one day I can be as lucky in love as my parents.”

“You?”

Sam gave her a sidelong glance. “Why not me?”

“From what I hear from Michelle, there is no chance of Sam McKinnon ever settling down.”

“Michelle?”

“Oh, you forgot her already? Waitress at your mother’s diner? She told me all about how you broke her heart in high school. And that’s not the only broken heart in town by her recollection.”

“Ah, Michelle. She was a nice girl. Not my type though.”

“Really?”

“Besides I hear she’s gotten over me just fine.”

“She told me she’s engaged. But she carried quite a torch for you.”

“You jealous?”

“Me? Why would I be jealous?”

He chuckled, the sun making his eyes twinkle just a bit. “I wouldn’t mind if you were.”

“I don’t have time for a broken heart, thank you very much.”

“And yet you’re here with me now. With all that talk it seems to me you’d have run in the other direction when I asked you to come today.”

Damn that Sam McKinnon.
He always seemed to have a way of backing her up in a corner about her feelings.

She thought a second before she replied. “You were the one who suggested I come see the area before fire season got into full swing.”

“That’s only because I wanted to be alone with you.”

She snapped her gaze at him as he laughed.

They reached the top of the trail, which opened up to a magnificent view of the rock formations on the hills beyond the canyon.

“Wow, a person can really get lost out here,” Summer said, taking in the breathtaking view.

“Some do. Not me, mind you. But some people do.”

She gave Sam a playful smack on the arm. “You’re so full of yourself.”

“You love that about me.”

“There you go again. So sure of yourself.”

Sam took her hand in his and walked with her up a pass toward the top of the cliff to get a better view of the canyon below. She didn’t pull back, surprised at just how easy it was to feel connected to this man and how much she wanted more of him. It was easy to be with Sam, easy to feel comfortable and say what was on her mind. And it was easy for her to forget her reason for being in South Dakota in the first place. All her fears felt so far away when she was with Sam.

“There is a blessing and a curse in those rock formations.”

“How do you mean?”

Sam pointed to the red rock formations on the opposite side of the canyon. “They’ll stop a fire from spreading past that point. But they’ll trap a man in that canyon just as easily if all access below is blocked. We’ll need two spotters when we work down there this week in case the wind shifts. And in the canyons, the wind shifts rapidly.”

Being here with Sam was both an education and a comfort. He knew his job well and took all precautions to make sure his crew was safe. He wouldn’t risk their lives.

“When do the prescribed burns start?” she asked.

“Next week. We have a lot of work to do this season. The NOAA has warned that this area is a hot spot if the heat lightning we’ve been experiencing sets off a fire. Once we get under way, we’ll probably be holed up in our Crew Hauls for days until the work is done.”

And she’d be back at the basecamp that will act as a satellite base for the Hotshots, Smokejumpers and fuel haulers. That was where her job was. That’s where safety was. Sam would be out here where all the danger would be.

But for today, she was here with Sam and there was no danger for either of them. It was just the two of them on this gloriously perfect sunny day.

“What?” he said, looking at her curiously.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“No, but you’re smiling.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You don’t like my smile?”

He dragged her into his arms and enveloped her in his arms. “On the contrary, Summer. There is a whole lot about you that I am crazy about. I don’t see it nearly often enough, but I love your smile. In fact, that first day when you were meeting the rest of the crew, I was out of my mind with envy at the way you smiled at each and every one of the men talking to you. You just scowled at me for dripping water on your paperwork.”