AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And Brittney is my main priority.
If I let him extinguish my fears, then maybe we can create a love story worth telling.
And if I can’t, I could lose him forever and let these flames of love burn out before they truly begin.
Click here to get your copy ofFalling for the Firefighter Next Door
Chapter One
Scott
I stir the pot of chili with a wooden spoon, then scoop some out and blow on it. I tasted it and as usual, I went a little heavy on the spices. But I like it. I’m a chili expert, in my own humble opinion. I hear Chance, my Dalmatian, whine behind me and turn to him.
“Buddy, this stuff will do terrible things to your digestive system. And seeing as you sleep at the foot of my bed, I’m not going to subject either one of us to that.” I take another taste, then turn the burner down to the lowest setting. In an hour, it’ll be perfect.
I work four days on and three days off as a firefighter. Tonight is the first day of my three-day break. My only plans are to do nothing after I eat a massive amount of chili. When my innate fireman smoke detector goes off, I open the back door and sniff the air, then go to the front door to do the same. It seems to be coming from the house next door, which someone recently moved into after being empty for as long as I have lived in my house. As I step outside, I can hear the harsh screeching of a fire alarm going off. I run across the yard to the neighbor’s front door and bang loudly, but I doubt anyone can hear it over the sound of the alarm. I slip into fireman mode and kick the door in, then dash to the kitchen.
The woman I have only seen from a distance is at the stove about to pour water on a pan of grease that is burning and has spread to the nearby curtains. I grab her and push her out of the way, then take a frying pan from the dish drainer and put it over the flames. I then rip down her curtains and drop them in the sink. I turn on the water to extinguish the flames and use her sprayer to put out the wall that had caught fire behind the curtains.
When the fire is completely out, I turn to her. She is standing with her hands over her ears, in shocked disbelief at what just went down. I take a chair and climb on it to dismantle the smoke detector. She seems frozen in place, and I take her out of the kitchen to the living room. She comes out of her trance when she sees her kicked-in front door.
Her jaw drops open, “What happened to my door?”
“I just saved you from making things worse...”
She looks at me. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“But I had it handled.” She looks at her door again. “You kicked in my door.”
“It was locked. And no, you didn’t have it handled. If you had poured that water on the fire…”
“Are you a fire expert?”
“Actually, yes.” I offered her my hand. “Scott Pierce, Ridgemont FD.”
“You just happened to be driving by?” She ignores my hand and looks outside as though she expects to see a firetruck parked in her driveway.
“No. I live next door.” I smile at her. “Are you okay?”
She takes a breath. “I’m sorry. I’m being rude and unappreciative. I’m Mariah Templeton. Thank you for coming to my rescue.”
“It’s what I do.”
She goes to examine the door closer. “Was it locked?”
“Yes. I wouldn’t have kicked it in otherwise. And you couldn’t hear knocking over the alarm going off.”
“Will my insurance cover this?”
“I’m sure it will. But I’d be happy to fix it for you. You just need to repair the frame on the one side and get a new lock.”
“Do you make a habit of kicking in doors?”
“It does come with the job. But the fire department has a pretty nifty tool that doesn’t require brute force.” I rub my thigh. “It’s a little easier on the fireman, too.”
“Are you okay?”
