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“Water up,” another fireman calls. Suddenly the hose inflates, and water shoots out the front. Callan goes flying backward about six feet and lands hard on his ass, not for the first time today. His face is full of shock as the water’s quickly turned off and one of the firemen holds out a hand to help him up.
I burst into laughter. Callan shoots me a glare before he marches back over to the hose. This time a couple of men grip it with him, and they turn on the water again. Callan stumbles a bit, but doesn’t fall this time. And then he gets to help douse the flames. Sadly, this turns me on even more than watching him run around the farm all day. He has a pretty impressive hose of his own, after all.
I’m in such big trouble where this man’s concerned. The scariest part of all is that I’m starting to care less and less about it. He stands with the firefighters for the next two hours before they all gather up their equipment.
The burning has been a success. Now they have to keep an eye on things, but the mess can be cleaned up in a few days. Within a year, the grass will grow and the place where the barn stood will return back to what it looked like two-hundred years ago. It’s powerful how nature can so easily take back her land.
I’m surrounded by the firefighters as Callan easily jokes with them. He’s earned their respect today. He’s not only pitched in and helped, but kept a positive attitude the entire day. If he wants to build his resort, he’s certainly making the right friends. Maybe bringing him out here wasn’t such a great idea after all.
The men joke around and for once I’m on the outside with Callan being the center of attention. I don’t normally mind this at all. I don’t need to get attention to feel loved and appreciated, but it scares me how easily Callan is fitting into our tight-knit community.
“I swear those chickens were faster than I realized,” Callan says with a laugh. “I’m going to be sore, and that’s saying something since I work out daily. This, though was a workout unlike anything I’ve ever had before.”
Several men chuckle as they nod in agreement. The chief passes out coffee from a thermos to all of the men. “You all put on quite the show today,” he tells them.
“Callan’s clothes aren’t nearly as pretty as they were when he arrived,” one of the men says as he pats Callan on the back.
“The dirt is a badge of honor,” Callan says. “I might hang these clothes up to remind me to never visit a chicken farm again.”
This makes all of the men laugh. Despite all of the uncertainty I’ve been dealing with from the moment I met Callan, I’m enjoying myself. I’m still scared, but today really has been a pretty awesome one, probably the best of my life.
Now the stars are shining brightly, the breeze is blowing the heat from the fire away, and I can’t stop smiling. Who has time for worries when life is pretty dang perfect? Callan turns toward me and gives me a wink.
“I know you’re trying to scare me away, but you’re only making me want to be here more,” he says. The firefighters all whistle at this. Callan leans in a little closer to me so his next words can’t be overheard. “And now that I know you burn hotter for me than the flames of the fire we just put out, I’m really in no hurry to go anywhere.”
My skin flushes as heat invades my body. Despite my best effort to keep distance between the two of us, I’m clearly failing... in an epic way. And as I look at Callan in the ruins of this historic barn, I realize I’m falling for him, falling hard. I don’t know how it’s possible, and I know it’s stupid and ridiculously fast, but it’s happening, and I don’t think I have the power to stop it.
Chapter Thirteen
Sasha
The band’s playing nineties rock, the bass pounding, the singer on fire, and the atmosphere joyous as I step inside the local bar. It’s crowded tonight. Jess, Emily, and I make our way forward, excited for a night out. This is about as exciting as nightlife gets in Seaville. It’s either a live band at the bar or a bonfire on the beach. Someone normally brings a guitar and makes it a dancing adventure as well.
As soon as we’re inside, conversation becomes difficult, but not impossible. I don’t mind. I’m here to let loose and dance. Dancing makes me feel free. We’re here for a great time, and to forget about the stresses of the week. Sometimes life’s too mundane, and we have to find our inner child.
We head straight to the bar and push our way forward where our favorite bartender, Robert, is pushing out drinks fast. I give him a big grin. He’s gruff, bearded, tatted, and the most amazing man in the universe. If anyone ever tries to mess with any of us, he’ll kick their ass. This ensures our safety no matter how late it gets. He’s even walked us home a time or two. I can’t wait for him to find his forever person. She’ll be one lucky woman.
“Good evening, ladies. You’re looking hot as hell, as usual,” he says with a wink.
“Oh, you know flattery will get you bigger tips,” I tell him with a laugh.
“You know I don’t accept tips from you girls,” he says. “Want the usual?”
“You know it,” Jess says, leaning forward, giving him a nice view of her gorgeous boobs.
“Three dirty hoochie mamas coming right up,” he says as he starts adding vodka, berries, cherries, and a few other delicious items to the blender. We came in on a slow night a few years ago and just pointed to different things and told him to blend it. The drink turned out amazing, he named it, and we get it more than anything else.
He hands them over and we move to the corner where, shock of all shocks, we find a small high-top table to sit at. We won’t be down long. We’re here to have a few drinks, but more importantly to dance.
“So, I heard you and City Boy were making all sorts of eyes at each other at the chicken farm,” Jess says with a laugh.
I roll my eyes. If I downplay this, maybe, just maybe, my friends won’t catch on about how crazy I’m getting over this man. If they know, they’ll pounce. How do I know this? Because I’d do the same to them.
“We think you’re protesting too much,” Emily says.
“Okay, okay, I like City Boy,” I admit. I can lie to them all I want, but we’ve been best friends far too long to get away with it.
“Did you guys bump uglies?” Jess asks. For some strange reason I blush. I look at my drink before quickly pulling it up and taking a long, slow sip.
