I wasn’t a man to sit around and think about a woman for any length of time. Never had been. Yet that something that I couldn’t put my finger on had ignited a fire deep within.
Witty, sharp tongued, intelligent as hell, and when she was angry, which I’d seen numerous times, she could cut a man to shreds of what he’d been before. Up until now, I hadn’t found that attractive. But with Grace, everything was.
The curve of her mouth, especially in fury.
The way she walked.
The angle of her jaw when she smiled.
Shit. Now my cock was aching, which I had no business in encouraging.
With all her attributes, including how fabulous she was with animals, she was a clutter freak. Yep. I could say that. I understood she’d inherited the house from her parents, but the living room alone should be considered a disaster zone. And the bedroom I was staying in? Well, let’s just say the number of mostly empty boxes created interesting pieces of furniture.
I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel. The girl was a complete mess. Maybe that’s why I was more comfortable around her. She was a little bit frayed around the edges. Muchlike I’d become. Only clutter drove me crazy. Well, maybe I’d need to do something about that.
But I had to admit, her bedroom was a clear picture of the girl hiding inside the hot and defiant exterior. All pink and fluffy. A girl I longed to keep safe. Well, shit. My mind was playing tricks on me.
Six-thirty. An early start to the day. Not that I minded.
That didn’t mean I was getting off at a decent time, but if I did, I had plans on buying a few items at the hardware store. I still had some money, which would allow me to purchase a few pieces of pretreated lumber to begin replacing the front porch. I couldn’t believe she hadn’t killed herself when she’d fallen through.
To see how red her face had gotten when demanding I not mention a word had brought a smile to my face and still did. She was a tough girl, more so than I’d thought.
I laughed as I pulled into the parking lot, noticing the airplanes, which dragged my memory from the present to the past.
When I’d joined the military, I’d been an eager kid with nothing to lose and a feeling that I could conquer the world. That wasn’t unlike every other recruit with me in boot camp. But since I’d been a bit of a misfit as well, I’d caused trouble from day one. I’d been reprimanded more times than I could remember, ready to be tossed out had it not been for my commanding officer seeing something in me.
That hadn’t meant I’d lost my arrogant attitude, but I’d learned when I needed to keep it hidden. Doing so worked fine until something made me angry. Then all bets were off.
I’d also learned that making friends brought heartache. So I stopped caring about anyone. Life had been much easier to deal with since then.
In joining the Zullies, I reminded myself this wasn’t about making friends. I had a job to do that I’d take seriously. Fuck everything else. When I pulled into the parking lot of the hangar by the airport, I was surprised how nervous I was.
Hell, my hands were sweating and it wasn’t because of the delicious coffee I’d brought with me.
While I knew I’d been issued a heavy-duty pack containing specialized equipment, I brought the jump bag I’d put together myself with gloves, sunglasses, grappling hooks, and a heavy braided rope along with hand warmers and a short ax.
There was a track a hundred yards from the building, a few men and a couple of women jogging around it. There were also several cargo-style planes near the building, one of which was being washed. Maybe there were no ongoing fires.
From where I remained in the truck, I could see few men standing in protective gear, as if preparing for an active fire. I’d worn fire-retardant clothes, uncertain how deep the training would go today. The email with instructions had been short and sweet.
For a few seconds, I allowed my thoughts to drift to Grace and the kiss we’d shared earlier. She’d seemed so happy about the deer, completely unassuming and joyous, which was an emotion I hadn’t seen in a long time. Just having her in my arms had felt right, as if she was supposed to be there.
But when she’d pushed me away, I’d seen disappointment in her eyes, maybe for herself. Maybe for me. Either way, I’dpromised both of us that I’d maintain our friendship, becoming her roommate and the dude who was determined to help her fix up the place.
How funny that just thinking about her made me press my fingers against my lips. Yep. I could still taste her, including the vanilla coffee. Right now, I needed to put her completely out of my mind, or I wouldn’t be able to do my job.
The job came first. Earning my place on the team came first. The rest? Fuck it.
So here I was. I climbed out, swinging the duffle over my shoulder and taking purposeful strides toward the building. There was a smell in the air that brought back dozens of memories, not only from the work I’d done while in prison but before when I’d been a volunteer firefighter. I’d loved both jobs, no matter if I’d been treated as if on a chain gang when helping with fires across the northwest.
I’d felt important. Just for a little while.
As soon as I walked past the few who remained outside, they stopped talking and turned their full attention toward me. I was instantly on edge but did what I could to shove my feelings aside.
“Looking for Captain Daughtry,” I said, making certain to look each man in the eyes.
“His office is just on the left when you walk in,” one of them said without introducing himself.
