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“No, I’m afraid for you.”
When she remained quiet, I turned to face her. “There’s no need to be. I love you, Wren Tillman.”
“I love you, Riggs Wentworth.” As she walked closer, a look of fear crossed her face. “Don’t do anything risky.”
“Risk is my middle name, little bird. Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.”
“Just come back safe. Okay?”
I’d never thought I’d ever have to worry about doing that for a single human being, let alone two.
“You’re going to be just fine, little bird. And I need to be able to rely on someone.”
“I…” She wore a panicked expression but closed her hand. “Just don’t die on me cause I’ll be pissed. And I’ll put a crazy hex on you, making you one of the undead.”
“I don’t plan on it, sweetheart, but I think it’s the other way around. I’ll haunt you, baby. No man will ever be able to touch you again.” I pulled her close, hating the way she was trembling. As I rubbed her back, she clung to me and I doubted the ache I felt inside would ever go away. God, I loved this woman. “Just remember that Justin can get cranky. Try not to lose your patience. He loves music and movies and the sound of your voice.” I tapped my finger on her nose, bile forming in my throat. The bad feeling just wouldn’t leave. “Oh, and if you want to use my computer, my call sign is the password.”
“A little too easy, fly boy. Don’t take one of those helicopters to a tropical island.”
“Not without my best girl.”
“I better be your only girl, or the fire is the least of what you’ll need to worry about.”
At least she was trying to take it all in stride. “Take care of yourself, little bird.”
She nodded, but there was no doubt by the look in her eyes that she had more questions than the answers I’d already given her.
And at this point, I had none to give. Being with her made me realize one thing for certain.
I was a shell of a man, not good for anyone, including my own son.
* * *
“Jesus Christ,” the Zullie snarled. Riker Sheffield was a tough son of a bitch, barely tamed by the woman he’d fallen in love with a few years before. He was also one of the few men I highly respected. Most of the team had been together for years, which had made my addition more difficult. There was a hell of a lot of competition, including with the other local jumpers.
We weren’t drinking buddies, but I could place my trust in the man and that’s all that counted.
I glanced at him before lifting my head toward the magnificent range. I’d loved the area, going there as often as possible when I was younger. I’d introduced the Bad Boys to the trails. And Belle. Sighing, I tried to put what had happened out of my mind. Maybe this was fate trying to force me to handle the situation. Besides, I had a team that would be counting on me not to lose my shit.
The Sapphire Ridge had some of the prettiest scenery around. The thought of losing additional acreage was disgusting. While the valley had experienced more rain this year, the mountains were dry as a bone, far too much debris covering over a hundred miles. The first could get out of hand quickly.
Stoker jogged closer, ready to give directions. “You two need to coordinate your actions. You’re going to use the helitorch to start backfires on either side of this bitch. We need to head it toward the river. That’s the only chance we have of keeping the flames from eating up dozens of homes on the south ridge. Riker, take the east, Phoenix, the west. We need to get it under control as soon as possible.”
Starting fires to alter the direction of an existing one confused the hell out of people, but I’d seen the technique in action enough to know when it worked, it did like a charm.
“I’ll send in the jumpship after that,” Stoker added. Maybe use of the plane would be able to douse a good portion of it.
“The wind is picking up,” Riker snarled.
The mud dropped from the DC-3 was only effective if the wind stayed low. I was beginning to wonder about that myself.
“Yeah, I know. Which is why I need your birds in the air ASAP. Just be careful.” Stoker had a strange look on his face.
“What?” I asked.
“There are reports of campers. And don’t go off halfcocked, Phoenix. You have your job for the day.”
I glanced at the captain, taking a deep breath. I’d been through enough of these to know what he was concerned about. A fire devil. The whirlwind of fire was like a tornado blast. That would drive every jumper out of the trees.
