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Gabe had informed his new boss that he’d be serving with the rescue squad during the summer months, though he hadn’t expected to be called up during training. Still, if five people needed to be lifted out of a canyon, they’d need as many hands as they could get. Jean-Marie gave her immediate okay for him to go, and Gabe grabbed his bag and rushed to the fire station. He was tugging on his workout shirt when William walked into the locker room and tossed him a pair of canvas work pants. “See if these fit and grab a sweatshirt out of one of the lockers. We roll in one minute.”
Gabe’s phone rang as he buttoned the pants. He saw his sister’s name and ignored it to grab a fire department hoodie and jog toward the garage bays, his heart still thumping with the rush. He couldn’t talk to his sister right now, but he’d have to text Veronica and cancel their dinner plans tonight. He couldn’t imagine he’d be back in town anytime soon. Even with all the excitement of the shouting firefighters and gathering volunteers, Gabe still winced in regret.
Gabe piled into a Search and Rescue SUV with three other guys, and it was just pulling out when Benton jogged up. “Hey,” he huffed as he jumped in next to Gabe. “What’s the word?”
The guy in the driver’s seat offered what little information they had.
“You guys got extra gear?” Benton asked.
“It’s all in the back,” the driver answered, and Gabe breathed a sigh of relief. He was new to this and hadn’t even considered he might need his own gear.
Benton slapped his thigh. “Ready for a baptism by fire?” he asked Gabe. “Or white water, I guess.”
“Hell, yeah,” he muttered. His heart beat hard with anticipation. If he hadn’t gotten his MLIS, he might have ended up being a firefighter. He’d had the same fireman dreams so many kids had, but they’d come too late. He’d already been head over heels in love with the New York Public Library. With its white columns and stone lions, he’d always felt as though he was Indiana Jones going in to explore a long-lost temple.
He hadn’t actively dreamed about becoming a librarian, but when he’d been in his IT program at college and heard about the library science master’s program, the name had triggered memories of those long days of exploring the giant library. Library science... It almost sounded like a form of archeology, and wasn’t that what Indiana Jones had practiced?
He’d been intrigued enough to check it out. And he’d liked it enough to take a class. And then he’d loved it. And hell, a degree in library science might not be the perfect tool for running a chain of restaurants, but he’d already had all those skills. He’d been free to get whatever degree he wanted.
It had been a perfect fit. His first love hadn’t betrayed him. He loved words and books and being around people. Hell, he even liked the organization of it all.
“That Dog in the Night-Time book’s pretty good,” Benton said. “Maybe I will come by the library sometime and try something else.”
“Sure,” Gabe said. “I’ll do some research. See what else I can find for you.”
“Thanks.”
Everyone was quiet the rest of the way. It was nearly forty-five minutes to the site, and it felt so long for Gabe that he couldn’t imagine what it was like for the people trapped on the rocks below.
The SUV finally pulled into a rocky clearing that sat between pine trees and a steep drop-off. As soon as the vehicle stopped, they all jumped out. Captain Davis had been in the truck in front of them, and he was ready.
“We’ve got two casualties. One man with an ankle that’s likely broken and another with a crushed hand. The female rafter is uninjured. None of the injuries are life threatening, but the paramedics are concerned about shock, so let’s not waste any time. Gabe, you head down with the four experienced rescuers.” He tipped his head toward William and Benton, who were already conferring at the edge of the cliff. Gabe could hear water below.
“Follow their lead,” Jake said. “The rest of us will stay up here and provide muscle and backup.”
Gabe got a harness and a helmet on, then waited as one of the team strapped rescue gear to his back. Lines were being anchored and strung. Everybody was ready within ten minutes.
Gabe watched William go down first, then Benton, and then he hooked into the line and headed down toward the small group of people huddled on the boulders below.
His heart was beating almost as hard as it had for Veronica the night before. Almost, but not quite.
* * *
VERONICAHADKNOWNthat her long-awaited sexual afterglow couldn’t last forever, but she hadn’t expected it to end quite so abruptly. First Gabe had texted to say he wouldn’t be able to see her tonight. He’d been called up to help with a white-water canyon rescue, which was really hot, but not as hot as a night with him would have been.
She’d felt guilty for her immediate flash of disappointment. After all, saving people from dying was more important than giving her another orgasm, but...water rescues weren’t even his area of expertise, and her sex life had been a long-term natural disaster for so many years.
She’d nearly slapped her own hand at that. What a selfish thought. She’d decided right then and there to make an anonymous donation to the rescue squad to make up for her awfulness. She wasn’t a terrible person; she was just monstrously horny all of a sudden.
Finally experiencing good sex had changed her brain-wave patterns, it seemed. Everything made her think of it. Stretching under her sheets this morning, she’d noticed how smooth and soft her body was. When she’d gone to the bathroom, she’d smiled in secret delight at being tender from sex. Making her breakfast, she’d imagined making it for Gabe and then joining him back in the bedroom. Hell, even sitting at her laptop made her want to look up dirty ideas or at least type a few more sex-positive messages to herself. And then there was the bed right behind her, practically pulsing with memories of getting well and truly fucked.
“Aw, man,” she breathed, squeezing her thighs together.
It had been really hard not to drop any hints in response to Lauren’s texts. You have a lot of explaining to do! Lauren had written that morning.
Lauren’s second text had confirmed Veronica’s suspicions on the subject. About Gabe!
Veronica had laughed in delight and sent a smiley face back to her friend. Lauren’s next text had made Veronica clap a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter.
