The Firefighter's Cinderella. Dominique Burton

       “Tasha?” The deep baritone voice that had been haunting her all day took her by surprise.

      “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

      She felt a thrill of excitement as C.J. drew closer and handed her a flute of champagne. His eyes never left her face as he rested one arm on the railing. “You’re my date. Or did you forget?”

      “I don’t remember it being a date. I clearly remember telling you we were coming as friends in order to remember a friend.”

      “That sounds like one of my lines.”

      She coughed on the champagne she’d just swallowed.

      He patted her back none too gently. “Let me know if you need CPR.”

      “Then you’d get to be—”Another round of coughs interrupted her. “Y-You’d be a hero twice in one day.”

      Dear Reader,

      All my life I have loved the Cinderella story and the idea of her finding her prince. This book was special to me because my heroine’s prince was in her life all along. She just didn’t realize he was the one. I loved bringing these characters together in their own magical way—two friends who never imagined they were each other’s true love.

      As an avid marathon runner, I’ve learned about the best races to run. The Nike Woman’s Marathon in San Francisco is one of the most sought-after races in the country. As far as marathons go, you are pampered along the way, receive chocolates and other goodies, but the best prize is at the end. A Tiffany and Co. necklace is handed to you by a fireman dressed in a tux. This amazing marathon has raised over $105,000,000 to help victims suffering from leukemia.

      The writer in me began to form the story for The Firefighter’s Cinderella, with a fireman hero, a marathon-runner heroine and their love of a lost friend. I hope you enjoy C.J. and Natasha’s story as they fall in love.

       Ciao,

      Dominique Burton

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      As a young girl with three brothers and a writer for a mother, DOMINIQUE BURTON lived in the imaginary world of books such as Anne of Green Gables and movies starring Indiana Jones. Much of the time, she would write and act out her own stories with Harrison Ford as the hero. Not too shabby for a seven-year-old! Dominique loves Europe, and at the age of twenty, got the wild notion to buy an around-the-world, one-way plane ticket. For six months, she circled the globe alone, studying Italian, learning about other cultures, scuba diving and having a blast. She graduated from the University of Utah with a bachelor’s degree in history. She now lives in South Jordan, Utah, with her husband, two children and three step-children, all of whom she dearly loves. If she’s not writing or reading, she’s out running. A few years ago, Dominique had the privilege of running the Boston Marathon. To learn more, go to www.dominiqueburton.com.

      The Firefighter’s

      Cinderella

      Dominique Burton

      

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      I want to dedicate this book to so many people!

      I send my love to my dear husband, Brad,

      for making this book possible. My gratitude goes to firefighter Christopher Wilcox and his dear wife, Amelia, for answering questions about the world of a fireman. And many thanks go to Ranger Jacob Hoffman, of Ketchikan, Alaska, for bringing the last frontier to life.

       Chapter One

      Natasha Bennington could vaguely see mile marker 26 through blurry eyes.

      She prayed her legs would hold for the final two-tenths of the marathon.

      Normally she loved the vistas of Ocean Beach that Great Avenue Highway in San Francisco provided. Today Tasha couldn’t have cared less. All she could think about was reaching the finish line. She brought the water bottle to her lips, but no amount could quench her thirst.

      The sun was so hot! She adjusted her visor again and hoped her body would keep moving. As a native of the cosmopolitan city on the bay, she couldn’t remember the weather ever being this suffocating in early September. Was she imagining the heat? She could feel herself slowing as she trudged along the sweltering route.

      Over the music playing on her headphones, she could hear the shouting and screaming from onlookers who lined the streets to cheer on their loved ones. It hurt to know there was no one yelling for her, let alone waiting for her at the finish line.

      As the only child of United States Congressman George Bennington, she had spent all twenty-seven years of her life as a side note in his demanding schedule. Her mother, Genevieve Armstrong Bennington, was his perfect counterpart, ready at a moment’s notice to attend parties, events and galas. Once he’d risen to power nothing stood in his way, especially not parental duties at home.

      Rounding the last corner, Tasha could sense her mind becoming disjointed from her body. She’d heard marathons were ninety percent mental. Now she knew why. The only thing that kept her moving was the need to follow her fellow runners up Lincoln Way.

      Why the pavement seemed hotter on this street than any other was beyond her ability to process.

      And now her shoes were failing her—those trustworthy, failsafe, special pair of running shoes she’d bought three weeks ago. Her feet burned with every step she took. The heat was like venom, swiftly taking over her whole body.

      As she passed the last water station, Tasha grabbed cup after cup to dump on her head in an attempt to cool herself off. She knew she looked like a disaster, but it didn’t matter. She tried to remember why her coworkers, who’d become her close friends this past year, weren’t going to be here. At this point it was difficult to remember any names.

      Oh, yeah. Richard and Daphne.

      Now, why were they gone?

      Work?

      Work!

      She knew she needed to focus on something other than the pain so she wouldn’t collapse.

      The bill from Arizona. She took another sip from her water bottle.

      Focus! The damned Bill SB 1070 from Arizona! That bill impeded her cause of helping illegal immigrants already in America. She hated the term “Illegal Aliens.”

      These were real people trying to get green cards and become citizens. It was because of bills like this one that she’d started her pro bono practice.

      Her father had been furious with her for leaving the prestigious Bennington and Bennington law firm her grandfather had started with his brother. Tasha’s desire to help the very people her dad was determined to keep out of the country through his power as a congressman made things even worse.

       Now, what are Richard and Daphne working on?

      Oh, yeah. The Mendez case!

      At the thought of the name, she could feel another kind of fire burning inside her. If there was one person in all Northern California who was her nemesis, it was Fernando Mendez.

      The workers in the fields of his famous Napa Valley vineyards were all illegal immigrants. Mendez and his men lured innocent men and women from Mexico and Latin American countries to his grape fields with promises of green cards, or better yet, citizenship!

      Except it was all a lie.

      Once the workers got here, they were stuck, left with no choice but to work and live under deplorable conditions, hiding from the law.

      Now