Wildfire Sweethearts. Leigh Bale

Sean most of all. But he had to let her go. Her happiness was more important to him than anything else.

      He stood in the empty parking lot, staring at Tessa’s taillights as she turned onto the main road. Finally, he drove home. He parked his truck and gazed at his dark house. The black, vacant windows seemed to stare back at him, taunting him with empty disdain. He had to accept that his time of loving Tessa was done and over with. Because he could never have it back.

Chapter Three

      Standing in the maintenance room at the hotshot base, Tessa settled into her morning chores with the rest of the crew. They never knew when they might get called out on another fire, so they planned to be ready at a moment’s notice.

      The whine of the electric belt grinder filled the air in an endless drone. Tugging on a pair of leather gloves, Tessa picked up a Pulaski, removed the tool guard from the steel head and tightened the hickory handle into a bench vise to hold it firm. She reached for a twelve-inch file with a handle and knuckle guard to sharpen the dull edge of the hand tool.

      “Hey, Tessa! The Big Guy wants to see you right away.” Tank stepped inside the shop and jerked his thumb toward the door.

      Tessa tensed. The lighthearted atmosphere frosted over faster than a drop plane could unload retardant on a line of timber. “I’ll be there in a few minutes. Tell him to hold his horses.”

      “Yeah, he said you’d say that.” Tank chortled as he turned and left to pass her message along.

      “What’s up between you and the super?” Dean asked.

      A stutter of silence fell over the group. Since Dean and Ace were new to the team, they didn’t know her past history with Sean or the doubt they all still felt over Zach’s death. What had happened had hurt them deeply, but that wasn’t Dean’s fault.

      Tessa didn’t look up, but her heart stopped then pounded like a sledgehammer against her ribs. She had to be careful what she said. Sean was the boss and it wouldn’t be good for her to say anything that might undermine his authority.

      “What do you mean?” she asked.

      Dean shrugged. “I’ve got eyes in my head. You don’t seem to get along very well with him, yet I can tell you both like each other a lot.”

      “I’ll bet they’ve got the hots for one another,” Ace chortled.

      Tessa’s spine stiffened. In the short time she’d known Ace, she had realized he had a big mouth and a penchant for teasing too much. And right now he was crossing a line with her.

      “Mind your own business,” she said.

      No one else said a word.

      “Hey, girl, you don’t need to get so testy about it. I was just having fun.” Ace blinked and looked away.

      Harlie tugged the Pulaski free from Tessa’s hands and pushed her gently toward the door.

      “I’ll finish this for you. Go on and see what the super wants,” he said.

      She removed her leather gloves and slapped them onto the top of the workbench, half tempted to ignore Sean’s summons. She dreaded speaking with him again, especially without the guys present to ease the tension. Right now she was struggling to concentrate on her work, behave herself and make it through the fire season without getting fired for insubordination.

      “I’m going.” She stepped toward the door. Her feet felt like chunks of cement, and she paused inside the narrow alcove at the threshold, standing where the men didn’t notice her but she could still see them.

      Harlie hiked an eyebrow at Ace, his mouth tight with disapproval. “Dude, you’re new here, so I’ll give you some friendly advice. Don’t mess around with something you don’t understand.”

      Ace leaned his elbows on the workbench and cocked one eye. “What do you mean? Can’t she take a joke?”

      The hackles rose along the back of Tessa’s neck and she tightened her hands.

      “It’s not a joke, man,” Chris said. “Tessa and Sean were engaged once, but there’s more to it than that.”

      Dean’s eyes narrowed in confusion. “What happened?”

      Harlie quickly told the freshman crew members about the wildfire that had swept over them without notice. Hearing the story retold by one of her crew members made Tessa’s heart beat like a hydraulic drill.

      “We lost communication with home base, but Sean was able to warn us so that we could evacuate the area in time. Everyone got out safe, except for Zach.”

      “Zach?” Ace said.

      “Tessa’s brother. He died. The investigation team said it wasn’t Sean’s fault, but he and Tessa haven’t been the same since it happened.”

      “What do you mean?” Dean asked.

      “They broke up.”

      Hearing the men discussing her relationship with Sean made her feel irritated and unworthy. Like she’d done something wrong. And she hadn’t. Had she? Sean was the one who had taken Zach into that dangerous chimney area to work. And then he’d abandoned her and destroyed their love.

      “Do you think it was the super’s fault that Zach died?” Dean asked.

      Harlie glanced at Pete, their eyes filled with a bit of doubt. Tessa felt their tension. They didn’t know what to believe. Neither did she.

      “None of us knows what really happened up there,” Harlie said. “The super won’t talk about it, but he was cleared of any wrongdoing. And that’s good enough for me.”

      Tessa wished she had Harlie’s confidence. She wanted to believe in Sean, she really did. But a part of her felt gut-wrenching doubt.

      “Does Tessa blame the super for her brother’s death?” Ace asked.

      Harlie shrugged. “Maybe a little bit. None of us knows for sure. We lost a good man that day, and it’s not funny to any of us.”

      “I’m sorry. I didn’t know,” Dean said.

      “Me either. I didn’t mean any harm.” Ace bowed his head over a rogue pounder and picked up a screwdriver to tighten the bolts.

      Tessa walked out into the sunshine and headed toward the main office. As she passed their buggies, the crew transports they rode in when they traveled to a wildfire, she caught the cloying scent of two-stroke engine fuel. Several of the men were refilling their red sig bottles and Dohlmar containers with fuel.

      She glanced at her wristwatch. Almost four o’clock in the afternoon. One more hour, and she could leave. One more hour, and she’d be home free.

      * * *

      Sean glanced at the stack of incident reports sitting on his desk and tried to concentrate. He picked up a pen and opened the first file, but the letters swam on the page before him. His eyes wouldn’t focus; his mind refused to read a single word. For two hours he’d sat there working, pondering what he should do. Tessa wasn’t going to like what he had to tell her. He tried to plan a way to break the news to her easily but figured he should just spit it out and be done with it.

      The moment she stepped into his office, he knew it without looking up. A blast of air from the swamp cooler in the window carried the light fragrance of her shampoo across the room. Taking a deep inhale, he glanced at the door, his pulse tripping into double-time.

      “You wanted to see me?”

      She stood in the open threshold, looking as beautiful as ever. Her golden-brown hair had been pulled back in a long ponytail and gleamed against a spray of spring sunlight. A smear of grease marred her chin. Her work clothes were covered in grime, but that didn’t diminish the porcelain beauty of her smooth skin. Her alert eyes met his, locking him there. A mixture