Christmas in July

by Ophelia Sexton

  She'd gotten up even earlier than usual this morning, so that she could take some time with her hair instead of just putting it in her usual ponytail. She had even put on a bit of makeup in hopes of seeing Sam again.

  But when the bakery's delivery van parked in the big lot near the Bearpaw Ridge FD's tents, she didn't see anyone she knew—either the volunteer firefighters from Bearpaw Ridge, or the Australian contingent.

  Annabeth saw her peering around, and smiled reassuringly. "Dane just texted me. They're running a little late just trying to finish the firebreak in their section. They'll be here shortly…and they're giving the Aussie group a ride back down the ridge."

  "Good," said Kayla, trying to keep from showing how nervous she felt about seeing Sam again.

  She'd never reacted to any of her dates as strongly as she'd reacted to him yesterday. She hadn't been able to stop thinking about him. In fact, last night she'd spent hours re-running everything they'd said to each other when she should have been sleeping.

  It felt…nice.

  Nerve wracking as hell, but nice. Exciting.

  The butterflies in her stomach only intensified as she helped Annabeth unload the van. In anticipation of feeding two groups of hungry firefighters just off the line after a twelve-hour shift of intense physical labor, Hannah and Annabeth had brought twice as much food today, including extra batches of apple turnovers and chocolate chip cookies.

  She was on her hands and knees in the back of the van, retrieving the last of a set of big rectangular metal pans, when she heard the sounds of several fire engines pulling up nearby and parking.

  She heard the firm tread of approaching steps. Her heart began beating fast, and she felt dizzy with anticipation.

  You've got to calm down, she told herself. Or he's going to think you're some kind of psycho.

  "Well, if it isn't the big, sweet ass of my favorite little baker chick," drawled a familiar—and unwelcome—man's voice behind her. "Save a cookie for me?"

  All of her excitement soured in an instant.

  Hannah finished pulling the large pan of lasagna out of the van, straightened up, and slowly turned around.

  Yep, it's Jake Lesours, all right. The smoky air had masked his scent, but his snotty tone hadn't changed a bit in the six months since she'd last seen him. They'd met through ShiftMatch, but within a half-hour of meeting him for first-date coffee, she had known that she had zero interest in a second date.

  Which had been disappointing as hell, because his profile and his photo had both looked perfect.

  Wearing a sweat-stained red Ourseville FD t-shirt and turn-outs, he looked a far cry from the neat and polished shifter of their first date. A day's worth of uneven stubble covered his cheeks and throat, and his turnouts covered with dirt and soot.

  The irony was that he actually looked more attractive now than he had when she first met him.

  "Wow, look at you, trying to be all sexy," he observed with a smirk, eyeing her up and down.

  Just like the first time she'd met him, he was offering her insults disguised as compliments, designed to throw her off-balance and undermine her self-confidence. What a jerk.

  Luckily, Hannah's self-confidence was pretty solid, especially when it came to guys that she had zero interest in… like Jake.

  His gaze lingered on her waist-length dark brown hair. She had left it down today, held out of her face with a wide headband in a pretty tropical print.

  Hannah rolled her eyes at his lame attempt at negging. "Thanks for confirming that I made the right decision to block you on ShiftMatch."

  Then she turned her back on him.

  "Yeah, about that—" he began.

  She made a chopping gesture to indicate the conversation was over, picked up the pan, and turned to walk away.

  Jake grabbed her arm. "Don't you walk away from me," he snarled. "I wasn't finished talking to you."

  "But I'm done with this conversation," Hannah shot back. She tried and failed to break his grip. "Let go of me, Jake."

  "What the hell's your problem, Hannah?" His fingers tightened with bruising force. "I was just trying to be nice, but thanks for reminding me that you're ugly and a bitch."

  Nice? This was his version of nice?

  "And thanks for reminding me that you're an asshole. Get your hands off me!"

  "Oh, stop acting like a fucking drama queen," Jake ordered, his face twisting in rage. "I heard you can't get a date, so what's your problem?"

  There was a blur of motion in Hannah's peripheral vision, then a sharp crack and popping noise.

  The painful grip on her arm vanished, and her nose was suddenly filled with the familiar—and very welcome—scent of another bear shifter.

  "She doesn't fancy wankers like you," Sam Wilson growled. "Especially ones who can't take 'no' for an answer. Piss off."

  "You broke my wrist!" Jake was sprawled on the ground. "I'm going to fucking call the cops!"

  Sam smiled pleasantly down at him. "And do what, mate? Explain how you were assaulting Hannah here?"

  And if it came down to her word against Jake's, well, Hannah knew everyone on the small Bearpaw Ridge police force. And it appeared that there had been several witnesses to the incident, if her cousins' glowers in Jake's direction were anything to go by.

  "Assault? I was just trying to apologize!" Jake protested. "It's not my fault that she can't take a—"

  "That's funny," Sam interrupted. "Because you looked to me like you were about to slug her one. And I've never had someone to tell me to get my hands off them while I was apologizing."

  He leaned over Jake, and his smile vanished. In a hard voice, he repeated, "Piss off."

  Jake opened his mouth, then his eyes widened as Dane Swanson came up and surveyed the scene coolly.

  "Get your wrist treated at the first aid station and go home, Jake," he said, his tone even but underlaid with steel. "I don't want to see you around here again."

  The rest of the Bearpaw Ridge contingent were close on Dane's heels.

  All of the firefighters on duty today were shifters, mostly bear and wolf, with a couple of sabertooth cat shifters from the area's brand-new new Cougar Lake Pride. None of them looked very friendly at the moment as they stared down at the injured Jake.

  Cradling his right arm against his body, Jake scrambled to his feet, glared at all of them, then stomped off without saying anything else.

  Sam laid a big, protective hand on her shoulder. "You all right?"

  The welcome heat of his touch soaked through her t-shirt and into her skin.

  She realized she was swaying, leaning into him, and unobtrusively tried to pull back a little.

  Her bear rose up in protest, making her skin prickle as if she were about shapeshift. It wanted Hannah to step closer and press herself against the tall, solidly-built Aussie. It wanted her to sink into his embrace.

  "Thank you, Sam." Hannah's voice shook, but with pure need now instead of her rapidly-dissipating anger.

  She looked around at the gathered firefighters and caught Kayla's eye.

  Her sister's gaze was focused on Sam's hand, still resting on Hannah's shoulder. She grinned at Hannah and gave her a covert thumbs-up signal.

  Hannah felt her cheeks heat, but couldn't stop the smile that bubbled up from inside her.

  She was intensely aware that Sam hadn't removed his hand from her shoulder. And she didn't want him to.

  She looked around the loose circle of her assembled relatives and friends.

  "Talk about showing up in the nick of time!" she said to them, trying to keep her tone light. "I thought Jake was going to mug me for this lasagna! I'm glad I'd already unloaded the cookies and turnovers, or we would have been in real trouble!"

  A ripple of laughter moved through the group. Then, with the exception of Sam, and Dane, they began to move towards the picnic tables laden with bounty from Cinnamon + Sugar.

  Dane nodded, his gaze still focused on Jake's retreating form. "It's difficult when people w
on't take 'no' for an answer," he said. "But I don't think he'll be bothering you again, Hannah."

  "Too right," agreed Sam, in a cheerful tone. "That bloke's just begging to have his legs broken to match the wrist."

  "I call dibs on his right leg. You can break the left one," Hannah offered in a joking tone.

  Maybe it was just her imagination, but it seemed that maybe Jake started walking a bit faster towards the first aid trailer.

  Dane shook his head, a wry smile tugging at his mouth.

  "Try to keep the violence to PG-13, you two," he advised, taking the lasagna pan from Hannah before heading over to the picnic table to greet his wife.

  Hannah waited a few moments until her cousin had moved far enough away to give her the illusion of privacy.

  Then she said to Sam, "Hey, thanks for coming to my rescue. I was two seconds away from dropping your dinner and clocking Mr. Grabby Hands."

  Sam recoiled. "What, and ruin our tea because of that yobbo? That would've been a waste of perfectly good food."

  "I agree," Hannah said, still fighting the urge to move in and stand a lot closer to the big Aussie shifter. "So, you totally saved the day. And dinner."

  Sam grinned down at her, his teeth white against his sooty face. "I actually came over because I wanted to ask you a favor. And see you again, of course," he added, hastily.

  He squeezed her shoulder, then, disappointingly, withdrew his hand.

  "Sure," Hannah said instantly. "I owe you one. How can I help?"

  Chapter 5

  Lost and Found

  Sam handed her his phone. "Do you recognize this dog?"

  Hannah looked down at the screen and saw a photo of a bedraggled, sad-eyed dog, most of his fur singed away. He was wrapped in a blanket and lying on what looked like a vehicle bench seat.

  She felt an instant surge of sympathy for the pup. Poor little guy! I bet his people are worried to death about him. "Where did you find him?"

  "Near a burned house along Eagle Creek Road. He was just sitting in the middle of road, like he was waiting for someone. Came right over when he saw us walking up. Seems like a sweet little fella."

  Hannah frowned down at the phone. "Eagle Creek Road? I think this might be the Harper family's dog Edgar, but it's hard to tell. Let me ask Kayla…Edgar's one of her patients."

  "Oh yeah, someone mentioned your sister was a vet," Sam said. "Go on, you can borrow my phone. I'm going to grab myself some of those choc chip biccies before they're all gone."

  Hannah grinned up at him. "Annabeth and I made a couple of extra batches of cookies and turnovers this morning. We have a lot of experience dealing with hungry shifters."

  Sam's eyes widened, and then his gaze turned hot and somehow predatory. "I bet you do."

  Was that the barest hint of a growl in his deep voice?

  Hannah felt an odd flutter in her chest. What was it about this Australian shifter that appealed to her so strongly? It wasn't just his rugged good looks. He was also refreshingly down-to-earth and really sweet.

  He's the one. Her bear spoke up suddenly. I want this one for our mate.

  Hannah felt like she'd just been jabbed by a cattle prod. Shock zinged through every nerve in her body, and she almost dropped Sam's phone. What are you talking about? I mean, he seems really nice, but we just met him!

  "Hannah, are you all right?" Sam sounded concerned.

  He's the one, her bear stated definitively. Our mate. Don't let him get away.

  "Fine," Hannah managed. "I’m fine. Let me go ask Kayla about the dog."

  Clutching his phone tightly, Hannah all but fled to find her sister.

  * * *

  Kayla was sitting at one of the picnic tables with their Swanson cousins Dane, Mark, Evan, Ash, and Tyler. At Hannah's approach, all of six of them looked up from their plates of lasagna, garlic bread, and salad.

  "Hey Hannah, thanks so much for bringing dinner," Ash said, after hastily chewing and swallowing. "Is this Aunt Margaret's recipe?"

  Hannah nodded. "She dropped by the bakery this afternoon to deliver it. Though these look like restaurant-sized pans, so I think Daniel might have had something to do with it."

  Kayla's gaze darkened a little at the mention of the Bearpaw Springs Resort's executive chef, who was also their mother's new mate.

  Hannah suppressed a sigh. She liked Daniel a lot, and had decided pretty quickly after meeting him that he qualified as Good People. Of course, the fact that they'd worked together to save a man's life at that first meeting had probably biased her in his favor.

  But her older sister was still reserving judgment on the silver-haired sabertooth shifter, mainly because he was related to the notorious Pete Langlais, who had caused so much trouble at the ranch a good decade ago.

  "So, you and Sam seem to have hit it off," Kayla said with a smirk. Apparently, she had decided not to comment on the possible origin of her dinner.

  Hannah felt her cheeks flush with heat. "Um, he's really nice."

  And sexy. And funny. And I could listen to his accent all day…

  Apparently, her face was easy to read, because Kayla chuckled. "Good. He and the other Aussies have been awesome to work with. They've all got a great sense of humor, and they don't complain about the hard work."

  "And Sam told us that his parents own a cattle ranch in Australia," Evan chimed in, grinning. "Think you might be able to convince him to move here? Dane could sure use a hand at our place, now that Mr. CEO Ash here is too busy to do his share of the chores."

  "Hey!" protested Ash. "It's not my fault that our latest game is a big hit! It's all I can do to keep up with the demand for expansion modules."

  "Um," Hannah said, uncomfortable at how excited her bear had gotten at the suggestion that Sam relocate to Bearpaw Ridge. I just met him yesterday! "Speaking of Sam, he and his guys apparently found a lost dog this afternoon. Do you think this might be Edgar? It's hard to tell with most of his fur gone."

  Hoping that her cousins would take the hint to lay off the teasing her about Sam, she handed Kayla the phone.

  Kayla studied the photo and nodded. "Oh yeah, that's him. See how ragged his left ear looks? Edgar had a run-in with something—probably a coyote—last autumn. I stitched up the worst of his injuries but his ear was mostly just cosmetic damage, and his fur usually covers it."

  She handed the phone back to Hannah. "Erin and Ben will be so happy to see him." Her expression sobered. "Especially since they just lost their house and pretty much everything else."

  "Everything except each other, that's what Erin told me this morning," Mark said quietly. "I'm helping them with the insurance claims. They'll rebuild, and we'll all pitch in to help them in whatever way we can. That's what we do here in Bearpaw Ridge."

  "Edgar hightailed it out of the house while they were scrambling to get themselves and their most important papers in the car," Evan added. "Erin and Ben feared the worst, especially since the wind was pushing the fire so quickly up the hill."

  "Hey, Miss Banana, my car is parked here," Kayla said. "You can borrow it if you like, and go return Edgar to the Harpers. They're staying with Teresa and Ernie at the dairy."

  Hannah was preparing to ask Why me? when Kayla revealed her secret plan.

  "Why don't you ask Sam to go with you? I'm sure he'd like a chance to see the parts of Bearpaw Ridge that aren't on fire right now."

  "And don't forget to ask him if he might be interested in moving here," Evan added in a teasing tone.

  Chapter 6

  First Date

  As she drove Kayla's Subaru station wagon out to the Ornelas Organic Dairy, where Erin and Ben Harper would be staying until their house could be rebuilt, Hannah found herself sneaking sideways looks at Sam.

  He'd eagerly accepted her invitation to help reunite Edgar with his family. Now, he sat next to Hannah in the Subaru's passenger seat, holding Edgar securely on his lap. He stroked the dog and scratched gently behind his floppy singed ears as he studied the passing landscape
with interest.

  Despite the brown sky and copper sun, the valley was still beautiful, filled with lush green pastures and fields. The highway followed the course of the Salmon River, its swiftly-flowing waters as clear as glass and its banks lined with tall cottonwood trees and bushy willows.

  Sam's fellow firefighters had conspicuously declined to join them when she invited them along out of politeness.

  Apparently, it wasn't only the Swansons who were trying to matchmake the two of them. Hannah didn't know whether to be overjoyed that everyone seemed to like Sam as much as she did, or mortified that her attraction to him was apparently about as subtle as a highway billboard.