A Time to Embrace (Love's Time Book 3)
Page 21
She hurried to the door, placed her palm against the frigid glass just as red lights strobed, flashing their arrival. The siren silenced as the back doors of the truck flung open and medical personnel rushed out the hospital door to greet and assess their patient, the area now a buzz of activity and doctors’ commands.
Cammie hung back, giving way for the gurney and the entire medical team hovering around as it rolled down the hall, but caught a peek at the patient. Somewhere underneath that bleeding, purplish mass of flesh was a little boy’s face.
A wince escaped her throat, and she squeezed her eyes closed. One hand covered her mouth, the other hugged her waist, the guilt clamping her chest almost unbearable. Nausea rose up, threatened to spill. Oh, God…
The door opened, and a much-needed blast of frigid air seeped inside before it closed. Just enough to cool her cheeks, to quell the queasiness.
“We go out on a ton of calls, but the kids…” A loud swallow punctuated the deep male voice etched with pain just over her shoulder. “The kids are always the toughest to deal with.”
Her eyelids jolted up, but she didn’t need to turn around for a glance at the man to confirm his identity. Especially not after the familiar woodsy combination of fruit and spices suppressed the sterile scent from the hospital and ratcheted her pulse in a different direction.
The too-handsome, too-much-of-a-player fire captain.
She took a deep breath, nodded a greeting, even managed a small smile. “Yes, they are, Captain Madison.”
“Keegan,” he corrected.
“Kee…gan.” She tested the first name of her best friend’s boss on her tongue. Not as if she hadn’t called him Cap, like Nic, or Keegan lots of times in her head. But never out loud. And never to his face.
Oh, mercy. His face. Tan. Steady and sure of himself. Those eyes, more blue than green up close, studied her from behind rectangular spectacles. As if measuring her interest.
Well, she wasn’t interested. Not even one iota.
He was a player, much like Liam, her most recent ex-boyfriend, and Daniel before that. And maybe it had taken her longer than the average female but she’d finally learned her lesson. She would wait for a man who entertained the possibility of something long-term, something permanent. At the very least, open to the notion of building a lasting relationship.
So what if her breath hitched every time she was around the guy and her heart thumped out a traitorous rhythm. She curled her hands into fists to keep from following through on the urge to weave her fingers through that longish brown hair. Hair that curled up in the front like a surfer’s prized ocean wave.
Pathetic.
“What are you doing here?” She slid a sideways glance, trying not to be obvious. Which chick was hanging on to him tonight? Chances were not in favor for the same redhead wobbling around the lawn in crazy four-inch heels at last week’s fire department barbeque fundraiser.
“Drove the rescue unit so the paramedics could work on our boy.”
Duh. How could she not have noticed the uniform pants below the jacket? Had her just-turned-thirty hormones totally hijacked her brain? Evidently. Because she couldn’t force any response other than a breathy “oh” from her mouth.
The glass doors swooshed open and two more firefighters stepped inside. Cold air clung to their uniforms. They glanced toward the reception desk then scanned the room, recognition lighting Bear’s face upon spotting them. He tugged his partner toward them.
“Hey, Cammie.” Bear Stanford reached them first and gave her a one-armed hug around the neck while Rand’s attention remained focused on the reception area.
“Hey, guys.”
“Wake up.” Bear elbowed the other firefighter.
Rand grunted and angled to face them, his normal olive skin pale as paper, his customary grin noticeably absent. “Oh, sorry. Hey, Cammie.”
She acknowledged him with a nod and a smile.
“You look like you just saw a ghost,” Bear teased.
“Feels like it,” Rand shook his head, as if discarding the vision.
Did Keegan just scoot closer to her?
She stood statue-still. Held her breath.
His shoulder brushed hers as he leaned in to peer around her toward the reception desk. His fingers touched the small of her back, igniting a slow burn from the tips of her boots all the way north.
Yeah. Definitely. Too. Close. Her lungs failed and her breath whooshed out. Big mistake. Because then she had to breathe in. And it was all him.
Clean. Confident. Masculine.
Trouble!
She took a jerky step back, swallowed the jumbo-sized lump clogging her throat. “Thanks, guys, for taking such good care of Jayden. I better go check on him now. I foresee a long night of reports ahead.”
Doubtful that she could get an update this early, but she’d wait somewhere else, away from the captain. Her boots scrambled for escape from the invisible bond chaining her to the man.
Not cool, Cammie, not cool! Falling for a man who’s just as bad for you as Liam and Daniel. Don’t look back. Do. Not. Look. Back!
Her rebellious heart disregarded the warning. At the door, she twisted over a shoulder for one last glimpse.
With crossed arms and legs planted, he stood tall, at least six glorious feet, his back and shoulders straight and regal. A true hero in every sense of the word, confidence and courage literally bounced off him. He caught her ogling and winked. As if he knew the magnetic pull he exuded.
She shook her head. But, unlike Rand, the act did nothing to erase that image from her memory.
Oh, blast! How would she ever be able to tell her best friend that she was attracted to the firefighter’s boss?
****
Keegan filled his lungs, hoping for one last whiff of Cammie’s warm, spicy scent, some subtle blend of cinnamon and flowers, to tide him over until he saw her again. Addicting, that’s what it was. What she was. He couldn’t seem to shake her from his thoughts lately. Or his dreams.
Usually, she wore her silky-looking dark hair straight, but tonight long wavy curls bounced against her back with every step. Her hips swayed in a soft hypnotic rhythm, the relaxed brushed denim a welcome change from most women he dated, with their tight pants or clingy dresses, high heels, and an exaggerated swagger.
He liked Cammie’s casual vibe. Liked it a little too much.
Desire stirred to life and rocketed through his limbs, but he had no plans to act on his attraction. Dating Cammie would be like dating a best friend’s sister. And, after Miranda, he’d formed a hard, fast rule for himself about not dating women too closely tangled up with his friends or family.
Which didn’t make this crazy, unwelcome attraction any easier to manage.
He watched her until she disappeared through a swinging door.
“Hey. What’s wrong with you two tonight?” Bear chided, taking turns giving both him and Rand a less-than-gentle shove against the shoulder.
What was wrong with him tonight? It wasn’t as if he hadn't noticed Cammie before. How could he not? But she was everything he tried to stay away from.
Beautiful inside and out. Comfortable to be around, always a smile and a kind word on her lips. A forever type of woman.
And he didn’t do forever.
Sweet! Take me to Amazon!
About the Author
Dora Hiers believes that a person should love what they do or choose to do something else. She’s doing exactly what makes her heart sing and considers every day a gift. When she takes a break from cranking out heart racing, God-gracing romances, Dora enjoys quiet mornings sipping coffee on their mountain cabin deck and lazy afternoons in her hammock reading a great book. Life’s too short to be stuck in traffic, to drink bad coffee, or to read books with a sad ending. Dora and her real-life hero make their home in North Carolina, but with a world full of amazing places to explore, that’s only a landing point. Connect with Dora:
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Dora also writes stories minus a distinct faith element but still sprinkled with hope, grace and second chances using her pen name, Tori Kayson. Clean and wholesome romance, no sex scenes, no cursing, no need to hide the books from your kids or grandkiddos. But definitely a tad more heat than most Christian books. Check out Sweet Romance that Sizzles by Tori Kayson.
Books by Dora Hiers
Potter’s House
Her Cowboy Forever, coming March 2020
Her Christmas Cowboy, coming August 2020
Her Cowboy the Spy, coming February 2021
Merriville Firefighter Heroes
Fully Involved
Fully Committed
Fully Surrendered, included in Autumn Hearts anthology
Love’s Season
A Time to Heal
A Time to Build
A Time to Embrace
Marshals with Heart
A Marshal’s Secret
A Marshal’s Promise
A Marshal’s Embrace
Cider Lake
His Valentine Promise
Her Valentine Vet
Holiday Novellas
Christmas on Mistletoe Mountain
Where Wishes Live
Books by Tori Kayson
Kester Ranch Cowboys
Roping the Cowboy
Roping the Marshal
Roping the Daddy
Holiday Novellas
Kissing Santa Nic