Wildfire Shifters: Collection 1

by Zoe Chant

  “This isn’t what I planned,” the woman muttered to herself. “This is all wrong. You weren’t supposed to meet her like this.”

  And now Callum was even more baffled. He glanced down at the baby, who was sucking on one fist, still watching him with that rather unnerving focus.

  “You mean your daughter?” he asked.

  The woman dropped her hands. She took a deep breath, as though having to steel herself.

  “Our daughter,” she said. “You’re her father, Callum.”

  Chapter 3

  Oh no. I broke him.

  It was like her words had been some sort of magic curse, turning Callum from a living man into a stone statue. Diana didn’t think he was even still breathing.

  A truly horrific possibility occurred to her. He was looking so blank, as though he didn’t remember…

  “Oh no,” she breathed. “Um. You do know who I am, right? Los Angeles, last March?”

  “Los Angeles,” he whispered, his lips barely moving. “I was in Los Angeles. The charity event.”

  He had seemed to recognize her. But she still had a horrible suspicion that he didn’t know how the night had ended. She was foggy enough on the details, and he’d drunk at least four times what she had.

  “I, I’m so sorry,” she babbled, anxiety loosening her tongue. “I mean, you seemed enthusiastic enough when I barged into your hotel room and jumped you, but in retrospect you were really not in a fit state to be making decisions. Neither was I, not that I’m trying to make any excuses. And I absolutely don’t expect you to just take my word for it that you’re Beth’s father. Of course I’ll pay for a paternity test, if you want.”

  “No.” His shell-shocked expression didn’t change. “No need.”

  It was pretty obvious. Now that Diana could finally see Beth side-by-side with her father, there could be no doubting that they were related. Beth got her warm bronze skin tone from Diana’s side of the family, but her green eyes and thick, curly red-gold hair were pure Callum. Even with the baby fat rounding her cheeks and plumping out her chin, the shape of her face was eerily similar to his.

  “I’m really sorry to spring this on you like this,” Diana said. “It’s just, just that I thought it was wrong to hide something this big from you. And it’s important to me that Beth has a chance to know her biological father. I know this must be a heck of a surprise.”

  From his frozen rigidity, that was the world’s biggest understatement. She might have been the one who had just been in a car crash, but he was the one who seemed to have gone into shock. She was honestly starting to get worried that he might go down like a cut tree at any moment.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier. I wanted to, I really did. But I, um…” She could feel her face heating. “I didn’t know how to find you. I didn’t even know your name until a few weeks ago.”

  He blinked, once.

  “I did try, I really did,” she hurried on. “I must have called every fire station in California, but nobody recognized your description. It never occurred to me that you were on a hotshot crew in another state. I didn’t even know that sort of thing existed. But then I happened to turn on the TV, and there was this piece on the news about the firefighters battling the latest wildfires, and there you were. Doing an interview.”

  Well, it had been kind of an interview. The reporter had been doing most of the talking. Diana still couldn’t figure out why the editor had cut out most of Callum’s responses. He was so witty and charismatic, it seemed a waste to just have him standing around looking brooding and stoic and devastatingly attractive.

  Much as he was doing now. Maybe it was just her still-wild post-pregnancy hormones, but holy hotness, he was even better-looking than she’d remembered. When they’d last met, his easy smile had charmed her socks off, but that was nothing compared to the way the straight, serious set of his jaw had her panties melting now.

  There was a kind of fierce, burning intensity to him that she could have sworn hadn’t been there before. If she hadn’t already been lying on the ground, she was pretty sure her knees would have given way from the sheer masculine power he exuded.

  Fun-off-duty Callum had been sexy enough to get her knocked up. At this rate, there was serious danger that at-work-in-uniform Callum was going to leave her impregnated with octuplets.

  “Interview,” he murmured. He drew in a sharp breath, as though something had just clicked in his head. “So that’s why Joe...”

  “Why Joe what?” Diana asked, when he didn’t go on.

  He shook his head, very slightly. “Never mind. So you saw me on TV.”

  “I know, right? What are the odds?” She forced a smile, hoping to spark one in return. “It almost makes you believe in fate, doesn’t it?”

  Her attempt at levity shriveled in the face of the unwavering furnace-blast of his stare. His face was still utterly frozen, emotionless, giving away nothing of his thoughts.

  In contrast, Diana felt stripped naked. Those penetrating green eyes seemed to look straight into her soul.

  “Anyway,” she said nervously. “I finally got your name, and the reporter said that you were with the Thunder Mountain Hotshots, and well…here I am. With Beth. Who’s your daughter.”

  She wished that he would smile, or frown, or something. Anything. She didn’t have a clue what was going on in his head.

  She swallowed hard. “Please say something.”

  He took a deep breath, mouth opening—but then his head snapped to one side, as though someone had called his name. For the briefest instant, she thought she saw relief flash across his face.

  “They’re here,” he said.

  Diana started to sit up to see who he meant, but he pushed her flat again. The fierce look he shot her suggested that he was fully prepared to pin her down with his own body to hold her still if necessary.

  The mental image of exactly what that would be like made embarrassing heat shoot through her. She stayed still, hoping that Callum couldn’t tell how the mere contact of his hand on her shoulder made her pulse pound.

  You probably have a concussion, Gertrude informed her. You’re acting like an idiot, and he can totally tell. As soon as he can, he’s going to run for the hills. You’ve made a complete mess of this.

  The earth under her cheek vibrated. Distantly, she heard the roar of a car engine—no, something bigger than a car, a truck—then slamming doors and raised voices. From her position flat in the ditch, she couldn’t see what was happening, but from the sounds of booted feet the rest of Callum’s hotshot crew had turned up.

  “Oh!” Diana gasped, her heart thudding for an entirely new reason. In all the shock of seeing Callum, she’d entirely forgotten about the previous events. Now it all came crashing back. The creepy man, her car skidding out of control, the fire—

  Callum’s hand tightened on her shoulder, as though he’d read her mind. “It’s all right. He’s gone. My crew will contain the fire. You’re safe now.” He straightened, raising his voice. “Wystan!”

  A man jumped down into the ditch, joining them. Like Callum, he wore beige firefighter gear, but he also had a medical case marked with a red cross clipped to his belt. Sunlight gleamed from his white-blond hair as he knelt down next to Diana.

  “Hello.” The newcomer offered her a polite, professional smile. His fingers were cool on her wrist as he took her pulse. “I’m Wystan. I’m a paramedic. Do you have any pain?”

  “I’m fine,” Diana said, though in truth her skull was pounding like someone had been using it as a kettledrum. “Please, you have to check on Beth first. Is she okay?”

  “I’m certain that she’s fine,” Wystan said soothingly. His swift hands moved lightly over her neck and spine, then ran down her arms. “Baby car seats are marvelous at protecting infants through this sort of thing. But I know you’re worried, so as long as you promise not to move, I’ll check up on her now.”

  Diana tried to look exceedingly meek and co-operative. “I promise.”
>
  Wystan gave her another smile, then turned to Callum. He held out his hands. “I’ll take it from here, Cal. You can go help the others with the fire.”

  Callum hesitated. It might have been her imagination, but his arm seemed to tighten around Beth, holding her possessively out of the paramedic’s reach for a moment.

  Then his shoulders dropped. He passed Beth over.

  The instant she left his arms, her face crumpled. Her bottom lip started to tremble.

  From the way Wystan’s eyes widened, he was fully aware that he’d just been handed a grenade without the pin. He held Beth at arm’s-length, his rising voice betraying his panic. “Oh dear. It’s all right, little one. Please don’t—”

  “WAAAAAAAAAAH!”

  Diana instinctively tried to reach for Beth, but Callum got there first. Shooting Wystan a vicious glare, he plucked the wailing baby out of his arms. He propped her up against his shoulder, patting her back. Her screams morphed into hiccupping, betrayed sobs.

  “I’m so sorry,” Diana said to Wystan. “She’s not very good with strangers.”

  Wystan, who was looking somewhat shell-shocked, nodded in the direction of Callum. “She seems fine with him.”

  “Not a stranger,” Callum grunted.

  Wystan’s eyebrows rose. “Oh, you know each other?”

  “Um.” Diana could feel a blush rising in her cheeks again. “Sort of. It’s a long story.”

  Wystan’s gaze moved from Beth’s face to Callum’s. He did a distinct double-take. “My word. That’s uncanny. Callum, is that…your niece?”

  Callum hesitated, and Diana’s heart jumped into her mouth. Of course he would be tempted to claim that Beth was a more distant relative. He’d only just found out about her, after all, and now here he was being put on the spot by his colleague. He wouldn’t want to publicly acknowledge her, not so soon—

  “No,” Callum said firmly. He unzipped his jacket, shifting Beth from one shoulder to the other so he could shrug out of each sleeve in turn. “She’s my daughter.”

  He’d claimed her. Despite everything, a jolt of pure happiness went through her. He’d claimed her. Beth had a daddy.

  Wystan, for his part, could not have looked more flabbergasted if Callum had announced Beth had been fathered by the Pope. “What? How?”

  “The usual way,” Callum said curtly. With a deft flick, he spread the thick material out on the ground like a blanket. “Be gentle with her.”

  “But—wait, what? You—she—when—er. Yes. Well.” Wystan cleared his throat, regaining some of his previous professional attitude, although his eyebrows were still up in his hairline. “This is clearly going to require some time to explain. For now, perhaps you could help keep—Beth, was it?—calm while I examine her.”

  Callum nodded. He laid Beth down on his jacket. Beth squirmed, trying to flip herself over to her front.

  “Careful,” Diana warned. “She’s a champion crawler. If you give her the slightest opening, she’ll bolt. I swear she must be part racehorse.”

  She’d meant it as a joke, but both men twitched. She distinctly saw Wystan side-eye Callum, who made the slightest head-shake in response. The paramedic blew out his breath, returning his attention to Beth. The whole thing took less than two seconds, but Diana had the oddest sense that the two men had just had an entire silent conversation.

  Beth kicked in protest as Wystan attempted to check her legs. Callum bent down lower, his forehead nearly touching Beth’s. His solemn expression never changed, but Beth gurgled in delight, as if he’d made a silly face at her. She grabbed at his nose. Callum winced, but let her maul him as she pleased while Wystan quickly checked her over.

  “Well, she’s certainly as healthy as a, er, horse, in any event,” the paramedic announced after a few moments. He straightened. “Now let’s see about you…I’m sorry, I don’t know your name. Callum, won’t you introduce your, um, lady friend?”

  This time, she definitely wasn’t imagining the panic that flashed across Callum’s face. He froze, looking at her helplessly.

  Diana burst into giggles, relieved that for once she wasn’t the only one feeling awkward. “I’m sorry. I forgot to tell you my name, didn’t I?”

  Wystan looked even more confounded. “I’m sorry, you have a child together but…you don’t know each other’s names?”

  “Very long story,” Callum said, in a tone that promised immense woe unto anyone who dared to inquire further.

  Diana smothered her giggles. She held out her hand to Wystan, as best she could from flat on the ground. “I’m Diana. Diana Whitehawk. That’s Beth.”

  “A pleasure to meet you,” Wystan replied, taking her hand and dipping his head in an honest-to-God old-fashioned bow. He cast a slightly pained look at Beth, who was now enthusiastically attempting to ascend Mount Callum. “At least, as long as you don’t feel the need to scream in my face.”

  Diana pressed her lips shut on another giggle. Oh no, she was definitely teetering on the border of hysteria. Even the pain in her head was starting to feel vaguely unreal. She had to hold herself together, for Beth’s sake.

  Callum shot her another of those sharp, peculiar glances. She had a sudden mad hunch that he knew what she was feeling, no matter how she tried to hide it.

  He turned to Wystan. “Head injury. And she’s going into shock.”

  “Thank you, I am a trained paramedic,” Wystan said, a little tartly. He was once again examining her neck, fingers probing at each vertebra. “But I agree with your diagnosis. Diana, you don’t seem to have any spinal injuries. I’m going to help you sit up now, but I need you to take it slowly, and tell me if you experience even the slightest dizziness or discomfort, all right?”

  He started to slip an arm around her—and a sudden, sharp sound made Diana jump. Wystan paused, not quite touching her. He stared at Callum, startled bafflement written across his features.

  “Sorry.” Callum’s expression was as blank as a wall, but one of his boots scraped against the ground in an odd, repetitive motion, like an agitated horse pawing at the ground. He stilled the instant he realized she was watching. “Let me help.”

  Wystan looked like he was now wondering if Callum could be suffering from a concussion, but he moved over to give his colleague room. Callum shifted Beth to his other hip, crouching down so he could assist as well.

  A little thrill went through Diana as she curled her arm around Callum’s strong neck. It was weird, because objectively Wystan was just as attractive, but she didn’t have to fight a crazy urge to slip her fingers under his collar.

  Callum’s muscles flexed under her palm. The two firefighters helped her up, supporting her so carefully that it felt like she floated to her feet. The world spun for a moment, then steadied.

  “All right?” Callum asked her.

  She nodded, cautiously at first, then with more certainty. “I think so. I have a headache, but it’s not too bad.”

  “I’ll give you something for that, but let’s get you somewhere more comfortable first.” Wystan kept his shoulder braced under her arm, though Callum was the one taking most of her weight. “Do you think you could walk a little? Our crew transport is parked just over there. Or would you prefer someone to carry you?”

  “I can walk,” Diana assured him.

  At the same time, Callum said, “I’ll carry her.”

  “But you need to carry Beth,” Diana pointed out.

  “I’d offer to do that, but I don’t think she likes me very much,” Wystan said, one eyebrow quirking in self-deprecation. “For the sake of all our ears, I think we’d better not disturb her.”

  Beth had settled against Callum’s shoulder, her curly head nestled against his neck. Diana had never seen her trust anyone so readily before. It was as if she somehow knew, by scent or touch or some deep animal instinct, that he was her father.

  In return, Callum seemed to know just how to hold her. For all his grim face, there was a clear tenderness in the way he cradled Beth, on
e hand underneath her, the other spread protectively across her back.

  Some of the hard lump of anxiety she’d been carrying around melted away. Beth and Callum looked so natural together. She’d done the right thing. It was going to be okay.

  Then her gaze fell on the burned-out shell of her wrecked car, down the road behind Callum. A small group of people in firefighter uniforms were working around it, beating out the smoldering fires in the vegetation surrounding the crashed vehicle. She remembered the jet of flame shooting out of nowhere, her sheer terror as she desperately stomped on the brakes…

  And the words of the burly man: Nobody will get hurt…as long as your boyfriend does exactly what we want.

  Her attacker had been lurking around the base in order to target Callum. He’d gone after her because he’d thought he could use her as some kind of hostage. He’d gone after Beth.

  Ice-cold fear crystallized into a sharp, spiky mass in her chest. She’d worried that Callum might reject Beth, or that he wouldn’t be a good, loving father to her. Not even in her worst anxiety-spiral had she ever imagined that she might be bringing her baby into danger.

  What have I done?

  Chapter 4

  “Callum, what the hell is going on?” Blaise barged into the crew kitchen, with Rory, Edith, and Joe hot on her heels. They were all still sweaty and soot-stained from putting out the car fire. “Wystan has this crazy notion that you’re that baby’s dad?”

  He didn’t pause in chopping up carrots. “I am.”

  “Oh no.” Blaise jabbed an accusing finger at him. “It is not possible. There is not a single universe in which you have a secret baby. Joe, I would believe. You? Never.”

  “Hey!” Joe protested. “Okay, I admit, I was a man-slut. But I was always an ethical man-slut. The only thing I ever left a woman with was a satisfied smile. No broken hearts. No accidents.”

  “And if even you could manage to be careful, there’s no way Callum wouldn’t be,” Blaise said. “Come on, Cal. That can’t possibly be your kid.”