Set the Night on Fire

by Jennifer Bernard

He stared…and kept on staring while Josh eyed the seats full of women like a kid in a candy store.

  “Is this turnout because of the movie?” Josh whispered.

  “I warned you. Not much happens around here. We’re big news.”

  Still, he couldn’t look away from the girl at the front of the auditorium. Her chestnut hair was pulled into a low, classic ponytail at the base of her neck. She was frowning intently at her thumb. Who was she? She reminded him of someone…he knew her…but she wouldn’t look at him so he couldn’t say for sure…

  Josh followed Sean’s gaze and whistled under his breath. “Do you know her?”

  As if she’d overheard, she finally looked in his direction. Her eyes met his in a punch of silvery sage-green.

  Evie McGraw. Holy shit.

  No wonder he hadn’t recognized her at first. She’d only been fourteen when he left. A skinny kid he’d paid no attention to—until the night when everything went to hell.

  Now she was…wow, she was an absolute knock-you-off-your-feet beauty. She had the kind of face you’d see in a magazine or on a billboard, all luminous eyes and stunning cheekbones. Did she remember him? Or had she blocked out the trauma of that night? He wouldn’t blame her if she had.

  Even though she had an air of “don’t touch me” vibrating around her like an invisible electric fence, he tried a smile. It took a few moments, but eventually she smiled back. Actually, it was more of a twitch of her lips, but he could read recognition on her face. Her eyes remained cool and wary, as if she was hiding behind a pane of thick, frosted glass.

  “Seriously, who is that?” Josh asked again. “Someone you know?”

  “I used to.”

  He didn’t know this grownup, frosty Evie. The Evie he remembered was a bubbly, dreamy girl. Young enough so she still read Harry Potter nonstop and did her homework on the kitchen table. She seemed very different now, but then again, it had been thirteen years. People changed.

  Chief Littleton nudged him toward the stage, and he pulled his attention back to the business at hand. The city council meeting had been called to order, and it was time for them to do their thing. He and Josh followed the chief onstage.

  “This is a big moment for us,” the chief began. “I’ve been fighting for this for several years. Here in Jupiter Point, with our urban-wilderness interface, we’re sitting ducks for a wildfire. Every summer we get a few that come close. Last year the ranger station even burned down—we all remember that. Finally the bigwigs agreed with me, and we got ourselves a brand-new interagency hotshot crew based out of here. Some of you probably remember Sean Marcus; he’s the superintendent of this new crew. That means he’s in charge. He sure has come a long way, huh?”

  Sean kept his face stony to hide the wince. Thanks a lot, Chief.

  “Since he left Jupiter Point, Sean has racked up an unbelievable record as a smoke-jumper and hotshot. He’s a brilliant and respected leader, he’s saved many lives and homes, and word has it he requested this assignment. Let’s give him a big welcome home, hey?”

  The crowd responded with generous applause. Sean finally cracked a smile and saluted the townspeople. He scanned the faces near the front, looking for Evie, but he froze when his gaze encountered the last person he wanted to see.

  Brad White. Right in the front row. The guy had brass balls—he was grinning at Sean as if they were old friends. That cocky smirk made Sean want to deck him all over again, the same way he had that night.

  In thirteen years, Brad had grown more polished, and his shock of sandy hair had been ruthlessly cut into what Sean thought of as “news anchor hair.” He wore a tan business suit and a royal-blue silk tie. To Sean, he looked like a kid trying on his father’s suit.

  At least the idiot still had a bump on his nose from where Sean had broken it that night.

  He stared the jerk down until finally he turned away and said something to the guy next to him.

  Josh hissed in his ear, “Go, Magneto. It’s your turn to speak. Make it sing, baby.”

  Collecting himself, Sean took a step forward. “Hi, I’m Sean Marcus, and it’s good to be back in Jupiter Point.” He paused until the applause died down. “My job is to put together the best crew I can hire, get us geared up, set up at the new Jupiter Point Fire and Rescue compound—what used to be the old Army base--and do it all by the time fire season comes around in May.”

  He paused again for a wave of claps and whistles. Brad had a big false smile plastered on his face as if it were glued there.

  “The completed crew will contain twenty firefighters. We’ll be bringing in mostly fire service veterans, but we’re also interested in locals who have their red cards—that’s a prerequisite for wildland firefighting. We may be hiring some local ground support from time to time as well. Local knowledge is always helpful. If you know anything about how hotshots work, you know we’ll be traveling wherever they need us. Most of the time, you won’t even know we’re here. And hopefully, when you do notice us, you’ll be glad we’re here. Any questions?”

  A young man in a baseball cap got to his feet. “You said you’re hiring locals?”

  “Yup. I’ll be setting up interviews in the next couple of weeks. Call this number.” He handed his card to someone in the front row, who passed it on. “Keep in mind, the hotshot training is extremely tough. You have to be in peak physical condition. You have to pass some pretty harsh tests. And I’m known for demanding the best from my crew.”

  “Oh yeah.” Josh’s heartfelt agreement drew laughter from the crowd.

  “When it’s a matter of life or death, you don’t want to be a step slower than the fire just because you slacked off on your endurance training.”

  A perky blonde in a red tank top asked the next question. “Will you hotshots be living here year-round? Do you have families?”

  Sean bit back a smile. Like all firefighters, hotshots tended to get a lot of attention from girls. “This is Josh Marshall, crew captain. Josh, do you want to take this question?”

  “Sure. What’s your name?”

  “Serena.”

  “Well, Serena, some hotshots have families that they leave behind to go fight fires all summer. Others of us are still single.”

  “Really?” She batted her eyelashes at him. Sean could sense Josh plotting how to get her number after the meeting. “What about him?” She pointed to Sean. “Is he single?”

  Josh snorted. “Yes, Sean is single, but to be totally honest, he’s a pain in the—”

  Sean elbowed him in the ribs to make him shut up. He spotted Evie a few rows back. Her full lips were pressed together as if she was trying to hold back a laugh. Her eyes brimmed with amusement. Now that was the Evie he remembered. Teasing, fun, bright.

  Was it hard for her to be this close to Brad White? Had he ever faced up to his actions? Apologized? Done time?

  Time to wrap things up. “We’re going to be very busy over the next few weeks, but my door is always open if you have questions about the hotshots, fire safety, or how to apply. Thank you.”

  He and Josh left the stage. Josh left to find the men’s room. Sean waited in the auditorium, willingly subjecting himself to more city council meeting agenda items so he could steal glances at Evie. Leaning against the wall, he ate up every detail. The graceful arch of her neck, the strand of hair that kept escaping her ponytail, the way her lush breasts pressed against her simple ivory blouse.

  Evie was one sexy woman, but she didn’t seem aware of that fact at all.

  It was a slight shock when he heard Brad White’s name announced. Judging by the way the crowd applauded him, he still had the charm that had worked on everyone except Sean.

  “Thank you, neighbors, right back at you!” Brad applauded the crowd. What a fake. “I know you’ll all be happy to hear that the campaign is going great, and chances are good that Jupiter Point will have its first hometown representative in Sacramento!”

  Big cheers answered that.

  What the fuck? Was
Brad White seriously running for office? Didn’t anyone here know what he’d done?

  Sean looked at Evie. All the color in her face had leeched away.

  He glanced at the girl sitting next to her, the redhead he vaguely remembered as Evie’s best friend. She was clapping for Brad too. Either she didn’t know or it didn’t matter to her.

  Disgusted, Sean pushed off the wall to head for the exit when Brad’s next words stopped him cold.

  “You all know and love Evie McGraw. As the new president of the Jupiter Point Business Coalition, and definitely the best-looking one,” more laughter, “she’s here tonight to make an important announcement on behalf of my campaign. Evie?”

  As Sean watched, incredulous, Evie rose to her feet.

  What the hell? Was she working with Brad? Had she completely forgotten what Brad did that night?

  5

  Evie’s heart was pounding so fast and furious, she was afraid it might trip over itself. She clenched her fists and dug her fingernails into the heels of her hands. This didn’t have to be a big deal. Everyone was expecting an endorsement. The downtown business owners certainly were. Brad definitely expected it. It was safe to say the entire town considered it a done deal.

  Endorsing Brad for state representative was a no-brainer. He’d give the town a higher profile. Everyone would benefit, and he might even do a good job. His family owned the biggest bank in town, so he knew finances. He knew how to schmooze. He loved the spotlight.

  She knew he was also a manipulative, cruel slime ball, but no one else knew that.

  Just do it, Evie.

  She opened her mouth to release the words she’d memorized. Happy to endorse…excited about what this means for Jupiter Point…future is bright…

  And then she made the mistake of looking in Sean’s direction. Instead of leaning against the wall, as he had been, he was standing bolt upright, staring at her with eyes that seemed to burn right through her.

  Tremors ran down her body, from her scalp to the soles of her feet. Her toes curled inside her sandals and she gripped her sweaty hands together. A strange, surreal sensation took over her body, as if she was floating somewhere overhead. She dragged her gaze away from Sean’s and looked over the heads of the city council members.

  The voice that came out of her mouth didn’t even sound like hers. “I regret to say that the Jupiter Point Business Coalition is unable to endorse Brad White for state representative at this time.”

  After a stunned moment of silence, a noisy surge of questions assaulted her eardrums. Her vision swam, as if she might faint.

  What had she just done? She never made waves. Never, ever. It wasn’t the McGraw way. She should take it back. Right now.

  She opened her mouth but that wasn’t what came out.

  “I’m sure Brad will do just fine without our endorsement. I have to go now.”

  She slipped into the aisle and hurried toward the exit. The red letters blurred. Her face burned as everyone swung in their seats to watch her go.

  What was wrong with her? One simple phrase—“I endorse Brad White”—and she couldn’t even spit it out of her mouth.

  * * *

  After reaching the hallway outside the auditorium, she stopped, clutching her stomach. Oh God, she was going to throw up. Yes, she’d vomit right here on the scuffed floor. Then she could march back in and explain that she was sick. That’s why she’d done such a stupid thing. Food poisoning or something.

  She bent over, stomach heaving.

  A warm hand settled on her back. A male voice, like molasses over gravel, resonated above her. “Are you okay, Evie?”

  She straightened. Sean Marcus stood over her. This close, he was even more overwhelmingly masculine. His scent, sort of woodsy and clean, cleared her head.

  “No. I’m not.”

  “You did the right thing. How could you even think about endorsing that guy?”

  Suddenly furious, she lashed out at him—physically. Actually thrust her hand against his hard chest. “This is your fault.”

  He caught her hand by the wrist. The strength of his grip made her catch her breath. He seemed more amused than upset, which for some reason got her even more riled up. “How do you figure that?”

  “I was fine before you showed up. The right words were on the tip of my tongue. I was about to say them but you were staring at me with that look.”

  “Look?”

  “Like I’m some kind of sellout. A coward.” She ripped her hand away from his and stalked down the hallway. “This is ridiculous. You don’t know anything, and why would you care anyway?” She had to get out of here and try to regain some kind of composure. She felt almost as if she’d just stripped naked in front of all of Jupiter Point.

  Everyone was going to be talking now. Everyone would want to know why in God’s name was she “unable” to endorse Jupiter Point’s own candidate for state representative.

  And she couldn’t explain, not unless she wanted to get even more naked. Metaphorically speaking.

  Sean Marcus was still pacing next to her, all sexy and rugged and confident. Just inside the big double doors that led to the front steps of the high school, she whirled on him. “Why did you even come back here?”

  He leaned one hand on the door over her head. To open it? Keep her from opening it? Hard to tell. “Why shouldn’t I? I’m a good firefighter. You might need me one of these days.”

  The wicked gleam in his eye gave her the shivers. “I won’t. I mean, I suppose the town might need you, if there’s a fire, but I don’t. I mean, for anything other than a fire.”

  Apparently she’d temporarily lost all control over her own utterances. He was looking at her closely, as if he could see inside and see every little butterfly careening around her belly. “You’re worried I might say something. About that night.”

  “I’m not a coward,” she blurted out. “I have reasons. Lots of reason. My mother’s been ill, she doesn’t handle stress well, and you know what my family’s like—” She pressed her lips together to stop the flow of words.

  Enough was enough. No more blurting out things that should just stay locked in the past. Sean Marcus wouldn’t understand anyway. He was the embodiment of confidence. You might even say arrogance. He didn’t worry about what people said about him. He didn’t care about keeping the peace.

  In fact he disrupted the peace. He was disrupting hers right now.

  “Look, Evie.” The sound of her name on his lips sent an odd thrill through her. “I’m not here to make trouble, but I don’t mind trouble either. Hell, I’m used to it. If you need me to—”

  The door of the auditorium opened and Mrs. Murphy stepped out. She scanned the hallway avidly then homed in on Evie and Sean.

  “Uh oh,” Evie whispered. “That’s the entire Jupiter Point grapevine coming at us right now.”

  “Go,” ordered Sean. “I’ll head her off.”

  She nodded gratefully and pushed open the door.

  “And Evie,” he called after her. “If you want some tips on keeping your head in a firestorm, come on out to the base. Happy to help.”

  Without another glance at him, she ran across the dark parking lot. Screw Sean Marcus. Screw Brad White. This was exactly why she avoided men completely. She was going nowhere near that base, not a chance.

  * * *

  The drive back to the base was one nonstop interrogation. Josh started in as soon as the door closed behind him.

  “Who is that chick? Old girlfriend?”

  “No.”

  “New girlfriend?”

  “For cripes’ sake, Marsh. Give it a rest. She’s the little sister of a friend of mine, Hunter. I lived with her family before I left Jupiter Point.” Truth to tell, he barely remembered that time. His head had been shrouded in a fog of shock.

  “You lived with her? Was she already a babe back then?”

  “Christ, she was maybe fourteen. I had other things to think about.”

  “See, that’s the diff
erence between me and you. No matter what else is happening, I always take time to appreciate the women in my life. Note the plural.”

  Sean rolled his eyes. “Do I need to lock you up at the base to keep you away from Jupiter Point? My reputation’s on the line here.”

  “What are you so worried about? Were you really such a bad seed? We call you Magneto because you look like him, not because you’re a villain.”

  “Depends who you ask.” Sean steered onto the two-lane road that led to the base, which sat at the edge of a wilderness area. “I didn’t have a record or anything. I fought with my father a lot. I had a lot of anger and found creative ways to let off steam.”

  “Hmm. I get it, you were the town bad boy. And that girl. What’s her name?”

  “Evie McGraw.” Saying her name brought up an image of her face, and all the emotions churning behind her silvery eyes during that brief conversation at the high school. She fascinated him.

  “Definitely more the town sweetheart type. This should be interesting.” Josh squinted into the distance, imagining God knew what.

  “Nothing to see here. Move along.”

  “Uh-huh. First he marries a stripper, then he goes for the town sweetheart.”

  “Are you ever going to let that go? I was twenty-two and drunk off my ass.”

  “Which is why I’m never, ever going to let it go.”

  The old Army base—Sean still couldn’t think of it as a “fire and rescue compound”--seemed even more quiet and empty when Sean and Josh finally got back. It was a small outpost of modest, low-lying buildings painted standard beige on the outside, standard Army white inside. Standard being the theme. After the nearest ranger station had burned down, several state and federal agencies had joined together to take over the decommissioned base. They’d relocated the rangers and fire dispatch, set aside space for the hotshots, and planned to add a search and rescue crew. During the day the ranger station got a certain amount of traffic.

  But for now, the compound was still mostly empty at night.

  In the room they’d designated as a common area, Josh kicked back on a pile of blankets and cued up a Netflix movie on his laptop. The cots were due to arrive tomorrow. Until then, they were making do with sleeping bags and blankets.