by Lucy Ryder
It was only on her way home that she suddenly recalled Adam’s expression as he’d turned away and stomped off. There’d been something fierce and hot in his eyes and she wanted to know what it was. Even if it meant that expression had been anger directed at her, she wanted him to look her in the eye and tell her she was a mess he wanted no part of.
She tried calling him once she got home but his phone was off, and despite waiting all night for him to return her call, her phone remained stubbornly silent. At dawn, she dressed and headed to the hospital, determined to catch him before he went into surgery only to discover that he’d taken a leave of absence and left town.
Stunned, Sam shut herself in her office and pretended to work all the while wondering what the hell had happened. Aunt Coco left a message that she’d be in hospital board meetings the entire day and Sam couldn’t pretend she wasn’t relieved. She wasn’t up to dealing with questions or the other woman’s shrewdly perceptive gaze.
She was wired and looked awful—as if she hadn’t slept in days and was subsisting on caffeine. It was hard enough convincing herself she was fine without having to actually face Coco.
It was only when she got home that night and switched on the news that she realized where Adam had gone. The Sierras was burning and Juniper County was directly in destruction’s path. She might be mad at Adam but he wasn’t the kind of man to lie on a beach somewhere while his hometown was in danger.
For several long minutes, the images flashing across the screen held Sam spellbound with horror. Towering flames, fed by the hot air rushing up from the south east, greedily swept across the mountains, consuming everything in their path.
She’d seen television footage of wildfires before, but never when she’d been personally invested in the victims. She knew them and it was horrifying.
Cell-phone footage showed people risking their lives to save their animals; long lines of firefighters clearing fire control lines; specialized vehicles digging dozer lines in the vain hopes of containing the blaze; and people watching helplessly as their properties went up in flames.
The reporter said trained personnel were stretched thin and the local Incident Command Center was calling for volunteers even as smoke jumpers from all over the world began converging on the Sierras. It was a desperate attempt to save people’s homes, their livelihoods caught in the wildfire’s path.
Even before she’d realized she’d made a decision, Sam was reaching for her phone. Adam had flown into danger to help the people of Juniper Falls. The hospital and Leah were in peril, as were Gladys and Ida—along with all their friends and family. They needed help.
Maybe she couldn’t fight the fire or help the injured, but she was an ace at organization and she had a ton of contacts. Juniper Falls needed help and she was going to get it for them.
* * *
Adam drove through the darkness, his eyes gritty with fatigue. He’d gone nearly three days without sleep and it was beginning to tell—slowing down his reflexes. Dammit, he thought, wrenching at the wheel as he struggled to keep his vehicle on the road, he’d better pay attention before the wind blew him off the pass.
Coming around that last bend, he’d barely missed a family of black bears walking in the middle of the road. To the east, a smoky red glow illuminated the night sky and every few miles he had to slam on the brakes to avoid the animals fleeing the approaching inferno. He’d already seen so many charred remains that he’d probably have nightmares for years.
He’d been closer to those flames than he’d liked and would never forget the sound of them chewing up his cousin’s ranch. That jet engine roar would stay with him for the rest of his life—as would the heat and the smell of burnt, devastated landscape.
His cousin was lucky to be alive and had his ranch hands to thank for yanking him to safety. In the chaos of trying to save his horses, Ben had fallen into a gulley, broken his leg and given himself concussion, a dislocated shoulder and minor burns down one side of his body. With Ben in the hospital, it had been up to Adam and the two ranch hands to save what was left of the place and retrieve the scattered horses.
The house, mostly built of stone, had barely escaped the inferno but the stables, barn and bunkhouse were burnt out shells of still smoking ash. They’d have to rebuild but having the house mostly spared was a small price to pay for maintaining substantial firebreaks and having other measures implemented. Others hadn’t been so lucky and Adam had spent the past few days helping the neighbors and providing emergency medical care to those in need.
But the fire was gaining speed and it was heading straight for Juniper Falls. With tourism its main source of income, the townspeople couldn’t afford to lose their revenue. Many would probably refuse to be evacuated and the medical center would be overwhelmed. Even without the added danger of being in the path of the fire, they didn’t have the facilities, staff or equipment to handle disasters of such magnitude. The only thing he could do now was get them the help they needed.
As though thinking about the medical center was the excuse his exhausted mind was looking for, an image of Samantha popped into his head as vividly as if she were sitting next to him, rumpled and tousled, her beautiful eyes swimming with hurt.
He’d tried not to think about her the past few days, but thoughts of her ambushed him when he least expected it. And each time, it twisted his gut tighter and tighter.
That last night he’d spent with her, he’d had every intention of talking about where their relationship was going—where he wanted it to go. Instead, she’d opened her door, looking all sleepy and warm, and he’d completely lost his head. He’d briefly thought they’d wake up together and talk over breakfast but that hadn’t happened either.
In the days that followed there’d been one emergency after another and he hadn’t been able to get away. What he’d wanted to say couldn’t be said over the phone, so he’d waited for the gallery evening with every intention of whisking her away afterward and having their discussion—before they ended up in bed.
It had been all planned out in his head and then—dammit, he still had no idea what had happened. He’d taken one look at her and felt as though he’d been kicked in the chest.
He’d seen her in any number of settings and the pull had been strong but seeing her among San José’s rich, social elite had forced him to acknowledge that she was completely out of his league and he was reaching for a beautiful unattainable star.
Elegant and sexy, she’d looked very much in her element, eclipsing many of the other women there. Her animation—and that damned laugh of hers—had drawn not just his but every man’s attention in the room. Then she’d turned, their eyes meeting across the room and he’d felt that cool blue gaze like a blow to his soul. The force of it had made him turn away, reeling from the realization that she’d burrowed so far beneath his skin he would never recover once she was gone. Because let’s face it, she belonged more in that world than slumming it with the folks of Juniper Falls and a man driven to help others because he felt empty inside.
The shock had been discovering that she filled him—filled all those empty dark and lonely places. When next he’d seen her, she’d been with Lowry, looking like she belonged with the wealthy businessman.
And he’d been gutted.
It had been sheer self-preservation that had kept him from wading through the crowd and snatching her up. Seeing the man’s hands on her had had something dark and ugly swamping him. Walking away had been the hardest thing he’d ever done but he’d had to before he said or did something he could never take back. He’d stalked off, fighting a wild need to go back and wipe that look of hurt accusation from her eyes; but knowing she had the power to shred his soul had spurred him to escape.
The call from Ben’s ranch hands had been the excuse he’d needed. Racing to his cousin’s side had given him the perfect out and seeing the chaos and devastation had pretty much wiped everything
else from his mind.
With cell towers down it had only been when he’d reached the outskirts of Fresno on that first medevac that he’d seen the missed calls from Samantha. He’d been about to call her back, his thumb hovering over her number when he’d abruptly shoved the phone back into his pocket.
What the hell was there to say? That he’d followed his father’s footsteps by falling for a woman whose world would never accept him? Hell, he thought with a snort, he lived with that kind of prejudice every day, pretending it didn’t affect him. Knowing that Samantha could very well be like his mother did affect him and seeing her with Blake Lowry had forced him to acknowledge that he would never fit into her world or her life.
Women like Samantha didn’t fall in love and marry someone from the wrong side of the bedsheets or leave their world for his. It wasn’t done. His mother—and every debutante he’d ever dated—had made that more than clear. They had wild, exciting flings with bad boys but married their social equals. Equals like his mother’s senator husband—and Blake Lowry.
It was time to forget Samantha Jefferies. Forget about how she made him feel. About how something warm and clean grew in his chest when she laughed; how her breath hitched when he kissed the side of her neck—the expression in her eyes after a panic attack. As if she were ashamed of showing her weaknesses.
He rubbed absently at the ache over his heart at the thought of not being around to talk her through an attack. She would face it alone because she hated anyone seeing her vulnerabilities—didn’t want to admit that she had any. Men like Blake Lowry would never understand her and never care enough to try.
Dammit, he thought when the ache grew into an actual physical pain. When had she burrowed so far under his skin that the thought of her unhappiness made him want—need—to wrap her in his arms, protect her from the world? Slay her dragons?
But she didn’t want him to slay her dragons, and after the incident at the art gallery, it was very clear that she didn’t want anything from him at all. Hell, she hadn’t even been able to look at him.
It wouldn’t be easy, he thought as the sign for Juniper Falls was briefly caught in his headlights. Hopefully, by the time he returned to San José, his damn heart accepted that it could never have what it craved.
He rounded the next bend and was forced to slam on the brakes as he came up behind two truckloads of firefighters. Cursing softly, he reminded himself to pay attention or he’d be needing the medical care he was supposed to be giving.
He followed the trucks through town until he was forced to pull to the side of the road as they turned into the hospital parking. Even as he killed the engine, a loud whop-whop-whop filled the night air. He looked up as a helo flew overhead, gaining altitude as it banked over the valley and rose up the steep sides of the mountain to disappear over Chapman’s Ridge, its searchlights picking up the growing smoke-cloud being pushed north by the wind.
Frowning, he killed the engine and slid from the Jeep. Was the fire closer than he’d thought or had something happened at the hospital, he wondered, as he took off through the trees. Was that the reason for the truckloads of firefighters?
The instant he broke through the trees, he saw that the hospital parking lot had been turned into a fire-and-rescue Incident Command Center, which explained the firefighters. A mobile operations vehicle was parked off to one side of a large marquee and with the area lit up like a carnival, he could make out a volunteer wildfire-services vehicle along with forestry-and-park-services trucks that had begun to disgorge their cargo.
Several firefighters were helped through the doors of the hospital’s small emergency room while others headed toward the long military tent used for rescue operations. A sheriff’s department vehicle—blue lights flashing and doors open as though it had just arrived—was parked off to one side. In the open doorway, a uniformed deputy stood talking into a handheld radio, the bursts of static reaching Adam across the distance.
Intending to get information, Adam started toward him just as a figure emerged from the tent and headed straight for the cop. Adam only saw the person from behind but something about the way they walked seemed familiar. So familiar his gut clenched when the cop’s eyes took a leisurely journey over the woman, a smile of appreciation lighting his half-illuminated features.
Blinking his gritty eyes, Adam ground his back teeth together, wondering if his mind was playing tricks on him because for one moment there, the woman had reminded him of—
Then she turned her head, the external light spilling across one side of her face. Adam froze in his tracks, his breath backing up as husky laughter drifted lightly in the night air.
What the hell? Samantha?
Even as he watched, the cop accepted something from her, threw back his head and with a laugh, toasted her with what looked like a disposable cup before lifting it to his smiling mouth.
An indefinable host of emotions stormed though Adam, tightening his chest. Disbelief, shock, anger and a whole bunch of others he couldn’t seem to get a handle on. The overriding one was the impulse to storm over there and snatch her away from the other man.
What the hell was wrong with him?
And what the hell was she doing here? It was as if thinking about her had conjured her out of thin air. But this Samantha was unlike any he’d ever seen. Dressed in form-fitting jeans and a loose plaid shirt, rolled up to her forearms, her hair carelessly pulled into a messy topknot, she appeared casual and more relaxed than he’d ever seen her in public.
Before he could attempt to sort out his roiling emotions, or march over there and demand to know what the hell she thought she was doing, someone appeared in the hospital entrance to beckon her, interrupting her cozy little chat. The cop straightened at the interruption, an expression of impatience crossing his face, but Samantha was already moving away.
Suddenly, Adam was no longer exhausted. Furious energy surged through him. Eyes locked on her disappearing back, he followed, determined to find out exactly what she thought she was doing. He’d left her safely in San José. What the hell did she—?
A large hand slapped against his chest, bringing him up short. “S’cuse me, bud. Unless you’re injured, you can’t go in there.”
Adam was so intent on following Samantha, he hadn’t seen the deputy until he was almost on him. Instead of replying, he looked down at the hand on his chest and for just an instant was tempted to vent all the emotions that had been tearing him up inside for days.
He controlled it—barely—reminding himself that he wouldn’t be able to help anyone from lockup.
“I’m a doctor,” he said, voice chilly and flat when he had no right to be angry with Samantha or the cop. He’d given up that right the night of the gallery function.
The guy looked him up and down, his expression derisive. Adam knew exactly what he saw. He hadn’t slept in nearly three days and it showed. His clothes were rumpled, stained and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten.
“Yeah,” the deputy snorted, hands on his equipment belt. “And I’m Yosemite Sam, so you can just—”
“Dr. Knight?” A voice gasped behind him, drawing their attention. “Oh, my God, it is you.” Adam immediately recognized the nurse hurrying up behind them.
“What is it, Hannah?”
“You couldn’t have come at a better time,” the nurse said with a relieved wobble. “I was looking for one of the volunteer medics but you’re a godsend.”
“What happened?”
“Frank Pearson was just brought in with chest pains and breathing difficulties.” She hurried ahead to push open the swing doors. “They’ve been clearing lines up near Widow’s Bend and we’re worried it’s a coronary.”
Instantly forgetting about the deputy, Adam followed the nurse, concern for Frank momentarily replacing his driving need to find Samantha. He blinked gritty eyes as the bright lights and sounds of an active ER
assaulted him. It was the busiest he’d ever seen it. Summers could get pretty busy with the tourist season but the place was filled with people. After the past three hours of dark and quiet, it was almost too much for his tired mind to take in.
“He’s in the last cubicle,” Hannah said when someone called her name, leaving Adam to push past firefighters in full gear to get to the cubicle. Leah was holding the oxygen mask over the clearly distressed man’s nose and mouth, attempting to calm him.
Adam barely recognized Frank Pearson. The volunteer was covered in soot, his eyes red-rimmed, looking like any number of the wildfire victims Adam had treated closer to the family ranch. His eyes were squeezed shut and he was struggling to breathe, his features twisted into a grimace as he pressed a balled-up fist to his chest. Beneath the soot, and the oxygen mask, his skin was gray and sweaty.
Adam acknowledged Leah’s relieved smile of greeting and casually placed his fingers on the man’s left wrist to check his radial pulse. “You don’t look so good, Frank,” he said, his attention fixed on the man’s face. His pulse was ragged and elevated but still strong.
Frank gave a hoarse laugh that morphed into a wheezing cough, his body arching helplessly as he fought for breath. He finally collapsed back against the bed and lifted a shaky hand to pull away the mask. He was sweating profusely. “You’re not looking so good yourself, Doc,” he wheezed with a chuckle through blueish lips. “City life not treating you so good?”
“Better than you, my friend,” Adam smiled, attempting to lighten the tension as he guided the oxygen mask back in place. He turned to Leah. “See if you can find me a spare stethoscope,” he said quietly. “And I’d appreciate someone hunting down a clean pair of scrubs. My clothes have been through a lot today.”
She nodded and hurried off.
He gently pressed down on Frank’s bottom eyelids to check for soot and burns, noting that his lashes and brows were slightly singed. “Keep breathing into that mask, Frank,” he murmured calmly. “And just relax. We’ll have you feeling better in no time.”
