by Piper Stone
“No. Protect them. I’m just going up and over the ridge. I just need to make certain the truck is close. The water is rising too quickly.” He crowded Lucas’ space, talking so only his friend could hear. There was no sense terrifying the girls. But damn, he was petrified. He’d never seen water rise this quickly.
“Dude. I don’t know.”
“Lucas! This is serious here. Stay with them. We have a short window to get the truck out of the canyon. Do you hear what I’m saying?”
“Yeah. I do.” His eyes opening wide, Lucas began to shake but he nodded. “You can count on me.”
“Good.” He shucked the bag and kissed Amanda. Cupping the side of her face, he smiled. “Everything is going to be okay.”
“Better be or I’ll kick your ass.” Giving him a thin-lipped smile, she visibly shook.
Nodding to Lucas, he headed out, staying near the rocks as much as possible. As he rounded a corner, he stopped short. “Fuck!” Water was rushing up and over the area that had been completely dry, barren in fact only an hour before. He’d never seen anything like the flooding river, wind creating waves lapping up and over the rocks as if this was the ocean.
He said a silent prayer and continued down, rain pummeling down and over him. Slipping, he went down with a hard thud, skidding on the rocks. “Whoof!” The air knocked out of him, he remained sitting as he controlled his breathing. This was getting to the dangerous point quickly. Willing himself to his feet, he took tentative steps forward. He moved so he was as close to the rocks as possible and just as he thought he saw the truck, his foot shifted, going out from under him.
Wham!
He slid down then rolled, his body picking up speed as he tumbled toward the raging waters. As if in slow motion, he was pummeled off the side.
Whoosh!
Going under, he fought to reach the surface, twisting and turning as he struggled to break free. He could see the light of day as another bolt of lightning flashed in the sky. After another hard push, he kicked up. Gulping air, he was immediately tossed back down and this time water was forced into his mouth. Coughing, he used the power of his muscles as he shoved against something solid and managed to catch another breath of fresh air.
Slam!
He was tossed against a bank of rocks and…
“Garcia! Get out. Come on baby, crawl toward mama. You can do it!”
“No!” Garcia screamed as the smoke and heat swirled around him. He was on the ground, hovering in his bedroom. Tears flowed down his cheeks as he swayed back and forth. He could no longer see his mom or dad. Coughing, he could barely breathe.
“Baby. You have to do this. Crawl to me. Come on.”
He could hear his mother’s voice, knew she was calling to him but he was too afraid. Clinging to the wall, he dropped his head into his hands. “Mama!”
Crash!
Garcia jerked his head up as the wall in his bedroom came crashing down. He screamed and threw his hands out as a wall of fire enveloped the entire room, flames licking up the walls to the ceiling. Frozen in shock, he heard another sound, a distant calling. Then he saw him, a man larger than life bursting through the fire. The masked hero lunged forward, wrapping his arms around Garcia.
“We’re getting you out of here,” his booming voice stated, the tone commanding. “Hold on, son.”
Whimpering, Garcia closed his eyes as his savior covered him in a blanket and walked through the wall of flames.
“Hold on! I’ve got you.”
Garcia was tossed back into the air. He gulped as the images remained. A man. The fire. His parents. He blinked, trying to decipher if this was real. He choked, water pushing past his lips as a larger than life figure picked him up in his arms and dragged him out of the raging waters.
“You’re okay. Breathe. Cough and breathe.”
Peering up, he blinked several times, trying to focus. He concentrated on the man’s kind eyes as water was purged from his lungs. In those moments, he could still see the face of the smokejumper who’d saved his life so many years ago. He could only manage two words. “Thank you.”
“Thank you for saving us,” Amanda said as she shivered, hovering in the blanket.
The stranger smiled and nodded as he walked toward Garcia. “My pleasure. You guys should have left as soon as the rain started.”
“Yeah, I know,” Garcia managed, his throat raspy. “Came up fast.” He was aware they were in a ranger’s station, just out of Sabino Canyon. The details of how would remain fuzzy.
“That’s what happens in these monsoons. Lucky I heard you guys. I was just pulling out with my family.” Grinning, the stranger held out his hand. “I’m Corbin Markus by the way.”
Garcia shook his hand as the realization of how close he’d come to death twice in his life remained in the back of his mind. “Vacation?”
“Yeah. Came all the way here from Wyoming,” Corbin said as he sipped on a cup of coffee.
“I have to ask you. What do you do?” Garcia asked as Amanda gripped his shoulder.
“I’m a smokejumper by trade. I know, long way from home. Right?” Corbin smiled. “Just glad I could help.”
“You’re our hero,” Jen said as she wiped a tear from her eye. “I don’t know what we would have done if you hadn’t come along.”
Hero. The word struck Garcia hard, giving him a series of shivers. As the memory of the horrific blaze, one consuming everything in his boyhood life remained at the surface, he realized this event had changed him, perhaps forever. Yeah, the man sitting across from him was a true hero.
“You’re far away, Garcia. What are you thinking?” Amanda asked as she sipped her wine. She sat back in the chair, her eyes never leaving him.
“I’ve made a decision.” Garcia had been thinking about little else in the two weeks since the almost tragedy.
“Uh-oh. Do I want to know?” Teasing, she leaned over and gripped his hand.
He glanced out the window of the restaurant, watching the comings and goings of people who had no idea when or if they might ever be in a disaster, either natural or manmade. For the first time in his life he had a purpose, one that was worth fighting for. No, one that was worth dying for. The moment of clarity was breathtaking. As he turned toward her, he stiffened his back, knowing this was more like an honor. “I’m going to become a fireman. I’m going to save lives.”
Her eyes opening wide, she clasped her hands together. “I’m so proud of you.”
“You know? I am too.” For a few seconds, he thought about his two heroes, two men who he’d never met until a single moment in time. This was exactly what he needed to do.
The End
Other Titles by Piper Stone
Don’t miss these exciting titles by Piper Stone and Blushing Books!
Truth Or Dare
Submissive For Hire
Honor and Obey Series
Honor and Obey, Vol. One
Dirty Little Secrets Series
His Demands - Book One
His Hidden Girl - Book Two
His Judgment - Book Three
Power Exchange Series
Becoming - Book One
Rescue Me Series
Maverick -Book One
Shadow - Book Two
Missoula Smokejumpers Series
Fire at the River’s Edge, Prequel
Ignite, Book One
Burn, Book Two
Embracing the Quiet Night (Christmas Novella) - available Dec. 2017
Anthologies
Hero Undercover
Piper Stone
Piper Stone writes in several genres including thrillers, erotic romance, dark erotic, Domestic Discipline, spanking, Domination and submission and traditional romance. She has a love of the non-traditional, preferring to create worlds that defy the imagination. Wine and sous vide cooking are only second to her love of golden retrievers and you might find all three nestled in the pages of a book or two.
She has several releases from Blushing Books i
ncluding the upcoming books Shadow – Maverick, and the Fire Devil series.
She will also have several releases with Bethany’s Woodshed in the upcoming months.
Dark + Dangerous + Delicious = D3
Literary Emotions Unleashed…
Connect with Piper Stone:
darkdangerousdelicious.wordpress.com
[email protected]
EBook Offer
WOULD YOU LIKE A FREE SPANKING STORY EVERY MONTH?
At http://www.blushingbooks.com, we provide our visitors with a free eBook every single month! That's right, every month we choose an eBook to give to our customers at no charge, both to show our gratitude for your business and to provide a sample of the content we offer.
Can you read this free eBook on your Kindle? Yes! Once you’re logged onto our site, it’s easy to send a book right to your Kindle.
Can you read it on your iPad? Yes! Your Kobo? Yes! Your Nook? YES!
We provide all of our books on BlushingBooks.com in several formats so that you can read our stories on virtually any reader! Membership at BlushingBooks.com is free, so sign up today and get your free story right now!
DO YOU NEED A TRIP TO THE WOODSHED?
Since 1999, Bethany's Woodshed has been publishing the best romantic and erotic BDSM and spanking fiction on the Internet. Before there were eBooks, there was Bethany's! More than a decade later, The Woodshed is Blushing Books exclusive preview site, and it is still going strong delivering the best, original stories - now with two updates a week. We guarantee at least 40,000 words of brand new, professionally written stories each week by all your favorite Authors, plus at least 20 completed books when you join. Carolyn Faulkner, Piper Stone, Anya Summers, Addison Cain, Zoe Blake, BJ Wane, Paige Tyler, Joannie Kay, Maryse Dawson, Alta Hensley, Allison West, Melinda Barron, Courage Knight, Loki Renard ... they're all here, plus many more.
Embrace the spank!
See the stories first at The Woodshed!
http://www.herwoodshed.com
Blushing Books Newsletter
Please join the Blushing Books newsletter
to receive updates & special promotional offers.
You can also join by using your mobile phone:
Just text BLUSHING to 22828.
Blushing Books
Blushing Books is one of the oldest eBook publishers on the web. We've been running websites that publish spanking and BDSM related romance and erotica since 1999, and we have been selling eBooks since 2003. We hope you'll check out our hundreds of offerings at http://www.blushingbooks.com.
You might also enjoy our membership site at http://www.herwoodshed.com, where we offer an exclusive first look at new novels and novellas by some of our most popular Authors before they are released anywhere else.
