by Anya Nowlan
“But wouldn’t it be a wasted effort if you don’t intend to stay in Shifter Grove anyway?” Rose asked, regretting the words as soon as they left her mouth.
Redmond gave her a look that was hard to read, but he took her hand then and she followed him out of the miserable patch of forest. It would take a long time before something could live on that land again, or at least until tall trees would block out the sun again.
“We can’t see the future, Rose. Might as well play things by the ear for as long as it makes sense to. And right now, we have fire trouble. To deal with that, we need the right kind of firebear,” Redmond said, smirking.
They walked the rest of the way out of the woods in silence, Rose’s hand safely tucked in Redmond’s. It struck her as a little bit silly how entirely good she felt around Redmond. It wasn’t just that he was such a self-assured, solid piece of man, but it was the way he held himself around her too. He was fun, caring, and mischievous, and she never felt like she could get bored, or bore him for that matter. It was an equal partnership in that sense, and that was something that Rose had been missing in her life.
Her parents had had a happy marriage for more than thirty years. Admiring them, she’d always thought that she’d have the same. But high school came and went without a defining love story like her parents’, and in college Rose was too busy trying to work herself through it to really focus on romance. After that, well, there had been Kenner, and that didn’t exactly end well. It was hard dating when your ex would scare off all but the creepiest of guys, and the ones who didn’t care that there was a powerful lunatic after her were not the kind of men Rose saw herself spending time with.
But here was Redmond, tall and secure and unfazed by the small issue of a fox shifter constantly on Rose’s tail. She tried not to get too caught up in the moment, reminding herself that this was just a silly fling and the Hamiltons were just being nice to her and letting her weather the storm until she had to go back to Philly. Yet in moments like those, with Redmond leading the way, it was hard not to find herself falling hard and fast for him.
When they made it out to the road, Redmond’s expression fell. Rose saw the flash of taillights as the car rounded the corner and sped away from them down the dirt road. They stopped to look at Redmond’s truck in front of them, its windows bashed in and big scarlet letters marking a message meant as much for him as it was for her.
KEEP AWAY FROM ROSE. SHE’S KENNER’S PROPERTY.
For a second, Rose was surprised that the damn raccoons had had the gall to come so close to Redmond to begin with. The face he was making and the way she saw his biceps bulge through his jacket told Rose in so few words that he was not the kind of bear to mess with. But maybe the raccoon shifters had more bravado than they had good sense.
“I’m going to have to fuck those two up,” Redmond said calmly, turning toward Rose.
He cracked a smile and Rose giggled, shaking her head despite her mortification at the situation at hand.
“I can’t believe they’d do something like this.”
“Oh, I consider it a compliment.”
“How come?” Rose asked, only to be crushed against Redmond’s body again and kissed deeply and at length.
“It means they can see what I can see—that there’s something going on between us and that it’s getting serious. They can trash my truck as much as they want to. It doesn’t mean that I’m letting you go anywhere too far from me,” he whispered between kisses.
Rose’s heart swelled. This was getting big, and fast. She wasn’t sure whether to jump for joy or to take a step back and spend a good solid moment worrying about it.
Is it moving too fast?
CHAPTER SIX
Redmond
It had been three days now since Rose showed up at Hamilton House and almost took Redmond’s heart along with her when she tried to run away from him. Now, he couldn’t believe that he’d ever hesitated when Tiana told him to go after her. Dammit, it was so obvious the longer he stared at the situation at hand. She was the one. That mythical beauty that every shifter was destined to meet once in their life, who he was supposed to love, protect, and cherish. His Rose, right down to her thorns.
Even in the midst of possible tragedy and worry, he couldn’t keep his mind off of her. Granted, things weren’t too bad right now. He looked to his left, watching Diesel the local sheriff and two werebear twins whose names he hadn’t quite memorized shoveling up dirt to make a fire line. Royce was to his right, preparing the chemical extinguishers to be easy to grab and reload.
There was another fire raging not too far from Shifter Grove, though on the other side this time. It was coming down fast, getting close to Warren’s lumber mill, and that could spell disaster. Grumbling under his breath, equally about having to be away from Rose—who was safe and sound with Tiana at Austin’s Texas, a downtown bar—and about the extent of the fires lately, Redmond grabbed an extinguisher and strapped it to his back.
“We need to move in before this thing picks up strength again,” he said, marred with soot and painted black head to toe from the smoke. “Grab your gear and let’s go,” he said, Royce being the first one to join the ranks.
Though both of them were fire chiefs back in Boston and Los Angeles, Royce easily allowed Redmond to take charge of the situation. It wasn’t lost on Redmond and he understood why—while Royce was the undisputed Alpha of the Hamiltons at this point, he also had a lot more to lose, and he was more distracted between the Hamilton House and Tiana’s pregnancy.
It was better to let someone with a clearer head call the shots, even though Redmond would have been lying if he said that his heart was entirely in the game.
Rose was constantly at the fringes of his consciousness, and damn if it wasn’t hard to concentrate on anything but the thought of running his tongue over her luscious curves again. The group of men formed around him, and after a quick explanation of what they could expect to encounter, Redmond led them in around the fringes of the fire. They’d made several trips like it already and though the fire wasn’t too massive, it was still dangerous and could spread wildly if the wind were to change.
“Split up,” he called, as Royce took half the men forward while Redmond hung on one side of the forward-moving inferno.
When everybody was at their places, Redmond called out. In relative unison, the chemical extinguishers were unleashed and the foam covered the fire rapidly, putting it out. It only worked for smaller fires like that and if the area got caught in a really big accident then all bets would be off. However, using Redmond’s and Royce’s knowledge and the work ethic of Shifter Grove locals, it was manageable so far.
They used the thick fire-smothering blankets where they could. Battle was right behind them, cutting down several trees that were still mid-flame so they could be put out. After about an hour more of work, the plot of forest that had been burning with an open flame was now simply smoldering. Exhausted, Redmond and the rest of the crew walked out of the woods, letting a clean-up crew led by Warren take over for the rest of the day.
“Good job, guys. We’d be screwed without you,” Warren said, clapping Redmond on the back and giving Royce an appreciative nod.
“No problem. It’s what we do,” Redmond said, grinning.
He must have looked like a demon, all black and burnt. Well, he knew he did—he could look at the other guys around him and make that easy assumption. As they were walking over to the trucks to grab some water to drink, another car drove up along the road and stopped behind their long convoy. The tall man that jumped out looked oddly familiar, and he walked with purpose, head held high.
“Who is that?” Redmond asked Royce with a quiet voice, sharing a truck after what had been done to Redmond’s rental.
“Him? That’s Ares Goldplains. Of Gold Dragon fame,” Royce said with a chuckle, probably laughing at the face that Redmond was making.
One didn’t exactly expect to see a world-class rock star wandering around Shifter
Grove, Idaho. Yet there he was, in the flesh, reaching out a hand to Redmond and then Royce and shaking firmly.
“Gentlemen! I hear you two are the ones to thank for taking care of the fire,” he said, grinning easily.
“We do what we can,” Royce commented mildly.
“You’re selling yourself short, man. I heard about the fire last week and how you got your girl out. Tough stuff. And I don’t think we would have put out the last two so easily without you guys leading the charge.”
“These are not the only fires in the area lately,” Redmond said, wiping his forehead.
Ares’s expression grew more serious and he nodded grimly, looking from one brother to the other.
“I know. Now, some people are still hoping it’s some freak accident and a coincidence, but I’ve been around fire all my life. Things don’t go up in flames for no reason. I don’t care how bad the drought is.”
Truth be told, the drought was pretty bad, the worst that the area had seen in decades, at least. It didn’t take a firebear to realize that the forest was a substantial fire hazard at the moment and the smallest accident could spell doom. But Redmond was sure at this point that it wasn’t just a series of unfortunate coincidences that kept sending the woods up in smoke every few days. No, someone was doing this on purpose. He just didn’t know who, or why.
“I won’t argue with that,” Redmond said, nodding. “You got an idea?”
“Now that you mention it, I do. I don’t think we’ve formally met. I’m Ares Goldplains. I own the gold mine up in Lying Dragon Peak. But I also happen to be a dragon, and I understand the hazards of poor fire management. A little birdie told me that you two might be settling down at Hamilton House for good, so I have a proposition for you if you’re interested in hearing me out.”
Redmond and Royce shared a quick look and after Redmond nodded tentatively, Royce motioned for Ares to continue. The tall, lean, but muscular man looked a lot like the guys Redmond would hang out with back in Los Angeles. He had a certain surfer vibe to him, a free spirit. It was surprising to find another one like him so far in the periphery of society. Perhaps he liked the quiet too, who knew.
“I’ve got the money, you’ve got the know-how, and the town needs it. How about I fund starting up a fire station in Shifter Grove? Voluntary, or paid, or a combination of the two. I think the latter would work best. Obviously we don’t have any shortage of able-bodied men willing to help out. I’ve also talked to the Dean brothers,” Ares said, pointing at the werebear twins covered in ash that Redmond couldn’t name before. “They’re in on it too. Between the three of us, I think money won’t be a problem. And the town will pitch in too if need be—I confirmed that with Warren.”
“So what you’re saying is that you’ll front whatever we need to set up a working fire department here and we just need to do the work of setting it up?” Royce confirmed, a wide grin appearing on his lips.
“Yup! I’m not being a good Samaritan here. I probably need it more than anyone else. I’m always one bad sneeze away from sending the state up in flames,” Ares said with a chuckle.
Redmond wasn’t sure what surprised him more: the fact that he was having a conversation with a real-life dragon, or that said dragon had a sense of humor about things. Well, the “whole willingness to put money toward a reasonable goal” thing sort of threw him for a loop as well, but that one seemed to be less prevalent in the list of stuff currently throwing him off.
Damn. Shifter Grove’s full of surprises.
“So, what do you say? Are you game?” Ares asked.
“We’re game,” Redmond said before Royce could reply. “We’ll get things moving and we can talk details later. Deal?”
“Hell yes! And you better be down at Austin’s Texas tomorrow evening! A fire’s not something that should be celebrated, but putting one out definitely is. We’re having a few rounds down at the bar, and we can’t do it without the heroes.”
Ares tossed both of them a grin and then a lazy salute, before turning around on his heel and heading toward the Dean brothers to talk things over. Redmond shook his head slightly as he watched the man leave, turning his attention to his brother.
“I can’t believe this town man,” he said, flabbergasted.
First, a gorgeous woman essentially falls in his lap, and then a benevolent dragon of all things essentially suggests to move his whole entire career over to Idaho. And not only that, but he could set it up exactly like he’d want it! If he’d known that, Redmond would have packed his damn bags and said his goodbyes before he ever got on the plane to Idaho to begin with.
“It has a certain charm to it,” Redmond agreed with a chuckle.
Invigorated, Redmond grabbed a bottle of water and washed off some of the soot from his hands and face and dried off with a towel, urging his brother to do the same.
“What’s the hurry?” Royce asked, following his lead.
“I need to get to my girl,” Redmond said, and the sly grin on Royce’s lips was completely obvious to him. “And I think we need to call Ragnar now.”
“You can say that again,” Royce agreed.
Within minutes, they’d left the local guys with some additional warnings and words of wisdom before jumping in the truck and speeding off. Redmond wanted to get Rose back in his arms as fast as he possibly could, and there was a lot to do between now and the party the following night. At the very least, he wanted to have some sort of a preliminary plan put together on what they would need to set up a decent fire station in Shifter Grove. It needed to cover all the needs the little town might have, along with the sprawling wilderness that stretched around them, almost unreachable in a lot of cases without air support.
It wouldn’t be an easy area to control, but Redmond had always loved a good challenge. Little did he know that the fire situation wouldn’t be the only devil on his back.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Rose
Saying that Rose was getting nervous was an understatement. She’d spent a lovely day chatting with Tiana and Dahlia, the wife of Austin who owned the only legitimate bar in town. But in the back of her head, she constantly felt watched. It was ridiculous to think that, especially with the bar only sparsely populated by Shifter Grove inhabitants due to the fire relief efforts, but still, there it was.
When she excused herself at one point to go to the bathroom, the reason for her nervousness became all the more clearer. Cole was unmistakable with his jet black hair and beady gray eyes, the kind that always looked like they were watering. Conrad wasn’t much better, though he was built stronger and wider than Cole. They came as a pair, Rose knew, and she’d always figured that Cole was the brains and Conrad the brawn. Though neither one of them had ever struck her as too bright.
They were waiting for her in the small hallway that led to the bathrooms. In a moment of panic, she wondered if they would jump her, tie her up, and drag her out of there kicking and screaming for the world to see. She glanced behind her and made a move to run back, but Conrad caught her by the wrist and kept her still.
“Hey, relax, Rosey! We’re not here to hurt you,” Cole was quick to soothe her, though his words sounded anything but reassuring. “Kenner wanted to send you a message and we figured it would be best if we gave it to you in person, seeing as you seem to have lost his phone number,” Cole said with a smarmy grin.
Rose bared her teeth reflexively, a reaction of disgust more than anything else. She yanked her arm away from Conrad, who let her do it easily enough, as she glared daggers at him.
“What do you two lowlifes want? I can’t believe you followed me all the way to Idaho,” she said, flabbergasted.
“That makes three of us,” Conrad mumbled, bored, slouching against the wall with about as much enthusiasm as a kid at a history museum.
His eyes tracked her without any obvious emotion other than sheer and undiluted indifference. It was somehow soothing, really, knowing that the chase and stalking game was as annoying for them as it was for he
r.
“Kenner said that if you’re a good girl and pack your car tonight and get back to Philly, then he won’t have to come and get you personally. But if you don’t behave, then, well… we can do a lot worse than the truck, Rosey, you know that.”
Cole, however, was really enjoying the whole thing. His eyes gleamed with glee and she could clearly imagine the image of a raccoon pushing its grubby little fingers together in expectation of something going down. Her stomach twisted. Yes, she knew they could do worse. Conrad had once beaten up a guy just for looking at her, and Kenner had somehow gotten two of her friends evicted when she sought refuge with them. Not to mention the stuff she’d heard about Kenner doing to some of the rowdier patrons at the club she used to dance at. The fox didn’t have a good sense of humor and nobody needed to tell Rose that.
“I’ll think about it,” she said blandly, hoping that it would be enough to placate them.
“You do that, Rosey. We’ve seen that boyfriend of yours. I don’t think Kenner would like knowing that you’re shoving your tongue down the throat of some grimy bear. Nuh-uh, don’t think he’d like that at all,” Cole said as she whipped around and walked back toward the booth where Tiana and Dahlia were conversing.
Since Austin was out helping with the fire, it was just Dahlia who was running the whole show, so she kept coming and going from the booth whenever someone needed a drink or a snack. Rose caught one of the moments where Dahlia had just excused herself to return to the table, and the look on Tiana’s face told her that she wasn’t doing a very good job of acting calm.
“What’s wrong?” she asked immediately, looking at Rose and then toward where she’d come from.
“Nothing,” she said, trying to laugh it off.
“Don’t ‘nothing’ me, missy. You look like you saw a ghost. Did you see someone? Oh my God, are those the two guys?” Tiana asked, tracking the exit of Cole and Conrad.
