Daring to Fall

by T. J. Kline

  But she also couldn’t help the feeling that she wanted it. For the first time, letting the chance of having it slip away frightened her even more.

  “I . . . uh . . . I have to go move Kit into the enclosure so it might be a while before I can get back inside.”

  “You want help?”

  He had no idea what helping might entail, no clue what she might ask him to do, but it didn’t seem to matter to him. He was willing to step up in any way for her. Just as he had been for the past few weeks since he’d first arrived at her door with Kit. It struck her suddenly, like a divine message.

  Ben wasn’t trying to rescue her, he wanted to help her save herself, and he’d been trying, in the only way he knew how to prove that. Whether it was showing up to volunteer or staying here to protect her ranch from an outside threat.

  “Ben, I . . .” Emma wasn’t sure what to even say, how to tell him what she wanted. Her tongue snuck out, moistening her lower lip and she heard his soft groan. His eyes shifted, turning hungry and even darker. Emma’s breath caught in her lungs.

  She reached out and grasped the front of his shirt, dragging him closer and winding her arm around his neck. She pulled him down to her and sealed their mouths. Like a man dying of thirst, he drank from her, taking all she would give and she wanted to give him everything.

  Ben wrapped his free arm around her back and held her close, their bodies fusing in spite of their clothing. She melted into him, the explosive heat surging through her. He slid the coffee cup onto the counter and tightened his other arm around her waist, pulling her even closer.

  “God, Emma,” he growled as his lips trailed over her jaw to the side of her neck. “I thought that you—”

  “Shh, don’t ask questions,” she begged. “Just . . .” She couldn’t say more, couldn’t tell him what she wanted because even she wasn’t clear.

  She wanted Ben. Not just for a fun night, not just until this fire between them burned out. She no longer cared about the danger of her job. He understood it better than anyone and was willing to not only support her but dig in and get his hands dirty. For the first time, she’d found someone who not only understood her passion but fueled the desire in her, sought it out.

  “Love me, Ben.” He drew back, his eyes wide with shock. “Don’t say anything,” she said, her cheeks flaming with embarrassment. This wasn’t who she was, this needy woman begging, but Ben made her want, and yearn and need more than she ever had before.

  “Are you sure you want to throw out the rule book?” He looked down at her, his gaze questioning. “You said—”

  “I know what I said.” She ran a hand over the back of his head and smiled up at him. “What can I say? You wore me down.”

  He returned her smile with his own, looking sinfully sexy and absurdly cocky. “Took long enough.”

  “Really?” She arched a brow and laughed quietly.

  Ben shrugged and nuzzled her neck again. “But you are one stubborn Scot.” The magic of his lips drove away any comeback she might have considered. Goose bumps broke out over her skin, making her shiver against him, her fingers clenching in the front of his t-shirt. “I should probably let you take care of Kit, right?”

  For the first time, she wasn’t looking forward to the work she had planned for her day. In reality, it was that she wasn’t looking forward to leaving the sanctuary of Ben’s embrace. Now that she’d finally decided what she wanted, she didn’t want to wait any longer to have it. He chuckled, the sound vibrating his chest against hers, warming her.

  “I’ll tell you what. Let’s go get whatever it is you need finished this morning done, then we’ll come back in and I’ll cook for you.”

  As if the thought of Ben standing in front of her stove wasn’t attractive enough, her mind took the opportunity to picture him there naked. Emma knew that letting her imagination run wild was a bad idea but couldn’t seem to help herself. It was more than enough to make her look forward to getting her work done faster.

  “This might take a while,” she warned.

  His gaze skimmed over her, scorching every inch of her with the heated passion she could read there. “Emma, it will be worth every bit of my appetite when we get back.”

  She had no doubts that food was not what he was thinking about.

  Watching the bobcat kitten playing in his new home gave Ben an odd sense of satisfaction. As Kit stalked the bug crawling on the ground while the larger bobcat cast him a bored glance from the shade made his heart swell. He no longer minded the scratches he’d received dragging Kit from the tree. He was optimistic that Emma was right and Kit would be hunting live prey before long, thanks to his new housemate and the lessons he was sure to impart.

  “You’re sure they’re going to be okay in here together?”

  Emma leaned into him as they watched from outside the enclosure. “I wouldn’t turn him out if I wasn’t. Davis has taken him under his wing, which surprised me a bit at first with him being another male.”

  “We males can be nurturing too, you know.”

  She looked up at him, her eyes bright with humor. “Did I offend your delicate ego? I’m so sorry.”

  “You don’t sound—” His cell phone buzzed and he rolled his eyes. “Hang on. Hello?”

  “Ben, it’s Ryan. Angie told me to call you to see if you could make it in today.”

  “What’s up?” It had to be big if Angie was calling in.

  “I’m not supposed to say why.” The probie lowered his voice. “But we’re eloping. I asked her to marry me and she said yes.” Ryan sounded almost giddy with excitement.

  “What?” Ben didn’t mean to sound so surprised but married? Angie? She was the last person he’d ever expected to do something like this.

  “So? Can you come in and cover her shift?”

  “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  “What?” Ryan sounded incredulous. “Why wouldn’t I be? Angie’s the best.”

  Ben caught himself from laughing at the guy’s exuberance. It wasn’t his place to judge. Angie had already ripped him a new one once. “You just surprised me,” he covered as best he could. “I can head in now. Tell Angie I’m happy for you both, okay?”

  “Thanks Ben. We both owe you.”

  Ben hung up, feeling slightly awed at the change in Angie but thrilled for her all the same. She’d finally found someone who made her want to settle down. He glanced at Emma, taking in her sweet smile, the tender concern in her eyes.

  “Trouble?”

  “Not exactly, but I have to go in to the station.” It killed him to think about what he wanted to do to Emma, to do with Emma, after they got back to the house. She’d finally let down those walls that he’d thought would never fall and now he had to leave.

  Disappointment clouded her eyes. “Oh. I hope everything is okay?”

  “It’s Angie. And, trust me, if I didn’t owe her, I would absolutely stay here but—”

  “I get it. Duty calls.”

  “She covered for me when I stayed here.” Someday he was going to have to explain the weird history he and Angie had but he was in too much of a hurry to give her all the details now. “Apparently, she’s decided to elope with one of our probies.” Ben shrugged. “I can’t leave the station shorthanded.”

  She dipped her chin and looked at him through her lashes, making him want to forget owing Angie and carry Emma back to the house. “Go. You don’t need to stay here. I told you that before.”

  “I know what you said, Emma, but—”

  “Seriously. Go.” She waved a hand at him. “Everything has been quiet for the past three days. Everyone is over it.”

  Ben didn’t share Emma’s confidence. It had been quiet but it didn’t feel over to him. He had that twisted feeling in his gut, the one that usually came just before a big fire call. The one that usually led to him facing the fire and risking his life anyway.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  He watched from the shadows. She wouldn’t see him. Emma never
had paid him much attention, never given him the credit he was due for the help he’d given her. She’d never admitted that he had good ideas. Of course, he couldn’t be too angry about it. She’d never agreed with anyone’s ideas, including his brother’s. Hell, she hadn’t even listened to her own father when he’d tried to tell her about the changes he wanted to make.

  And now, he was going to have to force her hand.

  He stared into the enclosure where the wolf paced nervously, whining slightly. It pissed him off that he wasn’t going to be able to jimmy the lock she’d placed on any of the entrances. To protect the damn animal, she’d purchased heavy-duty combination locks and he hadn’t brought his cutters on his last trip into the facility. Cutting the fence wasn’t an option. That wolf would attack him before he could get ten feet. Cana hadn’t liked any men before he’d gone to the rescue in Nevada, but keeping him locked in a small kennel, using sedatives and the choke collar, as well as a swat when necessary, to control him over the past year, had turned the wolf’s dislike to hatred and his uncertainty to fear, making him too dangerous to let loose.

  So, he’d returned home to come up with a Plan B. It hadn’t been easy. It wasn’t even one he liked. If every detail didn’t go as planned, the entire thing would crumble. But he had to take the chance. For Conrad’s wishes. For the future of Sierra Tracks. For his brother.

  Emma had to leave and this was the only way to make sure it happened. The doubts he’d planted around Hidden Falls weren’t working quickly enough. It was time to take drastic steps to make sure she was run out.

  Slipping past the enclosure, he ducked behind several trees and headed for the back field, away from any of the animals, to the acreage they used to grow alfalfa hay for livestock. What they didn’t use for their own animals was sold to raise money for the sanctuary. Another of his brother’s ideas.

  Lighting the match, he flicked it into the grass, watching it nearly smolder. It wasn’t as dry as most fields in their current drought conditions but it was dry enough. The ember caught and started to move up the stalks, reaching the leaves with a small burst of life. Just before it fizzled out, it caught another stalk, then another, moving it away from the facility, toward the foothills behind the property. He prayed the wind continued to move in that direction, carrying the flame away from the sanctuary.

  He didn’t want anyone injured, he just wanted Emma’s future destroyed.

  They don’t even need me here.

  I need you, Emma thought as she read Ben’s text, the seventeenth in the past thirty minutes. She’d barely managed to finish all of her daily chores after he’d left because of the many texts he’d sent. There were a few telling her how bored he was, a couple mentioning how much he hated cleaning but the vast majority were about how much he wanted to be with her. Those were the ones that made her body sizzle, humming with anticipation.

  It was odd for her to feel this way and, while it made her slightly uncomfortable, it also excited her beyond reason. It wasn’t just the newness of the feeling, it was the unique emotions flitting through her at random times. She’d enjoyed giving Ben new experiences but he was doing the same for her. She was looking forward to her first real nonsexual date with him the next day. —her couch with the movie and popcorn he was bringing back with him. While there was a good chance they would end up in her bed, there was no expectation.

  A shiver of desire fluttered in her stomach and spread through her body, warming her to her toes. Okay, maybe a little expectation on her part.

  She was in deep, deeper than she’d ever been with anyone before. It still frightened her in a “what am I doing, this isn’t me” kind of way but she was beginning to realize that being Emma Jordan had been lonely. She’d been on her own, shutting out everyone else, for so long that she was actually worried she didn’t know how to let anyone in. Then Ben showed up, finding weaknesses in her barriers that only he seemed to be able to breach.

  Hang in there. Are you coming straight back here in the morning? I’m making plans for you.

  She hoped he was. Desire curled in her belly, warming her. She’d be waiting for him in the kitchen with breakfast ready and nothing else on. Her phone vibrated with his return text almost immediately.

  You’re a cruel woman, Emma Jordan.

  Emma laughed as she slid her phone into her back pocket, hurrying toward the aviary. She had a lot to finish in the next hour, before she could quit for the night. The birds needed to be settled in and she still had to make sure each of the cages was locked tight. It had been a while since anything had happened but that lull was exactly why she double-checked every cage each night now.

  The cloying scent of smoke caught her attention and she frowned, trying to figure out where it might be coming from. She scanned the horizon line, looking for even the faintest wisp but the sky was still clear, just fading to pink and orange as the sun began its rapid descent. She reached for the radio on her hip.

  “Sadie, Monique?”

  “Yeah, boss?” Sadie’s voice crackled through.

  “I smell smoke. Do either of you have a clear view of the area behind the house and the outbuildings?”

  “Shit!” Monique’s epithet came through clearly. “The alfalfa’s on fire.”

  “Sadie, hit the sprinklers, drown that field. I’ll call the fire department.” Emma jerked her phone out of her pocket as Sadie responded, sounding out of breath, as if she was already running to do as Emma asked. The dispatch operator answered Emma’s call.

  “I have a fire. My alfalfa field.”

  “Ma’am can I have your address?” Emma provided it as the woman on the other end of the line sent her call through to the fire dispatch.

  “I need you to stay away from the fire ma’am, but I also need you to answer some questions for me.”

  “Okay.” Emma didn’t have time for this. She had animals to get inside before the fire got any closer to the facility. She had evacuation procedures for several of them, to get them off the premises. “Right now there are no structures threatened but I can’t see the fire from where I am.”

  “How do you—”

  “I can smell the smoke and one of my staff informed me where the fire is. We’ve already opened up the irrigation valves in an effort to quench the fire in the field itself.”

  “I’ve sent out an engine. Is the fire threatening any lives?”

  “Yes, my animals. I need to get everyone out. So just get a truck out here now.” Emma hung up on the dispatcher. She’d given them the information they needed. They’d arrive within minutes. She had no time to waste.

  Emma ran to the house to get a clear view for herself. Thick plumes of smoke poured from the field, moving quickly as flames caught the top of the hay and jumped. She could see the irrigation spouts pouring water but it wasn’t fast enough as the flames licked their way past, moving toward the mountains. It was a small blessing but would be enough to buy her some time until the fire department arrived.

  Before Emma could even finish her thought, the winds changed, twisting the flames in the air, carrying them into the sky and lifting the embers back toward the house, licking the tall pines along the way. Within moments, several trees were engulfed in flames, the dry needles burning like kindling. Emma stood, transfixed for a moment, paralyzed by the sight of the massive branches being consumed quickly by flames and then slowly as the embers traveled over the bark. It was frighteningly beautiful, seductively awful. A loud pop of fire meeting with tree sap snapped her out of her hypnotic state and she ran into her office to find the numbers of the many people she had on stand-by to transport the animals in case of emergency.

  She’d sent a group text message out before calling the first name on the list—a local veterinary hospital—who would then call the next name until they had all been reached. Then she called Ben.

  After several rings, it went to his voice mail. Did he know? Was his crew the one heading to her place right now? She quickly texted him the only message she had time for
:

  I need help saving my place. Hurry!

  Sitting at the fire station was monotonous, until a call came in from dispatch. He slid his phone back into his pocket, desperately wishing he could be back with Emma, trying to alleviate his boredom while he was stuck here by fantasizing about what she might have planned for him when he arrived back at her place in the morning. But morning was still fourteen hours away and his fantasies were only engulfing him in unsatisfied longing, leaving his entire body burning for more.

  When the alarm blared, tearing him from his thoughts of Emma, Ben jumped from where he’d been stretched out in a recliner. His body reacted completely out of instinct, hurrying into the engine bay and to his locker against the wall. He slid his feet into his boots, yanking his pants up and reaching for his jacket and helmet in one swift movement. Years of being on the department had made it possible for every one of them to be out of the station only minutes from the time the alarm sounded, and the Hidden Falls Fire Department was a well-oiled machine. As he was taking Angie’s place on the front line crew, he jumped into the cab of the engine, behind the driver and began settling his mind on what was to come when they arrived, listening to the information the dispatch provided over the radio.

  Grass fire, ten acres, threatening structures nearby.

  The captain responded that they were en route and their ETA of six minutes. Another engine would follow, due to the potential size of the fire but Ben prayed it didn’t spread. Years of drought had grass drier than ever this year, making fires even more dangerously unpredictable.

  “Engine 3, be advised that we have just received a call that the fire is now heading back toward the house and animal sanctuary. Evacuation is currently underway.”