by Elle James
He wrapped his arms around her waist and stared down into her eyes, his reflecting the stars above. “I never thought it possible to love again, but you’ve proven me wrong. I never believed in love at first sight, but then I met you. I want you in my life. Forever. If it takes me the rest of my life to convince you, I will. Just say you’ll give me a chance to earn your love.”
Kate leaned up on her toes and pressed her lips to his. “Will you shut up?”
He frowned though his lips quirked upward at the corners. “Not exactly what I was hoping to hear.”
“Because you won’t let me get a word in edgewise.” Kate laughed. “There is no slim chance of me loving you.”
Chuck’s smile faded. “Well, dang, I guess I have my work cut out for me. Just so you know, this SEAL doesn’t give up easily.”
Kate cupped his cheeks between her palms. “Chuck, there’s no slim chance,” she kissed him, “because there’s a big chance I already love you.” Then she claimed his lips, sealing her declaration with a kiss.
Duke bumped into Chuck’s shoulder.
Chuck broke the kiss and looked up, frowning. “Hey, watch it.”
“You two need a room?” Duke grinned.
Kujo stood beside Duke with Six sitting by his feet. “Didn’t Hank give you the talk?”
Chuck frowned. “What talk?”
Hank clapped a hand on Chuck’s shoulder. “The one about not falling for the client?”
Chuck pulled Kate close. “Nope. Didn’t get that talk.”
“Well,” Hank said. “It wouldn’t have done you any good.” He shook his head. “You two would have found each other anyway. Can’t argue with fate. Not when it comes to love.”
“Nope,” Kate said. “Fate has a wicked sense of humor.”
“And she knows what the hell she’s doing,” Chuck brushed a soft kiss across Kate’s lips.
“Is everyone ready to go home?”
“Yes,” Kate said, already thinking of Eagle Rock as home.
“Yes,” Chuck said. “Though I loaned the cottage to Mrs. Turner. We might have company.”
Kate smiled. “We’ll have a full house with my sister and Lyla moving in until they can get settled in a new life.”
“That’s all right by me,” Chuck said. “Looks like we need to find a bigger place.”
“Yes, we do. And I’m looking forward to spending more time with my family.” Kate opened her arms.
Rachel rose from the ground with Lyla and walked into Kate’s hug. “I love you, sis.”
Kate hugged her sister tightly. “I love you, too. And by the way, have you met the man in my life? This is Chuck.”
Rachel smiled up at Chuck. “No, we haven’t officially met. But I like him already. Any man who can make my sister smile like that is more than okay in my book.” Instead of shaking his hand, she hugged his neck. “And thank you for saving her and Lyla.”
Kate couldn’t stop grinning. She had her sister and her niece back in her life, and the man of her dreams loved her. Life couldn’t get better.
But it did. Chuck kissed her again.
Yeah. Life did get better.
Epilogue
Two months later…
Chuck adjusted the heat on the grill as he stood on the back porch of the house he and Kate had purchased within a week of returning to Eagle Rock. It was a rustic cedar and river stone, two-story structure with huge picture windows overlooking the foothills of the Crazy Mountains.
As soon as he and Kate had seen it, they fell in love with it and made an offer. A month later, they were all moved in and starting a life together.
Rachel and Lyla had moved in with them until Rachel could find work and save enough money to get a place of her own. Which meant Kate and Chuck got to spend more time with Rachel and Lyla.
And Lyla was thriving. She loved having an uncle who gave her piggyback rides and the equivalent of two mothers to spoil her.
“I take it you and Kate are happy together,” Hank said. He sat back in an Adirondack chair, a beer in his hand.
Sadie was helping Rachel and Kate prepare the steaks inside.
“Couldn’t be happier,” Chuck said.
“Are you two going to get married?” Hank held up his hands. “Sadie told me to ask you. She’s all for planning another wedding. She enjoyed helping Viper and Dallas with theirs and wants to take a crack at the next one.”
With a snort, Chuck lifted his beer and drank a long swallow before answering. “I asked her. She said yes, but we haven’t decided on a date.”
Hank pushed to his feet. “That’s great news. Congratulations.” He hugged Chuck, clapping him hard on the back. “Sadie will be beside herself. I couldn’t be more pleased. You seem so much happier.”
“I am. I didn’t know how miserable I was,” Chuck said, laughing, “until I wasn’t.”
“So, I take it you’ll be staying with the Brotherhood Protectors.”
Chuck nodded. “As long as you’ll have me.”
“Good, because I’ll be taking some time off later this year, and I might need you to wrangle some of the new guys.”
“I’m game.”
“Most of the guys manage on their own, but I might need you to assign cases as they come up.” Hank grinned.
Chuck frowned. “Okay, what’s up that you’re not telling me?”
Hank’s grin spread from ear to ear. “Sadie’s pregnant.”
It was Chuck’s turn to hug and pat Hank’s back. “That’s great! Emma’s going to have a little brother to pick on.”
Hank nodded. “Or sister. We don’t know what it’s going to be yet. And really, I don’t care. As long as Sadie and the baby are healthy, I’m happy.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe I’m going to be a daddy again.”
Amid his happiness for Hank, Chuck couldn’t help a flash of envy.
He and Kate had talked about having kids, but he was already forty-seven and Kate was thirty-six. Was it fair to bring a child into the world when they were getting older? Assuming they could even have children. His swimmers might already be dried up along with Kate’s eggs.
He’d told Kate he’d be fine if they didn’t have children. They would continue to be Lyla’s favorite aunt and uncle. He’d told her that would be enough for him.
But hearing Hank and Sadie were expecting made Chuck wish things could have been different. He’d loved being a daddy to Sarah. And he was at a point in his life that he was willing to risk loving another child of his own. Alas, fate had her hand on the outcomes. If they were meant to have a baby, they would. If not, Chuck would be happy as long as he had Kate’s love.
Sadie stepped out on the deck, carrying a tray of seasoned steaks, hotdogs and chicken breasts. She was followed by Rachel, Emma and Lyla.
“Where’s Kate?” Hank asked.
“She had a little tummy upset. She’ll be out in a minute,” Sadie said, a small smile playing at the corners of her lips.
“Yeah, she’ll be out in a minute,” Rachel echoed, her lips also tipping upward. “You might want to get that food on the grill. These girls are hungry.”
Emma and Lyla jumped up and down, clapping their hands.
Chuck laughed, took the tray from Sadie and went to work laying out the meat on the grill.
“By the way,” he said, “I hear congratulations are in order for the Patterson family.”
“Oh, Hank told you?” Sadie laid a hand across her flat belly and sat in Hank’s lap. “I’m excited and can’t wait to find out what we’re having.”
“I could wait. I like surprises,” Hank said.
“I hear having two children is entirely different than having one child,” Sadie said. “I look forward to the challenge.”
Rachel sighed. “I always wanted two children. I didn’t want Lyla to grow up an only child.”
The door opened, and Kate stepped out, her face pale.
Chuck set down the spatula and hurried toward her. “Kate? Are you feeling all right?”
<
br /> “No, I feel like hell.” She looked at something in her hand and then looked at him, a smile spreading across her face. “But I couldn’t be better.”
Chuck cupped her elbow and helped her to a chair. “I don’t understand. You feel awful, but you couldn’t be better?”
Sadie laughed out loud. “Don’t you get it? Look at what she has in her hand. She’s got morning sickness.”
Chuck was so worried about Kate, he wasn’t sure of what Sadie was saying. “Do I need to call a doctor? Maybe an ambulance?”
Rachel and Hank joined in Sadie’s laughter.
Kate lifted the stick she had in her hand and held it in front of his face. “I’m going to be fine in nine months.”
The stick, the blue line, nine months and the smile on Kate’s face all added up to hit Chuck in the gut like a sucker punch.
He staggered backward, all the blood in his head draining at once.
“Catch him, he’s going down!” Rachel cried.
Hank dove for Chuck and looped one of his arms over his shoulder. “You might want to save the passing out for when you’re in the delivery room. It’s better to have trained doctors and nurses around when you crack your skull on the floor.” Hank chuckled. “I guess congratulations are in order all around.”
“You’re pregnant?” Chuck shook loose of Hank’s hold and knelt beside Kate’s chair. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
“I’m sure. Just a little queasy.” Her eyebrows dipped. “Are you going to be okay? We talked about having kids, but now, are you happy? You’re going to be a daddy.”
Chuck pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight. “I’ve never been happier. I have you in my life, and now…a baby.” He shook his head. Then a thought occurred to him. “Guess we’ll be setting a wedding date.”
Kate nodded. “Uh-huh.”
“And we have a wedding planner, if she should choose to accept the mission.” He shot a glance toward Sadie.
Sadie waggled her eyebrows. “I’m in as long as you have it before I give birth,” Sadie said.
“You’re on.” Kate and Chuck said simultaneously.
“And here I thought life couldn’t get better.” His heart soaring, Chuck kissed Kate.
Hellfire, Texas
Hellfire Series Book #1
New York Times & USA Today
Bestselling Author
ELLE JAMES
Chapter 1
The hot July sun beat down on the asphalt road. Shimmering heat waves rose like mirages as Becket Grayson drove the twenty miles home to Coyote Creek Ranch outside of Hellfire, Texas. Wearing only a sweat-damp T-shirt and the fire retardant pants and boots of a firefighter, he couldn’t wait to get home, strip, and dive into the pool. Although he’d have to hose down before he clouded the water with the thick layer of soot covering his body from head to toe.
The Hellfire Volunteer Firefighter Association met the first Saturday of every month for training in firefighting, rescues, and first responder care. Today had been particularly grueling in the late summer swelter. Old Lady Mersen graciously donated her dilapidated barn for structural fire training and rescue.
All thirty volunteers had been on hand to participate. Though hot, the training couldn’t have gone better. Each volunteer got a real taste of how fast an old barn would go up in flames, and just how much time they had to rescue any humans or animals inside. Some had the opportunity to exercise the use of SCBA, self-contained breathing apparatus, the masks and oxygen tanks that allowed them to enter smoke-filled buildings, limiting exposure and damage to their lungs. Other volunteers manned the fire engine and tanker truck, shuttling water from a nearby pond to the portable tank deployed on the ground. They unloaded a total of five tanks onto the barn fire before it was completely extinguished. With only one tanker truck, the shuttle operation slowed their ability to put out the fire, as the blaze rebuilt each time they ran out of water in the holding pool. They needed at least two tanker trucks in operation to keep the water flowing. As small as the Hellfire community was, the first engine and tanker truck would never have happened without generous donations from everyone in the district and a government grant. But, they had an engine that could carry a thousand, and a tanker capable of thirty-five hundred gallons. Forty-five hundred gallons was better than nothing.
Hot, tired, and satisfied with what he’d learned about combating fire without the advantages of a city fire hydrant and unlimited water supply, Becket had learned one thing that day. Firefighting involved a lot more than he’d ever imagined. As the Fire Chief said, all fires were different, just like people were different. Experience taught you the similarities, but you had to expect the unexpected.
Two miles from his turnoff, Becket could almost taste the ice-cold beer waiting in the fridge and feel the cool water of the ranch swimming pool on his skin.
A puff of dark smoke drifted up from a stalled vehicle on the shoulder of the road ahead. The puff grew into a billowing cloud, rising into the air.
Becket slowed as he neared the disabled vehicle.
A black-haired woman stood in the V of the open driver’s door, attempting to push the vehicle off the road. She didn’t need to worry about getting it off the road so much as getting herself away from the smoke and fire before the gas tank ignited and blew the car to pieces.
A hundred yards away from the potential disaster, Becket slammed on his brakes, shifted into park, and jumped out of his truck. “Get away from the car!” he yelled, running toward the idiot woman. “Get away before it explodes!”
The woman shot a brief glance back at him before continuing on her mission to get the car completely off the road and into the bone-dry grass.
Becket ran up behind her, grabbed her around the middle, and hauled her away from the now-burning vehicle.
“Let go of me!” she screamed, tearing at his hands. “I have to get it off the road.”
“Damn it, lady, it’s not safe.” Not knowing when the tank would ignite, he didn’t have time to argue. Becket spun her around, threw her over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry, and jogged away from the burning vehicle.
“I have to get it off the road,” she said, her voice breaking with each jolt to her gut.
“Leave it where it is. I’ll call in the fire department, they’ll have the fire out before you know it. In the meantime, that vehicle is dangerous.” He didn’t stop or put her down until he was back behind his truck.
He set her on her feet, but she darted away from him, running back toward the vehicle, her long, jet-black hair flying out behind her.
Becket lunged, grabbed her arm, and jerked her back. “Are you crazy?”
“I can’t leave it in the road,” she sobbed. “Don’t you see? He’ll find it. He’ll find me!” She tried prying his fingers free of her arm.
He wasn’t letting go.
“The fire will ignite the gas tank. Unless you want to be fried like last year’s turkey, you need to stand clear.” He held her back to his chest, forcing her to view the fire and the inherent danger.
She sagged against him, her body shaking with the force of her sobs. “I have to hide it.”
“Can I trust you to stay put?”
She nodded, her hair falling into her face.
“I’m making a call to the Hellfire Volunteer Firefighters Association.”
Before he finished talking, she was shaking her head. “No. You can’t. No one can know I’m here.”
“Why?” He settled his hands on her shoulders and was about to turn her to face him when an explosion rocked the ground.
Becket grabbed the woman around the waist.
She yelped and whimpered as Becket ducked behind the tailgate of his pickup, and waited for the debris to settle. Then he slowly rose.
Smoke and fire shot into the air. Where the car had been now was a raging inferno. Black smoke curled into the sky.
“Sweetheart, I won’t have to call 911. In the next fifteen minutes, this place will be surrounded by f
irefighters.”
Her head twisted left and right as she attempted to pry his hands away from her waist. “You’re hurting me.”
He released her immediately. “The sheriff will want a statement from you.”
“No. I can’t.” Again, she darted away from him. “I have to get as far away from here as possible.”
Becket snagged her arm again and whipped her around. “You can’t just leave the scene of a fire. There will be an investigation.” He stared down at her, finally getting a look at her. “Do I know you?”
“I don’t…” The young woman glanced up, eyes narrowing. She reached up a hand and rubbed some of the soot off his face. Recognition dawned and her eyes grew round. “Becket? Becket Grayson?”
He nodded. “And I know I should know you, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.”
Her widened eyes filled with tears, and she flung her arms around his neck. “Oh, dear God. Becket!”
He held her, struggling to remember who she was.
Her body trembled, her arms like clamps around his neck.
“Hey.” Surprised by her outburst, Becket patted her back. “It’s going to be okay.”
“No, it’s not,” she cried into his sweat-dampened shirt, further soaking it with her tears. “No, it’s not.”
His heart contracted, feeling some of the pain in her voice. “Yes, it is. But you have to start by telling me who you are.” He hugged her again, then loosened the arms around his neck and pushed her to arms’ length. “Well?”
The cheek she’d rested against his chest was black with soot, her hair wild and tangled. Familiar green eyes, red-rimmed and awash with tears, looked up at him. “You don’t remember me.” It was a statement, not a question.
“Sorry. You look awfully familiar, but I’m just not making the connection.” He smiled gently. “Enlighten me.”
“I’m Kinsey Phillips. We used to be neighbors.”
His confusion cleared, and he grinned. “Little Kinsey Phillips? The girl who used to hang out with Nash and follow us around the ranch, getting into trouble?”
