She sighed. “Yum. Okay, I’d better get this report done so I can climb all over it and umm…inspect.”
“Dante is very protective of the trucks he delivers.” Mac’s eyes twinkled.
“Then you’ll distract him for me, won’t you? I wish you had some food left to offer him.”
“Actually, he’s—” At a rumble from the driveway outside the kitchen, both their heads jerked, and Kat shut her laptop and bounced to her feet. “He’s here.”
Oohh. Kat paused at the back door, slipping on her jacket and letting anticipation build. Despite her decision to be an inspector rather than an on-the-ground firefighter, she shared the enthusiasm of everyone in the field for a great new piece of apparatus. First, many of the innovations could be lifesaving for both the men and women who operated them and those they rescued from fire and countless other perilous situations. The trucks had to be tough to operate under conditions where regular vehicles would never be able to, while protecting the delicate equipment within.
She opened the door, prepared to be blown away, but unprepared for what would do it.
“Are we going outside, Kat?” Her grandfather’s chuckle accompanied a little push. “Or are you going to stare at Dante all night?”
She blinked. “Granddad! I wasn’t…” Well, she was. And denying it wouldn’t make it better. The tall, dark, handsome god of a man blocked her view of the new red-and-white truck, but, somehow she couldn’t hold it against him. Kat’s taller than average height of five foot nine made having to tilt her head back to look into a man’s eyes a rarity, but this guy was tall. “Hi,” she said, clearing her throat and trying to offer a normal greeting expression. “You must be Dante.”
“Dante Rossi, cross-country delivery a specialty. And you’re…” His blue-eyed gaze darted past her and back again, little sun crinkles forming when he smiled. “Mac, when did you hire a beauty queen to snuff fires around here?”
Her granddad came up beside her and shook his hand. “This isn’t one of the men, Dante.”
“Don’t tell me she’s one of the wives.” He released Granddad’s hand and took her left one, turning it over in his. “No ring…a girlfriend?”
When he turned that smile on her, everything around them blurred. Even the giant red-and-white behemoth in the parking area. He was not what she’d have expected from a truck driver slash delivery guy. No, this man looked like a superhero-firefighter perfected for the big screen. At least six foot three with lantern jaw, darkened by a scruff as black as the hair combed back from his forehead. Pale-blue irises ringed in midnight blue and fringed with lashes so thick she suppressed a second’s envy. Not that he had anything feminine about him at all. Not with shoulders so broad she’d have a hard time wrapping her arms around him, a muscular chest outlined by the black T-shirt clinging to six pack abs… Swallowing hard, she shot her gaze back to his face and gaped at him like a fish out of water.
“I-I…” What was wrong with her? She never had trouble talking to men, talking to anyone. And, in her line of work, most of the guys she ran into belonged on firefighter calendars. His faded jeans molded to his powerful thighs as if made for them. Sexy. But in the calendar he would be shirtless. The idea of this man….Dante…shirtless as Mr. March made her mouth water and her knees knock
At least they didn’t melt!
“Kat?” Granddad’s concerned tone broke the spell. She drew a shuddering breath and withdrew her hand, placing it carefully at her side. “Dante Rossi, this is my granddaughter, Kat MacKay. I’ve told you a little about my girls.”
“Of course.” He nodded. “Hi, Kat.” He shook her right hand this time. “I’ve also heard good things about your work at a few of my stops for the past few years. It’s an honor to meet you in person.”
Kat drew her tattered dignity about her, but her burning cheeks refused to cool. She studied him, trying to decide if he was sincere or flattering her because of Mac then decided it didn’t matter. He’d be gone in the morning anyway. But man he was good looking! “Nice to meet you as well. I hear you’re passing through with a nice new piece of hardware for the folks in Dallas. We’ve got a great working relationship with Station 58.” At least her powers of speech had returned.
“Nice guys there.” He glanced at the ground and back at her. “And about as skilled as anyone I’ve ever met.”
“You’ve delivered there before?” She’d never see such sadness in blue eyes.
“What? No. First time there. But they’re gonna be pretty happy when I get there.”
She waited for him to elaborate on how he knew the people at 58, but he didn’t, and, as the moment drew out into uncomfortable silence, Kat tried to take the conversation back onto a happier note. She had plenty to think about on her own. “So this is a special delivery?
He grinned. “Yep, this baby is loaded with all the latest toys. I’ve deliver a lot of apparatus in the past year, but this one is over-the-top and top-of-the-line. I understand they got a deal to try out some of the new equipment for Andy, my boss. Hey, want to go for a ride?”
She followed him toward the gleaming beauty, nearly drooling. “Is that allowed?”
“Technically? No. But it’s done from time to time, and you’re in the business. Maybe you’ll fall in love with it and talk Chief Mac into ordering one for Cedar Valley.”
“If only.” She sighed in longing. “So this is kind of like a test drive?”
“I suppose it is. Anything you’d like to know about the truck before we climb aboard?”
She had a lot of questions. Although few knew it, Kat was certified to drive just about any apparatus Cedar Valley owned and some they didn’t. Her sister, Brigit, as well. The only thing Brij had on her was the helicopter pilot’s license. Kat just couldn’t seem to summon the love for the rotary bird her sister had. So they slowly circled the truck, going over every bit of the outside until Dante finally laughed and opened the door. “If we keep this up, we’ll be here all night and you’ll never get your test drive.”
“Can we pick up a snack? I’m starving!”
“Sure. We can’t stop for fast food, though. No way to make the guys madder than to hand over a vehicle that smells like old fries.”
“So you never eat in it?”
“Not fries.”
She shook her head slowly. “If I win the lottery, I’m buying half a dozen of these for Cedar Valley.”
“So my evil plan has worked. I’m a super salesman.”
“You bet.”
They smiled at each other for a long, easy moment until he shook himself and opened the passenger door. “Come on, get in!”
“I don’t suppose you’d let me drive…?”
“Don’t push your luck. I’d lose my job if I let anyone behind the wheel without prior approval from the office.”
Probably true, but the yearning to pilot the beast compelled her to try one more time. “Could you be bribed?”
He raised a raven brow with such heat, she scrambled into the seat before she could be seduced by the hot truck and the hotter man. A day that started out with a case she’d been able to make no progress with had moved on to a ride in a sizzling truck with a guy she could really go for, under other circumstances. Like if he wasn’t just passing through town.
Kat, cool your jets. Nothing says you can’t have a little fun for once, clear your head, and maybe let your hair down. The tight braid she wore it in always tugged at her scalp, and she considered pulling it out, but what would that signal?
No, she wasn’t going to seduce or be seduced, but she was going for a ride. Tomorrow, she’d still have the case to work on, but maybe a little fun would help to think out the case. Heaven knew nothing else was helping.
The arsonist had shown an alarming randomness in his choice of locations so far, and every time she paused for a moment, the details ran through her mind again. If it weren’t for one eagle-eyed firefighter in a rural fire station a lot like Cedar Valley who happened to be on two sites, in fact
, nobody would have even connected the cases. Fresno Firebug after all this time?
She’d been teasing her granddad about not filling him in. His job entitled him to most of the information anyway, and she wanted to pick his brain. His and, once she had it straight in her mind, Bob Waggoner’s again.
Dante closed the door behind her and moved around to the driver’s side while Kat buckled her seat harness. She didn’t ride in department vehicles as often as she liked, since she used her own vehicle most of the time, but when she did, it unfailingly reminded her of being a little girl and getting Granddad to take her around the block or maybe to the market down the street.
Her and Brij. What a shame her sister, the amazing helo-pilot, wasn’t on duty this afternoon. She’d have appreciated the man and machine as well. Last she’d heard, she was heading into San Francisco to have seafood on Fisherman’s Wharf with Cousin James and Sarabeth this evening, and would fly back in the a.m. Lucky Kat hadn’t been free to go along.
“Where shall we go?” Dante drove the truck around the back of the firehouse, pausing in the driveway marked with the “out” arrow. “Around the block?”
Kat’s focus moved from the numerous dials and gadgets, the HVAC alone a marvel of engineering, and to the strong hands resting on the steering wheel. Such big hands, straight long fingers. Was there nothing about this man she didn’t find fascinating? His forearms flexed as he flattened his palms. “Around the block?” She pouted like a teenager denied her cell phone. “Is that the best you can do?”
“Do you have a better idea? Want to go up into the mountains and watch the stars twinkle?”
“Doesn’t sound like a real test drive without seeing how she handles on the switchbacks, does it?”
“Switchbacks?” He rolled the wheel to the right. “Let’s do it.”
“Is that okay?” She wouldn’t want him to get into any trouble on her account. “Maybe we should just hit Gondola and get you some takeout. The crew ate all of Rusty’s chili, the pigs.”
“Well, I am a little worried about offending your grandmother if I show up at her house full to the brim with restaurant food.”
He was eating at Granddad’s? “You’re coming to dinner?”
“I always spend the night there when I pass through. Your grandma takes pity on a lonely bachelor truck driver.”
“I didn’t realize you weren’t staying at the firehouse.” Ohmigod, he’d be under the same roof with her. And the guest room was right next to hers. This could be dangerous.
“I can if you like.”
“No!”
He gave her a funny glance.
“I mean, no, they have plenty of room. And Grandma’s food is the best.”
“I know.”
“How much time do you spend with my family anyway?”
He shrugged. “Not a lot, but they have the gift of hospitality and always make me feel at home. Why?”
“No reason.”
Because I can’t believe I never met you.
They left town and began the climb toward the foothills. The days were getting longer but at dinnertime, the sun was darn close to disappearing behind them, falling into the ocean they could see from the very highest peaks. Not that they’d be going that high.
“I always stay with your folks when I come through this way. I spend so much time on the road that a real bed and a home-cooked meal are very welcome.”
“You don’t sleep in a bed when you travel?”
“If I hit a firehouse at a good time, and they have an empty bunk, they usually will put me up, but if I am out in the middle of nowhere or the local station doesn’t have a secure spot to put the truck, I sleep in the back of the cab. It’s not bad.”
“Don’t tell me this thing has a sleeper.” She twisted in the seat, trying to get a good look at the rear of the compartment.
He chuckled. “Settle down. Not quite. But this one has lots of floor space between the rows of seats. It’s intended for a big crew. I bring along a sleeping bag and an air mattress.”
“Floor too hard for you?” she quipped, but the look crossing his face told her she’d said something off. “I’m sorry. What?”
The four-lane gave way to two as they climbed higher and Cedar Valley fell away below. The setting sun was off to their left as they followed the serpentine road. “My back won’t let me do without.”
Focusing again on those strong, beautiful hands, she saw him grip the wheel tightly, and a suspicion began to form. “Dante, were you ever a firefighter? At Station 58 maybe?”
Chapter Two
Was he ever a firefighter? Dante tried not to remember most days. But this trip made it harder than usual. Before he moved to Oregon to deliver fire vehicles all across the country from the newest high-tech plant, Dante had been a firefighter in Dallas. He’d been about to transfer to Station 58, where he would be headed tomorrow with this magnificent beast. But he’d never drive one to another active fire. Or a rescue situation. Or any emergency.
Kat MacKay waited for his answer.
“Yes, I was a firefighter for a while, but not at 58. I was waiting for an opening there when I made a career change.” He shifted in the seat, trying to find a more comfortable position. At least the fabulous shocks made even the bumpy road feel smooth.
“Injury force you out?” Her expression changed from admiration to pity, and he winced. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”
“I can talk about it.” He found he actually wanted to, to his great surprise. “But not while we’re driving. Let’s see if we can find a place to pull off and talk.” Anytime he’d discussed it before—usually with the therapist the department had pushed him into talking to—his emotions had been less than predictable. On a logical level, he knew his back would likely never heal enough for him to return to work. But, in his heart, he’d always be a firefighter. And the reason he’d taken on this job was to avoid sitting home and thinking about it.
His disability would have covered his expenses, since he didn’t live a wild, exciting life, especially since his injury slowed him down. But it wouldn’t have prevented his mind from spinning around and around, going over the day he’d fallen through that roof, and, although he didn’t burn up or break his neck or any of the other things he’d actually worried might happen, he’d wrenched his back in such a painful way that none of his doctors could say for sure whether he’d ever heal enough to return to work.
And while driving around probably didn’t do him any physical good, sitting in his apartment did him great mental harm.
“Sure, how about the viewpoint right up ahead. See, there’s a sign.” She pointed, and Dante threw on the turn signal, even though they hadn’t seen another car or truck for a good ten minutes. Safety first.
He parked in one of the half-dozen spaces facing a low rock wall and killed the engine. As they watched, the sun slipped the last bit over the horizon, leaving orange and hot pink rimming the world
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Kat murmured. “I come from a beautiful place.”
“It is,” he said, in full agreement. “And you do.” In the valley below, lights popped on one by one, in clusters and singles, like diamonds against the darkening Earth. “Looks like a good place to be from.” Despite joking that it was a test drive, a guy didn’t bring a beautiful woman to a scenic overlook just to show off the equipment. At least not the motorized kind. But what would she say if he tried for, say, a kiss?
Before he could make a move, Kat reached for the door handle.
He patted her arm. “Wait for me to come around.”
She cast him a sideways glance. “I’ve gotten in and out of these things before, you know.”
“On a date?” Maybe she wouldn’t want it to be a date? If not, he still had plenty of time to save face, play it off as a joke. After all, he’d only offered a ride, a “test drive,” and that’s all they’d done so far. But he had enjoyed her company so far, and up here, where there seemed to
be little traffic or people of any kind, he thought they might get to know one another a little better before rejoining her family. Not that he was looking for a relationship—or thought Kat MacKay was a woman he’d tumble once and never call again. Or “visit” whenever he came through town.
Actually, he didn’t know what he wanted, but every minute he spent in her company made him want to spend more. If she felt the same. Say something!
“Well no. This is my first time on a date in anything but a personal vehicle. Well, there was that plumber once, but I’d rather not go there.” Her voice held laughter, and his heart lifted to meet it. “But I thought you were trying to sell me a truck. Is this a test drive or a date?”
He cleared his throat. “Which would you prefer?”
He kept his gaze on the view in front of them, not sure why her answer mattered so much but knowing that it did
“Is that why you brought me here, Dante? To be alone?”
He swallowed, his mouth ridiculously dry. Considering he’d had no trouble meeting women, ever, she should not be having this effect on him. Certainly no other woman had. Not even Cynthia, his ersatz fiancée who had lost interest when he could no longer perform his duties as a fireman or as a man. A little problem with two doctors prescribing medications that caused side effect when mixed, easily resolved. Not that she’d stuck around long enough to find out. Instead of answering, Dante grabbed his jacket and slipped into it while moving around to her side of the truck, hoping he hadn’t already blown it with this goddess in business casual.
But when he grasped the handle and opened the door, he met a smile that sped his pulse. Taking her hand, he helped her down, and, to his amazed pleasure, she slid into his arms and tipped her head back. She was just tall enough that, when she rose on tiptoes, he could meet her lips without having to bend double as he often did to kiss standing up. Not that she wouldn’t have been worth it. The wind rippled her long hair back, freeing ebony strands from the braid she wore and chilling his nose, but he didn’t care. From the second their bodies touched, he forgot anything but the parts of him that made contact with her. The heat and electricity generated there, even through their clothes, more than offset the early spring breeze in the mountains.
Dallas Fire & Rescue: Wheels on Fire (Kindle Worlds Novella) (MacKay Destiny Book 4) Page 2
