A Fiancé for the Firefighter

by Liz Isaacson

  “Yeah, of course. If there’s one thing I know how to treat, it’s a burn. Yours was mild. Nothing to worry about.” His blue eyes pierced her, almost like he knew she hadn’t brought him out here to express her appreciation.

  “Hey, so, I was wondering how likely it will be for me to stay on this crew.”

  He exhaled and looked over her shoulder. “Well, I don’t know.”

  “Because I’d really like to stay here. I’ve put in my application for the hotshots twice, and I’ve passed the physical all three times. I’ve been a Captain in a rural fire department for just over a year, and I think I fit in well with the rest of the men here.”

  “You fit in real fine, Cora.” He focused back on her again, and she appreciated the sharp glint in his eye. “We’ve got twenty-one on this crew right now. Me, our two captains, two squad bosses, and four senior firefighters. Those positions are all taken, and I don’t see any of my men leaving for another crew or another career.”

  “Yeah, okay,” Cora said. “So that leaves…what? Eleven other positions. Right?”

  “They’re mostly temp positions,” Gil said. “Like what you have now.”

  “But Henry said he’s an apprentice firefighter on the crew. What about that?” Cora’s pulse pounded through her body, making her stomach sick. “And Liam said he’s been a ‘temp’ for over a year.”

  Gil cocked his head and studied her. “You’ve done your homework.”

  “I want to stay on this crew, sir.” She needed it as badly as she needed air. She had to have something to offer Brennan in terms of stability and a future together. “I’m a Level One Firefighter. I’ve taken classes in fire safety and rescue. I have two medical certifications; one’s in pediatrics. I don’t smoke, I don’t drink, I don’t gamble, and I’m about to get married.” She sucked in a breath at the surety she felt about that last item.

  She tried to keep the emotion out of her voice when she added, “I want to stay on this crew,” but she failed. She cleared it away. “Sir.”

  Gil watched her, his mind clearly churning. She appreciated the way he thought, and he’d been an amazing Super out in the field. She’d learned that he’d been a hotshot for twenty years before getting this Superintendent assignment with the Del Rosa Crew, and she really wanted to work with him.

  “Let me talk to my captains and see if we have room for another apprentice.”

  Cora sucked in a breath as her eyes widened.

  “No promises,” Gil said, a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth. “And not a word of this to anyone else.”

  “No, sir. Not a word.” Cora stood straight and tall and saluted him. “Thank you, sir.”

  He backed up a step and scanned her. “You’re tougher than you look, Cora. I like that.” He twisted the doorknob to go back inside. “No promises. And wipe that silly smile off your face before you come inside.” He ducked through the doorway, and Cora spun to the forest just behind the work center. She couldn’t stop smiling for a good long while, and since her phone needed to charge before she could call and tell Brennan the good news, she sank to the concrete and poured her thanks out to the Lord.

  Five Months Later

  It wasn’t quite warm enough for an outdoor wedding in Utah, in April. The peaks surrounding Brush Creek still had snow on them, and the trees were just starting to bud. But it was the best time for Cora to get married, and since Brennan was sick and tired of living in his lonely apartment by himself, he’d do anything to make Cora his wife.

  Even wait for her at the end of an aisle in fifty-degree weather, while the wind tried to shake all the newly budded leaves free behind him.

  His classes had ended the week before, and she’d been given a week of absence time from her crew for their wedding and honeymoon. It had taken months for the official paperwork to be pushed through the National Forest Service, but she’d just signed her permanent apprentice firefighter contract with the Del Rosa Hotshot Crew. It was a good salary for them, and a dream come true for her.

  She was his dream come true, and he wanted everything to be perfect for her today. So when it started raining and a general cry of dismay went up from the crowd, Brennan looked at his mother helplessly.

  She stood, along with his father, and approached Brennan. “I know she wanted to be married here among the trees,” she said, gesturing to the wildly waving limbs just a few feet away.

  “She did.” Oxbow Park was right across the street from the fire station, and it had trees like her beloved National Forests in California.

  “What if we just moved over to the fire house?” his dad suggested. “If we got them to move the engines out, I bet there would be enough room to set up inside the bay.”

  Brennan twisted toward Station Two, wondering how much time they had before the sky opened and ruined the arch, the altar, and the balloons his sisters had set up with Helene and Laura that morning.

  “Let’s do it,” he said, making an executive decision. Cora wouldn’t see him anyway, citing the wedding tradition that it was bad luck for the groom to see his bride before she walked down the aisle.

  “I’ll call Laura,” his mother said, and his dad started barking orders at everyone in the near vicinity.

  Brennan turned to find Kent, glad his friend waited only a few paces away. “Can we get the firetrucks out of the bay? We can put the chairs in there and have some shelter from the storm.”

  Kent looked at Station Two and then back to Brennan, a grin spreading across his face. “Yeah, let me call Jorge and Charlie.” He pulled out his phone and strode across the street while Brennan went to the nearest chairs and picked them up.

  It felt like chaos, with people moving as quickly as possible in their finest dresses and best suits. But with everyone helping, it didn’t take long to relocate the chairs across the street. Charlie and Kent pulled the fire engines out and into a V, creating a narrow walkway for Cora to walk through before she’d enter the now-empty bay.

  The chatter sounded twice as loud indoors as it had outdoors, and Brennan adjusted his bowtie just as his mother ran into the bay and the pounding sound of rain hit the roof.

  She took a moment to brush her hair back before she came to meet him near the altar. “Laura’s taking care of getting Cora over here. We should be all set.”

  The reception would be in the little red brick church Cora had grown to love, so at least that didn’t need to be re-coordinated. Brennan’s nerves stretched and vibrated with every passing minute where Cora didn’t walk between the two fire engines outside.

  Finally, finally, Helene appeared, a teary smile on her face. She moved quickly down the aisle to sit alone—her husband still not with her. A pang of sadness pulled through Brennan when he realized she’d come alone. Cora had been trying to get the story out of her sister for months, but Helene wouldn’t tell.

  But her husband’s absence surely said it all, as did the way she twisted and tearfully watched as Cora’s nieces and nephew started the wedding party down the aisle.

  The little girls threw rose petals and blew bubbles. Her one nephew carried the ring, his head held so high, Brennan thought his neck must hurt terribly.

  Then Cora appeared, her dress mushrooming out from her waist to make a five-foot circle along the ground. Brennan went completely still at the sight of her, his blood heating to lava temperatures and she hadn’t even taken a step toward him yet.

  Her dad came to her side and offered her his elbow. She beamed at him and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before focusing on Brennan. They stepped forward so slowly Brennan thought he’d explode.

  Finally, Chris passed Cora to Brennan, and he tucked her arm right against his side.

  “Hey, you,” she said, smiling at him with her gorgeous red lips and those mesmerizing eyes.

  “My love.” He bent down and traced his lips over her temple before facing the pastor. He’d attended three of his siblings weddings, and never had he felt this level of happiness and bliss before. He wondered
if Kyler was bored, or Berlin was on her phone. He simply hadn’t realized how big of an event it was to marry someone he loved. A soulmate. A forever friend.

  He understood now, and as Pastor Peters began reciting the vows they’d written for each other, Brennan couldn’t help feeling a little impatient.

  The click, click, click of the wedding photographer sounded in his ears, indicating that it was almost time to do what he wanted to do most: Kiss his wife.

  “Do you, Cora Michelle Wesley, take this man, Brennan Cody Fuller, to be your legally and lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, for better or worse, for the time you both shall live on this earth?”

  “Yes,” she said in a clear, loud voice that echoed off the concrete and the high ceilings.

  Brennan’s whole body buzzed, and when it was his turn to say “Yes,” he did so in his proudest voice too.

  “Then I pronounce you husband and wife.” The pastor smiled and stepped back. “You may kiss your bride.”

  Cora giggled and traced those delicious fingernails along his neck and into his hair as he claimed her mouth with his.

  “I love you,” he whispered among the cheers.

  “I love—”

  The rest of her sentence was cut off as both fire engine sirens wailed to life, deafening Brennan and startling him away from Cora. With his heartbeat racing and adrenaline pumping through him, he found Kent behind the wheel of one engine while Charlie was laughing behind the wheel of the other.

  He looked at Cora, and they burst into laughter too. Laughter which filled his soul long after the sirens had quieted and they’d been ushered down the aisle and into a waiting limousine.

  With the doors closed, Brennan brushed the rain from his shoulders and looked into his wife’s eyes.

  “I got it all,” she said, shaking her head and smiling. “I didn’t think I would, but I did. I got you. I got the job. I got it all.”

  He kissed her and tucked her into his side. He’d gotten her, and the possibility of a new future, with a new job. “I did too,” he whispered, sending a prayer of thanksgiving and gratitude heavenward for such blessings.

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  Sneak Peek! A Treasure for the Trooper Chapter One

  Dawn Fuller couldn’t stop her foot from bouncing. Her knee went up-down, up-down, up-down over and over, increasing in rate and intensity with every passing second. She kept her eyes on the ground so her hair would fall over her shoulders and hide her face.

  The horrible scent of rubbing alcohol and the stringency of other medical products assaulted her, and she couldn’t wait to get out of the women’s clinic. Her stomach roiled, and she hoped it was all from nerves, that the test she’d just taken would be negative.

  Though she was definitely living up to her label as the “wild child” of the Fuller family, she couldn’t imagine walking into her conservative parent’s home and telling them she was pregnant.

  Only twenty-six and without a husband—or even a boyfriend anymore—Dawn simply couldn’t fathom bringing a child into the world and attempting to raise it.

  Please, she prayed, though she felt like a complete loser for lifting her voice to the Lord. Please let it be negative. She wasn’t sure what God could do now. He was all-powerful, but he couldn’t un-make a baby that would’ve been conceived seven weeks ago.

  Dawn pressed her eyes closed, her desperation surging up her throat and making her gag. How long did it take to read a pregnancy test? She’d been waiting for at least ten minutes, or so she thought. Since she’d suspected she was pregnant, every minute felt like a lifetime.

  “Dawn Fuller?”

  Her eyes snapped open and she stood like she’d been shot out of a cannon. “Here.” She cursed herself for practically yelling like she was in school and needed to be marked present. She approached the curly-haired woman wearing pink scrubs, her feet like lead and her heart thundering in her chest.

  “Here you go, sweetie.” She handed her a sealed envelope and looked past Dawn like the slip of paper inside wouldn’t be life-changing. Yes or no, whatever the test said, Dawn’s whole life would change.

  “Tara?” the nurse called, and Dawn slipped out of the women’s center and back to her car. It took all her courage to slide her fingers under the flap of the envelope and rip it open. She pulled out a single third-sheet of paper that had a bunch of letters on it Dawn didn’t understand.

  She did, however, understand what NEGATIVE meant.

  Sobs shook her shoulders, her body, and she crumpled over the steering wheel with gratitude and relief shattering through her. After the storm had blown itself out, she straightened, pushed her hair off her face, and looked out the windshield.

  Drawing in a deep breath, she tried to settle herself. She needed to make the one-hour drive back to Brush Creek before she was missed.

  She scoffed at herself. “No one even knows you’re gone.” She started the car to get the air conditioning going, and set herself north and west along the two-lane highway. She’d gone a couple of miles when her tears hit her again.

  Thankfully, there wasn’t anyone out here in the middle of the day, and if her car went over the center line a couple of times, it was fine. She loved driving fast in the middle of nowhere, and the soft roar of the wind as her two-seater cut through the atmosphere helped to calm her.

  She glanced down at her speedometer and realized she was driving just a bit too fast, even for her. Easing up on the accelerator, she focused back out the windshield again. Movement caught her eye, and she slammed on the brakes as a deer bounded in front of her car.

  Dawn screamed, yanked the wheel to the right as the deer went left, and watched in slow motion as her car left the road and soared into the ditch.

  She braced for impact, her fingers so tight against the steering wheel. The deafening sound of bending metal on scrunching metal tore through her ears. The car came to a stop and steam rose from the hood, obscuring her view.

  Dawn breathed, her adrenaline so high she could barely do much more than basic bodily functions. Pain cascaded through her body, stemming from her leg. Glancing down, she found her calf stuck between the crumpled metal and the seat. Blood stained her shorts and dripped down to her shoeless foot.

  Her stomach lurched. She’d never been able to stand the sight of her own blood and a whiteness covered her vision.

  She tried to pull her leg out, but it was stuck. She tried to open the door, but that was stuck too. The air conditioning blew hot air now, making it hard to inhale. Panic built inside her, and she needed to get out of this car. Now.

  Her fingers scrabbled for something. Something to let her out.

  A moan came from her mouth, building into a scream. She pounded against the window, her gaze falling to her leg. The air left her body. She couldn’t pass out here. No one knew where she was.

  “Phone,” she moaned, but she had no idea where her purse was. She tried the door again, to no avail.

  The mania inside her faded to nothing, and she slumped against the headrest. She touched her leg, and her fingers came away sticky. Her stomach swooped, and she welcomed the unconsciousness as it swept toward her.

  “Hold on!” someone yelled through the glass, and Dawn had enough energy to open her eyes and look out the window. But the gorgeous, mature face of McDermott Boyd was the last man she wanted to see.

  She moaned again as the handsome State Trooper hurried around
the back of the car to the passenger door. He ripped it open and peered inside. “Are you—?” He blinked, his dark eyes registering his surprise and delight. “Dawn?”

  Dawn let her head flop to the opposite side. She didn’t want McDermott to see her like this. Didn’t want to explain anything to him. She’d grown up with the Boyd family, and though McDermott was a Brush Creek native too, it was his little brothers that were Dawn’s age.

  No matter what, he knew what kind of woman she was. What kind of woman you used to be, she told herself as he pulled her across the seat.

  She screamed as white hot pain shot through her, and she looked into McDermott’s panicked and concerned face before she blacked out completely.

  The next time she woke, the smell of toast met her nose. Whoever had put bread in the toaster and slathered it with butter really knew her. “Mom?” She tried to push herself up and found her left leg achy, but bandaged.

  “Leave her be,” a man said in a soft, pleasant voice, and Dawn’s eyes flew to the sliver of light coming from the doorway. “Go on, now. Go see what Nana Reba wants you to do for dinner.”

  The pitter of little feet sounded, and then McDermott opened the door holding a plate of toast and a glass of something she hoped was orange juice.

  “Hey, you’re awake.” He set the food on the bedside table and switched on the lamp there. “We’re at my house.” He chuckled and jostled his powerful shoulders in a squirmy sort of shrug. “Well, it’s my Nana Reba’s house, but we live here.” He sat in an armchair in the corner, near the foot of the bed. “Me and my daughter. We live here with her.” He seemed to realize that he’d started rambling a bit, and he pressed his mouth into a thin line.