Dakota Heat (Book 3 - Dakota Hearts)

by Lisa Mondello

  Summer didn’t have an answer to that. There were probably a thousand good reasons why she should stay put in her room. Ethan and Donald were asleep upstairs. She’d promised Sam she wouldn’t take any chances or venture out on her own. But she knew she was safer at basecamp than anywhere else.

  Summer put her hands on the table and stood up. “Absolutely nothing.”

  * * *

  It took Sam and the other Hotshots three days to bring the fire under control. Summer hadn’t left the base for a single moment in those three days. Ethan had a guard stationed outside the dispatch office just in case because all of the activity at basecamp and the new faces of fire fighters coming in from out of state made it difficult to keep track of who did and didn’t belong there.

  Summer barely noticed him. But always remembered to get a cup of coffee or a plate of food from the mess hall for him so he wouldn’t starve.

  Ethan gave her daily updates on the serial killer investigation and the murder in Montgomery. But none of that mattered to Summer. Her fear no longer stemmed from the fact that a serial killer had been fixated on her, forcing her to leave her home. Now that fear was rooted in the fact that she could lose Sam to something far deadlier. And she knew that if she lost him, she would lose herself.

  She could no longer ignore the voice that had gone from a soft whisper to a deafening shout. She was in love with Sam. And she couldn’t bear to lose him.

  She was eighteen hours into her shift when Sam’s voice crackled over the radio. Summer jumped to her feet as she jotted down the message that she had to relay to the Adam. And it was when Sam clicked off the radio that something within Summer shattered. She bolted from the chair and ran to Adam’s office, pushing through the door without knocking.

  Adam’s face went ashen when he saw her with the paper in her hand.

  “That bad?”

  Tears welled up in her eyes. “Worse.”

  # # #

  Chapter 11

  “I’ll take over,” Derek said. “You need a break.”

  “No, I don’t,” Summer said. “I don’t get a break until Sam and the others radio in that they’re in the clear.”

  “Look at you. You’re shivering and it’s ninety degrees out there.”

  “I’m fine.”

  Behind her, Summer could feel Adam’s eyes on her back. All it would take is for Adam to pull her off the desk and her connection to Sam would be gone. She turned to him and saw the concerned look on his face.

  “I made the call for another two air tankers to come in and another supply of fire retardant. But they’re still an hour away.”

  “What about the Smokejumpers?”

  Derek looked at the notes, “They’re out. They made it to the river and are cleared.”

  Summer took a deep breath, then swallowed hard. “The wind has picked up again. The new burn that was started by the heat lightning has grown. I’ve been in constant contact with the crew. All twenty are accounted for. The rock still has them boxed in at the base of the canyon wall, and the fire is building on the canyon floor. But Sam put two men on lookout and they still have eyes on the rest of the crew. They’re all safe for now. There’s not enough of a clearing for a safe escape route out of the canyon floor yet. We need the air tankers to drop enough retardant to knock out one of the lines of fire to give them a clear path out. I already have the helicopter pilots on alert to fly in and retrieve them when they get in the clear.” She took a deep breath and waited for Adam’s instruction.

  “It’s going to be a rough place for the air tankers to get into low enough to drop the retardant. Let’s hope they get here soon. Derek, how long have you been at the desk?”

  “About thirty-six hours.”

  “Summer?”

  “Just over twenty-four.” It was probably a little more than that, but Summer knew where Adam was going with this and there was no way she was leaving her only connection to Sam.

  “Okay, Derek, get some rest and then relieve Summer in the morning. It’s going to be a long night and I need you two rested. I have called for more dispatchers to give you both relief. They should be here in the morning.”

  Both Adam and Derek left the dispatch room and Summer was alone. She couldn’t cry. Couldn’t feel anything because if she did it would break her concentration and she needed to stay focused on the voices coming in over the radio.

  Closing her eyes, she said a silent prayer for the safety of Sam and the rest of the fire crew. A firm hand on her shoulder nearly had her jumping out of her skin. It was nearly two-thirty in the morning. Everyone was either out in the field working or getting sleep so they could do battle on this mammoth fire as soon as the sun came up. She was supposed to be alone. And yet the squeeze of pressure on her shoulder proved she wasn’t.

  She turned around quickly and nearly wept. Looking down at her were the warm eyes of a man who understood exactly what she was going through.

  Donald McKinnon settled into the seat next to her. “Ethan, Logan and Hawk are home with Kate. I thought it might be easier for us to get through this night if we do it together. You’re not alone.”

  Summer thought back to the day Sam sat in that chair and said those very words to her. You’re not alone. She placed her hand over Donald’s and welcomed him with a trembling smile.

  * * *

  They were cursed by the beauty and trappings of the canyon walls. Sam kept his eyes on his crew to make sure no one was failing and everyone was accounted for. They were sitting in a bowl of heat on the canyon floor thanks to a disastrous explosion of felled trees ignited by the heat lightning they’d experienced earlier. It gave them no time to escape before the wall of fast moving fire closed them in.

  The LCES had been in place and was now fractured by a force beyond their control. Sam was infinitely glad he’d opted for two lookout men on the hill. At least two of the twenty man crew were in a clearing and had a way out of this fire storm. He knew the men would not leave their lookout positions unless the fire forced them too. They were in constant communication with the crew and with the basecamp. The lookouts would scout escape routes and safety zones should they become available until the air tankers arrived.

  “Sam?” the lookout crewmember named Barry called out over the radio.

  “Go head,” he said into the radio.

  “Basecamp gives ETA of the air tankers at thirty minutes.”

  Sam cursed under his breath. The smoke around them was getting thicker. They were all well suited up with gear. But thirty minutes was an eternity.

  “Sam? The wind is shifting your way.”

  He looked at up the sky to see if he could tell which way the smoke was moving above them, thankful the moon was bright tonight. As he feared, the wind was moving them closer to the canyon wall.

  “You’re going to feel a blast of heat soon, if you aren’t already. It’s moving fast,” Barry said.

  “Where the hell are those air tankers?” Sam said. “Okay, everyone, get in your fire shelters!”

  Upon command, the crew dropped their gear and pulled out the silver blankets, wrapped up like a brick in their packs, opened them up and crawled inside as instructed. Once inside, the air closest to the ground would be cooler and cleaner. It gave them at least a fighting chance of survival if a heat blast blew over them and coiled around the base of the canyon wall, baking them where they lay.

  Sam climbed into the fire shelter and prayed. The shelter would provide some protection against the heat, but only to five hundred degrees before the fabric started disintegrating and the heat inside the shelter rose beyond a temperature their lungs could handle.

  There’d been many fires throughout his years as a Hotshot where Sam thought things were touch and go. He’d been in close calls just like the rest of his crew. But this was the first time he truly believed he might not make it home alive. He thought of his parents and his brother, Wade, and how his family would survive another heartbreak.

  As the roar of the wind whipped ov
er him, he pressed his face to the ground and thoughts of Summer drifted to his mind. Good Lord, what must she be going through knowing every detail of what was transpiring? He closed his eyes and tried to remember the sweet scent of her hair, and the feel of her skin, and the taste of her mouth as he kissed her.

  Fear bubbled up inside him. He had a crew of men lying on the ground praying for hope along with him. But he knew that Summer was sitting there at the other end of the radio.

  His lifeline.

  “Basecamp?” he said into the radio.

  “Go ahead, Sam,” Summer said.

  “The crew is in their fire shelters. I have two lookouts on the ridge above the canyon. They’ve confirmed they’re out of harm’s way.”

  “Got that.”

  Hot tears stung his eyes. He wanted to hear her voice. If he was going to die tonight then Sam wanted Summer’s voice to be the last thing he heard. He needed the comfort of her smooth voice, to remember that look on her face before she reached up on her toes and kissed him. He needed it like a drug he had to have to survive.

  “Talk to me, Summer,” he said quietly, pulling in a breath of air that was growing hotter by the second. He knew she couldn’t say what he wanted her to say, that she loved him as much as he loved her. And he did. He’d never thought he’d ever feel this way about a woman, but now he knew without a doubt that he loved Summer Bigelow.

  “The air tankers are on their way. ETA ten minutes,” she said. He knew her so well that even though her voice sounded steady, she was as scared as he was at that moment. “Um, another fire crew is attacking the fire on the west ridge above where you are. Barry thinks it’s the safest route for all of you to climb out of the canyon and the best location for the air tankers to make the drop of retardant.”

  “I love you.” He didn’t know how much time he had left and he didn’t care who heard him.

  The radio was silent for a few seconds. But when she finally spoke, her voice cracked. “I want to be in your arms looking straight at you the next time you say that, Sam.”

  A nervous chuckled bubbled up his throat. “It’s a deal.”

  “The tankers just radioed in. They are almost in place. Once they make the drop, Barry will give you the all clear if they’re able to create an escape route. Hang on, Sam. We have the helicopters on their way to pick up the crew.”

  Relief enveloped him.

  “And Sam?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m going be right here when you get back. Just make sure you come home to me.”

  He heard the roar of flames above him mixed in with the sound of the air tankers flying overhead. The noise was so loud that he could barely hear the radio. He only hoped the tankers were able to drop enough retardant to snuff out the fire before the blazing heat of the fire got to the crew.

  # # #

  Chapter 12

  The sky was still an inky black when the helicopters landed in the parking lot of basecamp. The entire crew had made it out of the canyon alive and now Sam was more exhausted than he’d ever been in his life.

  He’d gotten no sleep in three days as he’d fought one of the fiercest fires he’d ever faced. The team had been stretched to every limit and beyond and yet, they’d returned alive. Each member of the team was covered in soot and dirt, tired enough to fall asleep on their feet as the adrenaline that had kept them going began to wear off. Sam would have been too. But he needed to see Summer first.

  He had waited every minute of every hour of those three days to hear her voice over the radio. When he heard her voice, he knew that she was safe, that the madman who was trying to reach her hadn’t been successful.

  Now, he was finally back and could hold her in his arms without fear of losing her.

  One by one the crew jumped from the helicopter and walked with all their gear to the Quonset hut where the medic office was set up. They’d all be given a quick once over by a medic and then sent to the shower for a good cleaning.

  But he had barely taken a couple of steps when the door to the Quonset hut was thrown open. Summer stepped out into the path of men filing in toward the Quonset hut, her eyes frantically searching until she saw him.

  Sam saw her eyes light up for a brief second before she flew into his arms. He draped his arms around her waist and held her against him, cherishing the fact that he could hold her in his arms at all. Summer held on to him like she’d never let go. And that was just fine by Sam. He could take a million years of just holding her close like this.

  But then she pulled back and stepped out of his arms. Her eyes were shining with tears of relief as she held his gaze. That’s when he saw his father standing behind, Summer.

  “Good to have you back home, son,” Donald said, pulling Sam into his arms for a tight embrace. “I’ve already called your mother and she knows you’re safe. Your brothers are at the house waiting for you to come home. All except for Hawk. He’s helping out in the medic room here. You’ll see him in a few minutes.”

  Sam looked at the two of them silently for a moment. He had been filled with fear that he might never see any of them again.

  “If you want, I’ll wait and drive you both home. I’m sure you’re both exhausted.”

  “Thanks, Dad.”

  An hour later they were pulling into the driveway. Darkness was making way to a glorious sunrise, but all Sam wanted to do was close his eyes, even as he saw his family pouring out the front door into the driveway. He got out of SUV and for five minutes was enveloped in hugs from his mother.

  “Thank God for Skylar,” Kate said. “She’s opening the diner and taking care of everything there. I haven’t had a bit of sleep in days.”

  “I don’t think any of us have,” Donald said.

  “Before you all head to bed while the rest of the population goes to work, I have some news,” Ethan said. He was dressed in his police uniform and had been heading to the cruiser when they arrived.

  “What’s that?” Sam asked.

  “I didn’t want to tell you this while there was so much tension surrounding Sam, Summer. But I got a call from the police chief in Montgomery. They caught the man who’d murdered the woman there. He was a local business owner and had no connection at all to the Providence killings. You can rest knowing the serial killer in Providence wasn’t following you.”

  A wave of relief consumed Sam. “That’s good news.”

  Ethan’s face grew serious. “Unfortunately, they still haven’t found the man they’re looking for in Providence. He may have moved on. They’re still checking similar crimes in the neighboring states to see if there are any similarities. But at least for now, you’re safe.”

  “Thank you so much, Ethan. For everything,” Summer said.

  “I don’t know about you two, but I’m getting some sleep,” Donald said. “And I’m taking my wife with me.”

  A few minutes later, Sam followed Summer up the stairs to her room over the garage. Once inside, he said, “I was so worried about you.”

  “Me?” Summer asked. “You were the one in danger. Not me.”

  “Any time you’re not with me I worry.”

  “Hmm, you’re forgetting a promise you made to me, Sam.” She said, wrapping her arms around his neck.

  “I am? What’s that?”

  Her mouth dropped open and he saw the hurt in her eyes. “Sam McKinnon! How quickly you forget!”

  He laughed. “I didn’t forget anything about you. I love you and everything about you, Summer Bigelow.”

  She purred against his lips as she kissed him. “I like it when you say that. I love you too, Sam.”

  Then she sighed, as if she were carrying the weight of something on her mind.

  “What?”

  “I don’t know what I’m to do without you when it’s time for me to leave here.”

  “Why do you have to leave?”

  She shrugged. “Fire season only goes until the fall. Once I’m not needed here…well, I can’t go back to Providence.”

/>   “Exactly,” he said.

  Sam didn’t know exactly when it had happened, or even how, but he had fallen in love with Summer. And at this point, the idea of not being with her every single day for the rest of his life just wasn’t an option. All he knew was that he loved her and that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

  “You said you wanted me to come home to you and I did,” he said.

  “Yes, you did,” she said smiling.

  “Home is where we are together. Whether it’s here or somewhere else, I want you to be my home, Summer. I don’t want to live my life without you.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “I don’t care if they never find that killer in Providence. Well, that’s not exactly true. I want them to find him. It just won’t make a difference between you and me. Because I never want you to be anywhere but with me.”

  “But…you’re not staying in Rudolph. Are you? Where would we go? What would I do?”

  “Exactly what you’re doing now. Maybe eventually I’ll stop going out in the field and try for a superintendent’s position with an Interagency Fire Crew.”

  “That’ll keep you safe,” she said, the smile on her face growing bigger.

  “Until then, it’ll be you and me together. Where I go you go. Where you go, I go. All I know is that I don’t want to be without you. I want you in my arms and in my bed every night.”

  “Or every morning. Starting now.”

  “I like the sound of that,” he said, his body already getting hard and wanting her.

  “I love you, Sam,” Summer said, smiling as tears rolled down her cheeks. “I always have, and I always will.”

  “I love you, too,” Sam replied, brushing her tears away with his thumbs. “I’ve loved you from the moment you came into my life. And I will love you for as long as I live!”

  They made love as the morning filled the room with sunshine. With every kiss, and every caress, they made a promise to always face the uncertainty of life and love together. And when they fell asleep, safe in each other’s arms, they knew it was just the beginning of a beautiful lifetime together filled with love.