To love and protect...

...sometimes means letting go

Fire chief Tony Ruggles is stunned that Laura Wheeler wants to become a Cape Pursuit volunteer firefighter. Laura was devastated when her brother died heroically battling a forest fire, but this is her chance to take back control of her life—if Tony can put his feelings aside. How can he train her to risk her life when he wants to protect her at all costs?

AMIE DENMAN is the author of twenty contemporary romances full of humor and heart. A devoted traveler whose parents always kept a suitcase packed, she loves reading and writing books you could take on vacation. Amie believes everything is fun, especially wedding cake, show tunes, roller coasters and falling in love.

Also by Amie Denman

Starlight Point Stories

Under the Boardwalk

Carousel Nights

Meet Me on the Midway

Until the Ride Stops

Back to the Lake Breeze Hotel

Cape Pursuit Firefighters

In Love with the Firefighter

Her Lucky Catch

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

The Firefighter’s Vow

Amie Denman

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-0-008-90612-2

THE FIREFIGHTER’S VOW

© 2020 Amie Denman

Published in Great Britain 2020

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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“I almost don’t want to go back out there,” she said.

Tony put his bottles on the table and crossed his arms. He wanted to pull Laura into his arms and hug her, but that would make a bad situation so much worse.

“It’s not fair,” Laura said.

“No, but you deserve to be out there doing your job. Truth be told, you’re one of the best volunteers we’ve had in a long time. You’re smart, you pay attention, and you’re brave and dedicated.”

She shook her head. “When you say things like that, it makes me feel...”

“What?” he asked gently. He wished he could see inside her thoughts.

“Afraid,” she admitted, looking into his eyes. “Afraid of failing, of not knowing what to do and letting someone down at the worst time. Afraid everyone will find out I’m not as brave as I act.”

Tony felt his heart pounding. How many times had he had the same thoughts?

Dear Reader,

Thank you for joining me for the second book in the Cape Pursuit Firefighters series. If I had to choose a theme for this book, it would be that a person can help himself or herself by helping others. It’s true, isn’t it? If you read In Love with the Firefighter, in which Nicole and Kevin’s love overcame big obstacles, you might recall Nicole’s sister Laura. When she visited Cape Pursuit, she was lost and hurting from her brother’s death fighting fires. When I wrote her character, I wasn’t sure what a happy ending would look like for Laura, but I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I’m happy to say Laura Wheeler discovers a way to feel whole again, and she finds it in the last place she would have imagined.

Captain Tony Ruggles was there for Kevin and Nicole in book one, and now he’s the chief of the Cape Pursuit Fire Department. When Laura walks in the door of the fire station with a surprising request, he has no idea how strong she is and how much she will capture his heart.

I hope you enjoy this book and come back to Cape Pursuit for the third book releasing in the summer of 2020. As always, I love hearing from readers on my website, amiedenman.com, or via email, author@amiedenman.com, if you feel like saying hello.

Thank you for reading romance!

Amie

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Note to Readers

Introduction

Dear Reader

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

Extract

About the Publisher

CHAPTER ONE

THE WIDE WHITE beach of Cape Pursuit, Virginia, stretched as far as Laura Wheeler could see as she shaded her eyes with one hand. The first day of June had already lured summer visitors with hot sun and a just right ocean breeze promised a fresh new start to the season. Hundreds of people dotted the beach under umbrellas or on colorful beach towels, alternately dipping into the salt water and drying off in the heat.

Most people came to Cape Pursuit looking for fun and relaxation, but Laura had come for something else.

She took an assessing glance at the tall freshly-painted lifeguard chairs within her view and, satisfied that everything was under control, turned and walked across the soft sand to the Pursuit of Fun beach shack, which served as both the command center of the public beach and also a snack bar and surfboard rental.

“It’s hot,” the girl behind the service window said. “And we’ve already rented out half the surfboards.”

“Those are both excellent problems to have,” Laura said, smiling.

The girl, Rebecca, laughed. “Plus, I have this terrible view of the beach and ocean and I have to spend all summer here and get paid for it.”

Laura nodded sympathetically, her smile becoming lighter. “When you’re a famous singer someday, you can pour all this suffering into a song.”

Rebecca held a pen as if it were a microphone and belted out a line about killing time at a beach shack in the sun. They both laughed.

“While you’re waiting for your record contract and your throngs of adoring fans to come along, I’ll set up a few fans of the electric cooling kind,” Laura said. She entered the beach hut through a side door and found two big box fans. She plugged them in, then pointed one of them toward Rebecca and the other out the door to draw heat out of the small building. Growing up in a house with no air-conditioning and spending a summer working for a food vendor that traveled to all the county fairs in her home state of Indiana, Laura knew a few tricks for staying cool in the summer heat.

“Do you think I can make it as a singer?” Rebecca asked.

Laura leaned both elbows on the counter next to the teenager. “I think you can do absolutely anything you want to do,” she said. “You just have to believe in yourself and never give up.”

“That’s what my choir teacher said,” Rebecca commented. “But it sounds like something printed on one of those motivational wall calendars with pictures of sunrises and stuff.”

“I like sunrises and stuff,” Laura said as she moved to her small desk and pulled the lifeguard scheduling book toward her. “And teachers are always right when it comes to believing in people.”

Laura had spent the past three years trying to believe she was making a difference as a teacher, and she needed all the sunrises and motivational calendars she could get.

“Jason called off again,” Rebecca said, her scowl suggesting she didn’t like it.

“Did he say why?” Laura asked.

Rebecca snorted. “Something about somebody in his family being sick. Again.”

Laura shrugged. “Maybe somebody really is.”

“I asked for details last time we worked together, but he didn’t have much of a story,” Rebecca said. “I wish I was a lifeguard. I’d take his shift. I could use the extra cash.”

Laura scrolled through her list of lifeguards who might come in on short notice. Jason had disappointed her twice in the past week without much explanation.

“You should hire somebody else to replace him before summer gets really busy,” Rebecca said. “I was here last year and there was zero tolerance for workers who didn’t show up.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Laura said. “But I hate to give up on someone too soon.” She glanced up at Rebecca and smiled. “You never know who might turn out to be a hidden treasure with an incredible future.”

Rebecca shook her head and laughed. “This hidden treasure shows up to work.”

“Why don’t you become a lifeguard?” Laura asked. “I think you’d be great.”

Rebecca sighed. “I just turned fifteen, and even though I told my mom that was the minimum age, she thinks I should wait another year. I tried to get my Aunt Diane to convince her, but she didn’t want to upset my mom.” Rebecca smiled. “Aunt Diane retired last year, and now she’s decided to become a volunteer firefighter here in town. Can you believe that? She starts training next week.”

Laura swallowed back the emotion that always bubbled up when she heard, saw or thought about firefighters. Would the memory of her younger brother, Adam, getting on a plane to go west and fight wildfires always hurt so much?

“Do you think my aunt can be a firefighter?” Rebecca searched Laura’s face, but Laura quickly put on her schoolteacher smile.

“Of course I do. Anyone can be anything.” Laura hoped Rebecca never ran up against a wall she couldn’t climb and never lost her enthusiasm.

A family with two young boys approached the window and asked about renting surfboards. While Rebecca helped them, Laura picked up the phone and called two lifeguards who she knew were anxious for hours and willing to work extra shifts. She left a message for the first one, but got through to the second one and secured a replacement for the missing Jason.

As she worked through her personnel problem, she half listened to Rebecca chatting with the young family. They were from Ohio, and the boys were six and eight. None of them had ever been on a surfboard or even gone in the ocean, and Rebecca was giving them a mini-lesson with lots of hand gestures and description.

Laura hung up and approached the counter. “Why don’t you go out to the beach and help them get started,” she told Rebecca. “I’ll run the counter for a few minutes.”

“That would be great,” the mother of the two young boys said, a hopeful smile on her face. “If you don’t mind.”

“I’m happy to,” Rebecca said. “I love surfing.”

Rebecca let the boys choose from a stack of surfboards and then they bounded across the beach together. Laura leaned on the counter and watched. She breathed deeply of the ocean air, closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of the waves and people having fun. A group of young teenagers were laughing and throwing a football back and forth just on the edge of the beach, their feet splashing in the water. A beach volleyball net was set up not far away, and Laura heard the players calling out who had the ball.

A long blast of a whistle forced her eyes open and Laura immediately began scanning the beach area, looking for a sign from the lifeguard who had signaled danger. Although her job was running the business of the rental shack and overseeing summer personnel, Laura knew the basics of lifeguarding. Her experience as a high school teacher and ability to manage teenagers had recommended her for the summer job, and Laura was happy to spend her days on a beach instead of inside a classroom.

But not everything about working on a beach was fun and games. She squinted and saw a lifeguard, Kimberly, waving at someone who was very far out in the water. Were there two people out there? Laura picked up her radio and keyed the microphone. She saw a radio in Kimberly’s hand.

“They’re pretty far out,” Laura said. “Are they okay?”

“Not sure,” Kimberly said. “I don’t think they hear me, and it looks like they’re struggling.”

Kimberly was the lead lifeguard on the beach that day and had five summers under her belt working the Cape Pursuit public beach. She’d shared with Laura her excitement about having only one year of college left as she worked toward her degree in marine biology.

Laura felt her pulse in her throat, and she was glad Kimberly had enough experience to sound calm even in the face of a potential rescue.

“Do what you think you should,” Laura said. “I’ll send you some help.”

Laura keyed her radio again, catching the attention of all the lifeguards. “Activate the rescue sequence for a person too far out in the water.” When activated, the protocol called for other lifeguards to close their sections of beach, get swimmers out of the water and converge on the area in need of help. Rebecca raced back toward the beach shack as soon as she realized what was going on and stopped, breathlessly, in front of the window.

“Where do you want me?” she asked.

“Stay here and listen to the base radio. I’m going out there to see if I can help, and I’ll let you know if you need to call 911.”

Laura had been a dedicated runner for over a decade since she had joined her high school cross-country team as a sophomore. She’d been an assistant coach for the team at the high school where she had worked the past three years, and she knew a lot about controlling her breathing and pace.

None of that mattered as she raced across the beach, radio in hand, unsure what she could do but knowing she had to do something. At the very least, she had to make sure that none of the young people under her supervision got themselves killed.

The ocean roared in her ears—or was it her pulsing blood? Close up, the waves seemed much larger than they had from her post in the rental shack.

When Laura reached the edge of the surf, Kimberly was already way out in the water and another lifeguard, Jordan, was making her way out. Laura paused and evaluated the entire scene, trying to make certain the plan, as she knew it, was being followed. No swimmers were in the water, and several lifeguards patrolled long stretches of sand, making certain no one was going in. Satisfied that the entire emergency scene was under control, she returned her attention to Kimberly, who had reached the struggling swimmers.

Kimberly gave Laura the hand signal for help. Laura radioed Rebecca and told her to call 911, then laid the radio on top of her shoes, took a deep breath and plunged in.

A good swimmer but a better runner, Laura stayed on her feet as long as she could. When the waves were over her waist, she threw herself on top of the water and swam freestyle. Every ten strokes or so, she paused and looked forward, making sure she was heading for the small group that included two struggling swimmers and two lifeguards.

The undertow swirled around her legs, but she battled it. Her loose-fitting polo shirt sagged with water and slopped against her side, and her knee-length shorts grew heavy. She calmed her breathing and stayed in tight control of herself by counting each stroke.

Finally Laura reached Kimberly as she towed a swimmer in. Was the swimmer breathing? Laura searched Kimberly’s face for an answer and was reassured with a weak smile.

“They’re okay,” the lifeguard said. “Just exhausted. Jordan and I got life jackets on them and we’re bringing them in.”

“I’ll help,” Laura said. She quickly evaluated both the rescued people—two teenaged boys—and took the arm of the one who needed more help. She saw it in his panicked expression and the way he tried to fight Jordan while also clinging to her.

With one hand on the rescued teen and the other one sweeping broadly as she dug deep with her leg strength to keep moving, Laura helped the two trained lifeguards fight the waves and close the distance to the shore.

Despite the water in her face and her focus on helping the group move, Laura noticed people on the beach. An ambulance. Firefighters in navy blue pants and shirts. As she grew closer, she watched them take off their radios and shoes just as she had done and wade into the water.

Luckily for the firefighters, the five swimmers were in water they could stand up in, and they were walking clumsily the last dozen yards to the firm sand. For the first time since she had entered the water, Laura felt utter exhaustion flood her body. She felt like sinking down on the sand and taking a long nap in the sunshine.

“What do we have?” a voice asked as Laura forced her legs to carry her onto the beach while she supported the teen, whose arms were over her shoulders and Jordan’s. She knew that voice.

Laura looked up and saw Tony Ruggles from the Cape Pursuit Fire Department. He was dressed in a navy blue uniform shirt and pants, and his broad shoulders and blond hair looked exactly as she remembered. They hadn’t seen each other since the previous summer, but she knew Tony would never forget the impression she had made on him that day.

She was doing a lot better today, despite being drenched, covered in salt and sand, and wearing waterlogged clothes not designed for swimming. Her heart raced as she took in the scene on the beach and handed over the young swimmer to Tony and his partner.

She had taken charge of the first emergency of the summer, acted with strength and courage, and helped save someone. Her body no longer needed the adrenaline surging through her now, and Laura felt like a bubbling pot on a stove, threatening to blow its lid off with pent-up energy.

“Are you okay?” Tony asked. He put both hands on her upper arms and steadied her, looking closely at her face.

Gooseflesh raced over her arms and legs, a physical manifestation of the shock of cold ocean water and excitement. Tony rubbed his hands up and down her arms, and her equilibrium returned. “Laura?” he asked.

Judging from his expression, Laura was afraid he was about to scoop her up and tuck her into the back of the ambulance.

“Never better,” she said, meaning it sincerely. She looked past Tony and saw the boys and their rescuers sitting on the sand and smiling together as the other lifeguards and firefighters handed them sports drinks and watched over them.

TONY CAUGHT HIS BREATH. Despite his nearly dozen years of firefighting, his blood still pumped with excitement whenever a call came in. Fires, heart attacks, car accidents, beach rescues. All of them activated his love of coming to the rescue, no matter what. Helping other people live was his reason for living.

Catching his breath was pretty darn hard when he realized the woman on the beach was Laura Wheeler. He had no idea why she was in Cape Pursuit, or at the scene of a beach rescue, but he remembered three things about her from the summer before.

He remembered her eyes filled with pain and vulnerability—a look he’d seen so many times in the fire-and-rescue service. He recalled her hair, soft as silk in his fingers as he’d held it while she vomited up her mistakes from the Cape Pursuit Bar and Grill. And he couldn’t forget her dismissal of him... Her dismissal and rejection as if his help had burned her.

Looking at her now, he saw something else. She had the same long dark hair, now streaming with water, but her shoulders were square. Her eyes were the radiant blue he remembered, but the expression in them was...different.

“Everyone seems okay, Chief,” his partner, Travis, said, taking Tony’s attention away from Laura and reminding him that he was the officer in charge, superseding lifeguards and anyone else when he showed up on a scene. “Lifeguards did a good job.”

Tony grunted. Laura was walking over to her lifeguards, who were standing together in a group, animatedly discussing the event. She touched the shoulders of two of them and talked with them in a low, calm voice while Tony and his partner knelt and talked with the rescued swimmers.

He wondered when Laura had arrived in town. If she had moved to Cape Pursuit, he was surprised his cousin Kevin hadn’t mentioned it. Kevin’s upcoming wedding to Laura’s sister, Nicole, meant Tony had expected he’d see Laura in July. But why was she already in town?

“Sure you don’t want to go to the hospital?” Travis asked. “Just in case?”

“We’re fine,” one of the teens said.

“Where are your parents?”

“At the hotel,” the other one said, pointing to one of the many beachfront hotels with balconies overlooking the Atlantic.

“We’ll need to talk to them,” Tony said. “Which hotel?”

The teen gave him the information and Tony made the call. Within minutes, a middle-aged man and woman were running across the sand, even though both teens were on their feet and waving sheepishly at their approaching parents.

Tony had seen a similar scene more times than he could remember. The relatives showing up at the hospital just after a car accident, concerned adult children skidding into their parents’ living rooms as the paramedics were loading up someone with chest pain. He’d seen happy endings like this one, but also gut-wrenching sad ones that both tested and reinforced his resolve to continue being a first responder.

“We’re okay,” both boys said at the same time. Their parents hugged them, not seeming to care about getting wet or sandy, and Tony gave them space for a minute before he approached. The teens needed a lesson about getting too far out and going beyond the limits of their swimming abilities, and Tony knew they were probably hearing that message now. He would talk with the parents in a moment and give them their options for further medical care if they felt it was needed.

“Experience is a hard but good teacher,” Laura said seriously, her eyes meeting Tony’s as she came up to him. A touch of the vulnerability he’d seen the previous summer reappeared for a moment, but then she looked away.

“That’s the truth,” he said. “I’ll write up a full report after I talk to their parents.”

“Can I get a copy of that?”

“Uh...sure.” Now that the initial shock of seeing her had worn off somewhat, Tony could have a polite conversation. They weren’t strangers. “How have you been, Laura?”

Her lips parted for a moment as if she was considering her answer. It was strange, meeting this way after not seeing each other for so long. Tony had wondered about her over the past year.

“I’ve been fine. How about you?”

“Fine,” he said. “I’m just surprised to see you.”

“I’m here for the summer,” she said. “Working at the Pursuit of Fun beach shack and supervising all the teen workers.”

A summer job. Spending time with her sister before she got married. The pieces began to fall into place and Tony felt his shoulders relax.

“Teaching high school is good practice for that, I’d bet,” he said.

Laura tilted her head and raised both eyebrows a hair. “You remember I’m a teacher.”

“I remember,” he said. He didn’t elaborate on what else he remembered from the previous summer, as he thought Laura was just as likely to want to forget it. “Are you a lifeguard?”

She shook her head.

“You’re not a lifeguard, but you ran into the ocean and tried to save people anyway,” he said. Exactly the kind of bystander he and his partners on the fire department didn’t love. The kind that often needed to be rescued, too.

“We actually did save them,” she said. Her cheeks colored and she crossed her arms.

“You shouldn’t put yourself in danger.”

“You do it all the time,” she said.

“That’s different. I’m a trained first responder with a lot of experience.”

“You weren’t here,” Laura said. “And I was. Besides, I’m more capable than you think.”

Tony clenched his jaw, not wanting to argue with Laura, knowing he wouldn’t win. She was right about being there and being successful, but it could have quickly gone in another direction. Good intentions only went so far and often ended up getting people killed.

“I’ll make sure you get a copy of that report,” he said.

He grabbed his boots and stomped his feet into them without bothering to tie the laces. He didn’t want to think about what could have happened to Laura and how that would have devastated her family, who had already suffered enough.

CHAPTER TWO

LAURA WATCHED THE ambulance depart, envying both Tony and Travis their confidence and bravery. When they rolled up at an emergency, they had no idea what they might face. She could almost forgive Tony for lecturing her about jumping in without training. His censure had been arrogant, irritating...and at least partly true.

Her bare toes were in the sand, and the calming pattern of waves breaking on the beach behind her was as familiar as the sound of her own breathing. But something was stirring her thoughts, not letting her go.

When the fatal news of her brother’s loss in a forest fire out west had destroyed her family’s peace two years ago, her only thought had been to run away. She hadn’t physically run. Until ten days ago, she had continued to live in the home that still had her brother’s favorite mug in the kitchen cabinet. Instead, she’d emotionally tried to put distance between herself and that day, and she hadn’t succeeded.

Drinking wasn’t the answer. Burying herself in American History by attempting to write a historical novel had gone nowhere. Dating a man who loved himself far more than he cared about her... Uh, no. He hadn’t been much better than the immature guy she dated after him.

Only one thing had gotten her out her bed on those dark winter mornings, and it was the idea that someone might need her, that someone was suffering more than she was.

“Excellent work,” she said to Kimberly and Jordan. “You each get a save on your record.” The lifeguards beamed, their wet hair gleaming in the sun. “Go back to the hut and take a break while I get your areas covered and we reopen the beach to swimmers.”

Laura followed established protocol, explaining only what was necessary to other beach guests and getting the swimming area back to normal. Laura thought about what could have gone wrong and what she would have done.

If the swimmers hadn’t been breathing, what would she have done? She had her CPR certification from being the assistant coach on the cross-country team. So she probably could have done something. But she could do more, couldn’t she? She wanted to do more.

Rebecca’s Aunt Diane was becoming a volunteer firefighter. Just like that. Following an idea and a passion. People reinvented their lives all the time and for all sorts of reasons.

She had reasons.

She thought of Tony’s words about training and experience. What if she shocked him and herself by becoming a rescuer? The thought was bold and jolted her from her head to her toes. Could she join the fire department? She’d tried volunteering and community service. She’d joined a community group raising money for a food kitchen. She’d spent holidays throughout the school year volunteering instead of sitting at her family’s dinner table where someone would always be missing.

She had to admit to herself that her activities had at first been motivated by the need to escape that empty place. And then she’d slowly discovered the truth behind the old saying that helping others was the best way to help herself.

What if she took her volunteer service to a whole new level and became a first responder? As she crossed the beach, she clung to the idea as if it were a valued possession.

Afraid to even say it aloud, she kept the thought to herself throughout the rest of her long shift, but she mulled it over all day. The idea wouldn’t let go.

The late afternoon sun had lost some of its intensity when Laura parked her bicycle in front of the Cape Pursuit fire station. She was careful not to block the five massive overhead doors, which were open to reveal shining fire trucks. She had a reason for being there, a solid reason for asking where Tony Ruggles might be so she could get information for her incident report. But she also had a secret fire in her chest.

At the front of the station, a sign with changeable black letters advertised the upcoming volunteer class. Was that the one Diane was taking? Maybe she should call Rebecca’s aunt and talk to her?

Those trucks were beautiful. The lights, the chrome, the complicated pumps, the ladders stored along the sides...and the tires. Huge and waist high, the thick black rubber tires looked as if they could plow over any obstacle. The power was intoxicating, and she wanted to learn their secrets. Had her brother felt that way?

“Hello, Laura.”

She spun, feeling awkward about her fascination with the trucks. Tony stood, arms crossed, as if she were an intruder in his domain. His dark navy uniform shirt was buttoned neatly, and a silver bar over a chest pocket said Chief Ruggles. Hadn’t he been a captain last summer?

“The report,” she stammered. “You said I could contact you for information so I can complete my incident report about today’s...incident.”

He nodded, but his expression didn’t change even when she stumbled over her words. She almost wished he would laugh at her and break the tension. Her chest thrummed with excitement, but she wanted to appear calm and deliberate.

“Come into my office,” he said.

Laura somehow felt safer in the middle of the wide bay surrounded by the trucks. They inspired confidence. Tony, with his look of professional neutrality, did not make her feel as if she were a woman on a mission to change her life by changing the world around her.

“Thank you,” she said, bravery in her tone. “Lead the way.”

Tony had already started to turn toward a long interior wall with several doors down it, but he paused and looked back at her when she spoke. Good. He should know she wasn’t intimidated by him.

Tony opened one of the doors in the long wall. Laura entered the cool, dim office with faded color photographs of former chiefs on the walls, a massive steel desk and functional ugly furniture.

“When did you become the chief?” she asked.

“At the end of last summer.”

Small talk. It bridged the gap of the past year and built a tiny social foundation between her and Tony, but it was a delay. She needed to tell him her real reason for coming to the fire station.

“Your dad was the chief, wasn’t he?”

Tony nodded.

“And you followed in his footsteps.”

Tony’s forehead wrinkled and Laura recognized irritation in his expression.

“I earned it if that’s what you’re asking.” He tried to smile, but it was nothing like the friendly smile he’d given the kids on the beach, their parents and even his firefighting partner. Her impression of Tony from the previous summer was of a lighthearted but sincere man who would do anything to help someone. But no one likes having their work questioned.

“Of course you earned it,” she said, putting enthusiasm behind her words to try to dispel the tension.

Tony’s features relaxed. “My dad retired and there was a shift in leadership positions. I was in the right place at the right time. Kevin is a captain now, but your sister probably already told you that.”

Before arriving in Cape Pursuit for the summer to live with her sister, Laura talked to Nicole almost every week on the phone and more often via text message and email, but the fire department was not something they typically talked about.

Tony handed Laura a printed copy of the report from the beach run. “That’s an extra. You can take it with you,” he said.

Was he dismissing her?

“I wanted to make sure it was available for you since I’m going off duty in about an hour,” he added.

Oh. He was being considerate and organized. Of course. He helped people and didn’t ask questions. When he’d taken her keys away from her in the parking lot of the Cape Pursuit Bar and Grill and held open the door of his truck, he’d hardly said a word. As she disgraced herself being sick from too many drinks on an empty stomach, he’d held her hair and offered her damp washcloths.

The memory burned her cheeks. If he had seen her over the course of the past year, he would probably have tried to rescue her. The days she’d left her teaching job and sat in the parking lot, head on the steering wheel, fighting tears. The nights she slipped out of the house after her parents were asleep so she could go for long walks without answering questions.

That was why she had come to Cape Pursuit. She was doing so much better than what he probably thought. At least she was trying...

“How did you become a firefighter?” she asked, forcing the subject into the open before she chickened out.

Tony cocked his head to the side and drew his eyebrows together.

“I mean, what did you have to do to become qualified?” she asked.

“To be a professional firefighter, you have to take hundreds of hours of training,” he said.

“What kind of training?”

Tony’s expression softened. “Sit down,” he said, indicating one of the much-used chairs in the office. “Please.”

Laura sat, but she kept her back straight so she would feel strong and powerful. She needed her strength for what she was about to do.

“I feel like you must have a reason for asking,” Tony said, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. He looked sympathetic, as if he were talking to a lost child. He wasn’t much older than she was, and she was not lost. In fact, she was starting to feel quite found. “Is this about your brother?”

“No,” Laura said, shaking her head. “It’s about me.” She took a deep breath and let it out, knowing Tony would be patient enough to wait a moment for her explanation. “I’d like to become a volunteer firefighter.”

IT WAS NOT the first time Tony had talked with someone coming into the fire station and asking about joining as either a volunteer or a full-timer. Firefighters tended to attract attention with their high-profile jobs, big trucks and loud sirens. The station, too, was prominently located and took up half a block in Cape Pursuit.

He was glad every time someone came in and asked about joining their ranks because he believed it was the best and most noble profession. Believed in helping others even at the risk of his own life. Believed in his men, his trucks and their training.

He couldn’t believe Laura Wheeler was sitting in his office asking to sign up. The fact that she was a woman had nothing to do with his shock. Cape Pursuit didn’t have any women on the roster, but most local departments did and he’d had female instructors at the fire academy who’d easily dispelled any myth about men being better able to do the job.

No, it wasn’t that she was female. It was that she was Laura Wheeler. The woman who had been cast adrift by her firefighter brother’s death. He’d asked about her since their meeting last year, indirectly and discreetly. His best friend and cousin Kevin was marrying Laura’s sister, so it wasn’t far off the mark for Laura to come up in conversation.

Nothing he’d heard would have made him think Laura was a candidate for the fire service, but she was right there looking at him with expectation written in the set of her mouth and intensity in her eyes.

“A volunteer firefighter,” she repeated. “Not an astronaut, so you don’t need to look so shocked.”

“I’m not shocked,” Tony said quickly, but he doubted he was very convincing.

“Women can fight fires.”

“Yes,” he said. “I’ve known other women in the fire service who could outclimb me on ladders, outdrive me in the trucks and just generally outsmart me.”

Laura raised both eyebrows, a look she had probably perfected with teenagers making up excuses about their homework.

“I just didn’t think firefighting...after what happened with...”

“My brother, Adam,” Laura said steadily as if she wanted to get it out in the open. “Yes. He died doing this. It was a forest fire, but it was a fire. And yes, I’m sure you think I must be out of my mind to want to do this.”

“I don’t think you’re out of your mind.”

“Good,” she said. “How can I join the department?”

“We...have an application process. And there’s training, of course. Volunteers don’t need nearly as much as full-time staff, but there’s still a lot you would need to know.”

“I know CPR and have first aid training because I was a coach, and I helped save someone just this morning from drowning,” she said. “That’s a start, isn’t it?”

“CPR and first aid training are very relevant,” Tony agreed. It was true that teachers and coaches had to be cool under pressure and often put the needs of others first. He respected that, but he hadn’t known before today that Laura had any experience or desire that would qualify her to do what he did. His image of her was as Nicole’s sister who didn’t always make the best choices.

Tony sat back in his chair and tried to reimagine Laura as a person capable of wearing thirty pounds of gear, fighting her way through smoke and dousing a fire.

“I’m physically fit,” she said as if she could read his thoughts. He was instantly ashamed. The size of a person had little to do with the ability to fight fires. Brains, attitude and training were far greater determiners. “I run.”

“That’s great,” Tony said. “I can see you’re very...” He needed to change the subject before he said something stupid. “Have you talked to your sister about this?”

Laura’s determined and even slightly defiant expression fell, and Tony knew he’d hit a sore spot. He didn’t want to discourage her, but...

He wanted to protect her. That was it. And that was the problem.

“I haven’t,” she said. “Do you ask every volunteer who comes in here if he’s talked to his sister?”

“You’re not every volunteer,” Tony said, his tone soft.

Laura stood. “Can I have an application, please?”

Tony got up quickly. “It’s online. You just fill it out and submit it.”

“And when does training start?”

Laura was dead serious. “Next week. We’re running a six-week intensive summer training.”

“Here at the station?” she asked.

Tony nodded. “And I’m the instructor.”

CHAPTER THREE

THE SUNNY MONDAY afternoon was peaceful as Laura and her sister, Nicole, cruised an ocean inlet on their paddleboards. Laura loved the challenge of keeping her balance and getting a good workout, and also spending time with her sister. The steady rhythm of their paddles moving in unison lulled her into believing that finding an even keel was a possibility for her that summer. She’d also decided that balancing over thirty feet of water was a great time to share her firefighting plan with Nicole.

The look her sister gave her did not bode well. Nicole dipped her paddle deep and splashed Laura with ocean water. “That’s not funny,” Nicole said, resting the edge of her paddle between her feet and balancing on the calm water.

“I didn’t mean it as a joke,” Laura protested, mirroring her sister’s movements. “I’m not kidding.”

Nicole held up a finger. “You were supposed to spend the summer with me, have fun, help me with my wedding and take care of Kevin’s dog while we go on our honeymoon. That kind of stuff. You weren’t supposed to show up in town and give me a heart attack.”

“Sorry,” Laura said. “I thought you might understand.”

“Understand?” Nicole asked, raising her voice. “You thought I would understand that my only sister, my only remaining sibling...” her voice softened and trailed off, and Laura instantly felt like a jerk for not realizing just how much of an impact her decision would have on Nicole.

“This is different,” Laura said. “I’m not planning on trying to outrun a forest fire. It’s a nice small fire department. I’ll get plenty of training—probably more than Adam had before he—”

“No,” Nicole said. “I’m learning to live with the fact that Kevin is a firefighter, but I can’t deal with potentially losing you, too.”

Laura began paddling silently alongside her sister, watching for marine life under the calm blue water. She’d paddled back home in rivers, but this was one hundred times more beautiful and interesting.

“How did you learn to accept Kevin’s job?” Laura asked.

“I had to because I love him. I couldn’t make him give up something he loves as the price for being with me.”

It was Laura’s turn to use her paddle to douse her sister with ocean water.

“Hey,” Nicole protested.

“You love me and this is important to me, so what’s the difference?”

“You’re my sister,” Nicole said.

“And?”

Nicole blew out a breath and sat down on her paddleboard. She crossed her legs and laid her paddle across her lap. Laura sat, too, and they let the easy current push them gently around while still staying close to each other.

“Why do you want to do this?” Nicole asked.

Laura trailed a hand in the water. “Because I want to live. And live with myself. I used to believe I could do anything and that anything was possible, but when Adam died, it wrecked my world. You know I was...self-destructive for a while.”

“Are you kidding?” Nicole asked with a sympathetic smile. “I thought the third guy in a row you dated who had a seedy past and a sketchy future was an indication of your excellent judgment.”

“There were only two. And they weren’t all that bad. At least I didn’t think so at the time.”

Nicole nodded. “Of course, I’m getting some of this bias from Mom and Dad who thought you’d quit your teaching job and take off on a motorcycle at any moment. They were worried about you.”

Laura forced a laugh, but her sister’s words hit home. Her parents, hardworking Midwesterners, considered quitting a nice steady job one of the worst things a person could do. She remembered how scandalized they’d been when Nicole quit her job at the furniture factory a year ago and moved to Cape Pursuit to work in a fledgling art gallery. They’d accepted her decision when the move turned out to be a good one, but Laura wasn’t sure they’d see it the same way with her. She was their youngest child now, and she knew they considered her fragile. She would need to prove her strength to them.

“I don’t care for motorcycles,” Laura said. “There’s no good place to put your purse.”

“Seriously,” Nicole said. “Why firefighting? Do you think it’s what Adam would want you to do? Is that why?”

Laura shook her head. “It’s what I want to do. Over the past year, the only times I felt better about myself were the times I was helping someone else. I didn’t feel the anguish or helplessness I felt after Adam’s death while I was being useful volunteering and organizing fundraisers.”

“So you could volunteer at all kinds of things,” Nicole said, excitement in her voice as she latched onto an idea. “We have a library and a summer reading program in Cape Pursuit. You could work at the soup kitchen. You could organize a sock drive for the homeless. Be a blood donor. You could do fifteen dozen things other than be a firefighter.”

“I want to challenge myself,” Laura said. “I helped save some people during a beach rescue last week. It was exhilarating and it made me feel like I could get out of my own way for the first time in a long time. I want to help people when they need it the most.”

She thought of Tony coming through for her at a dark moment a year before. She had almost gotten behind the wheel of her sister’s car after too many drinks to count—her crappiest day in a year full of crappy days. He had rescued her, but she pushed that thought aside whenever it surfaced. Tony wasn’t the person who could save her.

The only person who could save her was herself.

She saw Nicole swipe a tear away. She didn’t want to argue and open a wound that would never be fully healed. They were sisters. They needed and loved each other.

“Anyway,” Laura said as she heaved a big sigh and stood on her board, taking a moment to regain her balance. “I don’t even know if they’ll accept me into the training program. I’m only here for the summer, and they probably have plenty of people with better qualifications than I have.”

Nicole stood on her board and spread her feet carefully, tilting the board side to side and using her paddle as a balance bar until she gained control.

“I don’t think anyone coming into the fire service has better qualifications than you do,” Nicole said. “You’re a superstar teacher, your patience is battle-tested from putting up with teenagers and I think you’re braver than you know.”

“Really?” Laura said hopefully. Did her sister really believe in her?

“Of course,” Nicole said. “You’re here helping me with my wedding, and you’re crazy enough to live in the same house with me as I panic about all the details. Maids of honor should probably get special presidential medals of valor.”

“I thought you were being serious about me being a good candidate,” Laura protested, laughing.

“I believe you can do anything you want to,” Nicole said. “But I don’t want you doing this.”

The sisters paddled toward the dock where Kevin sat on the tailgate of his pickup truck, his legs dangling. As soon as they reached the dock, he jumped down from the truck and offered them both a hand.

Nicole stepped onto the dock first, her paddle in one hand, and then Kevin steadied Laura as she did the same.

“Did you see anything interesting?” he asked. “Stingrays or jellyfish?”

“A shark followed us, but I fought him off with my paddle,” Nicole said.

Kevin clutched both her arms. “Really?” he said, his voice full of alarm.

Nicole laughed. “No.”

Kevin blew out a sigh of relief.

“Laura fought him off,” Nicole said.

Her fiancé shook his head. “Not funny—not that I doubt you, Laura.”

He helped haul the paddleboards up to his truck, then lifted them in and secured them with a bungee cord.

“Did you know Laura wants to be a volunteer firefighter?” Nicole demanded as the three of them squeezed into the cab of the truck, Nicole taking the middle seat.

Laura leaned forward so she could see Kevin’s face when he answered. His expression was neutral and cautious.

“Tony mentioned that.”

“And you didn’t tell me?”

“I thought Laura would tell you,” Kevin said.

Nicole scoffed. “Coward.”

Laura leaned back, happy her sister had someone else to vent her frustration on, even though she knew she hadn’t heard the last of it.

Why firefighting? Her sister’s question stuck with her. Why the fire service and not one of the dozens of other volunteer possibilities? Nicole’s assertion that it was an homage to their brother made Laura pause. Was that her reason?

She had to admit that was part of it. The ultimate way to handle her grief and guilt over Adam was to face it directly, not to run from it as she had been. If she hadn’t shown him the campus flyer asking for volunteers, he might never have known about the summer job. He might be alive right now.

She swallowed and took a deep breath, trying to remember to focus on the present and the future—the only things she could do anything about. Being in Cape Pursuit took her away from her parents, but she could be with Nicole. And the blue water, sunshine and vacation vibe of the town had warmed and welcomed her. She could see why Nicole had fallen in love in more ways than one.

Laura watched the downtown shops blur past as Kevin drove them to her sister’s house. Cape Pursuit was where she wanted to be, and squeezing every ounce of bravery she possessed out of her was the way to start over and be whole again.

She’d been planning to tell Nicole she wanted to quit her teaching job, but given her sister’s reaction to her plans to join the fire department, Laura decided to save that additional bombshell for another day. Her family wouldn’t understand, and she doubted she could explain it in a coherent way because she hardly understood it herself.

“You’re not going to try to talk her out of it?” Nicole asked, tapping her fingers on Kevin’s knee as he drove. “I thought you had to be on my side since we’re getting married.”

“Maybe I could think of some arguments if you give me some time,” he said. “But I have to go to a class in Virginia Beach as soon as I drop you off. Tony’s meeting me at your house so we can get on the road and not be late.”

Nicole dropped the subject as they turned onto her street, and Laura saw Tony’s truck parked in front of Nicole’s house. It brought back the memory of the previous summer when Tony had driven her in that truck back to the house and stayed with her for hours, even when she hadn’t deserved his kindness.

She wasn’t that person anymore, and she needed to prove that to everyone...starting with herself.

TONY WAITED NEXT to his truck while Kevin carried the paddleboards into the garage and Nicole followed him to help secure them on brackets along the wall. The garage was just large enough for Nicole’s small red car, and Tony noticed that Laura was keeping her vehicle tucked alongside the driveway.

“Did you have fun?” Tony asked, hoping to fill up their few minutes together in the driveway with neutral conversation. He was afraid of the negative impression he’d given Laura when she approached him about joining the fire department. He didn’t want her to think he didn’t believe she could do it, and she’d have other obstacles to face.

“We did,” she said. “I love being on the water.”

“It’s different here than it is back in Indiana, though, isn’t it?” he asked. He tried to picture rivers and freshwater streams, but he’d hardly traveled outside of Virginia and the Atlantic coast region.

“Very. At home, all the beautiful scenery is above the water, but here it’s above and below the surface.”

Below the surface. Tony wondered what was beneath the surface of Laura Wheeler.

“I hope you’ll get to enjoy it a lot this summer,” he said.

“I downloaded the application,” she said. “For the volunteer department.”

“About that,” he began. It had occurred to him that her residency in Virginia was temporary and that she probably didn’t even have a Virginia driver’s license. Not being a resident would prevent her from getting certified as a volunteer firefighter in the state.

“I didn’t look at it yet,” Laura said. I planned to do it later today since it’s my day off—I asked for Mondays because that’s the day the gallery is closed.”

“That’s great,” Tony said.

“Were you about to tell me something?” Laura asked. “You don’t have to reveal any secrets if you don’t want to,” she added quickly.

“Nothing special. It asks for your contact information, relevant background and experience, special skills you have and why you want to be a firefighter.”

“Okay.” Laura nodded.

Tony swallowed and looked toward the garage. He wished Kevin would hurry up and finish stowing the paddleboards so they could get on the road to the evening class they were both taking to advance their careers.

“There’s no test to get started, right?” she asked.

“No. Just a criminal background check, standard procedure for anyone wanting to join. And you need a valid Virginia driver’s license.”

Laura bit her lip and looked nervous, and Tony was afraid he’d destroyed her dream. He didn’t want to see Laura put her life in danger in the line of duty, but he also didn’t want to wreck her hopes with a technicality. Even though that technicality might be the easy way out for him.

“I’m going to the license bureau after work tomorrow to transfer my Indiana license to a Virginia one. I hope that won’t slow down the process for my application.”

“Transfer? Does that mean you’re planning to...stay in Cape Pursuit?”

“I drive vehicles for my job supervising the beach guards and surf shack, and for insurance purposes it makes it a lot easier for them if I have a Virginia license,” she said.

Tony noticed that she hadn’t answered his question, and there was no polite way for him to pry further.

He’d noticed that Laura was not afraid to ask tough questions, which didn’t quite fit with the picture he’d formed last summer. He wished he knew her better, but there was no way he could say that, either. Not if she planned to join the department and be under his supervision as a trainee and member. A personal interest or relationship was definitely out of the question, especially since he was the youngest fire chief in the area. He always felt he had to be careful to act twice as professionally as the other chiefs.

He would have to be content with the information she offered. If she offered it.

“You’ll need a few character references,” he said. “But I’m sure that won’t be a problem for you. You can put down people you worked with in Indiana. Or maybe Kevin.”

She pulled off her ball cap and ran a hand through her long dark hair. “So I hear you’re in the wedding party, too,” she said, nodding toward the garage where Kevin was giving Nicole a long goodbye kiss.

“Groomsman,” Tony said after a split second in which he wrapped his head around the change of subject. “And you’re the maid of honor.”

It wasn’t a question. He already knew all the members of the small wedding party. He’d been involved in the planning because the reception following the beach wedding was in the fire station. They didn’t rent out the station as a party venue, but Tony remembered a few firefighters’ wedding receptions and parties in the past. And the station hosted an elaborate Christmas party every year for members and their families. With the trucks outside and enough decorations, the building could be pretty festive.

Laura nodded. “I still need a dress. Nicole and I decided to wait until I got here so we could go shopping together.”

“I haven’t been given my instructions since the wedding is still six weeks away, so I don’t know what I’m wearing.”

“I do,” Laura said. “I helped Nicole pick it out.”

“Tell me it’s not a white tuxedo. The glare on the beach would blind everyone and they wouldn’t be able to tell the bride from the groomsmen,” Tony said. “Plus, I’d feel stupid in a white tuxedo.”

He was glad to have something to talk about with Laura. Every exchange they had might bring him closer to understanding what motivated her and how he could decide if letting her join his department was the best way of helping her.

Not that she’d asked him to help her.

Laura laughed. “Relax. You’re wearing navy blue suits. Rented, matching, and you don’t even have to pick out your own ties.”

Tony swiped a hand across his brow. “Huge relief,” he said, grinning.

He thought ahead and realized that the new training class would finish at the same time as the wedding. When Nicole walked down the aisle and married Kevin, Laura could be ready to be a volunteer member of the Cape Pursuit Fire Department. But would she officially join the department? It didn’t cost him anything to let her join the class since he was running it anyway and the prospective volunteers would use borrowed equipment. Still, it was unusual to train a volunteer who appeared to have no plans to stick around. He wanted to ask how long she planned to stay, but then he remembered her response to his question about whether she’d consulted her sister. She would probably ask him if he asked all potential volunteers how long they planned to stay in the area.

“Are you going back to Indiana after the wedding?” he asked instead, hoping Laura would consider his question a natural offshoot of their conversation instead of a pointed question about her dedication.

“I’m in no hurry,” she said and didn’t elaborate further.

He wondered if Laura had anyone special back home. She was physically beautiful, although in a different way from her sister, and Tony doubted that she had escaped the notice of the opposite sex. What impact would an attractive young woman have on his department? He immediately felt a streak of shame at the thought. He hadn’t considered the physical appearance of any of the other volunteers. But Laura was different. She was practically family now that her sister was marrying his cousin. He should look after her if he could.

“Ready?” Kevin asked as he strode toward them. Tony turned away from Laura and began to follow his cousin, but Laura put a light hand on his arm. It was a friendly gesture, but her soft touch reminded him that he should keep his distance.

“What’s the training you’re going to?” she asked.

“Incident command training. We’re taking an advanced course for officers in the fire service. It’s good if you want to move up the ranks, and it’s also good for continual improvement.”

“Haven’t you moved up as far as you can get already?” Laura asked.

“Being the chief is a huge responsibility, and there’s always something to learn.”

Tony had no intention of being one of those leaders who rests on his accomplishments. Becoming the chief at the age of only thirty meant he had a lifetime of leadership ahead of him. He wouldn’t let down his department or tarnish his father’s legacy.

Laura smiled. “Then I guess I’ll be in good hands when the training starts next week.”

“I hope so,” Tony said. Something about having Laura in his class and potentially under his command brought home all the heavy responsibility of being a leader in a very dangerous job.

CHAPTER FOUR

EVEN THOUGH SHE knew it was stupid, Laura changed her outfit three times before heading to the fire station for the first night of training. She’d obsessed over every detail in the online application and fussed with her exact word choice in the short essay about why she wanted to be a firefighter. She hadn’t wanted to appear too eager or they’d think she was a risky candidate with a thirst for danger. But she hadn’t wanted to seem too matter-of-fact either, because they might think she was lukewarm about public service.

Laura had asked her summer worker Rebecca for her Aunt Diane’s phone number, and the two of them had exchanged messages and even met for coffee. It would be a comfort walking into the class already knowing someone, and they had discussed their answers on their applications. Her sister, Nicole, had drawn the line at helping Laura get on the department. She wasn’t going to stop her, but she certainly wasn’t going to proofread her work and advise her on what to wear.

Which was why Laura rejected the first pair of jeans with a college T-shirt. And the next pair of chinos with a button-down blouse. She finally settled on jeans with a navy blue elbow-length T-shirt. Not too casual, definitely not dressy or frilly. What if they had to climb a ladder or pull hoses off a truck in an icebreaker sort of event?

She paired practical sneakers with her outfit and grabbed a shoulder bag in case there were books. She hoped for bookwork. If there was something she could read up on, she’d be in her element. A quiz or essay? Golden.

Despite her enthusiasm, her confidence would be a whole lot stronger if she knew what to expect. She drove her car—a blue hatchback with all-wheel drive that suited the winter conditions in Indiana—instead of riding her bike because it would be dark when she returned to her sister’s place. Nicole was spending a lot of time with Kevin in anticipation of their wedding in six weeks, and Laura was in the lucky position of having a fully furnished house all to herself most of the time.

She parked on a side street near the station and noticed another car doing the same thing. She wished she had arranged to ride with Diane, but she knew she had to step outside her comfort zone, anyway. Two men got out of the car and walked in the same direction she was. After crossing one street and staying together, Laura smiled at the men.

“Are you going to the fire station?” she asked.

They nodded.

“Me, too,” she said. She took a breath and made herself say it out loud, testing the words that represented such a bold move for her. “I’m signing up to be a volunteer firefighter.”

There was a slight hesitation, and then the younger man stuck out his hand. “Richard,” he said. “I’m starting the volunteer class tonight, too. And this is my brother, Oliver.”

“Ollie,” the other man said.

“I’m Laura.” As she shook hands with both men and they started walking together toward the station, Laura relaxed. They were both in their twenties like her, and maybe they were also nervous about what they were about to do.

“Have you ever done anything like this before?” Ollie asked.

“Not exactly,” Laura said. “I did some coaching so I know CPR and basic first aid. I’m not a great cook, so I did have to put out a kitchen fire once.”

“Really?” Richard asked.

“Don’t get your hopes up,” Laura said, laughing. “It was mostly a boil-over that I knocked down by putting the lid on. I have a habit of reading while I’m cooking, and it doesn’t always turn out well.”

As they approached the open doors of the station, Laura saw others already gathering. How many people were here for the class? She nodded politely at them, wondering if they were trainees or perhaps just visiting friends or relatives at the station.

“Hey, Laura,” Diane said. Her short brown hair with a few grays sprinkled in curled over her ears and the rims of her glasses, and she wore a pink T-shirt, jeans and an unzipped Cape Pursuit sweatshirt. “I may be the oldest person in the class,” she said, lowering her voice and looking around at the people standing nervously in the station. “But I’m hoping wisdom will make up for it.”

Laura was about to assure her that wisdom trumped a lot of things, youth included, but a door opened along a side wall and Tony stepped out. “In here,” he said. “Welcome to the first night of firefighter training.”

He held open the door and nodded at each of the new recruits. “Sign-in sheet on the table and name tags,” Tony said. “You only have to wear name tags the first night, and then I’m sure we’ll all get to know each other without them.”

Laura was the last one through the door. She glanced at the line ahead of her. There were a total of eight people in the class. Not too many names to remember, but also a small group, making it impossible to blend in.

“Sit anywhere,” Tony said. He moved to a table set up at the front of the room. Laura guessed the department used the room for regular meetings and training, because there were three rows of eight chairs each. As the last person to move toward the seats, she found her options were limited. In typical fashion, the six men in the class had spread out in rows two and three, leaving seats in between them. Laura couldn’t take any of the buffer seats without looking incredibly awkward.

Diane had taken a seat at the end of the first row farthest from Tony, but Laura parked herself squarely in the front row in front of him.

The seats creaked and Laura crossed and uncrossed her legs, trying to settle into the wooden folding chair. She heard whispered conversations behind her and she caught Diane’s eye and smiled at her. Tony shuffled papers next to a set of spiral-bound books on the table in front of her. She knew they weren’t waiting for any more class members because hers had been the last name unchecked on the sheet by the door and she’d taken the last name tag and written LAURA in neat capital letters.

Tony cleared his throat. “I think we can get started. I’m Chief Tony Ruggles, and I’ll be your instructor for the next six weeks. A little bit about me—I’ve been on the department for twelve years, since I was eighteen and could officially join, but I’ve been hanging around since I was old enough to walk. My dad was the chief, and I have several cousins and other relatives on this department or in the fire service. I got my instructor’s certificate two years ago, and you are my third class of volunteers.”

He paused and turned down the volume on his radio, which he placed on the desk.

“We’ll be together quite a lot in the next six weeks and beyond, so I’d like to get a sense of what brought you here tonight and what you hope to get out of this class. We appreciate your willingness to serve, and I’m not going to sugarcoat anything. Our volunteers get in the thick of it right alongside the full-time guys. I can’t promise you’ll never be in danger, but I can promise I’ll do everything I can to prepare you to handle it.”

He let his words soak in for a few seconds. “Let’s go around the room, have you tell us your names and a little about yourselves and why you’ve decided to join the department. We can start in the back,” he said, vaguely gesturing toward the brothers two rows behind Laura.

“I’m Richard,” one of the men Laura had met before class said. “I work at the surfboard factory outside town, and they need some of us to get some fire training because we work with a lot of flammable materials. Insurance company dictating it, you know. So I figured I’d learn something about putting out fires to help me get ahead at work, and I wouldn’t mind volunteering and helping out my hometown, too.”

“Oliver,” the next man said. “My brother talked me into coming,” he said, jerking a thumb at Richard, “but I like the idea of doing something more interesting than teaching welding at the vocational school. I guess you could say I play with fire at work, and this is the opposite.”

Laura liked both brothers, and they had solid reasons for being there. She focused on listening to her new classmates while also thinking of what she was going to say. She couldn’t say, I’m Laura and I’m here because my brother was killed fighting fires and I think this is the best way for me to heal my own soul while helping others.

Tony pointed to the next man in the back row.

“Skip,” he said. “My uncle is a firefighter over in Virginia Beach, and he let me hang out with them and even ride along on a few calls. I just graduated from high school, and I want to be a firefighter like my uncle. I’m getting my feet wet as a volunteer, but I’m hoping I don’t stop there.”

Tony smiled at the guy. “Always room in the fire service for another good man. Or woman,” he added, nodding at Laura and Diane. Laura felt heat radiate up her neck at being singled out and Diane was frowning when Laura glanced over at her.

“Sorry,” Tony said. “I didn’t say that to be a jerk. I really mean it. There are some amazing women in the fire service.”

“Thank you,” Diane said with a congenial smile, and Laura admired her instantly for being nonplussed in an embarrassing situation. Maybe she was right about wisdom.

“I’m Brock,” a man in the second row said, cutting through the tension. “I officially retired from the city last year, and I’m driving for the senior center, delivering meals now. I think I’d be more useful if I learned how to handle an emergency, and I was glad to see there wasn’t a maximum age for volunteers when I filled out the application.”

“Me, too,” Diane said. Brock had to be in his fifties, and Diane had already told Laura she was forty-eight, so Laura could understand Diane’s relief at not being the oldest person in the class.

“I might as well go next since I opened my big mouth. I’m Diane, my house is a quiet empty nest and I’ve always wanted to drive a fire truck.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Tony said, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he pointed out the last two men in the middle row.

“Allen,” a dark-haired, broad-shouldered man with a thin smile said. “I can drive a truck and I’ve never backed off from a challenge. I’m not afraid of anything, so I think I’m the kind of guy you can use.”

Tony kept a polite expression, but Laura noticed the smile had disappeared from his eyes. “I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve been afraid a few times. Justifiably afraid. But knowing what to do in those situations is the best way to keep yourself and your partners alive, and that’s what you’re going to learn in this class.”

Laura heard Allen’s chair creak, and she wondered how he’d received the subtle put-down from Tony.

“I know you, Marshall, but I don’t know if anyone else does,” Tony said, pointing to the only person left aside from Laura.

“I’m Marshall, and I’ve been on the police department here for five years. Sometimes we get called to the same situations the fire department does, and I’d like to be more knowledgeable and more helpful in those situations. That’s why I’m here.”

“And we appreciate it,” Tony said. “In a small town like this, you’d be surprised by how much crossover there is between the police and fire departments. In fact,” he said, pointing to Laura, “we work with the beach rescue also, where our last class member comes from.”

Was Tony trying to help her by giving her a cue or a suggestion of what to say? She couldn’t claim he was treating her differently than the other volunteers, but something about this half introduction made it seem as if he were trying to encourage her. Was he?

“I guess it’s my turn,” she said, smiling and turning in her seat to face her seven classmates. “I’m Laura, and I am working on the public beach this summer. I’m not a lifeguard, but I helped rescue someone last week and it was part of what inspired me to be here tonight.”

Part, but not all, and maybe as time passed and she knew her classmates better, she would eventually tell them. But not tonight.

“You did a great job,” Tony said, and Laura felt the uncomfortable attention of everyone in the room. Was this how Tony was going to act? Drawing attention to her, even in a positive way? It wasn’t what she wanted, but it would be hard to tell him to knock it off when he was being nice. She didn’t want to come off as defensive.

The door to the meeting room opened and a young firefighter dressed in uniform came in. He moved with confidence to the front of the room and stood next to Tony.

“This is Gavin Kennedy,” Tony said, introducing the firefighter. “He’ll be helping me with this class. He’s only been out of the academy two years, so he remembers what it’s like to be in your shoes.”

Gavin smiled politely as Tony picked up the stack of books and handed them to his helper. “Pass these out.”

“Sorry I missed the introductions,” Gavin said. As he handed a book to each class member, he read their name tags and said their names aloud. “I’m bad with names, so I’m going to need to practice.” When he got to Laura, he paused and said, “Hey, you’re Nicole’s sister. Kevin told me you were coming.”

Laura smiled, wondering how much Kevin had said about her. Did the other men on the department know about her brother’s death?

“Let’s take a quick look at your books,” Tony said. “These will also serve as an overview of the class. There are twelve chapters, and we’ll cover one most nights, but you’ll have to read a lot on your own. We’ll meet here for three hours each of the next Tuesday and Thursday nights, and you’ll also be expected to be here for truck inspections, meetings and trainings on Sunday mornings.”

Laura ran a finger down the table of contents. Fire behavior. Fire suppression. Emergency scenes. Hazardous materials. As a teacher, she was confident in her ability to read, break down information and memorize what was necessary. The book work would be the easy part. When it came to putting on heavy gear and testing her strength and will against a real fire, she would have to dig deep.

“Chapter one,” Tony said. “Becoming a firefighter.” He looked up and smiled. “I knew I was going to be a firefighter all my life, but that didn’t mean I knew what I was doing. When I screwed up as a rookie, nobody cared that I was the chief’s son. They were letting me know about my shortcomings.”

“Uh-oh,” Oliver said, and he was greeted by nervous laughter.

“Don’t worry,” Tony said. “I’ll share my wisdom. For example, don’t put on your seat belt and then try to pull on your turnout coat and fasten it. You might be successful getting the coat on while you’re on the way to a fire, but you’ll just about kill yourself trying to get out of the truck.”

Laura smiled, imagining the scene. She hardly took her eyes off Tony as he stood just four feet in front of her, holding the class’s attention. Gavin jumped in with a detail or story a few times, but Tony held the floor as he walked the class through the book and gave them an understanding of what the next six weeks would entail. She knew many instructors back home, but none of them had commanded her interest and respect as Tony did. He was strong, compassionate and more attractive than she wanted to admit to herself. Finally, he closed his book—dog-eared and with sticky notes spilling over the top like a bad hair day—and glanced at the wall clock, which was fashioned to look like a fire truck. Its hands were miniature fire hoses, telling them almost half the class had gone by. She was amazed, but it also worried her. With only twelve class nights to learn everything she needed to know, it already seemed to be going too fast.

“Break time,” Tony said. “Feel free to use the restroom and get a soda from the pop machine. Say hello to the guys working tonight and check out the trucks.”

TONY WENT DIRECTLY to his office, closed his door and sat behind his desk, enjoying the silence for a moment. He had gladly signed up for the series of courses that would qualify him as an instructor because he’d been inspired by a great teacher himself. He knew the fire service needed the right people training the next generation of firefighters.

He just wished he could fast-forward through the classroom lectures and get to the hands-on stuff that would really make the difference between life and death. As he soaked in a few minutes of solitude, he kept an ear tuned to the station beyond his door. He heard a truck door shut. A chirp of a siren. Radio traffic that made up the background music of his life. Conversations. Laughter.

Gavin’s booming laugh shot through him. Had he been flirting with Laura, or had it been Tony’s imagination? He tried to shut it out, but he imagined Gavin out there, regaling Laura with stories of his own heroism and trying to impress her. As a new member of the department, Gavin had a tendency to take risks to prove himself. He had tried to rush into a house fire without waiting for his partner once, and he’d shown up at an accident scene while off duty and tried to help despite the fact that there were on-duty guys there with protective gear.

His offenses were the result of trying too hard, too fast, not a lack of integrity or training. Admirable, but dangerous. Young guys like Gavin were the reason older guys with experience were in charge. One of the reasons Tony had selected Gavin to help train the new recruits was to remind him he was relatively new himself and didn’t know everything. But Tony was beginning to wonder if he’d made a mistake. Would Gavin’s assistance have the opposite effect on the young hotshot?

He got up and opened his door.

“Kennedy,” he barked into the station where Gavin was holding open the door of the firetruck and laughing with whomever was inside. Tony imagined it was Laura, and the thought of Gavin flirting with her irritated him right under the collar of his uniform shirt.

Gavin turned to face him and the person in the truck slid out. It wasn’t Laura. It was Diane, the older lady in the class. Gavin offered her a hand as she stepped down from the pumper.

“Need to see me, sir?”

Tony nodded and gestured into his office. When Gavin entered and took a seat, his face all innocent friendliness, Tony took a moment and closed his office door before sitting down himself.

“Do you know why I chose you to help me teach this class?” he asked.

Gavin shrugged, his expression unwavering. “Low seniority?”

“I have plenty of seniority and I’m here,” Tony said.

“But you’re the instructor. I’m the guy who hands out books and sets up obstacle courses and ladders. Not that I mind. Gotta pay my dues.”

Tony blew out a breath and leaned back in his chair.

“Everyone seems like they have a good reason for being here,” Gavin continued. “I missed the first part, but then I was talking with the two brothers and that older guy while we looked over the trucks. They seem like they’ll be good volunteers.”

Tony noticed that Gavin didn’t say anything about Laura, and it occurred to him that perhaps he was the one putting too much thought into her presence, not Gavin. He’d been about to lecture Gavin about singling out any of the class members or being too friendly with them, but he checked his words. Just because he found Laura distracting didn’t mean any of the other men on the department would feel the same way. He needed to keep his awareness of her carefully controlled, just like a small flame he didn’t dare let turn into a wall of fire.

“I wanted to say thank you for helping out,” Tony said. “I think you’re perfect for the job.”

Gavin grinned. “That’s what you’re paying me for. Can I go out and show them around the rest of the station now?”

Tony nodded and noted the time. He’d wait at least ten minutes before he reconvened the class. He sorted through a stack of fire reports he’d printed from the previous week. He liked seeing things on paper, so he usually printed the reports filed by the firefighters and paramedics, searching the text to make certain his men had followed protocol, achieved the fastest response time possible and worked for the best resolution of every emergency. He took a pen and flagged a few things he wanted to ask about, runs that he hadn’t been on. Why had the ambulance spent so much time on scene when called to a home for a seizure patient? What had prompted the officer in charge to call for a medical helicopter on standby when they responded to a kitchen fire at a vacation home on the north side of town?

Tony slept well because he’d grown up with a dad who was a fire chief. When he’d confessed to his father that worrying about the station kept him up at night, his dad sat him down and told him in his blunt way that he’d be no damn good to anyone if he stayed awake all night worrying about what could happen and then was too tired when it did happen.

Not sympathetic, but undeniably true.

Tony finished his notes and left them on his desk so he could focus on the training instead of agonizing over the dangers his new volunteers could face under his command and responsibility.

Gavin had everyone back in the training room and seated when Tony entered. Instead of taking up a position behind the desk, Tony picked a chair at the end of the middle row and sat down with his students.

“I’m glad to see you all came back,” he said. “And I didn’t bore you to tears or scare you away.”

A few of the guys laughed politely, and Laura got up and turned her chair so she could face him. She smiled and waited with her book open in her lap and her pen poised over it. Tony wondered if Laura’s students looked at her with anticipation as if she had the secrets of the universe at her command. That was what her expression seemed to convey.

If Laura believed he knew everything about being a successful firefighter, he couldn’t disappoint her. He owed her and everyone else in the class his very best instruction. It could mean the difference between life and death.

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