Controlled Burn

Chapter 10

Boone was frozen in place. He had left his pickup at the feed store for them to load when they got time and headed down the street for coffee at the Sunshine Diner. The last person he expected to see drinking coffee with Darlene Royal was the woman of his dreams. And probably all future s****l fantasies. Last night, the anguish and frustration of fighting yet another deliberately set blaze had wrapped him in a cloak of misery. He'd never understand why anyone wanted to deliberately destroy someone else's property, especially in such a dangerous, devastating way.

But when the mouthwatering blonde walked into Pete's and sat down on the stool next to him, it was as if he'd been given a shot of the best medicine in the world. The air between them had been so electrified, he was surprised they hadn't lit up the entire bar. Their hours together had wiped the shadows from his mind and made him realize there was as much good as bad in the world.

This morning, he'd been kicking himself for not asking her name or getting her phone number. And now, as if conjured up by his wishes, here she sat in his favorite restaurant. From the expression on her face, she was as shocked as he was. Somehow, he unstuck his boots from the floor and made himself walk over to the booth where she sat.

"Why, Boone!" Darlene jumped up and gave him a hug. "I'll never be able to thank you enough for what you did last night. Jeb and I both owe you for saving the house."

Always uncomfortable with praise, he gave the woman a perfunctory hug back then eased her arms away from his body.

"It was a squad effort."

"And Evan Hunter deserves as much praise as anyone," she told him. "He was fearless. I tell you, for a kid, he does really well. Worked his fanny off, for sure."

Boone started to say something then shut up. For the moment, he was keeping his suspicions to himself.

Darlene turned to the woman still seated in the booth. "Montana, meet Boone Crider. Full-time rancher and part-time volunteer firefighter. The county's best, I'd say."

One corner of the blonde's mouth turned up in a tiny grin. "Nice to meet you."

"Boone, this is Montana Wade. Her mother owns the specialty shop down the street, and Dr. Wade who treats your animals is her father."

"No kidding? You're the fancy daughter he's always talking about who lives in California?"

She blushed a becoming shade of pink. "Not so fancy, and not from California anymore."

Boone c****d an eyebrow. "That so?"

"Yes," Darlene bubbled. "She's come home, and she might be staying. Isn't that wonderful?"

His c**k certainly thought it was as it swelled and flexed behind his fly. Holy s**t! The woman he'd been afraid he'd never see again, right here in his backyard?

"I think you'll definitely brighten up the county, Miss Wade."

"Montana. Please. If you live here, you know we're not too formal."

Darlene stepped away from the booth. "Here, Boone. Have a seat. I need to get back to the kitchen. Coffee and cinnamon roll, as usual? I'll have Sheila bring them out to you right away." She eyed Montana. "You think about what you said, honey. Make sure it's what you want. If it is, you come back, and we'll talk about details."

He slid into the booth across from her. His gaze locked with hers. He hadn't even touched her, but already he could feel the air around them sizzle and heat envelop them.

"I can't believe you're here. In Winslow. In the Sunshine Diner. Jesus." He took off his Stetson, put it on the seat beside him, and raked his fingers through his hair. "I don't...I didn't...."

Shit! He felt like a stupid dumbass. He never got tongue tied, but this woman just did it to him.

"I'm a little surprised, myself. Being here and running into you."

She had a pleasant smile on her face and spoke in the same warm tone that crackled through his nerve endings. But she was clutching her mug a little too tightly, and uncertainty lurked in her emerald eyes.

"I, uh, live here." Smooth, dumbass. Real smooth.

"I figured that out. A rancher and a firefighter. So, I'm going to assume last night you had a bad blaze, and it really got to you."

Sheila, the waitress, placed a mug of coffee and two hot rolls in front of him, gave him a flirty smile, and, when he barely nodded, flounced away.

"Yeah." He stared down at his mug. "It could have been a lot worse. I'm guessing you know it was the Royal's barn, since you were in here talking to them. Thank god, it didn't spread to their house." He rubbed his forehead. "We've had a real rash of them lately. Barn fires, I mean. So far, no one's been hurt, but we might not continue to be so lucky."

Concern flashed across her face. "Arson? I can't imagine it in Winslow. Hell, in this county."

"Neither can I. Neither can any of us. Ray Curtis, the fire chief, is pulling his hair out. None of these barns are worth a hill of beans as far as insurance goes. And every victim has come up squeaky clean."

"So, you are checking into arson."

"Have to. There's no such thing as five coincidental fires. But I don't want to talk about them. It's bad enough fighting them." He reached across the table and took one of her hands in his, loving the smooth feel of her skin. "So, you're back from California? Visiting or to stay?"

"Yes, no, and yes. I think." Her mouth, with those plump, sexy lips, twisted in a grimace. "I probably should have done this a long time ago, but I was too stupid to realize it."

"Hey." He squeezed her hand. "We all do stupid things. No one's immune. But if you don't mind my asking, what were you doing at Pete's last night?"

"I had spent about twenty hours on the road, driving all the way from Los Angeles with just a few hours rest. I stopped to get a little liquid courage before facing my parents. God, you'd think at my age I'd be past that."

"For what it's worth," he said in a soft voice, "I'm glad you were there." He leaned forward so no one could hear him except her. "It was one of the best nights of my life."

She gave him a tentative smile. "Mine, too."

"I, uh, don't suppose we could see each other again? Maybe dinner, or something?"

"Boone, I-"

"I'd really like that."

She let out a long breath. "I should tell you I have no idea what I'm going to do next with my life. I just got out of a really bad marriage, and I feel as if I've wasted the last ten years. I need to take some time, breathe a little, figure out where to go from here."

"No pressure, Montana." He squeezed her hand. "Nothing more than dinner. Between two friends?"

"Are we? Friends, I mean?"

"We can be whatever you want us to be, until you figure out what's next for you."

She hesitated for so long he began to think she was going to turn him down.

"I'm not a really good bet for anyone, right now."

"My choice to take the chance," he pointed out. Every muscle in his body was taut with waiting. "So, what do you say?"

When she smiled, the tension eased from him a bit. "Okay. Dinner. But I have to warn you. I'm staying with my folks, and I'm afraid they still think I'm eighteen years old."

A deep laugh rolled up from inside him. "I can relate to that. My parents live in Dallas, but they still call and ask me if I'm sure I know how to run a ranch. Even though I've been doing it for ten years."

Her answering laugh had a musical quality to it, like silver bells. "Then I can imagine what they have to say about you being a firefighter."

"You have no idea."

"How did you happen to get into it, anyway? Did you always want to be a firefighter when you grew up?"

Her question sobered hm. "About a month after I moved here, I had a lightning strike in one of the pastures at my ranch, and it set the hay ablaze. I called 911, and I couldn't believe how fast the fire department responded. Or how hard and efficiently they worked under difficult conditions. I was shocked to learn most of them were volunteers."

Montana nodded. "It's always been that way. The population of the county is so small, there isn't enough in taxes for a lot of things."

"I talked to Ray Curtis and asked if I could add my name to the list. He was in the process of setting up another volunteer training course, so the timing was right."

"I admire you for doing this."

He could tell from her tone of voice she really meant it. "I like giving back to the community." He took a healthy slug of coffee. "I'd like it a lot more if we could figure out who's causing this. This many fires don't happen spontaneously." Ray had asked him to keep what he'd found out quiet, so he didn't feel he could share. "So."

She smiled, lighting up her whole face. "So?"

"Would tonight be too soon for that dinner?"

Her warm, musical laugh bubbled in the air again. "I have to say, you don't waste time."

"No reason to." He locked his gaze with hers. "Not when I know what I want."

He held his breath, hoping he hadn't scared her away by pushing for this so soon.

"Seven o'clock work for you?" she asked.

"Sure does." He grinned. "See you then."