Jupiter Point Hotshots Box Set

Chapter 3-1

3

As far as Sean could tell, Jupiter Point had barely changed in the past thirteen years. The police station certainly looked the same, though he noticed a few flowering shrubs that hadn’t been there before. Interesting touch. Were they going for a soothing vibe at the old JPPD? He probably could have used that back in the day.

Funny how that wild kid felt so far away and long ago now. Now he was the superintendent of the brand-new Jupiter Point Hotshots crew, in charge of setting up the whole darn thing. He’d first heard about the proposed crew last year, but hadn’t thought to apply until the burnover. Getting run over by a fire had changed a few things in his life.

He’d been back in town for two days, but he and Josh, who’d come with him as crew captain, had spent that time at the old Army base. They’d met with the fire ranger and dispatch staff and started organizing the part of the compound where the hotshots would be located. Tonight would be his first chance to face the actual residents of Jupiter Point. After all the dangerous situations he’d faced, you’d think this one would be tame. But he was nervous as hell.

In the passenger seat of the Ford Super Duty crew cab truck, Josh Marshall had been grumbling since they’d left the base. “Honestly, I’d rather go through another burnover than get dragged to a city council meeting.”

“Man up, slugger. You’re about to become a superstar. If I know Jupiter Point, that meeting is going to be rocking. Not much happens around here. A new hotshot crew is going to be big news.”

“And rightfully so.” Josh preened, as he’d gotten in the habit of doing since the Miracle in Big Canyon movie was announced. “But I’m not the one in charge of this shindig. You’re the superintendent around here. I’m just the minion. Why do I need to strut my stuff for the locals?”

“Because,” Sean explained patiently, “I used to live here. They know me as a troublemaker with a chip on my shoulder. Now they’re supposed to welcome me with open arms as the guy standing between them and the next wildfire? They’d be more likely to believe I’d start a fire than put it out. I need backup.”

“Nevertheless, you’re the one they hired. You’re the hero.”

“f**k that.” That was a sore point among the old crew. Sean didn’t think he’d done anything special. But another hotshot crew fighting the same Big Canyon fire had lost two members. The media had made a big deal out of that. Then Finn—who had made it to a gravel streambed in the nick of time—got his dad the movie producer involved, and now it had all turned into a nightmare.

“Hey, we survived, and it wasn’t because I was cracking jokes. It was because you picked the right spot and you made us stay put. I heard they want Theo James to play you. The one in Divergent.”

Sean took a corner a little too fast, leaving a streak of rubber. “I’m not talking about that f*****g movie, I’m not cooperating with it, and you better not bring it up at the meeting.”

Josh laughed. “You’re no fun anymore. You’re too easy to rile up.” He glanced out the window. They’d reached the downtown business district, where the architecture had a storybook flair. Stores were either shingled in cedar or painted in ice cream pastels. Old-fashioned lampposts lined the sidewalks. “What just happened here? Did we drive back in time?”

“No, that’s Jupiter Point’s thing. It’s a tourist town. Big on the quaint and cutesy.”

“And this would be Main Street?”

“It would be, in any other town. Here, it’s Constellation Way.”

“Ex-queeze me?”

“Just go with it. And get a star chart.”

Josh was still grumbling as they cruised past the Rings of Saturn Jewelers and the Orbit Lounge and Grill. The Sky View Gallery, with its light blue awning trimmed in white, looked new. It probably catered to the honeymooners who wanted to take home photographic evidence of their trip.

Luckily, the downtown area also contained a Mexican restaurant called simply Don Pedro’s and a new 7-Eleven convenience store. The stargazing theme could easily be overdone, in Sean’s opinion.

He parked in the side lot of Jupiter Point High School, where he hadn’t quite completed his senior year. He drew in a deep breath, wondering how many of the people inside would remember him. And if they’d try to run him out of town as soon as he walked in.

Josh stepped out of the truck and stretched. “Looks like a full house, man. Maybe it’s the welcome wagon. Returning hometown hero, that kind of thing.”

“Nope.”

“How do you know?”

“Because the last night I spent here was in the Jupiter Point PD’s lockup.”