Wildfire Smokejumper Trilogy

Chapter 6-5

“Fire!” Akbar shouted as he rolled to the foot of his bunk before swinging out his feet. Two-Tall jumped to the floor right beside him.

The fire siren roared up into its howling whine until everyone in the whole complex was up and preparing for action. As the two of them dragged on their long cotton underwear, stuffed feet into unlaced boots, and grabbed jumpsuits, he could hear other sets of feet hitting floorboards all down the hall. All around them, smokies were gearing up to fight fire. Fifteen minutes from first call to takeoff was the goal, and MHA hadn’t been late once all summer.

He and Two-Tall were the first into the hall. No need to pound on doors. Krista stumbled out in front of him, sports b*a still showing as she tried to get dressed, walk, and drag along her jumpsuit. She careened into a wall. Two-Tall tickled her ribs as they slipped past. Krista squirmed and cursed, too snarled up and asleep to retaliate.

The smokies were among the first to gather in the area below the control tower. Though the ground crew and pilots weren’t far behind. Betsy, the camp cook, and her assistant started working the crowd with a pitcher of coffee, a stack of to-go cups, and a basket of bagels.

That’s when Akbar saw her, exactly as he’d pictured her at their very first meeting.

Laura came running out of the woods two paces ahead of Jeannie. He long auburn hair streaming out behind her. Her long legs making her sprint look smooth and effortless. The morning sunlight caught her hair as she moved out of the trees’ shadows and struck her as if she’d been lit by fire.

Damn woman glowed with an impossible magic. No. This was Laura Judith Jenson. She glowed like she’d been beamed down to the planet from some vastly superior and more brilliant world.

He was stunned speechless as he watched her. She spotted him and trotted to a smooth stop right in front of him. She was beyond beautiful. She was—

“Good morning, lover,” her tone soft and private. Then she kissed him. Kissed him until his whole crew was hooting and hollering at them. She pulled back enough to speak. “Go kick some fire butt for me!”

Then she flashed one of those killer smiles at him, winked at Jeannie for reasons passing understanding, and trotted away toward the parking lot as Mark climbed the stairs to launch them at the latest fire, wherever it was.

He watched her go until she was out of sight, then whispered to himself.

“I am so screwed.”

“You got that right, brother.” Tim slapped a meaty hand down on his shoulder. And for the first time, Akbar actually went down to his knees under the blow. Tim dragged him back up to his feet by the harness of his jumpsuit.