Where There's Smoke: The Heroes of Hammonds Bend(Romantic Suspense) Read online

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  Where There's Smoke

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  S.D. Bancroft

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  Copyright © 2013 S.D. Bancroft

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  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.

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  Table of Contents

  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

  Turn the page for a preview of Autumn Nights…

  CHAPTER ONE

  Damn, damn, triple damn. Annie’s heart sank in her chest.

  Why did the Chief have to choose now to introduce a distraction like this in the department? She skimmed a glance over the stranger standing near the rear of the ambulance. Of course he couldn’t simply be good looking. No, he had to be smokin’ hot.

  Eyes the color of rich coffee returned the favor and glided over her. Neat black hair, a little long for Annie’s liking, fell against the collar of his light blue Class-A dress shirt. A muscle just beneath the surface of his strong jaw drew her attention there. Oh yeah, this one spelled trouble alright.

  Just what I need, another Firefighter Casanova who thinks he can just saunter in here with his devastatingly good looks, and the naïve little woman will just fall at his feet.

  The forgotten inventory list floated to the bench seat. In three steps she was out the side door of the ambulance. The move brought her up close and personal with the imposing body of the stranger. A little too close.

  Annie took a step back. Her gaze traveled over him for the second time in the span of seconds. He had to be at least a good four inches taller than her five-foot-ten-inch frame. His build was solid, but not unlike many of the men she worked with daily. He had to outweigh her by at least a good eighty pounds or so. Annie’s gaze travelled upward again. Eighty pounds of pure muscle if her eyes weren’t lying to her. Oh yeah, no doubt this one can take care of himself.

  Warm, mocha eyes fixed on her, and the corners of his mouth tilted upward. Annie’s heart thudded in her chest in response. What was wrong with her? Quit your damn gawking, Annie or both the Chief and Pretty Boy here are going to get the wrong idea. She didn’t care one iota what the newcomer thought. It was the Chief she didn’t want having doubts about her ability to work with a smoking hot firefighter.

  Annie didn’t bother trying to convince herself that the stranger was merely a guest at the station house today. Even if he hadn’t been decked out in full uniform, he had all the qualities of a firefighter she knew the Chief looked for. Clean cut, strong build, and an intelligence that beamed from the behind those amazingly distracting, brown eyes.

  Hell, if she was lucky he would end up on the black shift schedule, the opposite of the red shift schedules she worked and as far away as Annie could get him.

  With the silent prayer winging skyward, she turned her focus back to Chief Daniels.

  “Good morning sir.” She cringed when her voice cracked. Her gaze flew to the men before her. Maybe neither had noticed. “How are you today?”

  Chief Daniels had an uncanny knack of picking up the vibes others weren’t aware they were emitted. Annie had been on the receiving end of the unnerving phenomenon on more than one occasion.

  “I’m good.” His dark brow arched. “How about you?” His gaze raked over her, searching every inch of her face.

  “Oh I’m fine, Sir.” She forced a cough. “Trying to fight off this darn cold is all.”

  “Well nip it in the bud. I need everyone to stay healthy. We can’t afford to lose anyone else right now.” His dark brown eyes softened, contradicting the stern look on his face. He stared hard, and Annie knew he was looking for any sign that she might be feeling worse than she let on. After several seconds, he turned his attention to the man at his side. “Annie, this is Firefighter/Paramedic Mason Ramsay. Mason, this is Firefighter/Paramedic Annette Andrews.”

  “Annie will do just fine.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Annie.” His voice, though deep, was crisp and clear. He extended a large hand in her direction. Trepidation gave way to surprise as she accepted the gesture, and found her hand wrapped in a firm grip. Shivers of excitement rippled through her.

  Not good, Andrews.

  A shrill tone squealed from the overhead speakers cutting short any response she might have made. At least this was a distraction she knew how to handle. With any luck, by the time she got back to the station, he would be gone.

  Annie listened as the details of a rollover accident on the interstate emitted from speakers above her head. She pushed all other thoughts from her mind and moved to secure the compartment doors on the ambulance she’d just inventoried. A warm hand on her shoulder halted her progress. She pivoted in a circle, her eyes locking on her Chief’s.

  “No better time than the present to show Mason the ropes.”

  No, this can’t be happening. She inhaled deeply. Even if she had the time to argue, the determined set to the Chief’s face told her it would do no good.

  “Hop in.” Annie stood aside and waited as Mason Ramsay climbed into the ambulance. Her gaze followed the tantalizing way his pants hugged his well-muscled ass with every movement. She made a mental note to discuss the fit of the uniform pants with the Chief at the earliest opportunity.

  Well not all of them, just his, she acknowledged with a shake of her head.

  Slamming the door behind her ride-along, Annie jogged around to the driver’s door, and slid inside. Mark Flynn bounded through the passenger side front door at the same instant.

  Her partner glanced through the small space that separated the driver’s compartment of the ambulance from the patient box before his questioning look turned in her direction.

  “Mark, Mason Ramsay.” She flipped the battery switch on and cranked the key in the ignition. “Mason, Mark Flynn.”

  Lights flashed and the siren wailed as they burst through the large, open apparatus bay door.

  Annie hoped like hell Mason Ramsay could handle his own on a scene. And if he couldn’t, she hoped he had enough brains to stay the hell out of her way.

  ~*~

  Mark watched the pair work side by side. The easiness between them belied the newness of their relationship. He had seen partners who had worked together for years and still had not developed that rhythm. He himself, had worked with Annie for three years and still felt on edge around her. As if she judged his every move and deemed him beneath her. Of course she had never said any such thing to him. She didn’t have the nerve. He chuckled under his breath.

  Sweet little Annie. Always worried about what the men thought of her.

  She wasn’t so different than him. Like him, Annie sensed her every move was measured by the people around her. He knew how insignificant it could make one feel. His mother made sure he had experience
d the burning shame of it every day of his childhood. In every way she could and every chance she got, until he could take it no more. She wouldn’t make anyone else feel that way again. He had made sure of that.

  And no one had been the wiser. She had been his first. The first to feel his power as the flames licked hot at her body and soul. He possessed the one little spark it took to create the hellfires. He also had the power to end them if he chose to do so.

  His palms itched. It had been too long since he had last felt the power. Soon he would enjoy it again. Soon.

  He turned his attention back to the present. It wouldn’t due to make the others suspicious of his lack of participation as they worked to raise the roof of the damaged vehicle their patient had been driving.

  Was Annie aware of how vulnerable her current position made her? She peered up at him from her perch in the back seat, as if he’d spoken the question aloud. One little slip of the big saw he used and it would be all over for her. It would be so easy to make it look like a tragic accident. One of the many perils emergency service workers faced whenever they responded to a call for help. No one would be the wiser. Of course, he would have to play the guilt ridden co-worker for a few months. Something he’d had plenty of practice doing over the years.

  Annie’s eyes scanned his face as if trying to bore into his mind and read his thoughts for a brief second before her attention returned to the man beside her.

  The newcomer Mason Ramsay made him uneasy. Distrust shadowed Ramsay’s face until she spoke to him. The imperceptible softening of the handsome face as Mason Ramsay’s gaze swept over Annie twisted his gut.

  ~*~

  Annie pulled open the heavy door leading into the crew quarters. John Flynn occupied his customary place at the head of the table. It was clear to Annie just exactly where Mark had gotten his ability to befriend others with such ease. And everyone in the small town of Hammond’s Bend knew that he had learned it at the knee of the best.

  Annie glanced over John’s imposing stature. At just over six-feet tall, and weighing around two-hundred and fifty pounds, he was a big man. And as usual, she marveled at the giant meal he had prepared.

  The sensation that she was no longer alone in the doorway registered in her mind at the exact second as the movement in the doorway beside her did. A sideways glance revealed Mason leaning casually against the door frame. She leaned hard into the opposite door jamb in an effort to move away from his hard body before she melted from the heat. Inhaling deep to calm her rioting emotions, she turned her attention back to the room at large.

  “I swear I’m going to gain fifty pounds before the end of the year if you keep making meals like this. I may have to ask the Chief to switch me to the other shift.” Annie sighed. “I’ve already gained ten pounds since I started here.”

  “Let me tell you something darlin,” John answered in the southern drawl she’d come to love, “Even if you did gain fifty pounds, you would still look good.”

  Heat burned Annie’s face when John winked and the room erupted in laughter. Mason shifted beside her. Thankful for the distraction, she stepped further into the room breaking the invisible connection between them.

  “For those of you who haven’t met him yet, this is Mason Ramsay. He’s our newest victim.” She cast a careless wave in his direction, hoping her smile conveyed the same laid-back level of friendship she shared with the others. “He’s cross-trained in fire and EMS. And while he’s new to the area, he’s not new to the job.”

  Though they hadn’t shared any personal information, Annie knew after the emergency call they’d just finished, she was right on the money. Newbies didn’t show the level of knowledge and confidence on a scene as Mason had displayed.

  One by one, the others strode forward and extended a hand of welcome to Mason. John was the last to approach him. Annie didn’t know why it mattered, but her breath lodged in her chest until a big meaty hand reached out and delivered a hearty slap on Mason’s back.

  Annie had seen the power behind the blow physically move other men. Mason stood solidly in place, never wavering.

  “Welcome to the family, Mason.” The older man laughed. “The only person around here you need to keep your eye on is our Annie.” He winked again at Annie. “She can be quite a handful at times. Enough to turn your hair gray.”

  “I’ll be sure to keep a good eye on her then.” Mason shot a look in her direction and Annie became acutely conscious of his tall, athletic physique once again. The fine lines of humor around his mouth and eyes didn’t disguise the serious demeanor just beneath the surface.

  The sound of a throat clearing, drug her up and out of her own thoughts.

  “I’ll just bet you will, Son.”

  Of all the self-centered, egotistical things! Annie fumed. They were talking about her like she wasn’t standing right there in the same room with them.

  “She doesn’t need anyone to keep an eye on her.” She snapped. Her gaze pinned first one and then the other. “Thanks though.”

  She turned on her heel and marched toward the kitchen area. “If you’re hungry Ramsey, you need to get in here and get your plate before the rest of this crowd makes its way in here and there’s nothing left,” she called over her shoulder, praying her voice didn’t hold the same quiver that was afflicting the rest of her body.

  She snatched a plate from the stack and piled it high with eggs, bacon and toast, thankful for the distraction the action served.

  Annie let out a squeal of alarm and jerked backward as a hard arm circled her waist. She knocked into the even harder body behind her. The contents of her plate went airborne.

  Her gaze in locked on Steve Lawson before it dropped to his hand outstretched in greeting. The barely contained laughter on his face did nothing to alleviate the sinking sense of dread that formed in her stomach. The room erupted with hoots of laughter, further dispelling any hope there had been no casualties in the mishap.

  The urge to walk out without accessing the full extent of the damage was strong. But Annie Andrews prided herself on facing her problems head-on. She inhaled deeply, straightened to her full height and set her now empty plate on the counter. She sucked in one last fortifying breath before pivoting on her heel.

  “Oh my God!” Both hands flew to her mouth. Splotches of scrambled egg decorated Mason’s broad shoulders. An errant slice of bacon dangled precariously from his badge. She couldn’t bring herself to meet his eyes.

  Despite the mortification burning through her, Annie couldn’t contain her laughter. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She took an ineffective swipe at the wetness as she fought to regain her composure. Several seconds passed before she raised her chin, and wiped the last of the tears from her eyes.

  “I’m not sure how you do things here,” Mason plucked the offending piece of bacon from its perch, and extended it in her direction, “but I prefer to eat my breakfast from a plate. Not my uniform.”

  Another fit of laughter threatened as she plucked the wayward portion of meat from his extended hand and plopped it on her plate.

  “Um well, that’s typically how I eat mine too.” She wrinkled her nose and shook her head. “I guess next time you’ll be more careful about sneaking up on a person.”

  Mason’s gaze locked onto hers when he grasped her hand and placed a cooling lump of scrambled egg in her palm. Under a normal set of circumstances, Annie would have found the gesture hysterical. Under the current, her throat went dry and her heart hammered wildly against the confines of her chest when the light graze of his fingertips landed on her sensitive skin. Oh man, this could be a very bad thing.

  Annie tugged her hand free and stepped back until her backside bumped against the kitchen island. Her gaze fell to her plate and the mess that surrounded it. Heat rushed up her neck and over her face again, an occurrence that was becoming all too common since Mason Ramsay had arrived.

  She busied herself by scraping the food into a pile, before brushing it into the large trash can at the e
nd of the island. The mundane actions afforded her the few minutes she desperately needed to regain her bearings.

  She turned her attention to the other occupants of the room.

  “Mason Ramsey, this is Lieutenant Steve Lawson.”

  Mason wiped his hand with a dishcloth before offering it. “Nice to meet you, sir.”

  “Morning, Mason. Finding your way around okay?”

  “Yes sir, Annie has seen to that.”

  The brief glance they exchanged piqued her interest.

  “She’s a good teacher, Mason. You couldn’t be in better hands.” Steve assured him. “As much as we harass her, all in fun of course, there’s not a man here who wouldn’t lay down his life to protect her.”

  Was that a warning to Mason? Did Steve think she had something to worry about? Gee, I wonder what could have given him an idea like that? The scene from seconds earlier flashed through her mind. There was no doubt that Steve had noticed her reaction. She’d have to work on hiding them better.

  Annie pushed the thoughts aside and reloaded her plate before she joined the others at the table.

  The meal progressed to the tune of Steve and John’s incessant questioning of Mason regarding his past experiences as well as the usual inquiry of “What brought you here?” They supplied Mason with some of the history of the fire department. By the end of the meal Annie realized the others were completely comfortable with Mason.

  Just terrific, she sighed, why can’t he be one of the few people that the guys didn’t connect with? Annie gathered her plate and glass and started for the kitchen.

  “Hey Andrews,” Mark called after her. “Since Daniels put you in charge of showing Mason around, I guess you get to show him how the newbie washes the dishes. Isn’t that right Lieutenant?”

  Annie turned to see the smirk on Mark’s face and glared at him as if to say, “You just wait buster, you’ll get yours!”

  She turned back toward the kitchen, calling over her shoulder, “You lunkheads can at least clear the table.”