She was plotting ways to murder him when his phone rang.
He glanced at his cell. “You’re lucky. Duty calls. Should we pick this back up tomorrow? Noon, maybe?”
He was a firefighter—fire chief, actually. And she absolutely would not be admitting how sexy he looked every time he stepped outside his house in uniform.
“You go anywhere near my tree and I’ll murder you in your sleep,” she said.
That damn smile widened. Then he leaned closer, the black specks shining in his brown eyes. “A visit from you in my bed late at night? Doesn’t sound so bad.”
CHAPTER2
Becket Hayes stared at the screen in front of him. One of the guys had called in sick, so he’d come in early to call in a replacement. Fortunately, Becket loved his job. Hell, he lived and breathed his position as fire chief.
And the call couldn’t have come at a better time. He’d needed an escape from his fiery neighbor, with her cute hazel eyes and button nose. At some point, arguing with her had become a highlight of his week. The insults she threw his way never failed to make him smile.
Not that that was why he’d gone out there. That treedidneed a trim. It blocked his external cameras from catching some of their street. And that was a problem.
He didn’t just have the cameras because the former SEAL in him took safety seriously. There’d been a string of break-ins here in Amber Ridge in the last few months. Three, to be exact. Something his brother had told him even before it was reported in the local news.
Whoever the perp was, they were good at picking locks, taking everything they could find that was worth anything, then getting out without leaving a trace.
Jesse had put more deputies on patrol, but for Becket, that wasn’t enough.
So, yeah, he wanted a good view of his street, and if his pretty neighbor wasn’t happy that those cameras covered her front yard, well…that was too damn bad.
He rose from his chair and moved out into the long hall. He passed the training room, the bathrooms and dorms, and a couple more offices. At the end of the hall was the gym, but he turned left into the kitchen and dining area.
Teddy and Moose sat at the table. Teddy was one of the younger firefighters, while Moose, an older African American, was probably their longest-serving firefighter at the station.
“I’m not kidding, she washot.”
Moose frowned at Teddy. “A woman you met in a retirement village parking lot while you were visiting your grandmother was hot?”
“Why do you ask like that?” Teddy looked up at Becket. “Beck, back me up here, man. Women who visit grandparents at nursing homescanbe hot, right?”
Becket stopped at the coffee machine. “I can confirm, women with grandmothers can be hot.”
But why the hell, when he thought of hot women, did Sky come to mind?
Because her curves had looked damn good in those tight jeans this morning? Because her ample chest had pushed against the thin material of her white shirt?
Fuck, he needed to get her out of his head.
“See.” Teddy shoved Moose in the shoulder.
“Shove me again, kid, and you’ll be going on that date with a limp.”
Becket smirked. The two of them fought a lot. But to be fair, Teddy could be a cocky ass. He’d only joined their station a couple months ago, and yeah, he was good, but he also knew it.
Teddy scoffed before looking at Becket. “Hey, did you replace Mac?”
“Yeah, Irene’s here.” Irene was another older firefighter at the station, and his second in charge.
Moose shook his head. “Too many kids calling in sick. Back when I started, we’d pull double shifts and still get on with our business.”
“Not sure that’s good either,” Teddy said, lifting his coffee. “You need sleep in this line of work.”
Moose straightened. “Hey, when I was young, I didn’t need much sleep to survive.”
