“No, Jer, it isn’t.” I slammed my fist against the couch, wincing as my knuckles hit the wooden frame instead. “Not every woman needs her Knight in Shining Armor to scare off the mean boys, okay?”
“You don’t know these people at all,” Jeremy said, his hands again in the air. “You havenoidea what they’re capable of.”
“And you do?” I straightened up, slapping the empty beer bottle on the coffee table. “Tell me, All-Knowing-Boyfriend-of-Mine, are all men monsters, or just these ones?”
Something flickered in Jeremy’s expression, something angry, venomous, but he shoved it down and looked away from me instead, at the wall.
“All I’m saying is they’re more motivated to get you out instead of welcoming you in. Don’t be surprised by the way they go about doing it. Maybe you’ll realize when it’s too late that yourboyfriendwas only trying to protect you.”
I straightened up, rubbing a hand over my face, fingers lingering around my neck. An ache was starting there, an annoying twinge that acted up under stress. The one person who should have been my biggest supporter was tearing me down before I could even ask for more support.
“Don’t be petty. It was a slip of the tongue,” I said with a sigh. “And you know what, Jer? Maybe you’re right. Maybe they’ll keep on hating me. Maybe they’ll play mean pranks, say rude things, and talk behind my back.” I took another tired breath. “But maybe, just maybe, they’ll learn to accept that I’m one of them. Maybe they’ll see me as a friend, a sister. Family.”
“You’re reaching too high.”
“At least I’m reaching.”
“Reach all you want.” Jeremy stood up from beside me and turned towards the bedroom, refusing to even turn to look at me. “Just don’t reach until you fall and can’t get back up.”
Chapter4
Hansen
I didn’t expect Paisley to show up for her first twenty-four-hour shift. I wasn’t an idiot. I knew the crew treated her like shit. I saw the looks she got, the nasty comments. I was their captain; I heard everything.
While it was hard sometimes to be a friend, a brother, and a leader all at the same time, I would set them straight. I would never allow an outsider to belittle my men, and Paisley was now one of my men. We protected each other because we had to. Paisley deserved that, and it was my damn job.
Sometimes, it was life and death.
I knew plenty of women paramedics and EMTs—hell, I was dating one of the best medics in the city—but the hard stuff like rescue missions and fire calls were left to the men as an unwritten rule. At least on this side of town. Our little district on the outskirts of Denver was run differently than there. Women firefighters served on the crews in the city, many of them even on the Special Operations teams, but no woman had stepped up here, and the reason had always been unknown. Maybe my men were too intimidating. Perhaps the women had heard rumors about things that probably weren’t true. Maybe it was simply that no intelligent, well-read young woman would want to stay in her home district and work a dirty, physically demanding job.
I didn’t know why. And for a while, I didn’t really care.
Until now.
Eagle River was a prestigious district to live in. The university here was well-sought out and private. Brilliant scholars roamed the hallways of ESU … world-class athletes. Many were handpicked for bigger and better things, skated the ice and threw the balls, stuck on the straight and narrow path to the pro leagues, the Olympics, the ever-reigning championships that kept ESU relevant. I wasn’t sure we’d have much of a town if it weren’t for the university.
But most students didn’t stick around. Not for a second. Some did, of course; I guess that was us … the firemen, the police officers, the hospital staff. Nobody wanted to stay except for us. And so, we did, and here we were.
Paisley had fought her way into this firehouse tooth and nail, and I didn’t doubt that she could run any of these calls just as well, if not better, than some of my men. I could only hope she hadn’t been scared away before she even proved herself as a firefighter.
It was fifteen minutes before the start of shift when Paisley Hill walked into the station dressed in herEagle River Fire & EMSt-shirt and khaki pants. A surge of pride expanded in my chest at the sight of her. I had to do a double-take because I couldn’t believe she’d come. All was not lost.
Yet,anyway. Can she handle it?
“Well, look at you,” I said, setting the morning paper aside. Most of my men were down in the makeshift gym in the basement, a frequent occurrence if things got slow or they needed a good physical or emotional push. I was glad they were down there at this moment because the bullshit would start soon enough.
You’re walking a thin line, Hansen. You don’t want them around because you want Paisley all to yourself, and you didn’t even think she’d come today. Don’t lie to yourself.
““You didn’t think I’d come this morning, did you?” Paisley asked, but a smile stretched across her pink, plump lips. When she smiled, the freckles around her nose were more prominent, standing bold against the hanging light above our heads. A small breath of air escaped my lungs, and I swallowed down the attraction for her that was stirring like smoldering wildfire in the pit of my groin.
The joke was on me.
“No,” I admitted and stood to greet her. “I didn’t. None of us did.”
““Well?” she prodded, and a dimple in her left cheek appeared when she smirked at me. She had her brown hair pulled up in a sloppy bun, a hairdo that looked exceptionally good on her, and she filled the work boots well. The pants were still too big for her curvy frame, but the belt held them up just fine. She looked good.Damn good, and when her fingers came out to touch mine in a handshake, my prick strained against the inseam of my slacks.
““Well.” I held out my hand for her to shake. Her skin was soft, touch burning warm against mine, but her grip was tough and bold. Even now, her determination didn’t waver as she met my eyes, and my fascination with Paisley Hill grew.
