“You ready to get out of here?” Trask prodded her gruffly, once she turned her fluttering lashes away from the cop and back toward him.
Did she do that shit on purpose to drive men crazy?
“Sure. I’m ready.”
She yawned so widely he could almost see her tonsils, and didn’t look like she regretted the spontaneous action. Trask actually liked that she was so comfortable in her own skin that she didn’t care how she acted. And…
Okay. She’d just given him his opening to say that she shouldn’t fly home until she was “rested up”.
He opened his mouth to pose his suggestion when Officer Daniella appeared out of nowhere and insinuated her body between him and Jett, placing her hand on his arm.
“Listen. I just want to thank you both so much for what you’ve done here.”
Trask wanted to snort. If she was thankingthem,why were her eyes all onhim.
He hadn’t really taken the sergeant’s measure before; too intent on Jett and the task at hand, but now that he really looked at the woman, he could see that she was quite attractive.
And she was just his type.
Neat. Business-like. Orderly. Which should have had him sitting up and taking notice.
So why wasn’t he?
It wasOfficer Daniellahe should be thinking of inviting to a local motel, not the annoying thorn-in-his-side, Jett.
He sighed, already knowing how he was going to play this one.
“Mypartnerand I are just happy to have been in the right place at the right time,” Trask told her, making sure his voice held noextrawarmth.
Being a smart woman, she got the picture immediately, and backed off, changing the subject.
“Our large friend over there got lucky,” she followed through by bringing the conversation back to the moose who had struggled groggily to his feet.
“He sure did.”
Dammit all. Why couldn’t Trask have found the well-put-together woman more enticing? It certainly would have been an easier route to take than the one he was contemplating.
They all stood companionably for a few minutes, watching the moose from a distance, and Trask tried to shed his trepidation as easily as the bull was shaking off the effects of the sedative.
When the beast finally turned a baleful eye toward them and lumbered off, the crews on site all cheered.
Yup.Despite Trask’s inner turmoil, it had been a good save.
“Have your office send a bill to our town clerk,” Officer Daniella said, reverting easily back to professionalism. “I’ll approve payment.”
Her easy capitulation was predictable.
And maybe that was what was sticking in Trask’s craw. He’d always gone for women like the sergeant; someone who could read the room. A woman whose mind set and agenda matched his, and who, after a night or two of fun, would go back to business and not balk at saying goodbye.
The antitheses of Jett.
His molars actually ached as he clenched his jaw just looking at the frustrating woman. She was so…uninhibitedly sweet, yet naïve in a worldly kind of way, and he had no idea how she’d feel if he proposed a one-and-done with him.
Perhaps he needed that challenge?
If she gave him the opportunity, he’d make it damned good for her if she agreed to his terms. But first he needed to conclude business, here.
“That’s great,” Trask finally answered the sergeant. “I’ll get our office manager on it as soon as we get back.” He then turned back to the firefighter who’d procured his borrowed finery. “I’ll make sure you get all your gear back within a few days. Thanks again for the loan.”
