“The Bronco Bully? A regular hero in this town. And he’s one hot papa.”
Why did I feel a twinge of jealousy?
“One hot papa who would rather walk a river of lava than help my father out. You know they hate each other.” Granted, she had a point. If I could get Axe on board, then I could drop his name when trying to get other stars to agree. At least my father had thought of the resort. While I hadn’t seen the spot except in a few photographs Wade had presented, the location appeared renovated and was already making some money with reservations.
The location could be used to house the athletes.
And what in the hell was I thinking? Helping my father? Was I completely out of my mind? I had to be. There was no way I could convince a bunch of people to come for an exposition event.
I took another sip, trying to relax. At least I had a decent change of clothes, a new wardrobe, and a new phone. Getting everything back to Axe would give me an excuse to see him. If he allowed it.
“I can’t believe you’re with that hot cowboy finally,” she said before tugging off another olive. Suddenly, she couldn’t look mein the eye. “I know how you felt about him before, but you just got out of a relationship. Right?”
“What? I’m not with anyone and David and I haven’t been close as a couple for a very long time. We were going through the motions. No reason to chastise me.” My mother’s words tickled my mind every few seconds.
“I didn’t say a word. Stephen is certainly a hot commodity just like before. A smokejumper. You know they’re legends around here.”
“I was born here, Char. You know, he’ll be quick to correct you about using Stephen. His name is Axe.” Axe, the magnificent. I’d yet to be able to get him completely out of my mind. My dreams had been filled with visions of him, including of him saving my life. “Trust me. We’re not together. We still can’t stand each other. You remember what he did to me.”
“Girl. You were eighteen and love-struck. He kissed you. He had a girlfriend. One of six or seven. He did you a favor by backing away. That man would have broken your heart at that point in your life.”
“Maybe and you sound like my mother. But I could have been the right one.” As soon as I spit out the words, Char rolled her eyes.
As the heat began to rise across my jaw, I was thankful we were in a dimly lit establishment.
“Axe. The name suits him, bestie,” Char said with a slight shrug. “Once a bad boy, always a bad boy. But sexy as hell. And the risk he took rescuing you? Amazing. You should say he redeemed himself from his former bad behavior.”
A smile crossed my face. “I know. He was very sweet, which was totally unlike him. Well, at least he was after we had an argument and he made it clear he didn’t want me in his house.”
“Sounds like true love.”
“Ha ha. Not with that man. He’s angry and very much a loner. Living all by himself in that cabin.”
“Well, his brother died. He has every reason to be angry. Even if Will hadn’t been his brother, smokejumpers are all very close. They’re more than just brothers. There’s a bond unlike any I’ve ever seen. Take this bar for example. Ziggy’s was named for a young man who died as a young smokejumper. His sister, Shannon, selected every piece of smokejumper art adorning the walls herself.”
“Amazing.”
“And get this,” she continued. “Shannon fell in love and married a smokejumper. Landen Weaver was with the New York Fire Department as a rookie on the day the towers fell.”
“Oh, my God.”
“He needed a change. He came here, joined the Zullies, and became a hero. Now he’s with the Forestry Service and I think offers continued education for smokejumpers. Every smokejumper on the hotshot team continues to reel from William’s death.”
“I just wish I could take the pain away. Axe is broken inside, wallowing in guilt and rage.”
“He shared that with you?”
“He didn’t have to. I could read him like a book.” Why had my pulse increased just thinking about him?
“You know what they say; only time can heal his wounds. That and raucous rounds of sex. From the sound of it, you’ve already given him plenty of ammunition to fight the blues.”
“You are terrible!” I swatted her. “Don’t go spreading that around. Wade already tossed accusations in my direction.”
She swiveled in her seat. “You do know the reason for the bad blood. Right?”
“Between Wade and Axe? I assume my father had something to do with it.”
“Maybe, but that’s not the only reason,” she chuckled and I could tell by her expression the gossip was juicy. “When was the last time you spoke to Mandy?”
