Page 151 of My Favorite Hero

I shook my head. “Bad idea,” I muttered.

I needed to go inside, have another cup of coffee to warm up, and leave it until tomorrow.

Even as I thought that, my feet took me to the garage and the ladder. Jesse had bought another one, not as heavy and cumbersome, and it was all I needed to get to the gable. I could do most of it from the ladder, in fact. I’d only have to scramble up the porch roof to do the peak.

I was doing it.

I got everything I needed and climbed the ladder, grateful the sun had been out all day. The trim was dry, and as I hoped, the straight part went quickly. I had to go up and down the ladder several times, but I did so carefully, only cursing on occasion. I moved it one last time, looking up to the gable. It looked higher than I remembered, and I wondered if I should wait.

Jesse would tell me I should wait. In fact, he would insist on it.

So, I climbed back up and started edging to the gable, taking deep breaths and trying not to look down. But I did, and I froze, then lowered my head, staring at the shingles. With a sigh, I realized that I couldn’t do this and I needed to climb down. I shut my eyes and willed my body to unlock. All I had to do was climb down the ladder.

Once I got there.

I heard someone walking by, but I didn’t look down again. I didn’t dare. I was deeply regretting my decision and wondering why I never listened to the voice in my head that sounded like Jesse. It was usually right. Then behind me, I felt the ladder shift, and I lifted my head, my eyes growing wider as a sandy-brown head of hair appeared, followed by Jesse’s scowling face.

I stared at him, lights in my hand, partially frozen from fear and not denying the rush of relief at seeing him.

Then he spoke.

“What. Are. You. Doing?” he growled.

Shit. It wasn’t Jesse. Thorne was here—and he was pissed.

JESSE

I was headed to the break room, desperate for a cup of coffee. We had been out on a call, and when we got back to the fire station, I’d cleaned my gear and showered. We’d missed lunch, so I was hoping there would be some sandwiches waiting.

Martha waved me over, and I walked closer.

“Just a sec,” she said into the phone and handed it to me. “I think this is yours.”

Confused, I took it. “Hello.”

“Officer Thorne, it’s Lila.”

“It’s not officer,” I corrected her for the hundredth time. “Just Jesse is fine, Lila.”

“You have a burglar.”

“What?”

“Someone is trying to get into your house.”

“Are you sure it’s not my wife?” I asked her. Lila got confused sometimes, even though she knew Casey, who often brought her soup and baked goods.

“I don’t think your wife needs a ladder to get into the house.”

“A ladder?”

“Yeah. Someone’s been up and down the ladder for hours, pulling rope with them.”

“Pulling rope,” I repeated slowly.

What the hell?

“It lights up,” she said.