Page 11 of Love in the Time of Wildfires

“Didn’t you see a fox last year when we were doing that job in Desolation Wilderness, Sonny? Or was it a big squirrel?” Damon asked.

“Yeah, I do remember you mentioning something on the walkie. After you got done screaming,” Jake responded with a chuckle. “I think we all remember Big Logan’s Scary Encounter with Mini Sasquatch.”

All eyes turned in his direction, including hers. They were so dark and deep, like she was trying hard to read his inner thoughts.

“No. I don’t know. I didn’t get a good look.” Logan rubbed the side of his neck. He may have yelped, but it wasn’t as bad as everyone was making it out to be. They’d been going through the area, inspecting past damage, and he stepped on what he thought was a solid surface, only for an old burnt-out log to burst under his weight and a ball of fur to spring out before sprinting away. It had been a little embarrassing. Either way, River didn’t need to know about it.

“Oh. Well, Logan already said he wouldn’t help me.”

Yeah, because he didn’t want to get roped into anything. He had too much going on, and the job was taking over his life for the summer. The last thing he wanted to think about was where to find this damn fox just so the woman next to him could look at it. If anyone would understand, it would be his crew. But Grace gave him a weird look, and Damon reached behind River to smack the back of his head.

“Ow. What the fuck?” he said, and River appeared confused by his outburst.

Damon scratched his chin while peering toward the ceiling. “You know, I might know where this spot is. Yeah, I think I remember. This is a fox and not a tiger, right?”

“Yeah, Ford doesn’t do tigers,” Marcus replied, snickering. “That’s why we call him Tiger Man.”

Things were interrupted by Jane setting River’s drink a little too hard on the table, as she appeared to be staring at Damon with the intensity of a blaze for some reason.

River smiled and laughed lightly. “No tigers . . . or bears or lions. Just a regular tiny fox.”

“Great. I’d be happy to take you out some time and see if we can’t spot this furry little guy of yours.” Damon grinned knowingly in Logan’s direction.

Logan glared in response. If this was the alternative to him not going, he didn’t like it. In fact, it was a whole lot worse. And, yeah, Damon was probably the closest thing Logan had to a best friend, and the guy he could depend on to have his back when things got hairy during a fire but, unknown to River, Damon had come to the team after serving on a fire squad in the California penal system as part of his time served in prison. Sure, the guy only had a history of breaking and entering and attempted robbery, nothing dangerous, but he didn’t want River to find that out when she was alone with him in the middle of nowhere because his friend had a big mouth.

Also, the guy didn’t know the exact location and would probably have her wandering the woods just to be alone with her. “You don’t have time to go hiking, Ford.”

“Are you saying that as my boss or as something else?” Damon asked with a glint in his eye. The rest of the team appeared equally intrigued.

“I’m not saying it as anything,” he replied, tightening his hand around the bottle.

“I have a day off here and there. I’d be happy to go on a hike to help River.”

“Oh my gosh, thanks, Damon,” she said, flushing prettily. “I really appreci—”

“River, you’re up,” came a voice over the speaker and just in time. Logan had had enough of everything. He slid out of his seat to let River slip past, and she made her way to the small makeshift stage.

In her absence, he glared at his crew. “Jesus Christ. Will you guys knock it off?”

“What’s wrong with you?” Grace said in an accusatory tone.

“What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with him?” Logan jerked a thumb in Damon’s direction.

The latter man laid his arm across the back of the seat as though he hadn’t a care in the world. “At least I’m able to go out and do things and talk to people like a normal human being.”

“I’m normal. It’s the job that isn’t normal. I don’t want you hiking with her.”

“Oh, trust me, you made that perfectly clear. There was practically a storm blazing from your eyeballs over there. You know, you’re not exactly the most subtle guy, even if you think you are because you barely said two words. If you don’t want me to take her, then why don’t you take her? She clearly wants you to or she wouldn’t have asked in the first place.”

“She asked me for suggestions on where to go—not to take her hiking. And she only asked because I’m the first person she met. She’s probably asking everyone. Also, we haven’t exactly been on friendly terms.”

Marcus smirked. “Gee, wonder how that happened?”

He wasn’t about to tell them the whole origin story because he could see they’d be on her side, even if he did mention her disastrous cookies. Then again, they’d always treated him more like a bossy older brother than a supervisor. He shouldn’t have let that happen. This was clearly his fault for letting them get away with everything.

“She didn’t have to ask you at all. I think she was hoping to have a nice relationship with her neighbor, and you steamrolled over it like you always do because you jump to the worst possible conclusions.” Grace finished this by pointing a finger in his direction. “You have problems.”

“No, I don’t, at least not when it comes to . . .” He stopped because he didn’t have a ready answer. Grace kind of had him there, as he did have a problem with most things, but that was because the world was terrible. “Besides, you heard her. She just got out of a serious relationship and—”