Page 14 of Love in the Time of Wildfires

An eyebrow lifted in surprise. “You don’t have to do all that. I’m fine just going out there on my—”

“I’ll take you.” There was no way he was going to let her wander through the woods on her own. He was familiar with the area, and it made sense. “If you can go in the next few days, that should be fine. We’re keeping eyes on the Fawn Fire near Redding, and I don’t know how long I’m going to be gone when we get called up for that.”

“Is it getting bad?”

“Looks like it.” It wasn’t a good fire yet, but the weather experts were predicting strong winds in the vicinity, which could turn it into one of the big ones any day. It was what they were all hoping for.

“Do I need to worry about you guys?”

It was his turn to soften. He got that she was referring to his whole team and not him specifically but, besides his mom, it had been a long time since anyone had worried about him fighting fires.

Logan wasn’t sure how to respond. Their work was dangerous, long, and hard. It wasn’t unusual for them to lose a few people each season due to injuries and plain exhaustion. He’d been lucky that it hadn’t been any worse than that because it wasn’t unheard of for a member of the squad to find themselves trapped, becoming a victim of the beast instead. He couldn’t pretend otherwise. It wasn’t in his nature. “I have a good team. We try our best to stay safe.”

She studied him before saying, “You know my whole fox thing can wait—”

“I heard the song. It didn’t sound like you could.”

River laughed lightly. “I was just playing. I knew it would get under your skin.”

“Is that what you want? To get under my skin?”

She looked away, cheeks blushing under the moonlight. “Only for as long as it’s fun. Can I call you Sonny?”

“No.”

Her expression dropped. “Is that because only your friends are allowed to call you that?”

He leaned closer, encroaching into her space. “I just like it when you call me Logan,” he said in a low voice. She wasn’t part of his crew. River was something else entirely. Logan wanted to keep the distinction. He also liked when she called him her osito, but he wasn’t about to tell her this.

“Oh?” She continued staring at him with those big dark eyes, studying him intently. He let her, not moving away. He became fascinated with the shiny lip gloss she wore again. Was it the reason for the sweet apple smell, or was that her lotion or a hair product? He could almost feel himself becoming obsessed with it as much as she was with that damn fox of hers. The breaths between them slowed.

“Good night, Logan,” she said, breaking the spell.

“Night.” He shifted his gaze away, turning to the bar as soon as he saw her safely inside her vehicle.

All of this was nothing. None of their interaction had meant anything of significance. Yet, walking through the door of Lucky Duck, his heart felt lighter than it had when Logan had exited. It was strange. He didn’t know what to make of it. Retaking his seat at the table, a smile felt in danger of sneaking its way out of him, which he covered by taking a drink of his beer. Only to realize the entire table was quiet as everyone watched him.

“What?” He resisted the urge to check if there was something stuck to his face.

Grace laughed, casually shrugging a single shoulder, but Damon asked, “Well?”

“Well, nothing,” Logan replied. “I’m going to help find her fox.”

“Huh,” Damon said, taking a swig of his drink. “Imagine that.”

“So, she finally was able to convince you?” Grace asked.

Logan gave her a flat look. “She didn’t convince me. I volunteered.”

“Oh, sure,” the female hotshot said while pumping her brow.

Whatever. Logan knew the truth, and he didn’t really care what any of the rest of the team thought. It may not be ideal, but he was in it now. He’d take River on hikes, as he agreed. Only—Was Grace onto something?

Now he wondered if maybe the wildlife behaviorist had manipulated him again.

Chapter Six

River settled down with a plate of snacks to spend a lazy day off watching movies and stuffing her face.