Page 7 of Love in the Time of Wildfires

“Squirrel.”

“What?”

“Because of the stripes of dark fur running down its body, many people think they’re chipmunks, but it’s actually a golden-mantled ground squirrel. They’re probably the friendliest animals that can be found in the area.” They were definitely friendlier than him, but the same could be said about a honey badger.

His expression softened the smallest amount, as though some sliver of humanity slipped past the edge of his shell.

River was even more surprised when he approached. “Fine. Were you talking to a golden-mantled ground squirrel?”

“No.” There wasn’t any use in denying it, but she couldn’t help doing so anyway, as if this would save her reputation from being that of a silly dingbat.

“Were you feeding that golden-mantled ground squirrel?”

Again, her instinct was to deny everything as she put the food directly in her mouth, talking around the pita chip. “No, of course not. I know better than to feed wild animals.” If he mentioned this to any of her coworkers, could she get fired? River was technically on probation and didn’t want to lose her job over feeding a rodent. Nothing would be more humiliating than having to slink back to Southern California over some shared pita chips.

Logan clicked his tongue, shaking his head as if thoroughly disappointed. “You’re at least not giving them any of your cookies, are you?”

Was the man of steel making a joke? What was happening here? River pushed out an amused huff. “I would never do that. Life is hard enough for them these days.”

“Ah-ha! I knew you did it on purpose.”

As embarrassing as those cookies were, mentioning them seemed to lighten the mood. Either way, she should apologize. “I swear to god on my future grave, I had no idea those cookies were so salty.”

He released a grumpy hmph, but his eyes appeared lighter. “Uh-huh. I’m supposed to believe that when you’ve done nothing but lie to me today.”

“Okay, I might have been talking to a squirrel and was thinking about giving her a chip, even though I know better and would never—but I really didn’t mean to give you terrible cookies, and I’m sorry. Is that what this is? You’re tracking me down at work to shame me or something?” Whatever her cookie sins were, it didn’t seem very nice, especially on her birthday.

His previous confidence melted away as his stance shifted uncomfortably and he rubbed a hand across his neck. “No, I . . . I’m here for work.”

“Work? I thought you were a firefighter. Now who’s the liar?”

It was his turn to act defensive. “I didn’t lie.”

“Uh-huh, sure,” she replied with the same level of skepticism as him. While their conversation wasn’t entirely friendly, she found it funny nonetheless.

At first appearing reluctant to tell her anything, Logan finally said, “I’m here on a side job. We’re inspecting the grounds regarding fire prevention. We didn’t have a very wet season, and we’re looking to see if there will be a recommended brush cutback before things get too dry this summer.”

“Oh,” she replied, her cheeks heating when her mind went to a dirty place during his discussion about work. Was it obvious to him that her brain went there at the mention of “wet season”?

Oh, for goodness’ sake. River needed to get a grip. He wasn’t trying to make his job sound sexy. He was just talking. Also, it made sense, since the museum was surrounded by forest, that they’d want this service to protect the building from potential wildfire damage.

He opened his mouth as if to say something else, but someone called out for “Sunny.” She doubted this was in reference to him since he was the least sunny person she’d ever known.

From beyond a patch of trees came a younger white man wearing black work pants and a basic T-shirt, walking straight for Logan. “Hey, Sonny, I got them to sign off on that paperwork. Was there something else you wanted to add, or are we done here?”

Maybe the nickname was ironic.

The other man stopped when he noticed River on the bench, who was currently stuffing her mouth with baby carrots because she didn’t know what else to do. “Hey. How are you? I didn’t realize I was interrupting something.” He flashed her a thousand-watt smile. This man fit exactly what River imagined a firefighter should look like. He had brown hair with a reddish tint, sharp cheekbones and jawline, and a mischievous glint in his warm honey-brown eyes that had to attract everyone.

It wasn’t that Logan wasn’t handsome—he probably would be if he didn’t look like he was mad at the whole world. It was only that Logan seemed hard and brittle like broken glass, and this other guy looked like he had fun making fire his plaything. They were as opposite as one could get. Even so, as handsome as the other guy was, his appearance did nothing for her. Not that it mattered, since she wasn’t about to date either of them.

“You’re not interrupting anything important,” Logan replied in a bored tone, brushing his hands across his pants. It was difficult to tell if he was annoyed at the interruption or annoyed with her. Either way, rude. And right in front of her birthday pita chips too.

She swallowed her annoyance, flashing the new man a bright smile. “Hi, I’m River. Logan’s new neighbor.”

“Neighbor?” the man asked, raising a single eyebrow.

“Yeah, we live next door to each other in the same apartment building.” She powered up her own sunniness as she smiled at them. “I couldn’t believe my good luck in moving so close to an obviously capable firefighter. He’s been a huge help and so welcoming too.”