Flirting with the Mountain Man (Rosewood Ridge Fire #6)

Chapter 1

1

BIANCA

S omething was on fire.

I bolted upright in bed, shaking off a deep sleep. My dad had been a firefighter all his life, first in a paid position in Knoxville and now as a volunteer firefighter. He’d retired to the tiny mountain town of Rosewood Ridge around the time I graduated high school, and I’d moved into the spare bedroom of his small cabin while I worked and saved up to get my own place.

Good Lord. The smoky smell was getting stronger. Was the place burning down? I tossed aside the covers and climbed out of bed, stopping briefly to look for my house shoes, then giving myself a mental slap in the face. If the cabin was burning down, who the hell cared if I had shoes on?

But it was getting cold outside and I didn’t want to wander the yard in my bare feet, so I snatched up the shoes, as well as my robe, and rushed toward the door to my bedroom. That was when I stopped.

Dad’s training was deeply ingrained in me. Touch the door. If it feels hot, go out the window. Maybe I should go out the window anyway, but I’d feel silly if nothing was on fire. What if I’d dreamed it and the smell was just lingering in my brain?

After checking the door, the knob, and the cracks around it, I slowly opened it. No smoke. Not even the hint of a fire. But the smell was stronger out here.

“Dad?” I called out, my gaze immediately shooting to his bedroom door.

It was wide open. If the fire was in there, the smoke would be pouring out, wouldn’t it? I tiptoed in that direction, but the smell was getting weaker.

Midway toward the bedroom, I stopped and turned. That was when I saw the glow coming in through the windows.

Holy hell. Something was on fire outside. Dad’s cabin was located on a pond on a street that branched off from the main road that led through Rosewood Ridge and up into the mountains. He only had a few neighbors, including a hot, but reclusive guy who Dad said was somehow related to the people who owned the Christmas tree farm in town.

I tossed my robe over my shoulder, rushed to the window, and peered out, scared to open the door until I knew what was going on outside. Flames shot up from the hot guy’s cabin, and in front of it was a group of four figures, one of which I recognized as my dad.

I threw the shoes to the ground and slipped into them while I shoved my arms into the robe. I was still tying it tight when I got to my dad’s front door. I was just seconds from opening that door when it burst open, nearly knocking me over.

“Oh,” I said.

Any further words froze behind my lips as I took in what was standing across the threshold from me. It was a guy in full firefighter gear, including the oversized jacket and helmet. He wore a face shield, but it was pulled up. Thank God. It would be a shame for anything to block those gorgeous brown eyes.

“Hi,” I said.

A fire raged outside, and I was greeting the guy like he was here to sell me something. It was a little ridiculous, but I wasn’t exactly thinking straight right now.

“Bianca Sullivan?” he asked.

I nodded. He was all seriousness. Meanwhile, I was still trying to process the fact that this man was standing in front of me. The guy looked like he was straight out of a pin-up calendar.

I pulled the lapels of my robe closer together. I wore a T-shirt and panties beneath it, but nothing else.

“We’re evacuating these houses,” he said. “It’s unlikely the flames will spread, but it’s not safe. Do you have somewhere else you can go?”

That was all it took to snap me out of my near-drooling state. “No. This is my dad’s place. He’s right there.”

I gestured toward the figures I’d seen out the window. Two of them had hoses spraying thick liquid toward the fire while the other two were moving around behind them. My dad was one of the guys holding a hose.

“Is the guy who lives there okay?” I asked.

The man looked confused for a second, then shook his head. “The house is empty. Right now, your safety is the most important thing, ma’am. If you take that road, you can get away from here. I’m sure the Rosewood Ridge Retreat Center will take you in as long as they have a room. If not, head downtown. Tell them Tyler sent you.”

My mouth fell open. This was Tyler? The fire chief? Dad had said great things about him, but I’d expected a middle-aged average-looking dude, not this thirty-something-year-old hunk.

I should go talk to my dad. Ask him what to do. He’d probably go along with what his chief said. He definitely respected the guy, so he’d trust him to look out for his daughter.

But I was a grown-ass woman now. I didn’t need my dad—or any man—to give me the courage to make a decision.

“Can I get dressed?” I asked.

His gaze lowered briefly to my body, then back to my face. “Yes but hurry it up. There will be no casualties on my watch.”

I should have kicked it into high gear at those words, but instead I stood staring at him. Casualties? I could die here?

I nodded. “Fine. I’ll be out of your way in just a few minutes.”

But even as I said the words, I knew I wasn’t going anywhere until I was sure my dad was safe. This guy didn’t have to know that, though.

Tyler narrowed his eyes at me briefly and opened his mouth to speak, but one of the firefighters behind him yelled out for him. After a lingering glance at me, he stepped back and gave a nod.

“Thanks for your cooperation, ma’am.”

As he walked away, I shut the door and headed to my bedroom, resisting the urge to sneak by the window and take one more look at him. There’d be plenty of time for that. Right now, I had to change.