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

Chapter 3

3

BIANCA

M y dad was in the hospital.

I should be in a sheer panic right now, but instead, I felt oddly calm. And I had a feeling the guy in the driver’s seat next to me had everything to do with that.

“My dad’s stubborn,” I said. “Has been all his life.”

Tyler chuckled. “Yeah, he’s the hardest worker on my crew. Couldn’t do it without him. He doesn’t let up, though, especially when it comes to helping others.”

“All his life.” I smiled, shaking my head. “Mom lost her job one year right before Christmas, and he worked a second job just to make sure my sister and I had Christmas presents.”

Tears welled in my eyes at the memory of my dad, exhausted, watching us open our gifts. In his eyes, it had been well worth it, but I still felt guilty that he put himself through all that.

“It’s going to be okay,” Tyler said.

He glanced over at me, and the warmth in his expression brought more tears. My initial impression of this guy had been a super-hot but very reserved professional. Almost cold. But now I saw that beneath that gruff exterior lay a heart of gold, and it only made me want to get to know him more.

“I know,” I said, swiping at the tear that fell over my right cheek. “It’s just been exhausting. And I feel bad saying that because you and the other firefighters have worked your asses off all night. I paced and peeked out the window for hours and finally just fell asleep from sheer exhaustion.”

“Emotional exhaustion is just as tough as physical,” he said. “Maybe even more. I’ll tell you, I’ve been fire chief in this town for almost five years and we’ve never had a fire. Not one.”

I looked over at him. “Not one?” That was something my father hadn’t mentioned. “You did have that tornado.”

“Yes, that was rough. We shifted our resources to help with that as much as we could. Most of our calls are paramedic related.”

“Yeah, that’s what Dad said. I guess your equipment can get kind of rusty, though.”

Wait, did that sound sexual? My college friends would have laughed at me for it. Little innocent Bianca made a sexy joke.

But I wasn’t little innocent Bianca. I might’ve never gone all the way with a guy, but that didn’t mean I was some sort of prude. I couldn’t wait to have sex, but he had to be the right guy. Someone like this man seated next to me. Someone who made me weak in the knees when I looked at him.

“That’s a lot of our work,” he said. “Maintaining the truck, keeping our skills active so that when something like this happens, we’re old pros at it. But your dad is a big help. His years of experience as a professional firefighter are invaluable to the company.”

The company. That was a word I’d heard Dad use to refer to all the people he worked with. It always threw me off, but hearing this guy use it made me smile. It also reminded me where we were going.

“I should try to call my dad again,” I said.

I pulled my phone out of my purse and tapped on the screen, pulling up my last call. But once again, the phone rang four times, then went to voicemail.

“He’ll be okay,” Tyler said.

Those words were said at the same time he pressed a little harder on the gas pedal. He was speeding toward my father, and something about it calmed me. It was going to be okay. As long as I had this guy next to me, everything would be fine.