An Ember To Bear (Fire Bear Shifters 5) Read online

  “I’ll tell you one thing,” he said, as he lifted the lid of the pie box and cut himself a generous slice. “Pretty women like you are nothing but trouble. T-r-o-u-b-l-e.”

  Mindy raised an eyebrow at him and swallowed the French fry in her mouth. “Ah, I see. Girl broke your heart.”

  The man snorted. “Something like that. It’s not exactly what you think, though.”

  Mindy shrugged at his cryptic response, but didn’t take the bait. If she asked him what he meant, he would probably launch into a long tale about the girl who promised to love him forever and then ran off with his best friend or some shenanigans like that. She’d heard the same story a thousand times from her patients, in various forms. Everyone thought they had it worse than anyone else ever had. They all thought their heart had been broken in more pieces than any shattered heart before theirs. Mindy knew better, but she never said so. Pain was just the human condition. Whether the ache was physical or emotional, or both, everyone had their own unique form of sorrow to wrestle.

  The man closed the pie box, and Mindy saw a logo with the words “The Sweet Crust” embossed on the lid of the box.

  “Oh!” she said. “I love that place. Their pies are so good. I’m a nurse and I recently had a patient receive one of those pies as a gift. She shared a slice with me and I’ve been hooked on them ever since. Which is probably not so good for my waistline, but, oh well.”

  The man looked Mindy up and down. “You’re waistline looks pretty good to me,” he said, then shoved a forkful of pie in his mouth.

  Mindy blushed, and she heard Kyle at the other end of the bar, coughing to cover his laughter. He knew Mindy hated unsolicited male attention.

  Mindy raised her chin defiantly. “Well, in that case, I’ll take a big slice of that pie, please,” she said. She crossed her arms, daring the man to say no. He just laughed and slid the whole box toward her.

  “It’s all yours. Eat as much as you want. I got it for free from a friend, anyway.”

  Mindy’s defiance melted as the aroma of apple cinnamon hit her nose. “Mmm, it smells like heaven in a box.”

  The man chuckled. “I know. Probably because the gal that makes them has some sort of divine gift for pie-making. I’m Zach, by the way.”

  “I’m Mindy. Thanks for the pie, Zach.”

  “No problem. So, you’re a nurse, huh? Does that mean if I want to spend some time with you, I should break a bone or something and land myself in the hospital?”

  Mindy rolled her eyes. “How clever,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “I’ve never heard that one before.”

  Zach laughed, and signaled Kyle for another refill on his drink. Mindy saw Kyle glance doubtfully at Zach’s car keys, but he went to grab another double shot of whiskey, anyway.

  “What do you do for a living?” Mindy asked. “Is there a high risk of broken bones?”

  Zach laughed again. “You could say so. I’m a smokejumper.”

  Mindy’s eyes widened. “A smokejumper? Isn’t that where you jump out of planes into a forest fire?”

  “Well, we jump out of planes to fight forest fires. We generally try not to jump into the fire.”

  “Okay, well, you know what I mean. What’s that like?”

  “It’s a lot of boring, hard physical labor, interspersed with a few minutes of excitement when we jump out of the plane. But I get to do it with my good buddies, and I get to help save the beautiful forests around here. So, I can’t complain too much.”

  The angry look in Zach’s eyes had softened somewhat as he started talking about his job. Whatever girl trouble had been bothering him seemed to fade away as he thought about the work that he felt so passionate about. Despite her resolve not to get involved in trying to make this guy feel better, Mindy couldn’t stop herself from responding to the spark of happiness she saw in his eyes. She pushed him to keep talking about things that made him happy.

  “Was it hard to learn to jump out of a plane?” she asked, hoping that would keep him talking.

  And it did. For the next hour, over several more shots and another huge slice of pie, Zach told Mindy all about the vigorous smokejumper training he had endured. He told her about some of the fires they had gone to fight, and even about one time that they had to be rescued by a helicopter when a fire burned out of control. By the time the clock hit nine-thirty, Zach’s mood had lifted considerably, but he had downed far too many whiskeys to be safe to drive. When he stood up and announced that he should get going, Mindy jumped up and grabbed his keys off the bar top before he could.

  “Uh-uh. No way are you getting in a vehicle right now, Mister. I’ll drive you home and you can come pick up your car tomorrow.”

  “I’m toshally okee,” Zach slurred out, making a very uncoordinated effort to snatch his keys out of Mindy’s hands. She pulled them further out of his reach.

  “You are not okay,” Mindy said. “I’m driving you home.”

  She took the last swig out of her beer glass and then hopped off the barstool, giving Zach a little push in the direction of the door. She almost gasped at the feel of his back muscles. The man was built like a solid rock. He hadn’t been kidding when he said he had to be in good physical shape for his job.

  “Are you sure you’re okay taking him?” Kyle asked, concern lacing his voice. “I can call him a cab.”

  “I’m fine,” Mindy called over her shoulder, still pushing Zach toward the door. “You know cabs around here take forever to show up. Besides, he’s harmless. He’s basically like a big, drunk teddy bear.”

  Kyle didn’t protest further, and Mindy continued to lead Zach out to her old, red Toyota Camry. She slid him into the passenger seat, and fastened the buckle around him, holding her breath against the stench of the whiskey on his breath. He looked up at the sky and laughed.

  “The moon is so bright,” he said, his eyes widening.

  Mindy glanced up at the dull sliver of the moon that was mostly hidden behind some rapidly gathering clouds, and shook her head.

  “Uh-huh,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I’ve never seen it so bright. Where do you live, Zach?”

  “By the airplanes,” he said, and laughed again.

  Mindy sighed and walked around to the driver’s seat. “Okay. You live by the airplanes? Can you tell me where the airplanes are?”

  “By the runway,” Zach said, and then started laughing again. “The moon is so bright. Bright, bright, bright.”

  Mindy glanced up at the sky, where the moon was now hidden completely by what appeared to be storm clouds. Maybe she should have just let Kyle call this guy a cab. Damn her stupid need to always help everyone out. Suddenly, she had an idea.

  “Zach, can I see your driver’s license?” she asked.

  “Sure,” he said, then started laughing again. “It’s on the moon.”

  Mindy heaved another sigh, and then slid her hand between the seat and Zach’s ass, trying to reach into the back pocket of his jeans and find his wallet.

  “Mmm, that feels good,” he said as Mindy’s hand felt around for his pocket.

  “Yeah, well, don’t get used to it,” she said, although she had to admit that his ass felt pretty good, too. Like his back, it seemed to consist of pure muscle. Mindy found the wallet and pulled it out quickly, then started flipping through the disorganized mess of cards inside. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that Zach had an erection pushing up against the fabric of his jeans. And, from the looks of it, he was huge. She did a double take as she stared at the outline of his dick pushing insistently against his pants. For a moment, she let herself imagine actually spending the night with him. It had been so long since she’d paid attention to a guy, and she felt a familiar warm craving stirring in her stomach.

  In the next instant, she shook her head, and opened her car door. That was it. She had to get a grip, here. What was she thinking? She couldn’t take home a strange guy who had just gotten an erection from her feeling around for his wallet. She would go back
inside and let Kyle call the guy a cab.

  But as she started to step out of the car, she heard the loud snorting of a snore. He had fallen asleep, and, if the sound of his snoring was any indication, he wouldn’t be waking up any time soon. Mindy shut her door again and continued flipping through Zach’s wallet. She found his driver’s license and put the address on it into her phone’s GPS. It looked like he lived somewhere about fifteen minutes outside of town.

  Mindy looked over at Zach, who was slumped against the door in what looked like a very uncomfortable manner. She sighed and fired up her engine. Hopefully the address on his driver’s license was current and correct. As she pulled out of the parking lot, the clouds in the sky continued to darken. Mindy cast a worried look at the sky. Hopefully, if it was going to storm, she would manage to make it home before the rain started.

  She followed the directions on her GPS to the outskirts of Red Valley, and then onto a country road that she’d never driven before. As far as she knew, this road only led out to a state forest with some hiking trails. She hadn’t thought anyone actually lived out this way. Mindy frowned as the dark forest whizzed by her windows. After about five minutes, the dark clouds finally turned from merely threatening to actually pouring down rain. Her visibility was reduced to nearly zero, and she slowed the car down as she strained to see the unlit road ahead of her. According to her GPS, she still had about ten minutes to go on this road. She glanced over at Zach’s slumped form, and swore under her breath.

  “This had better be where you live, mister,” she said. “Otherwise, I might just leave your drunk ass on the side of the road.”

  For a few more minutes, Mindy continued to creep along through the deluge. When she had about five minutes left until she reached the address on Zach’s driver’s license, she suddenly heard a loud pop and felt her car lurched sideways. She cursed under her breath as she pulled over to the side of the road and turned on her hazard lights. She glanced around the car in hopes that there might be a spare umbrella kicking around in her backseat, but all she found was an old flashlight. When she switched the flashlight on, it glowed brightly against the dark night.

  “Well, at least I’ll be able to see, even if I do end up looking like a drowned rat,” Mindy said aloud. Zach’s only response was a loud, snoring grunt. Mindy rolled her eyes heavenward, and then stepped out of her car into the torrential rain. It only took about three seconds for her to see the problem. Her rear driver’s side tire had blown out, leaving shreds of rubber scattered along the road behind her.

  “Great. Just great,” Mindy said. She leaned back into the car and glared at her passed-out passenger. “I don’t suppose you’d be interested in helping me change the tire?”

  Of course, Zach didn’t answer. Mindy turned her car off and applied the parking brake, then popped the trunk. Grumbling the whole time, she started the unpleasant process of removing her ruined tire in the middle of the dark rainstorm. It wasn’t the first time she’d changed a tire, but it was the first time she’d changed a tire with a strange, drunk man sitting in her front seat. The universe didn’t seem too interested in rewarding her for her kindness in giving Zach a ride home. Mindy had just started to put her spare tire on when she heard the passenger door of her car opening. She glanced up and saw Zach stumbling out, falling over as he tried to navigate the gravelly edge of the road. She had no idea how the hell he had managed to get his seatbelt off or open the door, but he had obviously figured it out somehow.

  “What are you doing, Zach? Get back in the car!” she yelled at him, unsure if he could even hear her through the loud rain. Apparently he did hear her, though, because he gave her a little smile and wave.

  “I have to pee. Why are you standing out here in the rain?” he asked. His speech had become a little less slurred than it had been at the bar, but he was far from sober.

  “I’m changing the tire, genius. We had a blowout, and you’re too schnockered to do anything but fall all over yourself.”

  “Schnockered is a funny word,” Zach said in response, and then stumbled over to the trees on the edge of the road. He started unzipping his jeans, and somehow managed to take a piss without falling over again. When he finished peeing, he started to take off his shoes and pants instead of getting dressed again. He left half his clothes on the side of the road, and then stumbled over to wear Mindy had almost finished replacing the tire.

  “You look hot in that outfit,” he said.

  Mindy rolled her eyes. “You are so freaking drunk,” she said. “I’m wearing nursing scrubs.”

  “I’se not drunk,” Zach said. “You’re hot.”

  Mindy looked up at him, and let out an exasperated sigh when she realized he was only wearing a sweatshirt and underwear. Although his erection was gone, his tight briefs didn’t leave much to the imagination about how well-endowed he was. With her flashlight trained on him for a moment, Mindy could see how massive his thigh muscles were as they glistened with rainwater. But Mindy wasn’t in the mood anymore to fantasize about sleeping with Zach. All she wanted to do was drop this bozo off and get home herself. She had a busy work day ahead of her tomorrow, and she should be getting ready for bed right now instead of changing a tire in the pouring rain.

  “Get back in car,” she said. To her surprise, Zach listened to her and climbed back into the front passenger seat. Mindy quickly finished up changing the tire, and put the jack and wrench she had been using back into the trunk. She found Zach’s soaking wet shoes and pants that he had abandoned next to the car, and threw them onto Zach’s lap as she got back into the driver’s seat.

  “You forgot these,” she said, and then fired up the car’s engine again.

  “Why did we stop?” Zach asked in response.

  Mindy rolled her eyes and didn’t even bother trying to explain things. She was pretty sure that Zach was blackout drunk right now. She drove the remaining distance as quickly as she dared in the dark, wet night. When she arrived at their destination, she was surprised to see that her GPS had led them to what appeared to be an airplane hangar. She pulled into the parking lot out front, where several other vehicles were parked in the dark.

  “You weren’t kidding,” she said. “You really do live by the airplanes. I guess it makes sense for someone who works as a smokejumper.”

  Zach sat up and peered out the window, looking surprised. “We’re home,” he said.

  “You’re home,” Mindy corrected. “And as soon as I get you out of my car and into that building, I’m going to head to my home and your drunk ass is going to be someone else’s problem.”

  Zach reached over and curled a soaking wet strand of Mindy’s hair around his finger. “How are you so beautiful?” he asked.

  Mindy ignored the little thrill that ran through her at hearing someone call her beautiful. As nice as it was to hear someone say that about her, she knew that Zach was only saying these things because he was drunk. She needed to get him out of her car and get out of here. With a sigh, she opened her door and stepped out into the rain again. She walked around to the passenger side of her car and opened Zach’s door.

  “Come on,” she said. “Can you walk?”

  In response, Zach stumbled out of the car. He made his way to a door on the front of the hangar, and jimmied the doorknob. When he discovered that the door was locked, he started kicking at it. Mindy started to tell him to hold on a second while she got his set of keys from her car. If Zach did live here, then one of those keys probably opened this door. But before she could say anything, he had completely kicked in the large door. Mindy stood with her mouth agape as Zach staggered into the hangar. Mindy peeked in just in time to see him stumble to the floor and start snoring again.

  “I think I’ve done enough for you,” she said to Zach’s passed out form. “I’ll leave your keys at the bar on my way to work tomorrow, so you can go get your truck whenever you’re sober enough to figure out how to get there.”

  Mindy stomped back out to her car, avoiding the sp
lintered door as she went. The rain continued to pour for the entirety of her drive home. When she finally pulled in to the driveway of her townhome, she was swearing to herself that she would never offer to drive another drunk stranger home again. Why was she always doing stupid stuff like this to try to be nice? All the good karma she put out into the world never seemed to come back to her, anyway. She should just let irresponsible assholes like Zach suffer the consequences of their own actions.

  Mindy looked at the outline of a water stain that had formed on the passenger seat where Zach had sat. She hoped that water stain would be the last she ever saw of him.

  Chapter Three

  *** Five Years Earlier ***

  Zach stared across the restaurant booth at his girlfriend, Traci, feeling like he’d been sucker punched in the stomach. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead, caused more by the intensity of the moment than by the heat and humidity of late August in Georgia. Surely, he had heard her incorrectly. Or maybe he just misunderstood what she meant.

  “What did you say?” he asked, hoping against hope that she wouldn’t repeat the awful phrase he’d just heard. Or that she would laugh and say this was all a joke, kicking him under the table in that annoying way she did when she wanted to make an especially emphatic statement about something.

  “I said, I don’t think we should see each other anymore,” Traci said. No laughter, no kick. Just a stone cold face with her lips set in a hard, serious line.

  Zach’s eyes widened and he tugged the scratchy fabric of his army fatigues. At Traci’s insistence, he had come straight from work to meet her at this tiny Mexican restaurant. They had spent dozens of afternoons here, enjoying cheap, happy hour margaritas and the best fajitas in a hundred mile radius. After a tour of Afghanistan, Zach and his clan had been stationed at an army base in Georgia for the last two years. Three months into his Georgia stint, he’d met Traci. He had one more year before his army contract ended, and he’d been planning to ask Traci to marry him when he got out. Things between them were so good—or so he’d thought. Zach had never felt more alive. When he had his arms around Traci, colors felt more vibrant and the sun seemed to shine brighter. He’d thought that she felt the same way, especially after the exciting, life-changing news she’d shared with him last night.