Fighting the Flames
Author: Em Petrova
Chapter One
"Thanks again for meeting me. There's no point in both of us driving up to the cabin." Sydney slid into the sedan and smiled at her realtor. The stodgy forty-something guy gave her a nod and smile. The man was doing her a real favor because going to the cabin alone left her hands icy and a sweat on her brow.
"Sure thing. Your property is in a prime location. Lots of hipsters moving into this area. They eat up these remote properties."
Sydney relaxed against the leather seat and glanced in the side mirror at her own car parked at the rest stop. So many memories about to be resurrected-Rob had purchased this cabin as a surprise for her. The first time she'd seen it, the interior had been dotted with candles and a Valentine's Day dinner set out on the table. She could almost smell the spices and taste the shrimp he'd prepared.
Her late husband had been a hopeless romantic, but she'd teased him about a firefighter-an elite smokejumper-setting all those fire hazards around the cabin.
Sydney folded her hands in her lap and drew a deep breath. Yes, overwhelming memories. Time to face them-and let them go.
After three years of grieving, she was ready to move on. Her life had been consumed by Rob's death. She'd even quit her own job fighting fires in a small California town, unable to think of the man she loved succumbing to the flames. She hated her recent position at a company selling water filtration systems, but nothing was ever going to feel as right to her as fighting fires.
"Ms. Carter?" The realtor's use of her name brought her from her thoughts, and she crash-landed in the car next to the stuffy little man once again.
"I'm sorry, what was that?"
"Sheldon Real Estate feels strongly about connecting the buyer with the seller. We believe people aren't only buying the bricks and mortar-or in this case the logs and stone-but the feel of the people who lived there before them."
She sank her teeth into her lower lip. Just what she needed. Was she supposed to tell him how she and Rob had made love all over the cabin, hoping to start a family that never got started?
"Well I didn't exactly live here. I lived in the city, and Rob lived with me when he wasn't on base. This was a sort of vacation home." Many months of the year the California Smokejumpers were mandated to remain on a base, prepared to fly at the first alarm of a wildfire. When she would get time off work, they'd meet at the cabin. It was their love nest.
"I see," Sheldon said, his tone revealing he really didn't see at all. "But what I'm asking is a little history of the cabin and your lives together here."
How the hell had she landed in this predicament? When she'd contracted Sheldon Real Estate to represent her home, she hadn't realized he'd be digging up her memories with a fucking pick.
She glanced in the mirror again, but her car was long gone. There was nothing to do but stick this out and let him visit and photograph the cabin. She'd just keep her lips buttoned up on all things personal and try to keep her emotions locked up.
The man talked, and she looked at the familiar landscape. By the time they rounded Jake's Bend and the rocks she and Rob had climbed so often came into sight, she was ready to forget the whole idea and turn around.
"What's that?" Sheldon asked as they came out of another turn on the winding road.
Wafts of smoke blew on the breeze across the road. She sat forward and looked all around but couldn't see a source. "I'm not sure. But the cabin's just a mile ahead. I haven't gotten any alerts on my phone about a fire in the vicinity, so we're okay."
No matter how much she tried, she couldn't bring herself to stop listening to the US Forest Service alerts. Whenever she heard those tones, she said a silent prayer for Rob's friends who were scrambling to get into their jump gear.
And for them to return home to their wives and families.
She dragged in a deep breath and caught the scent of burned wood coming through the car vents. She looked around again but couldn't see anything. "Just up here. Make a right."
Sheldon did, the car bumping down the long lane. When the trees cleared and Sydney set eyes on the four sturdy log walls of their quaint cabin, her throat closed off. She forced the tears stinging her eyes to recede as Sheldon parked the car. Then she sat for a long minute staring at the cabin.
She could nearly see Rob coming around the corner, long arms swinging, his big, hard body hot as hell in low-slung jeans and the soft plaid shirt he favored. The one with the elbow he'd patched himself.