Rescue Me(15)
She probably still had a dab of lavender paint on her chin. But when the team was called out, one didn’t have time to scrub the paint off one’s face. Jess had simply changed clothes and hightailed it over to the ranch, where Kacey Fairing was running her last flight check on the chopper.
Mauling. That was the briefing PEAK boss Chet gave them, along with the fact that their team—Pete, Gage, and Sam—were hunting for a lost kid.
Her heart had kicked into high gear when they’d closed in on their LZ and she’d heard Pete over the radio shouting for help. Ben and Ty nearly leaped from the chopper. Kacey, with the steely-edged nerves bred from her years flying rescue choppers in Afghanistan, lifted back into the air.
On her way to help, any way she could.
Jess’s breath stopped when the spotlights from the chopper caught the bear on hind legs about to tear into Sam.
For a moment there, it looked as if the grizzly might leave Sam in pieces.
And that would shatter Pete. She had fired the flare on pure reflex.
She put her hand on the nurses’ desk, blew out a breath. Yeah, she needed to go home.
Probably, she also needed a pizza.
“Hey, let’s get out of here.” Pete had stopped right in front of her, leaned down to meet her eyes. “Wanna get a pizza?”
What, did the man have the ability to climb inside her head and poke around? She hoped not, because then he’d see the way just his presence had all her synapses firing. Her heartbeat kicked up a notch, and her body hummed.
Oh, she was a magnet for men who would break her heart.
Still, she managed a smile, her years of society-page training saving her hide once again. “Really? I thought Tallie—”
“She’s not my type.”
Huh. She wanted to ask what his type was, but—
“Besides, we should probably finish that bathroom before the paint dries, right?”
Oh, she was in trouble when he talked like that. “It probably needs a second coat.”
“Then we’ll order an extra-large pizza.” He winked and turned to the group. “Hey, Sam, gimme your keys.”
Sam stood with Sierra, dressed in the unlikely Search-and-Rescue attire of dress pants, scuffed-up dress shoes, and a ripped shirt, over which he’d donned a dirty suit jacket.
He frowned at Pete.
“You’re riding with Sierra, right? I need to ditch, man.”
Sam’s mouth tightened, but he reached into his pocket and tossed Pete his keys. Pete caught them with one hand and headed out.
“Poor guy. He was out on a date with Sierra when the call came in.” Pete held the door open for Jess as they stepped out into the cool night air.
The stars were now fading as the night began to wane, the half-moon glimmering against the darkness, its glow puddling on the dark parking lot. A slight breeze carried the scent of pine and the hint of a wood fire in some hearth.
Pete tossed the keys in his hand.
“You okay?” she asked.
“I’m good.” He looked over at her, winked.
There it went again, the very forbidden thrill. Because they were teammates. Buddies.
Just a couple of guys, hanging out late. With pizza and lavender paint.
She got into Sam’s truck and unzipped her jumpsuit, pulling off the arms, rolling it down to her waist. She wore a blue PEAK T-shirt underneath.
Pete pulled out, and she took off her hat, tossed it on the dash, then tugged out the tie from her hair, running her fingers through the strands to work out the snarls.
Only then did she see Pete glancing at her, more than once.
“What?”
“Nothing, I’m just wondering what’s on your agenda. ’Cause we have work to do.”
She stared at him, and then he smiled. “I’m just kidding, Speedy. I wouldn’t think of hittin’ on you.”
She laughed too, because this was their game.
He flirted, she pushed him away, and round and round they went.
“I wouldn’t date you anyway, Pete Brooks.”
“Aw, c’mon. I’m fun.” He pulled into the Griz, an all-night convenience store.
“Believe me, I know. Word gets around. Pete Brooks, all fun, all the time.”
She got out of the truck and headed to the door.
He didn’t join her. He just sat looking at her, his smile gone.
“What?” She held up her hands. “I’m just kidding.”
A strange half smile curved up his face, and he got out.
He put his hand on the small of her back as he reached out to open the door.
Inside, he headed over to the prebaked pizzas, wrapped and under the heat lamps of the twenty-four-hour kitchenette.
“Pepperoni?”
“If that’s all they have.” She grabbed a couple Cokes from the cooler and they met at the checkout.