Jackson (Wild Tinder Series Book 2) Read online

  Jackson

  A

  Wild Tinder Novel

  By: Marie Fraser

  Jackson

  This publication is part of a series of products and publications. For more information, please visit: http://www.Operation40k.com/.

  To get more information on Operation $40K, please visit: http://www.Operation40k.com/.

  Copyright 2018 Marie Fraser

  A

  ll RIGHTS RESERVED. One or more global copyright treaties protect the information in this document. This Special Report is not intended to provide exact details or advice. This report is for informational purposes only. Author reserves the right to make any changes necessary to maintain the integrity of the information held within. This Special Report is not presented as legal or accounting advice. All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. No parts of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the copyright owner.

  NOTICE OF LIABILITY

  In no event, shall the author or the publisher be responsible or liable for any loss of profits or other commercial or personal damages, including but not limited to special incidental, consequential, or any other damages, in connection with or arising out of furnishing, performance or use of this book.

  All Characters, events and locations in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, dead or living, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Cover art: Sabrina Ihadadene

  Jackson Pike is a fourth generation hotshot.

  (With Jet black hair, green eyes, smattering of freckles, tight ass, muscles in all the right damn places.) He was hauling hoses when most boys were mowing lawns and his ego is big enough to prove it. He’s the crew leader and he doesn’t miss a moment to let someone, namely rookies, know it.

  Sarah Peterson *Strawberry blonde, blue eyes, freckles, damn close to a Barbie’s figure. Wicked smart, but cool as a cucumber) is a third generation journalist, following in the footsteps of her mother and grandfather. She doesn’t shy away from tough questions and when it comes to a story that interests her, she digs in with everything she’s got.

  When a wildfire flares up and threatens homes in the Crescent Valley, Sarah finds herself trapped by the fire and up against the hard wall of egocentric Jackson Pike. Can Sarah show Jackson that he doesn’t have to strut his stuff constantly? Can Jackson learn to let his guard down without feeling as if he’s losing a vital part of himself?

  Chapter One: Investigation Discovery

  Sarah Peterson changed the lens on her camera and focused on the plume of smoke that had been rising into the air for hours now. Thick and black, it rained silent terror down on the residents of the crescent valley and Sarah understood their fear. It was the same trepidation that ran in her veins when she thought about her own home, not more than twenty miles from the edge of the fire. She wasn’t in an evacuation zone, yet, but that didn’t mean she or her home were safe.

  Still, she had a job to do and to do it well took all her concentration. Focusing again on the smoke, she inhaled deep and exhaled slowly. Then she clicked a series of shots that showed the increasing intensity of the fire’s appetite. It had consumed hundreds of acres and she knew it was only a matter of time before she would have to evacuate. Even media weren’t allowed close to the fire, especially if there was a chance it would flare into something stronger.

  “Miss?”

  “Miss?” Sarah heard again, just before someone tapped her on the shoulder.

  “Yes?”

  She focused her eyes on the man in the fireman’s suit, her interest immediately piqued. Still, with ease she schooled her eyes to focus on her face with a modicum of intrigue, without overdoing it. “Can I help you?”

  “Actually, I’m here to help you,” he smiled, his white teeth a stark contrast to the soot that blurred the finer features of his face.

  “Okaaaay,” she said slowly. “Why?”

  He grinned before pointing past her. “See that passel of trees? It has to come down. You can’t be standing here when we clear it, or it’ll come crashing down on you.”

  “Oh,” Sarah said, flustered, both by him and the need to get her shots. “Where can I stand?”

  “Right over there,” he smiled, pointing to a bright yellow tape that had been stretched across the empty field about a hundred feet behind her.

  “I can’t do that.”

  “Sure you can,” he said, taking her elbow and turning her. “You just walk over there, say hello, and duck under the tape. Those good people will probably even hold it for you.”

  Sarah ground her teeth as irritation slid over her like a rain slicker. “No, I can’t. I don’t have the right lens for a distance like that.”

  “Then take shots of us clearing the trees,” he said, his voice deeper, a little darker. Sarah ignored the chill that ran down her spine. “Maybe you can turn it into a calendar or something.”

  Sarah couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out of her. Did this man really think that she wanted photos for a stupid calendar? “I don’t do that sort of thing,” she argued.

  “Maybe you should,” he said. “Regardless, you need to be behind the tape. I can’t afford to be sued because I let you stay inside the perimeter.”

  “And I can’t afford to miss these shots.”

  “Sorry,” he shrugged. “My work trumps yours.”

  “Son-of-a-bitch,” Sarah mumbled under her breath. She turned to stalk toward the yellow tape. She turned, glaring at him when she heard him say.

  “There’s no denying it, ma’am.” He tipped his hat to her before grinning and turning toward the tall stand of trees. Sarah was furious, but through it cut the sight of him swinging a huge ax over his shoulder and walking as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Damn if he wasn’t fine as frog hair.

  ***

  Jackson didn’t turn back when he left the pretty red head walking toward the yellow perimeter tape. It damn near killed him, but he just whistled and kept walking. “Took you long enough, Pike.”

  “Yeah, well,” he grinned. “You know public relations are important.”

  “Public relations,” Harry Dinsmore laughed. “As if. You couldn’t handle PR if you tried.”

  “Can so,” he winked with a smirk. “I just got that hot woman to go back past the tape didn’t I?”

  “Did she leave after giving you her number? If not, you still suck.”

  “Tell you what, H. You take down a tree faster than me, and I’ll give you her number.”

  “Don’t need it.”

  “The hell you don’t,” Jackson laughed. “When was the last time you got laid?”

  “Nunya,” Harry said. “And I would have gotten her number the first time.”

  “Prove it,” Jackson said, swinging hard at the nearest tree. His second swing came along with Harry’s and before anyone knew it, the two men were carving out chunks of the large Fir trees, splinters flying into the air.

  In the end, Jackson’s tree fell a hair of a second before Harry’s and the two men went on to take down several more before they could call it a day. “Still could have gotten her number,” Jackson said with a grin as he lightly punched Harry in the arm.

  “Bullshit,” Harry smiled back. “Although I can’t blame you for trying. She was smoking all the way to the tape and then some.”

  “Tell me about it. I think she singed my hair.”

  Harry laughed as he and Jackson headed into their temporary camp with the rest of the hotshots on the Lobo Crew.

  ***

  Sarah rose at dawn, sighing as a new day broke before her. She poured hot coffee into the largest therm
os she had, put more into an insulated cup and put on her best smile as she headed out, camera bag slung over her shoulder. “Morning, Sarah!”

  Sarah smiled and waved to her neighbor, Dave. He was nearing ninety and still managed to walk to his mailbox and back three times a day. This early, he’d be collecting his morning paper. “Morning!”

  “You taking more pictures of the fire today?”

  “I’m sure as hell gonna try,” she returned as she unlocked her Prius.

  “Well, give ‘em hell, honey.”

  “I plan to,” she smiled. As she drove west, Sarah wondered how soon she’d be forced to evacuate. This morning she’d smelled the heavy scent of wood smoke, even before she’s stepped outside. That could only mean the fire was edging even closer to her neighborhood. “Only time will tell,” she said as she pulled into the parking area near the High Springs National Forest Trail Head. It was the last public area still open, before everything got cordoned off from the fire. She parked her car and pulled her camera bag, her water bottles and her back pack from the car. She locked it, tossed her keys in the bag and hefted both bags over her shoulder before she headed for higher ground.

  An hour later, sweat trickled down her back as Sarah climbed a particularly difficult cliff. She could already see the pictures in her mind when she reached the top. Clear for miles, she’d be able to look out over a good portion of the fire and get some awesome shots of the damage inflicted by the heat monster.

  She heard the sirens before she reached the top and groaned. If they were coming to shut down the trail head, they’d likely tow her car. Just what she didn’t need. She reached the top and clicked through a roll of film before she heard footsteps behind her. When she turned, her stomach dropped at the man standing in front of her.

  “We have to stop meeting like this,” he grinned.

  “So, go away and I’ll pretend no meeting took place.”

  “Sorry sweetheart,” he smiled. “I’d be neglecting my job and I can’t do that. It’s bad for my constitution.”

  “This is a public access area-“

  “Unless it’s not in the public’s interest to be here,” Jackson said. “And right now, with a damn wildfire raging, it’s definitely not in your interest to be here.”

  “Oh, I don’t know, cap. I get some pretty good pics up here and that’s always in my interest.”

  “Not if the fire turns and heads this toward you. Either way, I’m under orders to get you out of here, before a tow truck hooks your car up and takes it to the impound.”

  “You offering to give me a ride?”

  ***

  Jackson didn’t miss the hint of flirtation in the question, but he hid the grin that threatened to cross his lips. “I’m offering to escort you back to your car. Anything else will have to wait for a time when I’m off duty.”

  “Ah,” she said and Jackson thought he saw a hint of disappointment in her eyes. Then she turned back to look at the landscape again. “Alright, cap. I’m ready.”

  Jackson watched the woman straighten her shoulders and grinned at the chip on her shoulder. He understood what it was to need approval, the need to prove yourself to anyone who might think you’re less than. Hadn’t he needed to prove he could be a firefighter? Hell, even now he still had doubts, deep seeded by years of negative comments, angry looks and an all present disappointment from his father.

  “I don’t get a lot of free time out here,” Jackson said as they headed back towards Sarah’s car. “My on-call period runs six months’ at a time and I have to be ready to go at a moment’s notice.”

  “Is that your way of telling me you’re not interested?”

  “That’s just me being honest. I’m a red-blooded American, aren’t I?”

  She smiled then and Jackson knew there was much more to this beautiful woman than she was letting on and certainly more than her looks, although he wasn’t about to start complaining. Tall, for a woman, with almost freakishly long legs, her features resembled a human Barbie, although that wasn’t really what attracted Jackson to her. It was her spine, the way she pushed back in the face of controversy instead of just cow-tailing to whatever someone told her she should be doing. He’d had to insist, of course, because it was his job. But if he wasn’t on duty, he’d have smiled and just sat back and watched her tear anyone apart who dared get in her way.

  “Are you from around here?” she asked conversationally when they neared her car.

  “I was born and raised about two hundred miles west of here, but I’ve been working this ridge and the entire Crescent Valley for nearly three years now.”

  “And you like it, being a firefighter?”

  “Honestly?” he grinned. “It’s the best damn job ever. Granted, I was scared spitless that first season. But then I sort of just settled into it. This is my sixth season and I love it.”

  “It fits you, if we’re being honest and all. I’ve seen several firefighters. Some fit the job like a glove, others, not so much.”

  “My cousin Larry is like that. He wanted to be a smoke jumper and dove head first into training. Two weeks later, he was so relieved when he didn’t make the cut. Now he’s a lawyer at some big firm in L.A. Go figure.”

  Sarah laughed and Jackson had to remind himself that he was on duty. “So,” she said turning so that she faced him, her little Prius at her back. “Does this mean that seeing you out of that uniform is off limits?”

  “No,” he said, obviously serious. “It just means that getting me out of this uniform might prove to be a bit troublesome.” Jackson stepped closer, careful not to touch her and soil her clothes.

  When she quirked one slim eyebrow up at him he couldn’t help but grin. “I’d hate to ruin your clothes, not to mention I smell like smoke.”

  “I like the smell of a good fire.”

  “I like the smell of a good woman.”

  “Then what are you waiting for?”

  Jackson grinned and pulled her to him, his mouth capturing hers in a kiss that ignited like dry tinder in the desert. It scorched him immediately, burning away his defenses and leaving him staggering back. “Jesus,” he said, his breath hitching.

  “You OK, tiger?”

  ***

  Sarah caught his eye and the look he gave her sent a chill down her spine and raised the hair on the back of her neck. She ignored the way her body responded, the way her nipples tightened when those smoldering green eyes met hers. She tried to laugh it off, play it cool like it didn’t matter. The only problem was, she’d felt it too: the electric shock that nearly knocked her off her feet. Sure there was attraction, but underneath that was something stronger, something elemental. She had to get to know him more.

  “Friday, seven, McNair’s.”

  “I’ll see you there,” she smiled. Turning back to her car, she slid behind the wheel and pulled out of her parking spot, spitting gravel a little as she turned onto the main road.

  Sarah couldn’t believe she’d landed a date for Friday, especially considering she wasn’t sure she actually liked the guy. Sure he was hot as hell and seemed to have a chivalrous side, but he also grated her last nerve. She wouldn’t admit that half the reason they butted heads was her stubborn streak.

  She headed back home, happy to give Dave the update.

  “Tell me you gave ‘em hell.”

  “Sure I did,” she grinned. She leaned against the fence and kissed the man’s papery cheek. “And I got myself a date for Friday.”

  “Nice,” he chuckled. “Who’s the lucky guy?”

  “A firefighter who seems to have a knack for rubbing me the wrong way.”

  “Oh, so you like them complicated.”

  “I never turn down a challenge,” she laughed. “I’ll save you a piece of cake.”

  “Where from?”

  “McNair’s.”

  “Save me two and I’ll pay you back.”

  “Done,” she smiled. She turned toward her house, lifting her hand in a wave of farewell.

&n
bsp; Chapter Two:

  “Let’s go, Romeo,” Harry Dinsmore said with a chuckle. “Guess you got her number after all.”

  “Shut it, H!” Jackson said. “Having a date doesn’t make me a womanizer.”

  “Neither was Romeo.”

  “Like you’d know,” he retorted, his feathers ruffled by Harry’s incessant banter. “I don’t need this today.”

  “You got something better to do right now?”

  “I’ve got a fire to put out so I’m free tonight.”

  “We’ll see,” Harry said, pushing the argument.

  “What crawled up your ass lately?” Jackson said, stepping close enough to Harry to have their chests bumping.

  “Nothin’,” Harry scowled, pushing Jackson back a bit.

  “Nah,” he said. “Something’s up. Usually we’re cool. Then a beautiful woman shows up and happens to accept my invitation to dinner and you’re all up in my shit about it. What’s up?”

  “Nothing!” Denismore said. Then he shoved Jackson aside and strode out the door, not bothering to stop it from slamming.

  “You push too hard,” Ava said. “It’s who you are and most of us know it, but Harry isn’t ready to share whatever it is that’s bugging him. When he is, he’ll open up and it’ll help.”

  “Whatever,” Pike said, tossing his towel into the bin and heading for his locker.

  ***

  Sarah went for the dressed down look, pairing her favorite jeans with a silky sleeveless blouse that brought out the blue of her eyes. She kept her makeup light and left her blonde hair loose. She strapped on sensible sandals, painted her toes a dark blue that matched her shirt and slipped on a light bangle. She put small diamond and sapphire studs in her ears and headed out the door just in time to make it to McNair’s on time.

  “I have a reservation,” she told the host.

  “Name?”

  “Pike.” Sarah turned to see Jackson standing beside her, his large hand pressing gently against her back. She shivered when his breath touched her cheek. “You look incredible.”