Smolder (Firefighters of Montana Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

fire season starts. I’m hoping you can help me put together the most efficient crews using more information than what is in their files. Provided I can even find their files. It doesn’t look like any paperwork has been completed around here in months.”
    Kingston gave him a sheepish look before glancing back down below his sneakers. “That’s because Hugh Ferguson refused to replace Jacqui. Edwards’ wife was the office manager for the station. She started working here as a volunteer intern when she was just a teenager and then took a permanent G-S job when she graduated high school. She basically ran the place ever since.”
    Sam knew Russ Edwards’ wife was currently on leave without pay from the forest service. But with the fire season fast approaching and the addition of thirty seasonal employees—all of whom needed to be paid—he couldn’t afford to be without a permanent office manager.
    “I take it she doesn’t plan to return to work?”
    “She hasn’t stepped foot in the station since Russ died. She left for Florida right after the funeral. She’s headed back for a couple of days to deal with some issues that have cropped up with their— her —house.”
    “Any chance you could convince her to let me buy her a cup of coffee? I’d like to get her position with the service resolved so we can move ahead.”
    Kingston’s jaw tensed for some unknown reason, making Sam think there was more to the situation. All he was concerned with right now, however, was making sure things at the station were running smoothly before all hell broke loose.
    “I’ll mention it to her.” Kingston shot Sam a frosty glance. “But I won’t have her upset while she’s here. Is that clear?”
    So there was more to the story . Not that it was any of his business. Sam didn’t back down from Kingston’s stare. “Just coffee and boring government files. The worst that could happen is a paper cut.”
    “Sure.” Kingston conceded after a long moment. He then retrained his eyes to the scene below them where Liam Ferguson was taking on two other crew members in a drill that had them crawling on their bellies through a rope obstacle.
    “What’s the four-one-one on Ferguson?” Sam asked.
    Kingston relaxed beside him. “Despite the devil-may-care personality, he’s one hell of a firefighter. It’s in the genes. He spent the last couple of years in Australia working with crews in Queensland and Sydney; just got back to the States six weeks ago. He’ll tell you he went for the adventure, but I suspect it was because he wanted to earn his own reputation. Both his brothers jump with the crew out of Redlands, California. His father was captain here for fifteen years before Russ took the helm.”
    “So he wasn’t around last fall.”
    Kingston swallowed roughly, but Sam knew that the other man understood what he was getting at. Liam Ferguson hadn’t been on the jump when Russ Edwards had died. That meant he likely wasn’t harboring the guilt that the man sitting beside him was.
    “No.”
    “I’d like for him to head up a crew then.”
    “Will you be jumping? It’s not technically part of your job description.”
    Sam turned to look at Kingston. “I won’t send a man or woman into a fire that I wouldn’t jump into myself. It doesn’t have to be in my job description. It’s in my blood.”
    A slight smile—one that looked touched with admiration—crossed Kingston’s face. “Russ used to say the same thing. His motto was ‘One ass to risk’, meaning he wasn’t going to risk anyone else’s ass before he’d risk his own.”
    So that’s what that is on his chute . The late captain’s parachute hung in memoriam inside the station. It was draped reverently from the second story loft so everyone entering the building would see it. To those who gazed upon it, the memorial was a daily reminder of the friend they’d lost. To Sam, it was a constant sign that he had a long way to go towards earning the trust of the