First Impressions (Hero Hearts: Firefighter) Read online

  First Impressions

  Firefighter Inspirational Contemporary Romance

  Hayley Wescott

  Copyright © 2018 Hayley Wescott and Sweet River Publishing

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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  This is a work of fiction. Any references to names, characters, organizations, places, events, or incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

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  About Hero Hearts

  Welcome to Hero Hearts, a historical and contemporary Christian romance series.

  Join Annie Boone, Hayley Wescott and Kate Cambridge in a world unlike any other; a world where Heroes are honored with unforgettable characters and beautiful, Christian love stories.

  The authors of this series are committed to writing stories of faith, hope and love centered in fictional heroes who sacrifice daily to protect and save. A mix of historical and modern-day. We hope you enjoy the Hero Hearts Christian romance series!

  ~Annie Boone, Hayley Wescott and Kate Cambridge

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  1

  Sammie

  “Hey, Sammie, do you think I could get away with convincing myself that this cotton candy has zero carbs?” Annalise played with the pink fluff, pulling off a small piece and popping it in her mouth.

  “How do you propose to do that?” I asked.

  “Well, it’s so fluffy it’s like air. It doesn’t weigh a thing. How can something like that have calories?” She licked her sticky fingers and grabbed another piece.

  “Hmm.” I gave her a sarcastic glance. There was no appropriate response to her logic.

  “And it disintegrates in your mouth. That’s got to mean something.” She nodded confidently and smiled. She was slowly winning me over. Annalise could talk anybody in to anything given enough time.

  “Yeah, it means you’re wishing on a falling star.”

  “I can’t help myself, I love this stuff!” Her smile got bigger, then she closed her eyes in a blissful daydream.

  Annalise was always trying to find creative ways to escape certain laws of science. Her creativity is what I admired most about her. She was everything I wasn’t, which was why it sometimes still amazed me that we had been best friends since grammar school.

  “Careful, if you get that on my new Gucci blouse I just let you borrow, I’m going to have a whole lot to say about it.” I warned in a firm tone, though she probably knew I’d never enforce any sanctions against her.

  “You know I’d never defile Gucci.” She grabbed a napkin from me and wiped around her mouth.

  “So what else would you like to see?” I was hoping she’d say she was finished. I really wanted to go home.

  The Pine Ridge fair was one of the well-attended events the town put on every year, full of families and kids running around. Which was exactly why I didn’t want to be here. Dodging sticky-faced children screaming and chasing each other wasn’t my idea of a relaxing Saturday. I didn’t hate children, but I didn’t want to be with the wild ones I didn’t know. I worked at a school, and so I got more than my fill of the noise and chaos during the week. Weekends were a time for me to get away from all of that. Kid-free weekends were bliss for me until I had my own.

  I came because Annalise begged me and made me feel guilty that I’d make her miss the first day of one of her favorite events. She was definitely the more adventurous one between the two of us. It was good for me, though. Her gregarious nature kept our friendship interesting. We balanced each other out. And, if I was honest, she kept me from being too uptight and boring.

  “I’m not sure. We’ve been to almost every booth, I guess.” I could tell she wasn’t in favor of leaving just by the tone of her voice. “Wait, we didn’t see what’s on this side. Let’s go. It might be important for us to see the booths down there.” Annalise grabbed my hand and took off trotting down the street.

  “I’m going to gain fifty pounds just smelling this stuff.” My voice was almost a whine.

  “I thought you told me you wanted to take a cooking class this summer. I hope we’re not signed up for some kale salad nonsense,” Annalise joked. “I need cake. Maybe they have deep fried cake here. Is that even a thing? If not, it should be.”

  “Sadly, I agree. If it isn’t, I’m sure it will be soon.” I could smell something fried coming from a tent further away, and despite my better judgement, I began to follow my nose.

  As we passed a white tent, an older woman with a short salt-and-pepper bob stepped in front of us. “Would you like to fill out an application for a free calendar?” she asked, extending a clipboard and pen in our direction.

  “I don’t think so, thank you.” I hoped my tone relayed my appreciation for her offer, but I had no interest in giving my information away for a free anything.

  “Wait, Sammie, let me see the calendar first.” Annalise accepted it from the woman and began flipping through it. Her eyes widened.

  “Annalise, let’s not waste their time. We really do need to get going.” I pulled on her arm motioning for us to continue on.

  “I’m not in a hurry. I could use a calendar, especially a free one.” She resisted we stop and stood there staring.

  “Since when? You barely keep track of yourself. What are you going to do with a calendar?”

  “I’d sure look at this calendar every day. Look at this.”

  I peeked over her shoulder and took in a handsome, dark-haired young guy standing on a firetruck. One hand was holding onto the ladder above him and the other was holding a helmet. He grinned broadly as his eyes gleamed into the camera. Next to him sitting on the ground was a black and white speckled Dalmatian. My breath caught in my lungs before by brain kicked in and reminded me that the image wasn’t all that impressive.

  “Anna, are you serious? That’s so ridiculous.”

  “What’s so ridiculous about it?” Annalise turned the calendar back to get a better look at it as if she was trying to understand my comment. She knitted her brows together in a huge scowl.

  “It’s cheesy. The classic firefighter Mr. July, or choose your favorite month. And complete with the obligatory firehouse dog. It’s more than overdone. I mean, come on. He’s probably not even a real firefighter. I’ll bet they paid him to put the suit on.” I dismissed it hoping she wouldn’t see that I found him more handsome than I let on.

  “It says Local Heroes of Pine Ridge.” Annalise turned to a page inside the calendar. “Oh wow, listen to his bio.” She didn’t wait for me to protest. “Served eight years in the US Army. Fighting fires for the past three years and saved a family of four from a house fire last year. Wow, that’s pretty heroic if you ask me.”

  “Yes, but can he type?” I laughed at my own joke.

  Annalise joined me in laughter. “You never know, he could be a decent guy with several skill
s. I wonder which firehouse he works out of in Pine Ridge.”

  I ignored her comment. “Can we go now? I thought you wanted to catch the early showing of that new romantic comedy you were telling me about.” I turned to the lady, “Thank you.”

  Annalise closed the calendar, dug around in her purse and pulled out a ten dollar bill. “Can I just buy it?”

  The woman smiled and nodded. “Sure. I don’t see a problem with that. Thanks.” She took the money and waved to the two women walking past. “Hey, ladies, would you like to sign up to win a free calendar?”

  Annalise handed the calendar to me watching the woman wander to her next targets.

  “Why are you giving this to me?” I frowned and tilted my head.

  “I think you could use a calendar yourself. I told you that movie doesn’t come out until tomorrow.”

  “Then what were we going to do today?”

  Annalise stopped walking and looked at me. “Girl, where is your head these days? You’re coming with me to eat dinner at my mom’s. You know I need a wingman to fight off those questions she’s going to hit me with about Ben.”

  Ben was Annalise’s former fiance. She’d recently broken up with him and her family was devastated by the news. Annalise was adamant about her decision. She had always said Ben was a great guy, someone any girl would be lucky to marry. But I knew her heart about this and when it came down to it, she just didn’t think they were after the same things for the long term.

  I’d talked about this with her for a while, so I wasn’t surprised when she announced the break up. Unfortunately, her family was pressuring her to get back together with him. They didn’t understand how she could give up someone as great as Ben. And he was great—he just wasn’t the right one for her.

  “Right. Sorry, I just can’t seem to keep my head clear. Forgive me, please. Of course I'll go with you, but just as moral support. I'm not answering any of your mother's third degree and I’m not taking up for you, either."

  “You need to be there to back up my claim that we decided to take this summer and focus on ourselves,” said Annalise. “No dating, just having fun together and trying some new things. Otherwise she’ll never believe me when I tell her I want to spend my summer taking cooking classes and going bird watching.”

  “Okay. I can at least do that,” I sighed. Annalise could convince me to do just about anything.

  “Good. Come on, I’ll race you to the car.” Annalise trotted ahead a couple of steps.

  “You’re crazy. We haven’t raced since we were kids.” I laughed, feeling some of my energy return.

  “I know. It’s been way too long since I’ve taken you down in any kind of competition! You know I'm going to win!" Annalise challenged. "You haven't won a race in twenty years."

  "That's because we haven't raced in twenty years!" I said. “I’m not going to race you now. We’re adults. And I don’t feel like running.”

  She was always trying to get me to do silly stuff that we used to do when we were kids. She never wanted to grow up and I loved that about her. I knew I was much too serious. Our friendship worked because she was the exact opposite.

  “Have it your way, but the win stays on my record.” Annalise teased. “On your mark, get set—”

  She took off running down the sidewalk. Without thinking I took off after her. I wasn’t much of an athlete, but I still had a competitive streak. It usually came out in academics, but still, I couldn’t bear the thought of standing by and letting someone win. My flats were not very practical for sprinting, but I dug in and did my best to give her a run for her money. I ran as fast as I could, but she tagged the car first.

  “Cheater!” I laughed, trying to catch my breath.

  * * *

  The dinner with Annalise’s parents went better than I had expected. Her mother made one comment in passing, asking if either of us had heard from him lately, but when Annalise changed the subject without responding she accepted it. I got the feeling that her mom didn’t want to pick a fight in front of me, so I grudgingly admitted to Annalise that she was right to have me there with her. After dinner her dad pulled out the board games, but I made excuses about having to get up early tomorrow morning and begged off.

  Nighttime was my favorite time of the day. I loved spending time with Annalise and her family, but they were so loud and full of life that after a few hours with them, I needed to spend some time by myself to decompress. I settled in with a cup of hot tea and picked up the novel I’d been reading for the past week. The house was quiet except for the occasional creak. It was an older home I’d inherited when my mother died. Living here gave me a lot of comfort after she passed away. It felt like I could still feel her presence and it felt like a blanket of love.

  As I walked through the dining room, I noticed the calendar I’d set aside on the table earlier. The firefighter’s eyes seemed to follow me. I stopped and picked it up. His eyes were bright blue. His sleeves were folded around his biceps showing off his muscular forearms. I could tell he was in shape under his uniform. Firefighters had to be fit, of course, but he looked like he’d put in overtime work at the gym. He was by all opinions the All-American guy. Grudgingly, I admitted I liked what I saw. A lot.

  My heart fluttered. But what kind of personality did he have? Was he a good guy in person or a jerk? Did he know how attractive he was and if so, did he use that to his advantage with women? Was he full of himself? He must be. Anybody who would pose in a calendar like that must be fully aware of how he looked. He was probably an insufferable, stuck-up jerk with the personality of a potato.

  I shook my head, admonishing myself for thinking such thoughts. Judging another person’s heart was wrong, but I couldn’t believe a nice guy would do this. He probably cares more about his appearance than anything else, I thought. Just think of the hours he must spend at the gym and in front of the mirror. Being healthy was important, of course, but some people put way too much effort into their appearance. And I didn’t even want to date anybody right now anyway. Too much heartbreak in my past.

  What if he’s a nice guy? I heard Annalise’s words in my head. Okay, so maybe he’s a decent guy, but it’s unlikely we’d ever meet. So it doesn’t matter, anyway. And I couldn’t let go of my opinion that a any guy who’d pose in a calendar obviously doesn’t share my values. He probably doesn’t have his priorities straight. If we ever did meet that was a sure-fire deal breaker. Different values meant no future. I laughed out loud. A future? What in the world was wrong with me?

  I turned out the light and headed into my bedroom. I heard Annalise’s voice taunt me, Never say never.

  2

  Blake

  As I fastened the metal coupling on the hose, the flesh between my thumb and first finger caught and I winced in pain as it pinched me hard. Jerking my hand away to free myself from it, I sucked on my little injury trying to soothe it. I shook it off and returned to clamping the connection down.

  It had just been that kind of day, unfortunately. All that could go wrong had done just that. We were short staffed because most of the guys went to the fair to pass out plastic fire helmets and stickers to the kids. I wouldn’t have minded going. Champ always loved a good day out around people, but someone had to stay back. So I volunteered. Things had been stressful with the increase in community fires around here over the last few weeks, so I thought the guys needed a day to take some time and meet with the folks in the community. Pine Ridge, Georgia was considered a small town by many, but it was large enough that not everyone knew everyone.

  I rolled the fire hose up and stored it in one of the back closets. The garage door opened as they all returned from the fair laughing and joking with one another.

  "Nice of you guys to join me." I smirked and went back to what I was doing.

  “We’ve got a surprise for you.” Roger raised an eyebrow and elbowed John standing beside him.

  “Oh really? I’ve got one for you, too. I didn’t get to the bathroom clean-up. I decided to
leave it for you.” I laughed.

  Roger pulled out a flat, square object and waved it around in front of me. “We found this at the fair and thought it was pretty interesting. I think you’ll like it.”

  “Yeah, we knew we had to buy one. In fact, we probably should have gotten two of them.” Patterson yelled from the side.

  “We didn’t know you had a side job, though, Blake.” John cackled as he and the rest of the guys watched.

  It slowly dawned on me what Roger was holding. It was the calendar I posed for at the end of last year. I put the hose down, stood up, and watched as they guys gathered around me forming a semi-circle.

  “What are you talking about?” I put all my effort in to keeping my voice neutral, but curious, trying my best not to act like I knew exactly what they were talking about.

  "Look what we found at the fair!" Roger teased.

  "Oh, look at the pretty calendar boy." Mike chimed in.

  I tried snatching it out of Roger’s hand but failed. I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity. My laughter got louder when they all started singing that old Neil Sedaka song. I only knew it because my mom used to sing it when it came on the radio.

  “I love, I love, I love my little calendar girl.” The guys sang out of tune but in unison. And they were much too loud for my taste.

  Sure it was embarrassing but these guys were like my brothers. I knew they always had my back and any good-natured ribbing we gave each other was just that. I tried again to snatch it away, but Patrick tossed it over my head to John. We were back on the playground, and I was the monkey in the middle. They threw the calendar to each other back and forth until I finally snagged it midair. We all broke out in laughter.