The New Guy In Town

Faith laughed, something that had seemed a long shot a few minutes ago. “I’ll put a finer point on it. You’re one of those men who is afraid of commitment.”

“On the contrary. I’m not afraid, just choosing not to participate.”

“That’s just spin.” Her words challenged even though she remembered his adamant admission that marriage wasn’t for him. “You’re afraid. Admit it.”

“No.” He made a left turn into an open area with heavy equipment, fire trucks and cars. “And we’re here. Not a moment too soon.”

Faith was jolted back to reality. Thanks to Sam, for a few minutes she’d managed to put aside the crisis hanging over her.

They exited his luxury SUV and headed for the volunteer area. She was put to work serving food again. Sam unloaded cases of bottled water from a truck and stacked them. Another truck arrived with ice and he unloaded bags, then filled insulated chests and tubs with it to cool down the water.

When Faith could sneak a glance at him she took full advantage. Watching Sam Hart work up a sweat was pure cotton candy for the eyes. And as distractions went, the sight of him was effective and exactly what a worried girl needed. She imagined he looked all CEO powerful behind his office desk in the building he owned. After today, she knew for a fact that he was pretty darn drool-worthy doing manual labor. And speaking of eye candy, a peek at him without a shirt might satisfy her sweet tooth.

When there was a break in the action, he grabbed two bottles of cold water and wandered over. He opened one and handed it to her.

“Thanks.” She took a long drink then pressed her lips together, blotting the excess moisture. She noticed a muscle in his jaw jerk as he watched her and wondered about that but decided to ignore it. “I needed this. It’s hot.”

“There’s an understatement.” His voice was hoarse, probably from the smoky air. “And those guys fighting the fire have on all that heavy gear.”

“I can’t even imagine how they do it,” she agreed. “So you think Des picked a safe place for the volunteers to be?”

“Yes.” He shrugged. “It’s a major fire and there’s a lot of smoke. Phoebe is going to have a lot to say to both of us.”

“She might not call you out. Right now you’re her hero. Speaking of that—” Faith spotted a familiar firefighter walking toward them “—here comes one of our bravest now. Hi, Des.”

“Hey, Faith.”

Sam frowned at the man who stopped beside them. But he held out his hand. “We haven’t met, but I’ve heard good things about you. I’m Sam Hart.”

The other man took the offered hand. “Desmond Parker. Nice to meet you. I’ve heard about you, too. Welcome to Blackwater Lake. That new office building of yours is impressive.”

“Can’t complain. Pretty boring compared to what you do. You’ve got a tough gig right now, though. How’s it going?”

“Frustrating.” He took off his helmet and dragged his fingers through his sweaty, matted dark hair. “The wind is still making it a challenge to keep up with the fire. It keeps jumping around. The conditions are unpredictable.” An expression slid into his eyes when his gaze met hers and it looked an awful lot like pity.