Book 4: The Mountain Firefighters
A Daughter for the Mountain Firefighter
A fearless pilot…
Small plane pilot Rachel Quinlan is fearless fighting forest fires, but on the home front it’s a different story. She’s still not completely over her crush on Cole Hudson, love of her older sister Missy’s life, even though he left town over a decade ago. But who has time for crushes? She’s got Missy’s kids to raise and her family’s failing business to run.
The past collides with the present…
An accident brings Hot Shot firefighter Cole back to town where he discovers he’s got responsibilities and enemies he never knew he had. And the one person he thought he could trust – Rachel – is hiding more than one secret about his past.
A traditional, clean romance with no cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily-ever-after.
Tropes: Secret baby, sister’s ex-boyfriend, firefighter romance, women’s fiction, adventure romance, traditional romance
Excerpt:
“If you didn’t like trouble, Rachel, you wouldn’t fly for the forest service.” With a playful flick of a gnarled hand, Danny broke her reverie by flipping Rachel’s baseball hat off. There wasn’t much of a breeze, but it was enough to carry it several feet.
Rachel scrambled to pick it up. Someone beat her to it. As the man straightened, Rachel felt her knees go weak. Cole.
Cole Hudson had filled out since she’d seen him over a decade ago, and he seemed taller. Was that even possible? Rachel swallowed, trying to rectify her image of him as a teenager with the man standing front and center. That square jaw had never seemed so hard. That brown hair had never had so many natural highlights, making him almost look dirty blond. And yet other things hadn’t changed. His dark eyes sparkled with friendly familiarity. His hands still looked strong and capable.
She swallowed again. Cole Hudson had flaws. She just had to remember them. And that would be…
His green pants and yellow Nomex shirt looked dirty enough to stand up on their own.
Seriously? That’s the best I can do?
“Rachel?” Cole’s voice had deepened too, like a plane engine in its prime, all rumbly up and down her spine. “Is that you?”
She couldn’t so much as breath out an answer.
The woman suffering brain freeze without ice cream? Why, yes. Yes, that’s me.
Rachel nodded. The secrets she kept pressed against the back of her throat, while her pride squared her shoulders. She wasn’t a little girl who worshipped him anymore. It was time she acted like it.
But before she could act, the breeze kicked up and Rachel caught a whiff of herself—sweat and exhaust fumes, slurry and engine oil. Ugh. Not exactly the way she’d pictured this reunion. But it was unlikely he’d fulfill her childhood dream by falling at her feet and professing his undying love.
Rachel cleared her throat and plastered what she hoped resembled a smile on her face. “Hey, Cole. It’s been a long time.”
And then Cole was laughing as he scooped her up and spun her around in a crushing embrace that inexplicably slowed the world down, winding it back, back, back, to a simpler time when anything was possible and happiness had seemed so easy to attain.
Cole.
As a girl, she’d been thrilled by his twirling embrace. Exhilarated that she could make him laugh. Without thinking, Rachel clung tighter, pressed closer. She’d spent the happiest days of her youth tagging along with Cole and Missy. He’d taught her how to kayak and helped her with her science homework. He’d taken her on her first motorcycle ride and cheered from the sidelines when she made her first solo landing. For the six years he and Missy dated, he’d been her special someone. She judged every man against him. And now as he held her, it was like those days had never ended.
The buzz of a small Cessna’s engine overhead brought reality crashing back.
The Story Behind the Story
This entire series is about the kind of man I knew when I was in my twenties. Guys who got into relationships before they were emotionally ready or avoided relationships because it was just too fun to be single.
When I was a kid, a friend who lived across the street was hit and killed by a car. Looking back, I remember watching the family pick themselves up but their laughter never seemed the same to me. Cole’s family experienced a horrific loss and Rachel was the one on the outside looking in, not that her childhood was idyllic. I hope you enjoy how these to meet up again as adults and help each other heal.
My step brother was a Hot Shot. You’ll find many stories in this series reflect his experience.
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If you enjoy stories like this - deep emotional reads - you might also try my Harmony Valley series. So grab your hankies and meander over to that series page HERE.
