Burning Ambition by Amy Knupp Read Free Book Online

burning building and locking up…
    Unforgivable.
    And the biggest problem was she wasn’t sure it wouldn’t happen the next time they got called to a big fire.
    No one had noticed, but that didn’t change a thing. She knew.
    Derek Severson and Clay Marlow rested several feet from Faith, still talking as they rehydrated. She stood and disposed of her water bottle. She had a policy of never being the last person back from taking a break.
    A few minutes later, the crews had removed as much as they could from the interior and ensured there were no remaining hot spots. Faith noticed a couple hundred feet of hose from their engine that had to be loaded. She headed over and started rolling it, though every muscle in her body was beginning to ache. She was starting to fantasize about falling into bed; it was after 2:00 a.m. and would be a short night, anyway.
    She stood and was lifting the first roll of hose to take to the engine when a pain near her collarbone nearly flattened her. She sat down hard, dropped the hose on the ground, muttering swear words to herself.
    When she could breathe again, she glanced around, trying to act as if nothing was wrong.
    Dammit … Joe was standing near the engine and staring straight at her. If the concern on his face was any indication, he’d seen everything.
    She was afraid to stand up again because it freaking hurt. Another jab of pain, on top of her exhaustion, was liable to make her cry like a girl. Instead, she busied herself with the hose, trying to make it appear as if it wasn’t rolled quite right and needed to be fixed.
    “Faith.” Joe loomed over her in the chilly night.
    “Yes, sir.” She didn’t look up at him, just worked intently on the nonexistent problem.
    He squatted next to her. “What are you doing?”
    “Fixing the hose.”
    “The hose is fine.”
    Finally she glanced up at him.
    “You hurt yourself,” he said in a gentle, low voice so no one could overhear. She was eternally grateful for his discretion.
    “Not really,” she said, giving up on the hose act.
    “I saw you, Faith. Don’t insult me by lying.”
    When she looked into those concerned dark eyes, she couldn’t continue to deny it. But she could understate it.
    “It was my collarbone. Just a sharp, brief pain, but it’s over now.” Which was the truth. So far. “Long day, I guess.”
    He watched her closely for several seconds, as if gauging whether she was leveling with him.
    “Do we need to have Scott or Rafe check you out?” he asked, gesturing over his shoulder to the ambulance.
    “No,” she said quickly. “Really. It didn’t hurt until just now. I must have twisted wrong as I stood up.”
    He wasn’t convinced, Faith could tell. So to persuade him, she had no choice but to stand and prove she was fine.
    She picked up the hoses, swallowed and braced herself. This time she rose more slowly. And yeah, the pain was there, but not as bad. She fought through it, refusing to let it show on her face. Because, of course, he was still staring at her.
    He brushed her wrist in a touch that was probably not professional, judging by the way it got Faith’s heart racing. Before she could scold herself for her reaction, he spoke—again quietly, so no one could hear. “Don’t be stubborn, Faith. Let me carry one of those. You don’t want to reinjure yourself.”
    She didn’t know if it was the mind-blurring fatigue or the feel of his rough fingers so tender on her skin, but she weakened. Let him take one of the rolls from her. She walked by his side to the engine but insisted on putting them away herself. Self-consciously, she glanced around to see if anyone had noticed that Joe had helped her. A couple of guys were nearby, but not paying attention to them; maybe no one had seen. She should’ve just carried both hoses.
    “So,” Joe said, still in a private voice. “I want more information on this. Did you injure yourself tonight? Run into anything? Have something fall or hit you? Did