Playing With Fire: inspirational romantic suspense (Montana Fire Book 2) by Susan May Warren Read Free Book Online

Glacier National Park. We’re stationed there. We mostly put out fires in the Cabinet Mountains and, of course, the park.”
    “Sounds busy and…exhausting. You look like you’re going to drop right here.”
    Conner smiled. “Maybe. If I do, just shove a pillow under my head. I’m used to sleeping in crazy places. But I do like the work. I like the fact that at the end of the day you walk away tired, having kept a promise to yourself that you won’t quit. And”—his smile dimmed—“it’s the closest thing to being a part of a family a guy like me is going to get.”
    A guy like him?
    She might have let his words flicker in her eyes but said nothing. Still, he answered her.
    “I live in a trailer, moving from one fire to the next. And like I said, there’s a lot of sleeping on the ground. We never know when we need to deploy—we get about a two-hour notice. Sometimes they take us right off one fire, fly us into another. So it’s hard to put down roots or make friends.”
    Probably his way of telling her that if he left, he wouldn’t be able to say good-bye. But if that was meant to scare her off, he had nothing to worry about.
    “Some of us are just destined to spend our lives alone,” she said and lifted a shoulder. “Doesn’t mean you can’t have a friend along the way, even temporarily.”
    She felt Conner’s enigmatic look all the way to her bones, turning her world a little off-kilter.
    Liza cleared her throat, found her footing. “How is the fire going?”
    “Not great. Jed called in for more tankers, but if we don’t get a handle on it, it’s going to start destroying some of the resorts. Like Evergreen. And something called the Garden? Darek mentioned it at a briefing we had a few days ago at the resort.”
    “The Garden—oh no. That’s where Joe’s brother Gabriel lives. It’s a group home. I should call Mona.”
    “I think the fire department is already on it,” Conner said and finished off his juice.
    Then silence fell, awkward between them.
    “I should go.” He got up. “Thank you for breakfast. And for the clothes. If I don’t get a chance to bring them back, I’ll leave them at Evergreen.”
    Liza managed a smile, hating how her heart suddenly hurt.
    And she might not be the only one, because he just stared at her, a half smile on his face, as if sorry to leave. “I’m glad you were on the beach, Liza. Thanks for this morning. You’ve been...”
    Just. Friends.
    “Amazing.”
    Oh.
    “And easy to talk to, and yeah, I think God used you today to help jar me out of my funk. I know I would have perished without breakfast.”
    She stood, picked up his towel, held it. “I doubt it.”
    “I know it.” His eyes met hers, an emotion she couldn’t name just below the surface. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. “I definitely needed a friend.”
    Her smile was genuine. “I’m glad I could be your Deep Haven friend.”
    He stood there a second longer, looked at the towel in her hand, as if stirring up words. Then, “I don’t make promises, but if I can get back into town before I leave, I will, okay?”
    Huh? Oh. She knew he was leaving, but found her breath caught. She nodded though, her foolish heart tumbling over with his words.
    “Stay alive, Conner.”
    And then she reached out her hand to him.
    He took it. Then quickly pulled her close. Wrapped her in a hug.
    A warm, just-friends kind of embrace that she probably enjoyed way too much. Because his chest was solid against her cheek, his waist trim and toned, and he smelled freshly showered, the hint of soap on his skin.
    “Keep praying,” he said, then let her go.
    And if that didn’t help her tuck her heart back into her chest, then she didn’t know what would.
    Liza watched him leave, carrying his bundle of smoky, charred clothing, and wished that she wasn’t so easy to walk away from.

 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter 3

 
     
    Conner couldn’t believe Evergreen Resort had actually burned to the