The Firefighter Meets His Match (Red Hot Reunions Book 4) by Jessie Evans Read Free Book Online Page B

weather is crazy.”
    Mick made a considering sound. “Be careful today, okay? I was listening to the news while you showered. The water is rising fast in some places, and they had a sinkhole open up north of town and swallow half a house.”
    Faith nodded as she stood to take her plate to the sink. “I will. Don’t worry. We haven’t had to do any flood evacuations since I joined the department, but I know the protocol and I’m good with a boat.” She breezed back past the dining table to the front door, grabbing her rain slicker from the coat tree and shrugging it on. “I’ll see you at family dinner tonight, okay? Bring the frozen rolls in the freezer if you remember.”
    And she believed she would see Mick at dinner. Flooding wasn’t something to be taken lightly, but it wasn’t anything compared to primary interior search on a working fire, or cutting roof holes for smoke evacuation . She expected to log a long, hard, wet day, rescue the stranded, and be back to the firehouse by supper, ready to dry off and eat her weight in ribs as a reward for a job well done.
    It wasn’t until she was waist deep in cold water, slogging through a brutal current with nothing but a rope linked to the harness on her suit to tether her to the motorboat idling in the deeper water behind her, with an uprooted tree bearing down on her as she tried to reach a golden retriever shivering on top of a dog house, that she began to worry.
    And by then it was too late.
    The tree rushed closer. The men behind her started to tow her back toward the boat, but Faith knew they wouldn’t be able to get her free of the tree’s path in time. And if they held on, she’d be forced under the water as the tree passed over her head, get trapped in the branches, and potentially drown before she could find her way out.
    Trusting her gut, Faith reached back and unhooked the rope from her harness, lifting her legs and allowing herself to be carried away by the current just feet ahead of the uprooted tree. On her way by the doghouse, the golden retriever barked and launched itself into the water, swimming hard toward her as they were both swept away down Lost Oak Lane.

CHAPTER EIGHT
    Mick
    At ten after two, Mick got a cold, miserable feeling in his gut way too intense to be a hunger pain, especially after the massive breakfast and lunch he’d eaten. At a quarter after two, he shut down his computer and went to turn on the police scanner—deciding that stalking the emergency crews’ radio signals would ease his stress about what was going on with the rescue effort—but his cell rang before he could flip the switch.
    The second he saw Jake’s number, the hair on Mick’s neck prickled. He and Jake were close, but not talking-on-the-phone close, and Jake didn’t make social calls while he was on duty. There were only a few reasons his brother-in-law-to-be would be calling him, and none of them were good.
    “Tell me Faith’s okay,” Mick said, putting the phone to his ear and bracing one hand on the back of the couch, pretty sure his legs were going to give out if Jake replied with anything but “she’s fine.”
    “We don’t know,” Jake said, the misery in his voice making it clear how worried he was. “Her team lost sight of her five minutes ago.”
    Five minutes ago. Ten after two.
    Mick’s eyes squeezed shut as he fought a wave of panic. Ten after two, it was like some part of him had fucking known.
    “She was trying to rescue a stranded dog when an uprooted tree came rushing through the flood water out of nowhere,” Jake continued. “The team said they tried to pull her in, but the current was too strong. Faith ended up unlatching her tether to get out of the way before the tree ran her over.”
    “But she was okay,” Mick said, fighting to get the words out past the vice gripping his throat. “She was conscious, right? Her head was above water?”
    “She was conscious,” Jake confirmed. “And she’s a strong swimmer, but that