The Last of The Red Hot Firefighters (Red Hot Reunions Book 1) by Jessie Evans Read Free Book Online Page A

seeing them together today, she no longer thought Faith and Jake were romantically involved, but they were obviously close friends.
    “I found out about what happened to his wife after the auction last night,” Naomi continued softly, not wanting her words to carry. “I realized it’s getting close to the day he lost her, and I felt terrible that I might be stressing him out at such a difficult time. I told him it was fine if he wanted to forget the month of dates thing, but he wouldn’t hear of it. You know how stubborn he is.”
    Faith frowned, but when she spoke next, her voice was slightly less venomous. “You really said that?”
    “I did. And I meant it. I don’t want to hurt Jake. I just want to be a friend to him.”
    Faith’s pale brows shot up. “Are you serious? You think you and Jake are going to be friends?”
    “I hope so.” Naomi smiled, hoping it looked more confident than she felt. “Jake means a lot to me, and I can be a good friend to him if he’ll let me.”
    Faith gave an amused snort. “Lady, I get that you’re trying to be cool, and I appreciate it and all, but you obviously don’t know Jake.”
    “Oh, I know him,” Naomi said in a wry voice. “But you don’t know me.”
    “No, seriously,” Faith said, a hint of pity in her tone. “If you betray Jake’s trust—that’s it, no second chances. He’s like the Old Testament God, the one who turned people into pillars of salt for turning around to look backwards when he told them not to, and stuff. I mean, I love him like a brother, don’t get me wrong, but forgiveness isn’t his strong suit.”
    “That’s why I bid on him last night,” Naomi said, gazing up at the slightly taller Faith, deciding she liked the girl. Anyone who cared this much about Jake was all right in her book, even if she was currently giving Naomi the third degree. “I knew the only way I would get him to stick around long enough to even think about accepting my apology was if he felt obligated to remain in my presence.”
    “That’s pretty hardcore,” Faith said.
    “ I’m pretty hardcore,” Naomi answered. “And I don’t give up on things I want without a fight.” Then she added—in what she hoped was a reassuring voice, “But I promise I’m not going to do anything to hurt Jake. That’s not on my agenda.”
    Faith bit her lip, seemingly debating whether or not to accept Naomi at face value. Finally, she sighed and lifted her hands into the air in grudging surrender. “Okay. We’re cool. For now. But I’ve got my eye on you,” she warned, narrowing her gaze as she stepped past Naomi onto the sidewalk.
    Naomi nodded. “Duly noted.”
    “I’m going to get burritos,” Faith said as she backed away, jabbing a thumb over her shoulder. “You want one?”
    “Really?” Naomi asked, touched by the unexpected offer. She’d been away from Summerville for so long that even the most basic Southern hospitality still seemed like an amazing gift. Once more, she gave silent thanks that she’d finally had the sense to come home.
    Faith shrugged. “Yeah, well, I know you guys bought the place across the street. I’m kind of torn between being a friendly neighbor, and giving you the cold shoulder out of respect for Jake. Right now, I’m leaning more toward friendly neighbor. But I could switch to cold shoulder any moment,” she added quickly, obviously wanting to make it clear to Naomi that a welcome-to-the-neighborhood-burrito didn’t mean Faith was letting down her guard.
    Naomi nodded again, fighting a smile. The more Faith talked, the more Naomi liked her. Her bluntness was refreshing.
    “I understand,” Naomi said. “I’ll skip the burrito. Go ahead and give me the cold shoulder for now. I think Jake would appreciate that.”
    “But no hard feelings,” Faith said.
    “None at all. I’ll even have my sister bring some cookies by the station later to prove it.”
    Faith smiled. “Awesome. Catch you later.”
    “Later.” Naomi waved