Hearts on Fire Read online

  Hearts on Fire

  A Lakewood Romance, Volume 3

  Amber Thielman

  Published by Amber Thielman, 2018.

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  HEARTS ON FIRE

  First edition. October 23, 2018.

  Copyright © 2018 Amber Thielman.

  Written by Amber Thielman.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Chapter 1 | Hallie

  Chapter 2 | Tate

  Chapter 3 | Hallie

  Chapter 4 | Tate

  Chapter 5 | Tate

  Chapter 6 | Hallie

  Chapter 7 | Tate

  Chapter 8 | Tate

  Chapter 9 | Hallie

  Chapter 10 | Tate

  Chapter 11 | Hallie

  Chapter 12 | Tate

  Chapter 13 | Hallie

  Chapter 14 | Tate

  Chapter 15 | Hallie

  Chapter 16 | Tate

  Chapter 17 | Tate

  Chapter 18 | Hallie

  Chapter 19 | Tate

  Chapter 20 | Hallie

  Chapter 21 | Tate

  Chapter 22 | Hallie

  Chapter 23 | Tate

  Chapter 24 | Hallie

  Chapter 25 | Tate

  Chapter 26 | Hallie

  Chapter 27 | Tate

  Chapter 28 | Hallie

  Chapter 29 | Tate

  Chapter 30 | Hallie

  Chapter 31 | Tate

  Chapter 32 | Hallie

  Chapter 33 | Tate

  Chapter 34 | Hallie

  Chapter 35 | Tate

  Chapter 36 | Hallie

  Chapter 37 | Tate

  Chapter 38 | Hallie

  Chapter 39 | Tate

  Chapter 40 | Hallie

  Chapter 41 | Tate

  Chapter 42 | Hallie

  Chapter 43 | Tate

  Chapter 44 | Hallie

  Chapter 45 | Tate

  Chapter 46 | Hallie

  Just a Love Song

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  Hallie

  “Today we are here for a swearing-in ceremony for firefighters, one of the world’s most honored but dangerous occupations.”

  The air bristled with an unusually brisk chill for a late-spring day in April, but as I stood in front of the crowd of my department’s family and friends, I felt nothing but a scorching-hot iron of disapproval branding me from all directions. My face fanned with burning red, probably in sync with the US flag hanging on the pole behind where we stood. I tried to keep my eyes to myself, hesitant and unwilling to meet the disapproving gazes of my soon-to-be colleagues. They didn’t want me there; I knew that. From the beginning until this very moment, the department, consisting solely of men, had made it clear to me that—as a woman—I would somehow be unable to do the job I was hired to do.

  “When there is an emergency in the community; firefighters are one of the first on scene,” Chief Preston Davis continued. “Firefighters are there at devastating ravages of fire, motor vehicle accidents, tornadoes, hazardous material incidents, rescue operations, explosions, medical emergencies, and many other critical events.”

  I shifted from one leg to the other, hands grasped firmly behind my back, palms and neck sweating with anticipation and nerves. In the crowd, a few onlookers seemed to be glaring at me instead of paying any attention to their own recruits. I recognized some of the men from my parent’s church; disapproving Christian conservatives who didn’t want me there any more than my new department did. With small towns came small minds, and I’d endured the backlash for months, always pushing through, tuning the haters out until I wasn’t sure I could anymore. For months, I’d balanced on the edge of giving up and forcing my way in.

  The men on my crew, some of them, had tried to intimidate me away, frighten me out of showing up today. But I’d come. Months of nerve-wracking interviews, physical fitness routines and skills tests had finally gotten me here; the place I’d always wanted to be.

  Screw them and what they thought. I was finally in, and I wasn’t going anywhere, despite their best efforts to scare me out the door.

  “Firefighters become civil servants as sworn officers following standard policies and procedures of the fire service and standard operating procedures of their departments. They are there to prevent human suffering and death, to stabilize the incident and prevent damages and loss of property.” Chief Davis paused a moment and looked up, his eyes skimming over the crowd. A black man, in his late 50’s, with years of experience under his belt and a protective eye for his squad, I liked him. He was one of the good ones. From the beginning, he’d been nothing but supportive of my being at the department. That was more than could be said for everyone else.

  Next to me, Jake Finn, a fellow recruit, had tiny beads of sweat forming on his shiny forehead. In the brief time I’d known him I’d found that Jake was a good kid. He was young, maybe twenty-two, with a shock of red hair and freckles that made him look sixteen or seventeen. Finn was a friend, my friend, one of the few guys who didn’t whisper nasty comments behind my back or scowl at me in the training room. He was just as new as I was, a rookie breaking into the tight-knit group of this department. If I had no one else, at least I had him.

  “Relax,” I whispered to Jake. “It’s almost over.” He smiled a bit with the corner of his mouth and stood up a little straighter, forcing his shoulders back.

  I looked away from him and scanned the faces in the room. The mayor was there, of course, flanked by a few city officials and representatives. Aside from the few faces I recognized from growing up in this small city, no other supportive smiles came from the crowd. My fiancé, Jeremy, had made it clear at the start he didn’t support my desire to get onto the squad. Per his opinion, a fire department was no place for a woman. He couldn’t stop me from doing it, of course, but he wouldn’t support me in it, either. My parents were pretty much singing from Jeremy’s song sheet. My father, despite being a retired firefighter himself, had yet to grasp the concept that a woman could do the job as well as a man could. It shamed him to know I’d allowed myself into this, voluntarily becoming a member of a department full of sex-hungry men. Women belonged in the kitchen, not in a firehouse.

  I averted my attention back to the chief, who was introducing our new captain, Tate Becker. Tate was another one of the few that I liked. It wasn’t just his charm and physical appeal although he had that in abundance—Tate was a kindhearted man who took his rank seriously. He’d shown me nothing but patience and compassion, and professionalism on all levels, from beginning to end. He didn’t look down his nose at me, didn’t treat me different from the others, and that’s all I could have asked. Tate’s promotion was great timing, because the captain of any squad would be the person directing and caring for his recruits, and team. A lousy boss could quickly turn a dream career into a miserable life, but Tate didn’t seem like the kind.

  “Today I would like to offer the opportunity for our new captain to swear in the new members of our family,” Chief Davis said, shaking Tate’s hand as he joined Davis at the podium. There was loud applause and a few whistles. Tate thanked the chief and then turned to face me and the two other recruits. His gaze met mine, and an expression of satisfaction spread across his handsome face. I was the first female firefighter ever to be accepted onto the department, and that was something to be proud of; not just for me, but for the rest of the department. I only wished they all felt that way.

  “It is a great honor o swear in these recruits of the Lakewood Fire Department,” Tate said. “Jake Finn, Tanner Rey, and Hallie Harper, will you please raise your right hand, and repeat after me.”<
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  I took a deep breath, voice shaking as adrenaline coursed through my veins.

  “I, Hallie Harper, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America and the State of Washington against all enemies, both foreign and domestic, and I will faithfully and impartially discharge my duties as firefighter of the city of Lakewood under the appointment of the department according to the laws of Washington State to the best of my skills and abilities, so help me God.”

  Chapter 2

  Tate

  “You seem tense.” Julia put one hand on my chest, the warmth of her skin seeping through my shirt. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The sweet aroma of vanilla and lavender perfume she wore sent a buzz of relaxation through my body. I lifted her hand from my chest and kissed the top of it.

  “It was a long day,” I said. I cupped the back of my neck with one hand and massaged it, trying to ease the tension from my shoulders.

  “The ceremony?” Julia leaned into me, her lips brushing mine, red hair tickling my face. She replaced my hand with her own and kneaded my neck, her skilled fingers working efficiently to massage the kinks. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be there. Our department was crazy busy today.”

  “I know, it’s alright.” I took her hand, my fingers tangling with hers, and she leaned around to kiss me, teasing my mouth with the softness of her lips. I melted into her, shivering slightly as her fingers trailed down my abdomen, towards the hardness growing under my jeans. She ran one free hand through my hair, massaging my scalp.

  “So,” she purred. “How did it go?”

  “We have three new rookies,” I said. “And one of them is a woman.”

  “What?” Julia’s hand withdrew as though I’d pinched her. She stared at me, those green eyes slightly wide; in horror or fascination, I couldn’t tell. “There’s a female on the crew?”

  “Yeah,” I pushed myself up onto my elbows. “Hallie Harper. She’s fresh out of college with a Psych degree and the determination of six of my men.”

  “Wow.” Her tone conveyed anything but excitement. “Is she cute?”

  “Not as cute as you.” I reached out to pull her into me, but she was stiff as a rock, arms folded stubbornly across her chest.

  “Is that going to be weird?” she asked. “I mean, with all the men on your crew it seems like a lawsuit waiting to happen.”

  “You work in a department full of men,” I reminded her, and Julia scoffed.

  “I’m a Paramedic, Tate, I work EMS. I don’t work fire, and there are plenty of other females in our department in Seattle.”

  “Lakewood isn’t Seattle. The small-town view here is very different from the city.”

  “So why couldn’t she apply to a city department instead?” Julia asked. “We could use a girl like her on EMS, it sounds.”

  I straightened up, turning to meet her gaze.

  “Because she wants to work fire. Anyway, I thought you’d be pleased. You’re a self-proclaimed feminist, aren’t you?”

  “Well, yeah, but it seems kind of silly to fight so hard to get into a department that doesn’t want you there. You mentioned this girl once, months ago, but haven’t ever since. I guess I assumed she’d failed the tests, or something.”

  “No, Julia, she passed with flying colors.” I rubbed my hand over my face as fatigue washed over me. “Besides, there’s nothing we can do now.” What I didn’t say was even if I could change it, I probably wouldn’t. Hallie Harper had earned her way into the department through sheer strength and will. She deserved to be there regardless of what Julia and my crew members thought. “She’s a good kid. Tough. I think it will be good for us.”

  “I’m sure it will be just great,” Julia said brightly. “Why a girl would even want to be a firefighter is beyond me. I mean, she can’t just be a paramedic and work alongside them, right? She’s got to throw herself all in.”

  “Well, she’s a medic, too.” The look on Julia’s face made me wish I’d bitten my tongue off, instead of speak.

  “She sounds like the whole package, doesn’t she?” She pushed herself off the bed and headed toward the bathroom, her slender hips rocking in such a way that I longed to have my hands all over her.

  “You’re overreacting,” I called as she slammed the bathroom door behind her. “Remember, I’ve only got eyes for you.”

  She mumbled something that could have easily been an insult, and I groaned and dropped my head into my arms.

  This would be fun, I could tell.

  Chapter 3

  Hallie

  I walked through the front door of my apartment, buzzed from the ceremony’s after party wine. Hanging around with a bunch of men who loathed my very existence hadn’t been a top priority, but I knew if I was going to assert myself as one of them, I had to try—even if it did mean downing three cups of chardonnay just to face the ceremony guests.

  I only drank enough to relax, not enough to lose control and make a fool of myself. My only new friend, Jake, had stuck by me for the hour or two I was there. The chief had been too busy chatting to friends and family members to hover and protect me from the hate filled gazes of my new crew, but it was something I was slowly becoming used to. It didn’t bother me as much as it had, but a part of me couldn’t help wonder if their hatred for me would ever change.

  The worst part of the night was when Captain Becker left early, bidding us a good night and offering his hand one last time in a sincere, congratulatory shake before he headed home. Without him there to tame his vicious pack of wild dogs, I’d been fair game. Fortunately, because Chief Davis was around, none of the men tried anything more than their usual snarls of dislike. If they weren’t glaring at me from where they stood, they had flat out ignored me, which was something I preferred given the choices I had.

  I closed the front door behind me and shrugged off my jacket, kicking off my boots to set them up in the hallway. The TV blared in the living-room, which meant Jeremy was home tonight instead of stuck at the community college for after-hours grading.

  “Baby?” He came around the corner to greet me and pulled me in for a kiss. I melted into him, the stress of the day fading as he held me. “How did it go?” he asked. He brushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “I’m sorry, I got busy with classes and couldn’t find the time to come.”

  I wanted to call him out, he wouldn’t have come anyway, but I kept quiet. My fiancé was a good man, a brilliant college History professor, and my soon-to-be husband. We didn’t have to agree on everything; we just had to be okay with the things we didn’t.

  “It was all right.” I stood still as his soft hands worked over the kinks in my muscles. One hand ran down my chest, flitting over my breasts. He leaned down and nuzzled my neck, kissing the skin gently, but the normal ripple of anticipation I would have gotten didn’t appear.

  “Sorry, I’m tired.” I dropped my hands from his arms and stepped away, making my way to the kitchen for a beer to keep the buzz going. Jeremy followed me, silent, and I could sense annoyance in the air above him. I couldn’t muster up the energy to care. Tomorrow would be my first real shift; 24-hours straight with a houseful of men who couldn’t stand me. Tonight, I just wanted to not care.

  “That’s never a good sign,” Jeremy said as I popped the top and took a long drink. He was already dressed down in plaid pajama pants and a tee-shirt, wearing the slippers I’d given him for Christmas a year before. He wore glasses, the ones that made him look even more handsome and distinguished. His shaggy brown hair was approaching the need for a trim, and the five ‘o clock shadow on his chin made a soft appearance.

  “I wish you’d been able to make it.” I settled onto the couch and tucked my legs beneath me, taking another deep sip of my drink. Jeremy joined me, reaching for the remote to mute the sound on the TV. I knew damn well I should just let it go, not even bring it up, but truth of the matter was, his absence was more hurtful than I expected it would be. Jeremy was all I had, and this was
important to me. Over the years, I’d been nothing but loyal to his career. I’d attended conferences, his graduate school ceremony. I’d stayed up late waiting while he’d graded papers in the classroom after hours. I’d given him space when he had deadlines and had to work from home. I’d understood even when I didn’t want to, and today he hadn’t even shown up for me.

  “You know how I feel about you working for that department.” His tone was patient. That was something I’d always admired about Jeremy: his kindness and patience.

  “I worked hard to get there,” I said. “I took the exams; I passed the physical fitness test, I did interviews...and finally, finally, they accepted me.”

  “I know, and I’m proud of you working so hard for it.”

  “You’re proud I worked hard for it, but not proud enough to show up to my swearing in, right?”

  He said nothing, and I had to look away before I did one of two things: screamed at him or cried in his lap. It had been a rough day, either was possible.

  “What is it you don’t like?” I asked.

  “It’s a dangerous job,” Jeremy said. “I’ve said that before.”

  “Is it that?” I said. “Or is it the fact I’ll be bunking and working alongside a dozen men who aren’t you?” When he looked at me, I could see the patience wearing thin.

  “There are many reasons I can’t support this,” he said. “The danger is a big one, yes, and I guess I would be lying if I said the thought of my fiancée having sleepovers with her male coworkers didn’t make me cringe.”

  “You say sleepovers like this is some big joke,” I said. “This is my job now, Jer, and it has nothing to do with sleepovers. I must be at the station with them, so we’re ready to go when there’s an emergency. They’re just coworkers—ones that hate me, nonetheless—so I can’t imagine there’s anything for you to worry about.”

  “Male co-workers who don’t even want you there.” He rubbed at his face with his palm. “That’s a dangerous situation to put yourself in, Hallie.”