Slow Burn: A Colorado High Country Novel

  “She’s still having bad headaches and short-term memory problems. Light hurts her eyes. But her scans have all been normal. She’s going to be okay.”

  “I’m relieved to hear it. She’s got guts.”

  “Yes, she does.” Eric thanked Megs again and ended the call, then walked around to the driver’s side door and climbed in.

  “An important call?” Victoria asked him.

  “Just Megs. Team stuff.” He shoved his key into the ignition, and then his pager went off. He slipped it off his belt, scrolled through the message.

  MEET AT HAWKE’S HOUSE. HE’S BRINGING VICTORIA HOME AND ASKED US TO CLEAN HIS PIGSTY. MUST BE SPOTLESS IN NEXT 30 MIN. BRING YOUR OWN HAZMAT GEAR.

  Jesus!

  The Team would never let him live this one down.

  They talked of little things on the way up the canyon. Victoria was unusually quiet, a slight frown on her face. Was she in pain?

  “Hey, are you okay?”

  “I’m so happy that I’m here with you, but I feel bad about missing work. I feel like I’m playing hooky or something.”

  She had rescheduled her flight for next Saturday. Eric had managed to trade for more days off, but he would be on call. Still, that gave them the better part of six more days together—unless someone set the town on fire.

  He reached over, took her hand. “You have a skull fracture and a concussion, for God’s sake. You heard the doc. He said you need lots of rest.”

  “He also said I could travel.”

  “He said you could travel if you felt up to it—which you and I both know you don’t. Cut yourself some slack, okay?”

  She nodded, tried to smile. “I’m not very good at that.”

  “I’ve noticed.”

  Eric drove to the inn first to get Victoria’s bags. Bob and Kendra had moved her things downstairs into Lexi’s old bedroom to make room for the suite’s new occupants.

  “The inn looks like itself again,” Victoria said.

  The party tent was gone. The chairs were gone. Britta was gone, too, having caught a flight to California.

  Victoria went inside with him to say hello. “Did Lexi and Austin make it to the airport this morning?”

  It was the third or fourth time she’d asked someone about them.

  Bob didn’t know that. He got to his feet. “They sure did. They should be getting leid real soon.”

  Kendra shook her head. “You really think you’re funny, don’t you?”

  Victoria gave Bob a smile. “It was a beautiful wedding. Thanks for having me as your guest. The Matchless is one of the most comfortable suites I’ve ever stayed in.”

  “You’re welcome, honey. We’re just glad you’re going to be okay.” Bob gave her a hug, then turned to Eric. “What did you think? Is the bed comfortable?”

  “Yeah, Bob, that bed is comfortable. I suppose I should thank you, too.”

  “Nah, we’ll just send you a bill.”

  Kendra gave Victoria a hug, too. “Don’t listen to him. He’s kidding.”

  Eric loaded Victoria’s bags in his truck, then they headed off to his place, making light conversation. The closer they got to his cabin, the more nervous he felt. He wasn’t ashamed of how he lived. But somewhere in the past twenty-four hours, it had dawned on him that the woman he loved might as well be from a different planet. She had traveled the world, while he’d spent most of his life in Scarlet. She had a college degree, while he had a high school diploma. And then there was the bit about her being a millionaire.

  What could a woman as sophisticated as Victoria possibly see in him? She would probably take one look at his cabin and realize she’d made a mistake.

  Knock it off, dumbshit.

  “Tell me about your house,” she said.

  “It’s a cabin.”

  “Cool.”

  “I rent it from this couple that lives up the mountain. It sits on their property. It’s small, but I don’t need much space. Most of what I own is climbing gear. I spend a lot of time at the firehouse anyway.”

  “I bet it’s cozy.”

  He felt an irrational urge to laugh. “That it is.”

  A familiar green Subaru came around the curve headed their way, Megs at the wheel, Sasha in the passenger seat, Ahearn following them in his white Jeep Cherokee. As they passed, Sasha stuck her entire upper body out the window and gave him a thumbs-up.

  “Oh, hey, there’s Sasha.” Victoria waved.

  Eric coughed. “I wonder what they were doing out this way.”

  Five minutes later, he turned off onto the dirt road that led to his cabin, feeling terribly self-conscious. He could stand in front of her naked and feel completely at ease, but taking her to his home… He’d never brought any woman here.

  “Oh, God! Is that it? It’s like a gingerbread cottage. I love it.”

  “Yeah?” He let out a relieved breath and pulled into his driveway.

  Vic waited until Eric reached her door to climb out, protective hands helping to steady her as she stepped to the ground. “I’m okay, really—just a slight headache.”

  “I’m not taking any chances.” He took her hand in his. “Let’s get you settled inside. Then I’ll come back for your bags.”

  “Can’t I see the outside?”

  “Okay. Sure.”

  It was the most adorable cabin Victoria had ever seen, like something from a postcard. The bottom half was built of large rounded river stones, a wide stone chimney rising past the steeply gabled roof. Four broad steps led to a covered porch beneath which firewood stood neatly stacked. The front door was painted a cheery color of red, the window casings bright blue.

  He led her around to the right. “Taylor and I built this deck a few years back. The owners bought the materials, and I got a discount on my rent for doing the work.”

  A few simple Adirondack chairs sat on the deck, and Victoria could imagine the two of them kicking back with a few beers here on a summer evening.

  Then she saw it. “Look! You have your own creek.”

  It ran down from the hillside about thirty feet from the cabin, babbling its way over rocks and through groves of aspen before heading off down the mountain.

  “It’s not really mine, but, yeah, it’s nice. Sometimes deer and elk come down at night to drink.”

  “It must be wonderful to live that close to nature.”

  He grinned. “It is—until there’s a forest fire or the creek floods.”

  “What a beautiful place.” She crossed the lawn to the creek’s edge and just stood there, breathing in the stillness, a bittersweet ache in her heart. She didn’t want to leave Scarlet. She didn’t want to leave him.

  He led her to the back of the cabin, where a big electric log splitter sat beneath a tarp, firewood stacked in big, circular piles. “I’ve started getting in my wood for the winter. It gets pretty cold up here, so I’ve usually got a fire going in the woodstove.”

  She liked the sound of that. “I bet it’s beautiful when it snows.”

  He gave her hand a little squeeze. “Why don’t you come back and find out?”

  Oh, she planned on it.

  Inside, the cabin was clean and simple—and very Eric. A blocky leather sofa sat in the living room across from a flat screen TV. Magazines with titles like Outside, Rock and Ice, Climbing, and Fire and Rescue sat in neat stacks on a coffee table of polished pine around a glass vase of flowers that looked like they’d come from the wedding—sprigs of lavender, eucalyptus, purple lisianthus, and white roses.

  She bent down, sniffed. “Did Lexi give you these?”

  Eric looked at the flowers as if he’d never seen them. “Oh. Yeah. Nice, huh?”

  There was a single bookshelf that was stacked two deep with books, DVDs, and CDs, a Bose iPod dock on the top shelf charging an old iPod classic. Photos of mountains hung in simple frames on the wall. A small wooden table sat on the far end of the room across from a small galley kitchen, its white Formica countertops sparkling clean.

&nb
sp; “The bathroom is right there. There’s a tub and shower—the usual. The bedroom is through there. Like I said, the place is small.”

  “It’s not much smaller than my condo.”

  He looked surprised at this. “Really?”

  The bedroom had a single four-poster bed, its handmade quilt pieced together in shades of green and brown with applique moose across the bottom.

  Vic ran her hands over it. “Did your mom make this?”

  “It was a Christmas present a few years back.”

  “It’s amazing.”

  A photo of his mother sat on a chest of drawers made of unfinished pine, the bright smile on her face and the affection in her eyes telling Vic that Eric had taken the photo himself.

  “Where do you keep all your climbing gear?” She had half expected to find herself stepping over coils of rope, but so far she hadn’t seen anything.

  He pushed back the sliding door of his closet. “It’s all here.”

  The closet was full from floor to ceiling with neatly arranged boots, ropes, helmets, harnesses, axes, and a bunch of stuff Victoria didn’t have names for. “Wow. Okay, let me rephrase this. Where do you keep your clothes?”

  He chuckled and pointed to the chest of drawers. “But, hey, no peeking at my underwear.”

  “Very funny.”

  “Why don’t you rest, and I’ll go get your bags.”

  She put a pout on her face. “The tour is over?”

  “Well, there’s nothing else to see unless you want me to show you the toilet.”

  She gave him her best innocent look—and sat on his bed. “I was hoping you could show me how your bed works.”

  The breath left his lungs, his brows drawing together. “Are you sure? The doctor said you need to rest.”

  “What if I promise to lie on my back? I read somewhere that sex is good for headaches.”

  The crease between those dark brows got deeper, but still he didn’t move. “Probably not your kind of headache.”

  “Oh, come on. I haven’t had you inside me for thirty-six hours, and I’m dying. Isn’t it your job to save people?”

  “Well, if it’s a matter of life and death ...” He pulled his T-shirt over his head, revealing that amazing torso of his. “You just lie back. I’m a professional. I’ll take care of everything.”

  Eric held Victoria in his arms, his fingers tracing lines over the silken skin of her back, her scent filling his head. A breeze blew through his bedroom window, the heat of sex cooling into a kind of blissed-out languor, the afterglow stretching into a long, intimate silence.

  Then it hit him as it hadn’t before.

  He’d almost lost her. She’d come so close—so close—to being killed. Another couple of inches and the car’s tires would have crushed her.

  He drew her closer, kissed her hair. “You scared me to death.”

  She cocked her head to look up at him. “I did?”

  “I saw that bastard shove you. I saw you fall in front of that car. From where I stood, it looked like it hit you. My heart just seemed to stop. I ran. I couldn’t even think. I just ran to get to you. I think I shouted to Taylor to call for help.” Eric couldn’t remember, the details blurred by adrenaline. “I was so afraid I’d lost you. I don’t think I’ve ever been more scared in my life.”

  She raised herself up to look at him, her breasts pressing against his ribcage, her gaze warm. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Hey, you have no reason to apologize. It’s not your fault. I’m the one who’s sorry. If I’d seen what was going on, if I’d gotten there sooner …”

  “I’m just glad they caught the guys.”

  “So am I.” He hadn’t told her that the one who’d shoved her into the street had died. He wasn’t sure what that would do to her.

  “It’s so strange to hear you and Austin and Lexi talk about what happened when I don’t remember any of it. It’s almost like it happened to someone else.”

  He brushed a strand of dark hair from her cheek. “I bet it is strange.”

  “The doctor said I probably won’t ever remember what happened.”

  Eric knew this. He’d been standing right there when the neurologist had told her, but he didn’t say so. She was worried about the short-term memory loss, and he didn’t want to upset her. “That’s common with concussion.”

  “You helped save my life.”

  “I didn’t do much. You would’ve survived even if no one had been there. And if you’d been hit …” There probably wouldn’t have been anything he could have done. “I don’t want to think about that.”

  She smiled. “I kind of like this.”

  “Like what?”

  “Knowing that you got all shaken up over me.”

  He tickled her side. “Oh, you do, do you? You like knowing that I almost went out of my mind?”

  “No one has ever freaked out for me before.”

  Trust her with your feelings.

  If he was going to tell her, now was the time.

  He stroked her cheek. “That’s because no one has ever loved you the way I do.”

  She gaped at him, tears coming into her eyes. “Y-you mean that?”

  Now that the words were out, it felt as if a weight had been lifted off his chest. “God, yes, I mean it. I’m crazy in love with you, Vicki.”

  Her lips curved in a trembling smile, one tear sliding down her cheek. Then a look of worry pushed her smile aside. “How many times have you told me this?”

  He laughed. “Just this once.”

  “Good.” Relief brought her smile back. “That’s definitely something I would want to remember, because I love you, too.”

  Then she kissed him.

  Chapter 21

  The next few days felt like a dream to Victoria. It was like being wrapped in a blanket of happiness. Life was so easy with Eric. She went to sleep each night in his arms and woke up beside him each morning, feeling a kind of contentment she’d never known. It wasn’t just the sex, though sex with him was freaking amazing. Eric was there for her the way no man ever had been.

  “This is the closest I’ve come to paradise,” she told him one evening as she snuggled with him in one of his Adirondack chairs on the deck, watching the sunset.

  “Me, too.” He kissed her hair, held her closer.

  They made a trip to Food Mart each afternoon to buy ingredients for suppers that she made. It was wonderful to have so much time to play in the kitchen, and she was thrilled to see how much he enjoyed her cooking.

  “If I keep eating like this, I’m going to become the fat firefighter,” he said after finishing off a meal of pot roast, garlic mashed potatoes, and arugula salad. “Will you still love me when my gut is hanging over my bunker pants?”

  She still had bad headaches. She couldn’t spend more than fifteen minutes on her laptop, the light from the screen triggering dizziness and pain. When the headaches got to be too much, she rested. But even then she felt cherished. Eric came to check on her, brought her water and pain pills, sat beside her, rubbed her back.

  They went on short walks when she felt up to it. He told her the names of the flowers and trees and shared stories of growing up in the mountains. She got to know the property around his cabin pretty well and saw the landlord’s house. A big two-story home with multiple decks and lots of floor-to-ceiling windows, it sat higher up the mountain in a meadow. It reminded Vic of the house at the Cimarron, though it was much smaller.

  “The house, the property, the cabin—it’s all up for sale,” Eric told her. “I’m not sure the new property owner will want to rent out the cabin. Next time you come to Scarlet, I might be living somewhere else.”

  “Oh, I hope not. I love this place.”

  Eric left her alone only twice—once Sunday evening when he’d been toned out with the Team to rescue a hiker with a broken leg and once Tuesday afternoon when he’d responded to a planned burn on private property that had gotten out of control thanks to unexpected wind.

  “Thi
s is what it’s like, you know—getting called out all the time, never being certain when I’ll be home, not being able to plan.”

  She remembered what his mother had shared with her—that Eric was afraid no woman would want to put up with his schedule. She wrapped her arms around his neck, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed him. “That’s your job, and I love you for it.”

  “Are you certain?” Doubt put a crease between his brows.

  “Yes.” She kissed him.

  Vic awoke early Thursday to a soft kiss.

  Eric stood beside the bed, wearing jeans and a yellow Team T-shirt. “The Team got toned out for a rescue. It sounds pretty technical. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  She caught his hand. “Be careful.”

  “Always.” He gave her fingers a squeeze and was gone.

  She dozed for a while, then got up and made breakfast and coffee. She ate her yogurt and fruit out on the deck, the fresh morning breeze carrying the songs of birds and the gurgling of the creek—okay, and the distant growl of a semi on the highway.

  After breakfast, she tidied up the kitchen, took a shower, then went for a short walk, the land that surrounded the cabin now so familiar to her. The big boulder covered with lichens in different shades of green. The columbines that grew in the shade. The little pools in the creek. The rocky outcropping where a pine tree grew in seemingly nothing but rock. The field of golden banner down by the road.

  A bittersweet ache gnawed at her breastbone. God, she was going to miss this place. She was going to miss him.

  She’d never felt so close to anyone in her life, never felt the relaxed kind of intimacy she shared with him. The two of them fit together so well. Being away from him was going to hurt.

  But she couldn’t just quit her job, tear up her roots, and move to Colorado next week. She’d be acting on emotion, setting herself up for more heartbreak, more mistakes. Before she could move here, she would have to know what came next in her life. More than that, she would have to be sure about Eric—and about herself. They’d known each other for less than two weeks, after all—not counting last summer.

  It’s not that she doubted her feelings for him. She just didn’t trust herself to see the situation clearly. She needed to think things through with the logical part of her mind, and that meant going back to Chicago and facing her life there.