Read Online Ring of Fire by Susan Fox - Free Book Online

and black lashes she’d inherited from her mom—just as she was glad of the tall, strong build that had come from her “gone and good riddance” father. That build put off a lot of guys, especially ones who were shorter than her six feet, but it enabled her to pass the firefighter physical qualifications. She’d also found that even though she’d never been the typical “girly” female, there were still plenty of guys who found her attractive. Was Eric one of them?
    Not wanting to look like she was trying too hard, she chose black yoga pants, a cotton tank top the color of rich red wine, and a charcoal zip-front hoodie. Casual clothes, though it just happened that the pants hugged her taut butt and long legs, and the tank—camisole-styled, with a built-in bra—showed off her toned shoulders and arms, not to mention her firm breasts. Depending on how things went, she could leave the hoodie on or take it off.
    When she reached the kitchen, Jayden was back in his seat and Eric was carrying a big pan of lasagna from the stove to the table. He smiled at her and she saw male appreciation in his eyes. It seemed he was one of the men who had no issue with her height, strength, and atypical occupation. Maybe that shouldn’t delight her, but it did.
    â€œI brought a bottle of red wine,” he said, “though if you’re on call . . .”
    â€œI’ll certainly have some,” Mary said, adding a bowl of salad and a basket of sliced Italian bread to the table. “Wine’s a treat in this house. Lark, are you going to take the night off? You’re not the duty officer, are you?”
    â€œNo, I’m not.” The offer—of wine, and of not being called away when Eric was here—was tempting.
    â€œMom, take the night off,” Jayden begged.
    Lark and the four other paid personnel who worked regular office hours were, like the volunteers, on call to be paged 24/7. Not everyone responded to every call, of course, and the firefighters also let dispatch know when they were unavailable due to commitments or other circumstances. It was a rule of Lark’s that no one responded to a callout if they’d had even one drink. This was Wednesday, not exactly a night that most of the volunteers would be drinking. If there was an emergency, plenty of firefighters would respond. She wouldn’t be needed.
    â€œYou persuaded me,” she said. “I’d love a glass of wine. Thanks for bringing it, Eric.”
    â€œLeast I could do.”
    Lark sent a quick message to dispatch to say she wasn’t on call. As she did, Mary dug their corkscrew out of the back of a drawer, and handed it to Eric. “Lark,” she said. “Glasses.”
    â€œYou’re so lucky you have a tall daughter,” Lark commented as she reached above her mom’s head to the top shelf, where they put dishes they rarely used. She took down three wineglasses and placed them on the counter for Eric.
    He’d shoved the sleeves of his shirt up his forearms. His skin was tanned from all of the outdoor exercise he’d been getting. The black cotton, the dark skin with a scattering of brown hair, the shift of muscles under that skin . . . Oh yeah, though men could mess up a woman’s life, they did have some very fine features. She was now a wise enough woman to appreciate the fine parts and avoid the kind of entanglement that seemed, for the Cantrell women, to inevitably lead to pain.
    The wine Eric poured was a deep garnet red, similar to the color of her tank top. She was definitely going to have to take off her hoodie before the evening was over. In fact, already she was feeling toasty warm, and it wasn’t from the heat of the stove.
    It was way too long since she’d had sex. Which was a particularly weird thought to be having now, with her mom and son in the same room. It was a good reminder that she had never—at least since Jayden’s father