Read Online Slow Burn: A Colorado High Country Novel by Pamela Clare - Free Book Online Page B

Lexi.
    Lexi turned to Vic again. “I saw him carry you to his SUV. Is something going on between you two?”
    First Eric’s mother, and now Lexi.
    “Of course not! I’m done with men.” Vic must have been flustered because her mouth took off without her. “The last thing I want right now is to hook up with some sexy, handsome, strong, single firefighter who carries women with altitude sickness off mountains and mows his mother’s lawn.”
    One red eyebrow arched. “If you were trying to convince me, you blew it.”
    On the back deck, Austin was grilling steaks on a big gas grill, a large cooler full of beer and soda nearby. “You made it just in time. How are you feeling?”
    “I’m much better. Thank you.” She inhaled, the scent of sizzling beef making her mouth water. “That smells so good.”
    Britta stepped out of the kitchen followed by Winona Belcourt, both women carrying large salads. They set the salads on a long wooden picnic table that was already laden with food, bowls covered with cellophane to keep out bugs.
    “Hey, Victoria.” Winona reached to hug her, her dark hair hanging around her shoulders. “I heard the altitude got you. How are you?”
    Winona was a veterinarian who ran a sanctuary for injured wildlife and the daughter of a hereditary Sun Dance chief. She had come to Colorado on the heels of her older brother, Chaska, who was also a Team member and one of Austin’s groomsmen—and perhaps the most handsome man Vic had ever met. Brother and sister had both fallen in love with the mountains and stayed. Lexi had volunteered for the sanctuary for about a year now, and she and Winona had become good friends. Lexi even got along with Winona’s big pet wolf, Shota.
    “I’m better now. Thanks.”
    Voices came from above, jerking Vic’s gaze toward the roof.
    Eric stood up there, together with Chaska and Jesse.
    “They climbed the chimney.” Lexi said this as if it were the sort of thing one did at a cookout. “Chaska’s testing a new self-belaying device he designed.”
    The expression on Vic’s face must have been amusing because Winona laughed. “Climbing is a sickness you can’t cure. Have you met my brother?”
    “Yes.” Vic’s gaze returned to the roof in time to see Chaska, his long dark hair tied back in a ponytail, drop over the other side of the house, while Jesse stood on the roof in a climbing harness, rope in hand.
    Eric peered over the edge to watch, a big grin appearing on his face. “It works.”
    By the time everyone was off the roof, Austin was pulling steaks off the grill, and it was time to gather around the table.
    Vic found herself sitting next to Eric, the press of his hard thigh against hers more than a little distracting. She scooted closer to Lexi.
    “I don’t bite,” he whispered, then added in a louder voice, “You got water?”
    “Yes, Mom.” She held up her ice water as proof, just as Austin tapped a beer bottle with the blade of his steak knife.
    “Before you dig in, I just wanted to thank you all for agreeing to stand with us.”
    “Hey, I signed on for the beer,” Jesse joked.
    “Your support has meant so much to us over the years, and it’s going to mean a lot on Saturday. Cheers!”
    “Cheers!”
    And there it was—that lump that formed in her throat every time she thought about Lexi getting married. She needed to knock it off, or she’d be a blubbering mess at the ceremony.
    They had just started in on dessert—strawberry shortcake—when a boom shocked the air, stopping the conversation and turning everyone’s heads toward town.
    Eric got to his feet, pager in hand before the tone sounded.
    “They’re playing your song,” Austin said.
    “Well, shit. It looks like Hank blew up his house. I told him to do that shit outside.” He slid his pager back onto the waistband of his jeans, his gaze shifting to Vic. “Want to come with me and see my team in action?”
    Was he serious?
    “Do you really mean that?”
    From the distance,