Blazing
Hot Cowboy
Smokin’ Hot Cowboys, #2
Author:
Kim Redford
ISBN:
9781492621508
Pubdate:
January 3, 2017
Genre:
Contemporary Western
He’s all the heat she’ll ever need.
Lauren Sheridan’s return to Wildcat Bluff
after the death of her husband is bittersweet. Thirteen years have passed since
she set foot in the place that’s always held her heart…and the sizzling
memories of her high school sweetheart.
Kent Duval has it all. A proud rancher and
volunteer firefighter in the small town of Wildcat Bluff, he’s missing only one
thing from his life: passion. Kent last saw Lauren Sheridan when she was sweet
sixteen and they were head-over-heels in love. Now she’s back, spunky daughter
in tow, and he no longer knows which way is up. As the heat between them
builds, Kent can’t help but wonder if past flames can be rekindled and second
chances really do exist.
Excerpt:
In Wildcat Bluff County, Texas . . .
Kent Duval joined other firefighters in front of a burning
barn. He wasn’t wearing much firefighter gear, so he’d pump water and roll hose
from the booster while another volunteer used the nozzle to wet a perimeter around
the structure.
Streams of water hit the building and steam rose along with
smoke as Kent and the other first responders fought to bring the blaze under
control. Even so, the fire quickly expanded in size as it ate up oxygen. Soon
the wooden barn was fully engaged and pumping smoke. Flames surged higher into
the sky. They kept up the water barrage, beating back the blaze despite the
orange-and-yellow flames spitting and licking and clawing to take back what was
lost. Every fire had its own personality. This one reminded Kent of a dangerous
wild bull.
And just when he thought they had the blaze contained, a
piece of shake-shingle roof was ripped off by the wind and whipped across firefighter
heads to land in the adjacent pasture. Flames immediately set the dry grass
ablaze, and a line of fire headed straight for the nearby house at Twin Oaks.
“Watch my pump!” When Kent got a nod of understanding from
another firefighter, he took off running, hoping he could stomp out the fire
with his cowboy boots before it took hold and swept away from them.
He got ahead of the blaze, but the flames were quickly consuming
the grass. He stomped hard, making a little headway, but he quickly realized he
wasn’t able to do enough fast enough. And the other firefighters couldn’t leave
the barn. He’d have to call for backup, but he feared the engine couldn’t get
there in time.
Just as he pulled
his cell phone out of his pocket, he heard Lauren calling to him. He glanced
up. She’d crossed the road, dragging a heavy fire extinguisher in each hand, up
to the barbwire fence. He could’ve cheered because she might just have saved
the day.
He pocketed his
cell, ran over to her, grabbed the canisters, and set them down on his side of
the fence.
“Hold up the
barbwire and I’ll crawl under,” she said as she went down on her knees.
“Lauren, I don’t
want you in danger.”
“I’m not letting
that fire get anywhere near my daughter at Twin Oaks.” She lay down and started
to crawl on her stomach under the fence.
He quickly raised
the bottom strand of wire so she wouldn’t tear her clothes or scratch her back.
Once she was on the
other side, she grabbed a can and dragged it toward the leading edge of the
blaze.
He used the black
strap to hang the other fire extinguisher over his shoulder and caught up. He
tried to take the canister from her, but she gave him a no nonsense look.
“Two of us are
faster than one,” she said. “I remember how to use these cans, so let’s get to
it.”
He grinned, loving
her sassiness even as he wanted to keep her safe. He knew better. This was his
Lauren, and she didn’t back down for nothing or nobody. “Let’s do it.”
Together, they got
out in front of the fire and started spraying the potent chemical on the blaze,
leaving a trail of yellow. They continued to relentlessly douse the flames till
nothing was left except charred grass. When their fire extinguishers were
empty, they tossed them aside, and then stomped on the crisp grass to make sure
there were no hot embers left that might reignite.
Finally, Kent picked
up one empty canister and hung it from his shoulder by the strap before he put
the other strap over his free shoulder. He couldn’t resist leaning down and
giving Lauren a quick kiss.
“Don’t you know I’m
too hot to handle?” she teased, chuckling with a sound caught somewhere between
delight and relief.
“Guess I’m looking
to get burned.”
“I think we’re both
a little on the scorched side.” She pointed toward the barn. “But that building
took the brunt of it.”
He looked in that
direction. He felt a vast sense of comfort when he saw the old barn was nothing
more than a pile of black rubble with a red-orange glow of banked embers here
and there. He glanced back at the blackened patch of pasture. He’d been cocky
tonight—maybe because being with Lauren had made him feel like Superman. He
knew better. You could never count on a fire doing what it was supposed to do,
and particularly not when it was a raging bull of a blaze.
He clasped Lauren’s
hand and threaded their fingers together. “Guess you’re a Wildcat Bluff
volunteer firefighter all over again.”
She squeezed his
hand. “I feel like I’ve never been gone.”
“Let’s get you
home.”
“Twin Oaks will look
mighty good.”
But Kent hadn’t been
thinking about that place. He’d been thinking about his own farmhouse on Cougar
Ranch.
************
Kim
Redford is an acclaimed
author of Western romance novels. She grew up in Texas with cowboys,
cowgirls, horses, cattle, and rodeos for inspiration. She divides her time
between homes in Texas and Oklahoma, where she’s a rescue cat wrangler and
horseback rider—when she takes a break from her keyboard. Visit her at
kimredford.com .
****************
Kim Redford: I’m excited to share one of my favorite firefighter
characters!
Fire: Trapped on the 37th Floor (1991) recreates as a TV movie the
true event that occurred during May 1988 in Los Angeles. In the film, over
three hundred LAFD firefighters are deployed to fight the largest structure
fire in the city’s history and rescue two people trapped on the 37th
floor. Deputy Chief Sterling (Lee Majors) takes command of the situation while
Susan Lowell (Lisa Hartman) and Paul DeWitt (Peter Scolari) struggle to stay
alive long enough for rescue. Chief Sterling represents the depth of dedication
and support that first responders bring to extinguishing fires and caring for
sick or injured in emergency medical situations.
He's one hero who inspired my Smokin’
Hot Cowboys series of contemporary cowboy firefighter novels.
****************
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