Burn Zone (Hotshots 1)

“I should probably stick around here,” he said as they came to a stop, rear groups starting to catch up. “My mom was making noises about getting a new play structure for the little kids.” It wasn’t a lie—she had been talking about exactly that on Sunday, but he hadn’t been the most enthusiastic about a weekend spent wrangling power tools and fiddly small parts. However, it was a good, solid excuse. “If the weather’s good, I might as well build it for her.”

“Fine. Miss out on Portland.” She sighed dramatically, but her eyes stayed friendly. “Go build your toys.”

“What are you talking about building?” Linc came to a stop right next to them, wiping his face on the edge of his T-shirt. Jacob studiously avoided looking at the strip of bare skin he revealed because Garrick and Ray were right behind him.

“Since May and the kids seem like they’re staying through the summer, Mom wants some sort of souped-up swing set for Junior. You know, the type with the climbing wall and big slide and little hideout fort? Looks to be a pain in the ass to build, but fun for the kids.”

“Sounds like a two-person job. Tell your mom I’m free Saturday afternoon. Suppose I could come by and give you a hand.” Linc’s voice was completely casual, no hint of strain, simple as an old friend helping out. Putting it on Jacob’s mom, not Jacob, was a nice touch too.

“I worked at that big home improvement store over in Bend over the winter. I can probably swing you a discount if you want,” Garrick contributed. “I’ve got Saturday plans or I’d help out myself, but I’ve got an extra drill if you guys need it.”

“Sounds good.” Jacob was pretty impressed at himself—not only had he gotten out of the Portland trip, but now he had a friend-approved reason to spend time with Linc that weekend. “I’ll tell Mom that we take payment in brownies. See you Saturday.”

“Why are you planning your weekend when it’s still Monday and we’ve got work to do?” Sims barked.

“It’s for Hartman’s widow. Play structure for their kids, not some wild party.” Garrick frowned at her, and she immediately softened.

“Sorry. We do need to get on with it, but that sounds like a great plan. It’s a good idea to take advantage of the slow time.” Her usual stern face was replaced with something approaching sympathy, and she patted Jacob’s arm as she headed into the building.

And now he had his boss’s approval to spend his weekend with Linc. Things were definitely looking up.

Well, except for the part that their planned controlled burn was delayed because of the weather, and the remainder of the day was spent indoors, going over more slides about fire management and various situations they might encounter in an active fire. Things like wind conditions and coordinating efforts with the various hotshot crews on the ground. All important stuff, but keeping his focus was as hard as usual, his mind continuing to wander to his favorite parts of the weekend along with all sorts of other random stuff his rabbit brain found more interesting than the PowerPoint.

Twice, Linc tapped his chair right before Sims called on him, the briefest of warnings before he was put on the spot, but enough so that he didn’t look like a total idiot.

“Thanks for saving my bacon,” he said in a low voice at lunch. Garrick was joking around with Kelley, and Ray and McKenna were deep in conversation and not paying them any attention.

“No problem. Your bacon’s worth saving.” Matching his whisper, Linc offered him a lopsided grin and one of the first purposefully flirty jokes he’d made. Something warm unfurled in Jacob’s gut. This was only sex. He knew that. Hoping for anything else would be stupid, and still...

“You gonna come with me to Bend to collect this play set for the kids with Garrick’s discount?” Setting up more non-sex time together was undoubtedly a mistake, and still he couldn’t help hoping Linc said yes. His body tensed, and he tried not to stare too hard at Linc, waiting for a reply.

Taking another bite of his sandwich, Linc was silent for a moment, then finally nodded. “We’ll take my truck. It’s bigger, and there’s sure to be a lot of boxes. Friday? After work? That way it’s ready for us for Saturday.”

“Yup. Might as well get dinner on the way.” He went ahead and pushed his luck. “You owe me a drink, you know.”

Linc did an admirable job of not choking on his sandwich, instead looking thoughtful. Which was nice, him not looking spooked at the idea of something date-like. “So I do. Work it out with your mom for us to do the building and pickup, and get back to me so we can work out the specifics.”