Wildfire Sweethearts. Leigh Bale

with him. Her smile had been so easy in those days.

      “What’s up?” she asked casually, but he caught the throb of emotion in her voice. She didn’t want to be anywhere near him, and he couldn’t blame her.

      “I got a call from Jared Marshall this morning. He’s asked us to participate in career day at Minoa High School tomorrow afternoon.” There, he’d gotten it all out in one long breath. Short and succinct. No mincing words.

      Her eyes narrowed. “Us? You mean the entire crew?”

      “No, just you and me.”

      She exhaled a huff and gripped the armrests with both hands, her fingers whitening. “Can’t you get one of the guys to go with you?”

      “Sorry, but the FMO wants you and me. He wouldn’t negotiate on the issue.”

      Her lips tightened. “But why me?”

      He paused, trying to remember the speech he’d rehearsed numerous times. With her sitting here, the words dropped right out of his brain and he floundered. Tessa had always had that effect on him. The first time he’d seen her, he’d been left speechless for over an hour. “Jared asked specifically for you.”

      “I still don’t understand,” Tessa said.

      “He believes as the only female on the team, you’ll do better to highlight your work as a woman wildfire fighter. As the superintendent of the crew, I’m to accompany you. It’s a recruitment trip, but also to build our public relations.”

      “I’d rather not participate.”

      Her candor didn’t surprise him. From the start he’d always known just where he stood with Tessa. No pretending. No games. Just pure honesty.

      “I understand that, but it’ll still be you and me. That’s what the FMO wants, and that’s what we’ll give him.” Sean had argued the point with Jared, too, reminding the FMO that things weren’t good between him and Tessa. Instead, he’d suggested that Harlie or Tank accompany him. But Jared had been adamant that Sean take Tessa.

      No one regretted this last-minute assignment more than Sean. Trotting down to the local high school for career day would provide an opportunity to recruit future firefighters for the crew. For some reason kids on the wrestling team made good firefighters. But going with Tessa was not Sean’s idea of fun. He dreaded spending the afternoon with her quiet, questioning eyes.

      She hesitated, her spine straightening. He didn’t know what he’d do if she refused. A wave of heat flashed over him as he waited for her response. Nerves tingled at the back of his neck. The room seemed to close in on him. A barrage of regrets swamped his mind. More symptoms of PTSD, but he fought them off.

      She lifted her shoulders, her forehead crinkled in dismay. “I don’t know how to talk to a bunch of teenagers. What am I supposed to say to them?”

      “Just tell them what you do. What your days with the crew are like. Tell them about your work as a hotshot. What you had to do to get here. What you do to stay in shape. That kind of stuff.”

      Her gaze lowered to the papers scattered across his desk and she licked her lips. “I’d rather not go, Sean.”

      Sean. She’d finally spoken his name again. It had been so long since she’d said it that hearing it from her lips startled him.

      “It’ll be okay. You’re a natural with kids, Tess. Remember that time when we watched little Brittney while her mom drove her dad to the hospital?” Sean asked.

      Brittney was the infant daughter of Tessa’s neighbor. The baby’s father had sliced his hand on a bread knife and his wife had rushed him to the emergency room in Reno for stitches. Sean and Tessa had spent four enjoyable hours babysitting little Brittney before her mommy came home. It’d been a great evening Sean would never forget, but he wished he hadn’t brought it up now. That event seemed so far away. A defining moment that had made him realize he wanted kids. Oodles of them.

      She looked away as though his reminder bothered her, too. “Brittney was easy. She was just a baby.”

      “You’ll do fine,” Sean insisted.

      She shook her head in resignation and Sean felt a sudden chill in the room that had nothing to do with the whoosh from the swamp cooler. Her gaze swept over him, her eyes filled with misgivings. Being near her was a constant reminder of their broken trust.

      “Just be yourself and tell the kids about your job. You’ll do great,” he said with a half smile.

      “Okay, fine.” She stood and turned toward the door, walking as though the weight of the world rested on her slim shoulders. And he supposed that it did.

      He let her go. He longed to call her back. To tell her everything was going to be okay. But things weren’t okay, and Sean could never mend the rift between them.