“There are no guarantees in romance, Priscilla.”
“I’m not into taking risks,” she replied.
“Oh, really? Is that why you jump onto the roofs of burning buildings?”
“I knew you were going to bring that up,” she said with a laugh. “That’s different. If you understand fire, you can try to predict what it will do. It follows the laws of physics. A guy, on the other hand, doesn’t follow any rules—of physics, logic, anything.”
“Guys are easy,” Roark scoffed. “Give them food, sex and football on a regular basis and don’t take away the remote control.”
He got a smile out of her with that, but she didn’t seem inclined to continue the debate.
Roark’s needs were even simpler. He wanted Priscilla back. In his life and in his bed. But he sensed that now wasn’t the time to push. He had to give her some time to figure out that she wanted him as much as he wanted her.
He couldn’t resist one last attempt to convince her. “I’m not really that complicated. What you see is what you get. And your secrets, whatever they are, couldn’t possibly be that bad. I consider it a personal challenge to figure you out.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but he planted a quick but firm kiss on her lips.
Dear Reader,
I’ve admired women who choose to pursue a traditional “man’s” career, whether that be as a cop, a soldier or a construction worker. So of course I couldn’t resist including a female firefighter at Fire Station 59. While I was doing research for this series, I discovered that firefighting may be the last place where women are accepted. Most of the male firefighters I interviewed did not want to work with women. Period.
So, in addition to the usual hurdles a rookie faces, my heroine, Priscilla, has challenges simply because of her sex. Then there’s the gorgeous arson investigator, further upsetting her equilibrium, and a matchmaking mama dragging her to distraction. I admit, Priscilla is my favorite of the firefighters, with her tough-girl attitude masking a few deep-seated insecurities.
I hope she is a heroine you can root for, too!
All my best,
Kara Lennox
An Honorable Man
Kara Lennox
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Texas native Kara Lennox has earned her living at various times as an art director, typesetter, textbook editor and reporter. She’s worked in a boutique, a health club and an ad agency. She’s been an antiques dealer and even a blackjack dealer. But no work has made her happier than writing romance novels. She has written more than fifty books.
When not writing, Kara indulges in an ever-changing array of hobbies. Her latest passions are bird-watching and long-distance bicycling. She loves to hear from readers; you can visit her Web page at www.karalennox.com.
Books by Kara Lennox
HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE
974—FORTUNE’S TWINS
990—THE MILLIONAIRE NEXT DOOR
1052—THE FORGOTTEN COWBOY
1068—HOMETOWN HONEY *
1081—DOWNTOWN DEBUTANTE *
1093—OUT OF TOWN BRIDE *
1146—THE FAMILY RESCUE **
1150—HER PERFECT HERO **
Many thanks to the guys at Station 14 for helping me with firefighting details: Lieutenant Charlie Salazar, Firefighter Ken Sutcliffe, Firefighter Joe Hinojosa and Firefighter Byron Temple.
Contents
Chapter One
The alarm sounded, and rookie firefighter Priscilla Garner cocked her head and listened. Maybe it wouldn’t be for her crew—but she hoped it was.
“That’s us!” someone called out.
A fire at last. Priscilla was more than glad to halt the endless chopping of onions, her current assigned task. Captain Campeon had finally stopped putting her in charge of meals at Fire Station 59, because though she honestly tried, the end results usually were inedible.
So she got to do the fun stuff. Like chopping onions and peeling potatoes. Sometimes she felt as if she was in the Army pulling KP duty. And if she wasn’t chopping or peeling, she was likely mopping, scrubbing toilets or washing dishes. Such mundane tasks made her twenty-four-hour shift creep by.
It would have been easy to assume she was being picked on because she was the only woman at the station, but she knew better. Her best friends, Ethan and Tony, got pretty much the same treatment. Such was the life of a rookie.
Otis Granger, suddenly alert, turned off the meat he’d been browning for chili and they headed wordlessly to their stations and struggled into their turnout gear.
As a rookie Priscilla’s job was to stick close to Otis, watch and learn. He was twenty years her senior, a hulking man with a huge belly and skin the color of milk chocolate. At first he had fought like a cornered feral cat about having to work with a woman. But once he’d realized she was determined to succeed at her job, he’d let up. They’d actually become friends.
Priscilla