Hotshots (Wildfires Book 1) (2 page)

Once they assigned her team, she would find out where she was moving to and where their new house was. She grinned at the thought of flying to her new home, it would be awesome. Housing was provided by her godfather’s company. She had been in plenty of houses because of her father. She always loved seeing how they had set up the inside, because seriously, fifteen people living in one house was always entertaining. Thankfully, her godfather was successful, and had thought of comfort rather than just beds. If she had been hired on by the state she would be staying in old military barracks in Denver. Although she wanted to live in Colorado, she didn’t want to live in barracks nor in the huge city where she was currently staying. She was from a small town in Wyoming and really didn’t like the pace of a huge city. She would be happier in the mountains where her godfather stationed his crews. The houses were generally huge and spacious, which was good, but they were also homes. When they arrived to their new home, a team of trainers would be there prepared to tell them what the next three months would be like before the fire season. They would be in huge RVs parked on the land, she knew her godfather was going to be part of her training squad, because he told her.

Jez checked out of her room and grabbed a cab, asking to be taken to headquarters. With a deep breath, she leaned back and relaxed for the last moments before she would enter into the world she was born to be in.

Shit
, Jez thought as she looked around the room,
it was real now
. The crew was being briefed on where they were going and she wanted to get out of the room and into the air as soon as possible. Yes, she had gotten the place she had always dreamed of, she just didn’t know who her team was. The benefits from making sure her training included high elevation mountainous areas, she wouldn’t have to be trained, she already had it, so it made sense when her godfather told her and the other pilots their sites prior to this meeting. Her team was going to be heading to a base outside of Steamboat Springs, CO. It was gorgeous up there and secluded. The perfect place for her to start her new life, she wanted to call her mother, she would be happy.

They had discussed this already. Jez knew if she got the job she would be moving here permanently, and her mother was ready to come with her. They needed a new start, losing her father had devastated them all. Their home held too many memories and her mother had no family other than her, so once she made the phone call, her mom would be looking.

Jez felt the butterflies in her stomach as she looked around the room. Not everyone would make it through training. She knew it, and she also knew she would not fail, but she wondered who in the room would be washed out.

Living conditions while on assignments could be primitive. Fresh meals, soft beds, and regular showers were not to be expected. Little miss fake tits blondie would never make it, field assignments away from home base can last several weeks with daily work shifts averaging sixteen hours, but sometimes extending up to 48–64 hours. She wanted to laugh aloud when she thought of fake tits actually looking like crap after that. Sleep deprivation is common, as is routine exposure to dust, smoke, poison oak, extreme weather—both heat and cold—and other environmental hazards, there was no way she would survive. There was no way a few of these people could handle that. The blonde chick with big hair at the side of the room being number one, but the guy next to her that stared at her chest like he had found the Holy Grail was the other. This was not a dating site.

Jez tuned back in and listened as her godfather kept explaining things. Hotshots' crew vehicles become their homes during the peak fire season, when Hotshots may rarely spend more than two consecutive days at their own station. Jez could only imagine what those two would get up to inside one of the vehicles. The vehicles, also known as Crew Hauls, Buggies, Crummies, or simply the Box, carry Hotshots along with personal gear, tools, and everything else necessary to make the crew self-sufficient for several days.

They were given a list of what they had to pack, which Jez barely glanced at since she already had her go bag and also her duffel packed and ready. Once she was done with this meeting, she was going to take off. She couldn’t wait to see her new home, plus she wanted to make sure her mother knew where she was going.

It was long until they were introducing the team leaders; she looked at the group of men standing in front of the large room and waited. One of the things her father told her over and over again, was if you didn’t trust your crew leader, you were fucked. She spotted some of the guys she had seen before and looked at them carefully, trying to remember what her father told her about them. As her eyes drifted to the end of the line, it was as if the breath was sucked out of her lungs. Two men stood there, they were larger than life, and drop dead gorgeous.
Holy shit
, she thought as the room faded away for her,
she had never had this reaction before to anyone
. Jez turned away quickly and looked down, fuck, this was something she completely did not need.

The crews were divided and she waited, only glancing up to see if the men were still there.
Damn it
, she thought, as her name still wasn’t called. Sweat began to trickle down the back of her neck as the tingling between her legs got more intense.

Jez closed her eyes when she heard her name being called and then opened them to see the two men she had been staring at looking at her with an intensity that was almost palpable. What the fuck?

When they made the announcement, and she saw who she was going to be assigned to, Jez had almost panicked. Why did she have to be with the sexy hot supervisor? Old Jim would have been fine, but no, she had been placed with hottie one and hottie two. Great.

Now she was finally in the air. Here she was at peace though, here she was in control. Taking a deep breath, she focused on the scenery. It was gorgeous, the mountains in front of her, and the forest below. She grinned, swung the joystick around, and skimmed the foothills as she flew north to Steamboat.

The Shack, as they called it, was just west of the town; it sat on a ridge and overlooked the ski village. In the winter it was probably one of the most sought after places to stay, but in the summer, not so much. Mostly because the humidity was non-existent, so the fire danger was high in the area. Campers weren’t allowed to make fires even in grates because the rangers were afraid of sparks.

Her mother had been excited when she called and Jez was relieved. For the first time in a long time, she heard something in her mother’s voice that had been missing for the last year—happiness. Her mother was already planning the move and Jez couldn’t be happier. Finally, they were going to find a way to move on.

She saw the small town, and grinned. Perfect. It was going to be the perfect place to start over. She circled the town, then looked at the coordinates, The Shack was due west. She turned the copter and rolled her eyes when she saw The Shack, the guys had a funny sense of humor to call the huge log mansion a shack. Damn, from the air it was impressive, she could see the training courses, and also the numerous vehicles and out buildings. It was like a little compound all to itself.

Jex saw the landing pad for the copter and she aimed right for it, landing smoothly and easily. She had arrived to her new home away from home. A grin broke out and she hopped from the cab.

“She doesn’t know you already called me, does she?” Soja, Jezebel’s mother, said into the phone as she bit her lip. She didn’t want her daughter to think she was checking up on her, though that was exactly what she was doing. Jeb promised to call right when he found out where Jez was being stationed.

“No,” Jeb said gruffly. “And before you ask, I have a list of houses already that I know are for sale and you can get into quick. One of the realtors owes me a favor.”

Soja was silent, Jeb had been a godsend when Stryker had died, and he continued to be one for her. She hated to ask so much of him, but the man seemed ready to make sure Jez and she were taken care of. He was a widower, and knew exactly what she was going through.

“It is okay, Soja,” Jeb said quietly. “She knows you will want to move close to her.”

“It’s just, I hate to make her feel like she has to take care of me, but she is all I have left you know,” Soja whispered. “She can live her life, I just need to be close.”

“She will understand,” Jeb said. “Besides, with you so close I can take you out to dinner and get you familiar with the area. I love Steamboat, the hot springs are amazing on these sore old bones.”

Soja chuckled. “Not sure about that, Jeb, it is still winter.”

“Lazing out under the stars with a light dusting of snow is heaven,” Jeb argued and she laughed.

“Okay, I will keep an open mind,” Soja said and then she paused. Jeb had been very nice to her over the last few months; she had even begun to feel a slight bit of attraction, which she had known was always there, but never acted upon. Who wouldn’t, Jeb was just as built as Stryker had been.

The men had been best friends, and Soja had been friends with Jeb’s wife, but they were both gone, and neither would want them to sit around and not live their life. They both knew it and had talked about it often. But moving from the home she shared with her husband was still a huge life change, and she shouldn’t be thinking about that right now.

She just wasn’t sure she was ready, or that he was hinting about anything, that is until the next statement came out of his mouth.

“Do that,” Jeb said and chuckled. “Plus at dark it is clothing optional and no kids allowed, so that is when I like to go.”

“Oh my,” Soja said and stared at the table in front of her.
That
was not subtle
, she thought, then kinda grinned. Was she ready for this?

When she put down the phone, Soja smiled and looked around the room and figured even if she wasn’t, Stryker was pushing her from the grave. He had made her promise if something happened to him that she would always live her life to the fullest.
So, adventure, here I come
, she thought and stood with her phone in her hand. She was moving to Colorado.

It had been a hell of a week, men and a few women gathered in town for the annual training to become designated as Hotshots, otherwise known as the best, most elite, wildfire firefighters in the world. They would be put through some of the most rigorous training known to any profession.

As an interagency resource, hotshot crews can be requested to respond to wild land fire incidents in any jurisdiction. As of 2009, there are 107 IHCs in operation in the United States, organized by diverse agencies such as the United States Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, as well as state, county, and city governments. Their crew was owned and operated by a retired and extensively qualified firefighter who applied for grants to help the sometimes underfunded government agencies. The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho coordinates hotshot crews on the national level.

Hotshot crews trace their history to Southern California in the late 1940s on the Cleveland and Angeles National Forest. The term "hotshot" comes from their having been assigned to the hottest parts of the fire.

While not fighting fires, hotshot crews typically work in their home units to meet resource goals such as thinning, prescribed fire operations, habitat improvement, and trail construction projects. Hotshot crews can also respond to other emergency incidents, including search and rescue, and disaster response.