Set the Night on Fire (2 page)

A
s far as
Sean could tell, Jupiter Point had barely changed in the past thirteen years. The police station certainly looked the same, though he noticed a few flowering shrubs that hadn’t been there before. Interesting touch. Were they going for a soothing vibe at the old JPPD? He probably could have used that back in the day.

Funny how that wild kid felt so far away and long ago now. Now he was the superintendent of the brand-new Jupiter Point Hotshots crew, in charge of setting up the whole darn thing. He’d first heard about the proposed crew last year, but hadn’t thought to apply until the burnover. Getting run over by a fire had changed a few things in his life.

He’d been back in town for two days, but he and Josh, who’d come with him as crew captain, had spent that time at the old Army base. They’d met with the fire ranger and dispatch staff and started organizing the part of the compound where the hotshots would be located. Tonight would be his first chance to face the actual residents of Jupiter Point. After all the dangerous situations he’d faced, you’d think this one would be tame. But he was nervous as hell.

In the passenger seat of the Ford Super Duty crew cab truck, Josh Marshall had been grumbling since they’d left the base. “Honestly, I’d rather go through another burnover than get dragged to a city council meeting.”

“Man up, slugger. You’re about to become a superstar. If I know Jupiter Point, that meeting is going to be rocking. Not much happens around here. A new hotshot crew is going to be big news.”

“And rightfully so.” Josh preened, as he’d gotten in the habit of doing since the
Miracle in Big Canyon
movie was announced. “But I’m not the one in charge of this shindig. You’re the superintendent around here. I’m just the minion. Why do I need to strut my stuff for the locals?”

“Because,” Sean explained patiently, “I used to live here. They know me as a troublemaker with a chip on my shoulder. Now they’re supposed to welcome me with open arms as the guy standing between them and the next wildfire? They’d be more likely to believe I’d
start
a fire than put it out. I need backup.”

“Nevertheless, you’re the one they hired. You’re the hero.”

“Fuck that.” That was a sore point among the old crew. Sean didn’t think he’d done anything special. But another hotshot crew fighting the same Big Canyon fire had lost two members. The media had made a big deal out of that. Then Finn—who had made it to a gravel streambed in the nick of time—got his dad the movie producer involved, and now it had all turned into a nightmare.

“Hey, we survived, and it wasn’t because I was cracking jokes. It was because you picked the right spot and you made us stay put. I heard they want Theo James to play you. The one in
Divergent
.”

Sean took a corner a little too fast, leaving a streak of rubber. “I’m not talking about that fucking movie, I’m not cooperating with it, and you better not bring it up at the meeting.”

Josh laughed. “You’re no fun anymore. You’re too easy to rile up.” He glanced out the window. They’d reached the downtown business district, where the architecture had a storybook flair. Stores were either shingled in cedar or painted in ice cream pastels. Old-fashioned lampposts lined the sidewalks. “What just happened here? Did we drive back in time?”

“No, that’s Jupiter Point’s thing. It’s a tourist town. Big on the quaint and cutesy.”

“And this would be Main Street?”

“It would be, in any other town. Here, it’s Constellation Way.”

“Ex-queeze me?”

“Just go with it. And get a star chart.”

Josh was still grumbling as they cruised past the Rings of Saturn Jewelers and the Orbit Lounge and Grill. The Sky View Gallery, with its light blue awning trimmed in white, looked new. It probably catered to the honeymooners who wanted to take home photographic evidence of their trip.

Luckily, the downtown area also contained a Mexican restaurant called simply Don Pedro’s and a new 7-Eleven convenience store. The stargazing theme could easily be overdone, in Sean’s opinion.

He parked in the side lot of Jupiter Point High School, where he hadn’t quite completed his senior year. He drew in a deep breath, wondering how many of the people inside would remember him. And if they’d try to run him out of town as soon as he walked in.

Josh stepped out of the truck and stretched. “Looks like a full house, man. Maybe it’s the welcome wagon. Returning hometown hero, that kind of thing.”

“Nope.”

“How do you know?”

“Because the last night I spent here was in the Jupiter Point PD’s lockup.”

E
vie couldn’t believe
how many Jupiter Point residents had shown up for the city council meeting. They actually had to move the gathering into the high school auditorium, which buzzed like a hornet’s nest of chatter. As she smiled and worked her way toward a seat, isolated bits of talk caught her attention. The new hotshots were definitely a popular topic. The other big news, of course, was Brad White’s campaign for state representative.

Brad White, who had asked for the Jupiter Point Business Coalition’s endorsement.

And which criminally stupid business owner had just run for president of the coalition…and won? Yep, Evie McGraw. Which meant that she would be announcing the coalition’s endorsement of Brad in just a matter of minutes.

How could she endorse the man who’d hurt her so horribly? But—how could she not? No one knew what had happened. Except Sean.

With her heart doing some kind of conga routine, she scanned the crowd carefully. No sign of Sean yet. Or Brad. Near the front of the auditorium, she settled into one of the old-fashioned bucket seats, which still smelled exactly the same as when she’d gone to Jupiter High—like pencil lead. She ran through the statement she’d written.
Happy to endorse…solid leadership…

Would she have to talk to Brad? Even seeing him sapped her confidence and made her babble like an awkward toddler. Over the years, she’d trained herself to be okay in his presence. Not good, but okay. She could do this. This wasn’t about what he’d done in the past. It was about the future.

The usual small-town talk drifted around her. People were anxious about the new roundabout under construction. And then there was the fact that the Milky Way Ice Cream Parlor had shut down for renovations. Some people were saying it might not reopen, a horrible thought that was inciting full-fledged panic.

Maybe Evie should start serving ice cream cones at the gallery. Maybe she should start tap-dancing while she scooped them.

She was smiling at that thought when the fire chief, Doug Littleton, walked into view, with two tall male figures striding behind him. Heads swiveled to watch their progress through the auditorium. A few people stood up for a better look, which blocked her view. She craned her neck to see past them, but couldn’t get a clear shot.

Brianna dropped into the seat next to her.

“Yup, that tall, dark and broody man you’re staring at—that’s him.”

Evie’s face heated. “How could I be staring when I couldn’t even see him?”

“Well, take it from me, he’s even better looking than before. I don’t remember him being so tall. I wonder who the other guy is. Sweet Jesus, between the two of them…” She fanned herself with the meeting agenda.

“Get a grip. It’s not like we don’t have good-looking men in Jupiter Point.”

“But we
know
all of them. They’re all like brothers. How often do we get fresh meat here? Of the beefcake variety? Hardly ever, admit it.”

Evie snuck another glance in Sean’s direction, hoping to get a good look before the meeting started. She got a glimpse of the other man, who had blond-streaked, chin-length hair and a wide grin. A hottie, no doubt about it, but Sean was the one she wanted to see.

“Face it,” Brianna was saying. “Jupiter Point is a cute place to live, but when it comes to dating, it kind of sucks. Why do you think every single woman in town is packed into this auditorium?”

“Maybe they have business on the agenda. Like I do.”

“Is that why you’re giving yourself a neck cramp? Business?”

Evie didn’t hear a word Brianna said. She couldn’t have answered if she wanted to. The line of sight finally cleared and, suddenly, there was Sean Marcus.

Her chest tightened as if an iron band had wrapped around her. She couldn’t breathe. Her mind went blank.

He looked like a warrior, not the teenage boy she remembered. Every bit of him was hard-muscled and strong and fierce. His dark hair was still thick and unruly, the way she remembered it. But his face had hollowed out, all the youthfulness replaced by lean, rugged lines. He still had that “broody” look, as Suzanne called it, but Evie could think of a much better word.

Sexy.

The man was smoking hot, unbelievably sexy. She actually waved her hand next to her face to send more air to her lungs.

“Wow,” she said faintly. She meant to say it under her breath, but Brianna caught it.

“I’ll say. He looks like…I don’t know, Michael Fassbender, except even better looking.”

“Who?”

“The guy who plays Magneto in the
X-Men
. Or no, maybe the one who played the fireman in Magic Mike, I mean, the one who played the stripper who played the fireman. Joe something. Except Sean is
actually
a fireman, and if he strips or starts to dance or—”

“Brianna,” Evie said faintly.

“Sorry.” Brianna subsided as the city council members filed into their seats. “I’m just saying. It’s like Mrs. Murphy says, if you can’t appreciate the male form…”

Evie tuned her out. She was too busy appreciating the male form on display across the room to pay any more attention. And that was
so
not like her. She wasn’t a man ogler. She didn’t flirt. She didn’t date much. When she did, she hated it. She didn’t enjoy attention from men. It scared her.

But right now, she wouldn’t mind a little attention. Would Sean Marcus remember her? Would he remember that she hadn’t spoken up for him? Did he hate her?

She found herself biting her thumbnail, something she hadn’t done since her teens. Frustrated with her childish anxiety, she shoved her hand under her leg and sat on it.

When she glanced up, Sean was looking at her with those smoky green eyes and a groove had appeared in his cheek. He was smiling. At her. As if he recognized her, and didn’t hate her.

It took her right back to that night. Sean peering through the window of Brad’s Chevy Nova. Meeting her desperate, humiliated gaze.

All the confusion and fear from that night thirteen years ago crashed onto her like a flood that had been held back by a retaining wall. Brad’s hand reaching into his pants. His weird, hot breath against her neck. The helplessness of being pinned, the nasty, mean words spilling out of his mouth.

She snapped back to the present moment. Sean was still looking at her. This was now, not then. His expression held friendliness, not shock.

Smile.
She forced her face to obey.

“Evie, are you all right?” Brianna touched her hand, which was clenched onto the edge of her seat. “You look a little ill.”

“I’m fine, I’m fine. You know how I feel about public speaking, that’s all.” She glanced back at Sean and saw that he’d moved. For a moment, she panicked, thinking maybe he was coming her way. But no—he and his friend were following Chief Littleton toward the stage where the city council members sat.

Relief flooded her. She wanted to bang her head on the back of the seat in front of her. Why on earth was she reacting this way to the sight of Sean Marcus? After the Incident, she’d built up a wall against the male gender. The wall helped her deal with seeing Brad around town. It allowed her to go on with her life in peace.

But for some reason, that wall was now shaking on its foundations. Sean Marcus had seen the Incident—or part of it, anyway. He was the only one besides her and Brad who knew anything about it. And she and Brad, by unspoken agreement, had buried it in the past.

Would Sean?

S
ean had expected
some stony faces, maybe some glares from his old teachers and various members of the police department. He hadn’t expected the crowd to be holding up iPhones to snap his picture, or the high proportion of women packing the auditorium. He hadn’t expected…
her
.

He stared…and kept on staring while Josh eyed the seats full of women like a kid in a candy store.

“Is this turnout because of the movie?” Josh whispered.

“I warned you. Not much happens around here. We’re big news.”

Still, he couldn’t look away from the girl at the front of the auditorium. Her chestnut hair was pulled into a low, classic ponytail at the base of her neck. She was frowning intently at her thumb. Who was she? She reminded him of someone…he knew her…but she wouldn’t look at him so he couldn’t say for sure…

Josh followed Sean’s gaze and whistled under his breath. “Do you know her?”

As if she’d overheard, she finally looked in his direction. Her eyes met his in a punch of silvery sage-green.

Evie McGraw
. Holy shit.

No wonder he hadn’t recognized her at first. She’d only been fourteen when he left. A skinny kid he’d paid no attention to—until the night when everything went to hell.

Now she was…wow, she was an absolute knock-you-off-your-feet beauty. She had the kind of face you’d see in a magazine or on a billboard, all luminous eyes and stunning cheekbones. Did she remember him? Or had she blocked out the trauma of that night? He wouldn’t blame her if she had.

Even though she had an air of “don’t touch me” vibrating around her like an invisible electric fence, he tried a smile. It took a few moments, but eventually she smiled back. Actually, it was more of a twitch of her lips, but he could read recognition on her face. Her eyes remained cool and wary, as if she was hiding behind a pane of thick, frosted glass.

“Seriously, who is that?” Josh asked again. “Someone you know?”

“I used to.”

He didn’t know this grownup, frosty Evie. The Evie he remembered was a bubbly, dreamy girl. Young enough so she still read
Harry Potter
nonstop and did her homework on the kitchen table. She seemed very different now, but then again, it had been thirteen years. People changed.

Chief Littleton nudged him toward the stage, and he pulled his attention back to the business at hand. The city council meeting had been called to order, and it was time for them to do their thing. He and Josh followed the chief onstage.

“This is a big moment for us,” the chief began. “I’ve been fighting for this for several years. Here in Jupiter Point, with our urban-wilderness interface, we’re sitting ducks for a wildfire. Every summer we get a few that come close. Last year the ranger station even burned down—we all remember that. Finally the bigwigs agreed with me, and we got ourselves a brand-new interagency hotshot crew based out of here. Some of you probably remember Sean Marcus; he’s the superintendent of this new crew. That means he’s in charge. He sure has come a long way, huh?”

Sean kept his face stony to hide the wince.
Thanks a lot, Chief.

“Since he left Jupiter Point, Sean has racked up an unbelievable record as a smoke-jumper and hotshot. He’s a brilliant and respected leader, he’s saved many lives and homes, and word has it he requested this assignment. Let’s give him a big welcome home, hey?”

The crowd responded with generous applause. Sean finally cracked a smile and saluted the townspeople. He scanned the faces near the front, looking for Evie, but he froze when his gaze encountered the last person he wanted to see.

Brad White. Right in the front row. The guy had brass balls—he was grinning at Sean as if they were old friends. That cocky smirk made Sean want to deck him all over again, the same way he had that night.

In thirteen years, Brad had grown more polished, and his shock of sandy hair had been ruthlessly cut into what Sean thought of as “news anchor hair.” He wore a tan business suit and a royal-blue silk tie. To Sean, he looked like a kid trying on his father’s suit.

At least the idiot still had a bump on his nose from where Sean had broken it that night.

He stared the jerk down until finally he turned away and said something to the guy next to him.

Josh hissed in his ear, “Go, Magneto. It’s your turn to speak. Make it sing, baby.”

Collecting himself, Sean took a step forward. “Hi, I’m Sean Marcus, and it’s good to be back in Jupiter Point.” He paused until the applause died down. “My job is to put together the best crew I can hire, get us geared up, set up at the new Jupiter Point Fire and Rescue compound—what used to be the old Army base--and do it all by the time fire season comes around in May.”

He paused again for a wave of claps and whistles. Brad had a big false smile plastered on his face as if it were glued there.

“The completed crew will contain twenty firefighters. We’ll be bringing in mostly fire service veterans, but we’re also interested in locals who have their red cards—that’s a prerequisite for wildland firefighting. We may be hiring some local ground support from time to time as well. Local knowledge is always helpful. If you know anything about how hotshots work, you know we’ll be traveling wherever they need us. Most of the time, you won’t even know we’re here. And hopefully, when you do notice us, you’ll be
glad
we’re here. Any questions?”

A young man in a baseball cap got to his feet. “You said you’re hiring locals?”

“Yup. I’ll be setting up interviews in the next couple of weeks. Call this number.” He handed his card to someone in the front row, who passed it on. “Keep in mind, the hotshot training is extremely tough. You have to be in peak physical condition. You have to pass some pretty harsh tests. And I’m known for demanding the best from my crew.”

“Oh yeah.” Josh’s heartfelt agreement drew laughter from the crowd.

“When it’s a matter of life or death, you don’t want to be a step slower than the fire just because you slacked off on your endurance training.”

A perky blonde in a red tank top asked the next question. “Will you hotshots be living here year-round? Do you have families?”

Sean bit back a smile. Like all firefighters, hotshots tended to get a lot of attention from girls. “This is Josh Marshall, crew captain. Josh, do you want to take this question?”

“Sure. What’s your name?”

“Serena.”

“Well, Serena, some hotshots have families that they leave behind to go fight fires all summer. Others of us are still single.”

“Really?” She batted her eyelashes at him. Sean could sense Josh plotting how to get her number after the meeting. “What about him?” She pointed to Sean. “Is he single?”

Josh snorted. “Yes, Sean is single, but to be totally honest, he’s a pain in the—”

Sean elbowed him in the ribs to make him shut up. He spotted Evie a few rows back. Her full lips were pressed together as if she was trying to hold back a laugh. Her eyes brimmed with amusement. Now that was the Evie he remembered. Teasing, fun, bright.

Was it hard for her to be this close to Brad White? Had he ever faced up to his actions? Apologized? Done time?

Time to wrap things up. “We’re going to be very busy over the next few weeks, but my door is always open if you have questions about the hotshots, fire safety, or how to apply. Thank you.”

He and Josh left the stage. Josh left to find the men’s room. Sean waited in the auditorium, willingly subjecting himself to more city council meeting agenda items so he could steal glances at Evie. Leaning against the wall, he ate up every detail. The graceful arch of her neck, the strand of hair that kept escaping her ponytail, the way her lush breasts pressed against her simple ivory blouse.

Evie was one sexy woman, but she didn’t seem aware of that fact at all.

It was a slight shock when he heard Brad White’s name announced. Judging by the way the crowd applauded him, he still had the charm that had worked on everyone except Sean.

“Thank you, neighbors, right back at you!” Brad applauded the crowd.
What a fake
. “I know you’ll all be happy to hear that the campaign is going great, and chances are good that Jupiter Point will have its first hometown representative in Sacramento!”

Big cheers answered that.

What the fuck
? Was Brad White seriously running for office? Didn’t anyone here know what he’d done?

Sean looked at Evie. All the color in her face had leeched away.

He glanced at the girl sitting next to her, the redhead he vaguely remembered as Evie’s best friend. She was clapping for Brad too. Either she didn’t know or it didn’t matter to her.

Disgusted, Sean pushed off the wall to head for the exit when Brad’s next words stopped him cold.

“You all know and love Evie McGraw. As the new president of the Jupiter Point Business Coalition, and definitely the best-looking one,” more laughter, “she’s here tonight to make an important announcement on behalf of my campaign. Evie?”

As Sean watched, incredulous, Evie rose to her feet.

What the hell? Was she
working
with Brad? Had she completely forgotten what Brad did that night?