A Blaze To Bear (Fire Bear Shifters Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

semblance of normalcy. I think I can make it through this trip. It’s going to be a shorter mission than command central originally told us. But after this she has to go. I don’t know how I’m going to convince Boise to reassign her, but I have to. I can’t go out in the wilderness with her again.”
    Zach stared out in the direction of the glowing fires, which had nearly fused together at this point. “Well, shit,” was all he said.
    After several more moments of silence, Ian sighed and spoke again. He didn’t like to appear weak, and so he rarely confided in anyone. But he trusted Zach completely, and he needed to get this weight off of his chest.
    “Do you think there’s any possibility that she would accept a bear shifter?”
    Zach looked up at him. “You’re not thinking of outing us to her, are you?”
    “No, no. Nothing like that. Not right now anyways. But, despite the way I’ve been acting around her, I actually do like her a lot. She’s beautiful, and strong. And she fights through her fear with such a calmness. She was terrified on that plane today, I could smell it. But she jumped anyways. She never even flinched outwardly. Her determination is admirable. I guess what I’m saying is, I wonder if I’ll ever find anyone as perfect for me as she seems to be. If I had met her under different circumstances I would have asked her out on a date. But, with her being on the crew and my being chief…” Ian let his voice trail off.
    Zach narrowed his eyes at Ian. “You’re talking in circles, Boss. What are you trying to say? Are you suggesting that you let her stay on the crew and try to woo her?”
    Ian nodded.
    “Boss, you can’t do that. I mean, I agree with you that she seems like a great person. But in case you haven’t noticed, our job is pretty damn dangerous. We’re all a lot safer if we’re focused on firefighting, and not on impressing a girl or hiding our shifter status from her.”
    Ian didn’t answer for a long time, and Zach just let his words hang in the air. Finally, Ian stood and clapped Zach’s shoulder. “You’re right, of course. It’s too risky. It’s just my luck, though, that when my bear finally likes someone, it’s someone I can’t have.”
    Zach gave Ian a sympathetic look in response.
    “Alright, well, I do need to get some shuteye,” Ian said. “You okay with taking the next watch?”
    “No problem. Go get some rest.”
    “Thanks, buddy. When you’re ready for a break, wake up Hunter and have him watch for a while.”
    “You got it.”
    Ian walked back to where the rest of the crew lay snoozing in their sleeping bags. The crew never took tents with them. That would have been just one more thing to carry, and the huge cargo pockets on their jumpsuits were already ridiculously overloaded with gear. Chainsaws, axes, flame torches, and other such tools of the trade didn’t leave room for luxuries like tents.
    Ian slipped into his own sleeping bag and stared up at the stars, which looked murky in the smoke that rose from the blaze. The fires were less than an hour from meeting, and would probably be burnt out by mid morning tomorrow. This first smokejumping mission had been somewhat mundane from a firefighting standpoint, but that wasn’t a bad thing. It gave everyone a chance to get the first jump jitters out of the way before they were sent to a more serious blaze.
    Ian glanced over at Charlotte’s sleeping bag. Her back was turned to him, so he couldn’t see her face. But he could make out her silhouette as it rose and fell rhythmically to the beat of her dreams. He wished he could slide his sleeping bag up next to hers and feel what it felt like to have her body against his. But he would never be able to fulfill that desire. When he got back to base, he had to call Jessica and figure out a way to convince her that Boise really did need to find a different crew for Charlotte. He’d tell the god’s honest truth if he had to. The embarrassment of