Dakota Heat (Book 3 - Dakota Hearts) Read Online Free PDF Page B

those fire fighters in Arizona, I haven’t stopped worrying about you, Sam. I know you and Ian have always had an affinity for being fire fighters. But…I just worry.”
    “That’s understandable, Mrs. McKinnon,” Summer said.
    Kate gave her a glance with raised eyebrows, reminding her that Summer had been instructed to call her by her first name.
    “Sorry. Kate. When I told my mother I was going into criminal justice because I wanted to become a state police officer, she nearly fainted. Even after I’d gotten my acceptance letter to Johnson and Wales, she tried to talk me out of it. She wanted me to be a chef.”
    “Well, there’s nothing wrong with being a chef,” Kate said. Then she glanced over at Ethan and added, “I gave up trying to talk my boys out of doing dangerous jobs a long time ago. I just learned to pray a lot, especially when Ethan was a Navy Seal.” To Ethan she said, “I was almost glad I didn’t know where you were in the world or what you were doing.”
    “You’re right. You wouldn’t have wanted to know,” Ethan said. “And I couldn’t have told you anyway.”
    She turned her attention to Summer and said, “My son Keith—everyone calls him Hawk, even his patients—became a doctor. He has a practice right here in town. Logan, Ethan’s twin brother, is the only other one who settled down to do a relatively safe job. Although he’s given me reason enough to worry over the years.”
    Sam quietly said, “Logan’s wife died a little over a year ago.”
    “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”
    “It was rough going for him and their little boy, but I hear all that has changed now that Poppy is back in town.”
    Kate smiled bright. “Poppy sure is a ray a sunshine for my Logan. Sometimes the universe rights itself when it’s upside down. She sure did that.”
    Sam leaned into Summer. “Logan always had a thing for Poppy in high school. I’m sure you’ll meet both of them while you’re here.”
    Summer couldn’t help but notice how amazing Sam smelled. He’d taken a quick shower before dinner while Summer helped Kate make a salad in the kitchen. He smelled of a mixture of musk and soap that filled her head. It was hard for Summer to concentrate on the good meal that Kate had prepared for the family with Sam seated so close to her. She could almost feel the heat of his body penetrating her skin and they weren’t even touching.
    Summer welcomed Ethan’s curious question to pull her attention away from her strong reaction to Sam.
    “How did you go from wanting to be a police officer to being a dispatcher?”
    “It’s sort of a long story and one I’m sure my mother would rather had not have happened at all, despite her not wanting me to be a police officer.”
    “Tell us,” Kate said.
    As they ate, Summer recalled the incident that had been the turning point in her decision to become a dispatcher.
    “My senior year of high school I was home alone one night. My parents were out at some dinner party in Massachusetts and weren’t supposed to be home until very late. Anyway, I was in my bedroom and heard voices downstairs. I knew it wasn’t my parents and since I was upstairs, I had no way to get out of the house without going through the living room. I was pretty sure they were down there and would see me.”
    She leaned back in her chair, surprised she was being so open about a memory that had haunted her for years. All eyes at the table were on her as she recollected what happened.
    “I crawled into my closet with the phone and called 911. I could hear the burglars downstairs, but when their voices became louder, I started to hyperventilate. I was sure they were going to find me in the closet and do God only knows what to me when they did. The female dispatcher on the other end of the line became my lifeline. She talked to me calmly and told me everything would be okay, that the police were on their way. It probably only took the police about five minutes to get there, but it