How to Tame a Wild Fireman Read Online Free PDF Page A

aftershave surrounded her, along with an overlay of antiseptic. She pressed a quick kiss on his cheek.
    Mistake. As soon as she pulled away, she spotted that look on his face. That look was a hypocritical mixture of disapproval and lascivious speculation. She’d seen it a thousand times in Loveless as soon as ­people figured out whose niece she was and where she lived.
    With barely a wave good-­bye, she fled to the women’s locker room, which was empty at the moment—­her first stroke of good luck that day. As she dialed the combination of her lock, she cursed her moment of weakness. Why had she told Adam all that stuff? Why? Things would never be the same between them. And she hadn’t even told him to keep it to himself. It might be all over the hospital by morning.
    She dug through the overstuffed tote bag she’d crammed into her locker that morning. Her personal iPhone was in there somewhere, and she had to start making a list. Talk to the chief of staff about vacation time. Call Mrs. Hannigan about Britney’s prescription. Call clinic to rearrange interview. Tell Emily I can’t watch her cat this week after all. Book flight to Elko. Book rental car.
    There was nothing like a list to calm you down and make you feel on top of things. Lists contained practical, concrete steps instead of embarrassing, vaguely spiritual preachings. That’s why she loved the medical field. It was based on facts, not intuition. If they talked about penises, it was in a medical context, not sexual, and they didn’t call them lotus roots.
    A memory flashed through her mind—­a quarrel. Herself at fifteen, fingers stuffed in her ears.
    “Can you please postpone the penis talk until I leave for school? Or at least until after breakfast?”
    “But it’s completely natural, Lulu. You don’t have to be afraid of sex.”
    “I’m not afraid! I just don’t want to think about it first thing in the morning!”
    “I see your inner goddess is quite disturbed about this.”
    Lara had stuffed her fingers deeper. “Whatever.”
    “Fine, since you’re still in your pubescent squeamish phase, we’ll call them lotus roots instead.”
    Lara couldn’t stop a burble of laughter. Aunt Tam might have been . . . unique . . . but she’d had the biggest heart in the Northern Hemisphere. And, Lara reflected, she wasn’t fifteen anymore. She didn’t have to allow the Haven’s crazy atmosphere to upset her. She could apply her academic training to the Haven and sort everything out with rational common sense.
    Lara stripped off her scrubs and pulled on teal seersucker capris and a white blouse. She owed her aunt so much. She loved her. She even owed this outfit to Aunt Tam, who’d warned her no one would trust a doctor who wore black. A sudden attack of sadness made her lean her head against her locker. What a terrible niece she was. She’d dragged her feet about going back to Loveless, even when she knew Aunt Tam was sick. The least she could do now was honor her last request.
    At least she didn’t have to worry about a memorial ser­vice. Tam hadn’t wanted one, although no doubt the Goddesses had held some sort of ceremony. They’d probably held a drum circle and danced until dawn. Naked.
    After her parents died, Aunt Tam had swept into Lara’s life like some kind of rare comet. She’d always approached life as a weird, amazing, fabulous adventure. Maybe Lara should try to approach her trip back to Loveless in the same way.
    It was guaranteed to be weird anyway.

 
    Chapter Three
    O n top of everything else, it was wildfire season in eastern Nevada. The sky was a yellowish-­pink, as if the sun was held captive in some hellish otherworld. As she drove into Loveless in her rented white Aveo, Lara’s throat prickled from the smoke that hung in the air. An old frontier town, Loveless had retained its ramshackle roots. A wooden boardwalk wound its way past the storefronts of the downtown business center. A banner strung across Main