On Fire Read Online Free PDF Page B

already.
    Dinner was served and Kate found herself staring into a plate of ribs so big
they fell off over the edges. Coleslaw in a cup and baked beans and a roll were
on the side.
    “If there’s anything else you need,” a man’s voice came from the end of the
table, “let me know. I’m the manager here.”
    Kate frowned. Well, of course. Why wouldn’t he be in on this? He’d probably
been slaving all day making sure the meal would be a whole lot better this time
around.
    Rocky asked her if there was anything she needed and she shook her head, then
picked up her fork. She hated to eat ribs with her hands.
    It was now or never.
    The first bite wasn’t too awful. She’d no sooner gone for a second bite when
Rocky took the fork right out of her fingers and said, “No, sweetheart, you
gotta dig in and really go for the gusto.”
    Grimacing, she held the bone to her mouth, tore out a piece and chewed.
    When she glanced upward, twenty sets of eyes were on her face awaiting her
expression or comment.
    “It’s okay,” was all she managed. Groans surrounded her and the next thing
she knew, another beer was being poured for her.
    Someone around the table said, “You need more beer in order to really let the
flavor come through.”
    She took a sip, her hands greasy around the rim of the glass. Shuddering off
a shiver, she nibbled on the rib bone. The spices didn’t seem as overbearing,
the sauce not as gooey as she’d originally thought.
    Things settled down and Kate listened to talk about emergency calls, pranks
played on one another in the station, and soon she forgot about the food itself.
It became a moment of bonding, in a weird way, where she felt like one of the
guys. But how in the world could she ever write that in her review?

     
     
Chapter Eighteen
    Dinner ended far too soon and Kate was reluctant to leave. The firefighters
were an awesome group of men. It was no wonder they epitomized the ultimate
heroes when they drove across city streets in their red trucks. She found out a
lot about them, what they liked, who they admired. She learned which calls they
couldn’t forget, which ones were memorable — and for what reasons.
    Rather than get back on the motorcycle and head home, Rocky guided her out
the back door and onto the greenbelt that followed the Boise River.
    “It’s not that cold and a walk would be good. I’m full.” He sighed.
    “Me, too.” Good heavens, she’d eaten everything on her plate, and while it
hadn’t been a feast fit for a king, it had been quite satisfying. There was no
reason she couldn’t say that her second experience had been far better than her
first.
    Kate zipped up the jacket, once again smelling the fragrance of leather and a
distant remnant of cologne as it enveloped her.
    “So you survived,” Rocky said, slanting a glance her way. His teeth were
white, his smile boyish. Wind knocked hair into his eyes and he brushed it away.
    “I did.” She had to laugh. “I didn’t think I would. But you surprised me. The
guys surprised me…even the food surprised me.”
    “It’s because you rode on a Harley to get here, you wore leather, you drank
beer, you ate with your fingers and you talked about yourself and your life.
That’s what the Rib Shack is all about.”
    “I think you’re right.”
    “Sweetheart, I know I’m right.”
    When he used the endearment on her, she felt her cheeks flush. It had been
forever since a man uttered something to her that sounded romantic. She liked
it. She liked Rocky. Maybe too much.
    This was crazy, mixed up. She hadn’t been looking for anyone and here she was
on a river walk with a man fit to be on a firefighter calendar. And he was
interested in her!
    “So tell me about you,” he said, pulling her out of her thoughts.
    She filled him in on the basics, where she grew up, what high school she went
to. They discovered they were only a year in age apart and went to rival
schools. They