Smolder (Firefighters of Montana Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

week.”
    Reaching for her glass of chardonnay with a less than steady hand, she took a fortifying sip. She could barely afford to take her son to Chuck-E-Cheese, much less Disneyland. It was killing her to miss her son’s first meet and greet with Mickey Mouse.
    Bryce was extremely generous with his child support, but Laurel was careful to spend it only on the essentials for their son. The rest she invested cautiously, not wanting to take the chance that Tyson’s father wouldn’t blow his fortune. Or break his neck . One of them had to be the sensible grown-up and look out for Tyson’s future. Laurel was just as surprised as the next person that she’d turned out to be the responsible one.
    Ivy patted her on the shoulder. “How do you think Tyson will take the news?”
    “Probably better than he would if the kid heard you were getting married.” Miranda joked.
    Laurel bit back her first real grin of the day. Ivy was Tyson’s kindergarten teacher. Her son had always had a crush on his mother’s childhood friend, but once he’d landed in Ivy’s classroom, his crush had morphed into worshipful adulation.
    “Well, Tyson needn’t worry. There’s no chance of that happening anytime soon.” Ivy took a healthy swallow from her appletini while her eyes drifted across the room to where Liam Ferguson sat joking with several of the smokejumpers from the forest service station. Tyson wasn’t the only one in Laurel’s orbit with an unrequited love.
    Laurel exchanged a look with her cousin. Miranda rolled her eyes in exasperation, evidently unable to understand what any sane woman would see in her twin brother. Tori returned with their spinach dip and tortilla chips.
    “The word is you’re going to be back on the circuit again, Laurel,” the waitress said. “Has it really been ten years since you stood in this very bar, fresh off being crowned the AQHA world champion in reining horses, and declared you’d never put on a pair of spurs again? I guess all those dreams of making it big somewhere outside of Montana never really came true, huh? Well, they do say it’s best to stick with what you know. Especially when everything else fails.”
    Laurel did her best to tamp down on the anger and humiliation brought on by Tori’s words. Beside her, Ivy choked on her drink. Uncle Hugh, still quick on his feet, was pressing his daughter back down into her chair before Laurel realized Miranda had stood to defend her.
    “Tori,” her uncle barked. “You’ve got orders up. Don’t keep the customers waiting.”
    The waitress sashayed away without so much as an apology. Not that she needed to apologize. Everything she’d said had been the truth. Laurel sighed. She’d had big plans once. Plans that took her away from Glacier Creek to some place exciting and different. Any place. Truth be told, she was once as reckless and daring as Bryce Johnson, craving excitement and a life that was dramatically different than the one she was now living.
    But then reality hit in the form of an unplanned pregnancy and a sick mother. Laurel left school, returning home to the ranch and her old life with barely a thought of what might have been. The impulsive dreamer inside her had been snuffed out by the pragmatic realist circumstances had created. Growing up quickly had been painful, but Laurel had survived it and she had the bonus of a lovable young son to ease the transition. She wouldn’t trade Tyson—or these past years with her ailing mother—for any adventure in the world.
    “Don’t mind her. Tori’s been a bit ornery since the divorce,” Uncle Hugh was saying. “Most of the customers love her and she does a good job. Still, I’ll have a talk with her.”
    Laurel waved her uncle off. “It’s okay, Uncle Hugh. She’s just saying what everyone in town is thinking.”
    Her uncle’s blue eyes sparkled with compassion and a hint of pity as he headed back to the bar.
    “Nobody’s mind works like Tori’s,” Miranda said, her