Free Dakota Heat (Book 3 - Dakota Hearts) by Lisa Mondello Page B

you?”
    Summer didn’t have an answer to that. There were probably a thousand good reasons why she should stay put in her room. Ethan and Donald were asleep upstairs. She’d promised Sam she wouldn’t take any chances or venture out on her own. But she knew she was safer at basecamp than anywhere else.
    Summer put her hands on the table and stood up. “Absolutely nothing.”
    * * *
    It took Sam and the other Hotshots three days to bring the fire under control. Summer hadn’t left the base for a single moment in those three days. Ethan had a guard stationed outside the dispatch office just in case because all of the activity at basecamp and the new faces of fire fighters coming in from out of state made it difficult to keep track of who did and didn’t belong there.
    Summer barely noticed him. But always remembered to get a cup of coffee or a plate of food from the mess hall for him so he wouldn’t starve.
    Ethan gave her daily updates on the serial killer investigation and the murder in Montgomery. But none of that mattered to Summer. Her fear no longer stemmed from the fact that a serial killer had been fixated on her, forcing her to leave her home. Now that fear was rooted in the fact that she could lose Sam to something far deadlier. And she knew that if she lost him, she would lose herself.
    She could no longer ignore the voice that had gone from a soft whisper to a deafening shout. She was in love with Sam. And she couldn’t bear to lose him.
    She was eighteen hours into her shift when Sam’s voice crackled over the radio. Summer jumped to her feet as she jotted down the message that she had to relay to the Adam. And it was when Sam clicked off the radio that something within Summer shattered. She bolted from the chair and ran to Adam’s office, pushing through the door without knocking.
    Adam’s face went ashen when he saw her with the paper in her hand.
    “That bad?”
    Tears welled up in her eyes. “Worse.”
    # # #
     

Chapter 11
     
    “I’ll take over,” Derek said. “You need a break.”
    “No, I don’t,” Summer said. “I don’t get a break until Sam and the others radio in that they’re in the clear.”
    “Look at you. You’re shivering and it’s ninety degrees out there.”
    “I’m fine.”
    Behind her, Summer could feel Adam’s eyes on her back. All it would take is for Adam to pull her off the desk and her connection to Sam would be gone. She turned to him and saw the concerned look on his face.
    “I made the call for another two air tankers to come in and another supply of fire retardant. But they’re still an hour away.”
    “What about the Smokejumpers?”
    Derek looked at the notes, “They’re out. They made it to the river and are cleared.”
    Summer took a deep breath, then swallowed hard. “The wind has picked up again. The new burn that was started by the heat lightning has grown. I’ve been in constant contact with the crew. All twenty are accounted for. The rock still has them boxed in at the base of the canyon wall, and the fire is building on the canyon floor. But Sam put two men on lookout and they still have eyes on the rest of the crew. They’re all safe for now. There’s not enough of a clearing for a safe escape route out of the canyon floor yet. We need the air tankers to drop enough retardant to knock out one of the lines of fire to give them a clear path out. I already have the helicopter pilots on alert to fly in and retrieve them when they get in the clear.” She took a deep breath and waited for Adam’s instruction.
    “It’s going to be a rough place for the air tankers to get into low enough to drop the retardant. Let’s hope they get here soon. Derek, how long have you been at the desk?”
    “About thirty-six hours.”
    “Summer?”
    “Just over twenty-four.” It was probably a little more than that, but Summer knew where Adam was going with this and there was no way she was leaving her only connection to Sam.
    “Okay, Derek, get some