Free Expectant Father by Melinda Curtis Page B

risk.”
    “That’s cold, man.” Golden shook his head.
    “Is it? Do you remember the first fire of the season? The one right after we found Logan’s Aunt Glen in the mountains?” Spider looked at Victoria, then at the rookie next to her, O’Reilly. Should he be worrying about the rookie, too? He had a kid, didn’t he? And he’d frozen when the order had first been given to run the other day.
    Damn. Now he was seeing weakness everywhere.
    “Technically, Thea and Logan found her,” Golden corrected, pulling Aiden’s attention back from his mini-panic attack.
    Spider waved that small detail aside. “They got lucky.Anyway, we went to New Mexico afterwards for that fire and Victoria choked.”
    “She did not choke,” Golden protested, a note of warning in his voice. There were limits to his patience. “I’d know if she choked.”
    With a quick shake of his head, Spider defended his assessment. “That was the first time I realized she wasn’t cut out for the Hot Shots. She kept falling behind as we hiked out of there, until she just wasn’t behind me anymore.” It was Spider’s job to bring up the rear and account for stragglers, regardless of whose unit they were in. “So I backtracked until I found her and I waited while she puked her guts out trailside.” Spider dropped his voice as if someone could have heard them over the chain-saw. “You don’t do that unless you’re losing your nerve.”
    “Come on, you’ve been on her case from day one.” Golden wasn’t buying it. “Face it, she’s the first female Hot Shot we’ve had and you don’t accept her because she’s a woman.”
    Spider had no problem with her being a woman. Yet, he knew that Golden wouldn’t want to hear about Spider’s worries concerning their safety on this fire. The men didn’t talk about their fears. So without a word, Spider moved back to the line, stopping behind Victoria to hack at a root with his Pulaski. Sure, she’d had a solid first year, but being a Hot Shot was about endurance.
    “You need to ease up,” he said quietly. “You can’t push yourself to the limit, without keeping something in reserve.” The way she was pushing herself, she’d never make it if they had to run for a safety zone.
    “You can’t break me,” she said just as softly.
    Spider wasn’t so sure.
    “Hey, Spider, I saw you last night with the Fire Behavior Analyst,” O’Reilly called out after a few minutes. With little to occupy their minds during such physical tasks, wildland firefighters were notorious talkers and latched onto any event as a source of entertainment. “Has your taste in women changed?”
    So much for having a private conversation with Becca at base camp. At least no one suspected Becca might be carrying his kid.
    Hell, who was he kidding? She hadn’t come out and said it, but that kid was his. Spider still couldn’t believe she’d offered him a way out. It was tough raising kids. For all her holier-than-thou attitude, she ought to know that she shouldn’t be doing it alone.
    The question was: How badly did Spider want to be a father? That is, a better father than his dad had been, because Spider wouldn’t repeat his father’s parenting mistakes and have his kid resent him.
    A father. The idea was horrifyingly intimidating.
    “His taste has changed, alright. To older, pregnant women,” Doc said, as if Spider needed clarification. “This winter, he’ll be cruising the retirement village for dates.”
    The countercomments and rounds of laughter indicated the mood on the crew had shifted, lightened. At Spider’s expense.
    “Might want to save your breath, Doc,” Spider warned, a bit of venom in his tone. “As soon as Victoria burns out, you’re switching spots.”
    “I’m not burning out.” Victoria stood, wiping sweat from her brow.
    “She won’t burn out. She’s tough,” Doc defended her.
    “Why don’t you switch with her now, Romeo? Yeah, I’m not kidding. Make the switch.” Victoria was