Free The Firefighter Meets His Match (Red Hot Reunions Book 4) by Jessie Evans

Right now.”
    Jake met her eyes, holding her gaze for a long moment before he sighed and nodded. “All right. But I only need thirty minutes.”
    “Take an hour,” Jamison said. “I’ll wake you sooner if we get any news.”
    “Thirty minutes,” Jake said, proving he was the most stubborn person in the world. “And I’ll want a full report of what I missed when I wake up.”
    Naomi resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she hooked her arm through his and walked him out of the large, open office space and down the hall to the bunkroom. Inside, the room smelled lightly of feet, detergent, man, and bleach cleaner, but Jake’s bunk at the far right of the room was cozy enough and Naomi knew he could fall asleep anywhere. It was one of his super powers. Naomi needed high thread count sheets, lavender spray, and a white noise machine to get to sleep and still had trouble, but Jake—give him a lumpy chair or a wall to lean against and he was good to go.
    Still, she had brought a few things she hoped might help make his nap more refreshing. She set her bag down on the tile beside the bed and started pulling out her emergency supplies.
    “What’s all that?” Jake asked as he stripped his Summerville Fire tee shirt off and hung it over the end of the bed, revealing his thickly muscled chest.
    Even now, seven months after seeing Jake semi-clothed for the first time in years, the sight of him still made Naomi’s insides flutter. He was a beautiful man, inside and out, and she was determined to take excellent care of him, even when she had to fight his own stubborn nature to do it.
    “This is passion flower tea with honey,” Naomi said, uncapping her thermos and pouring Jake a steaming cup. “It’s going to help you relax and get to sleep.”
    Jake sat on the edge of the bunk, accepting the thermos cap with a mildly amused expression. “You know I don’t need any help with that, babe.”
    “I know,” she said, “but you’ve been under an abnormal amount of stress. So drink the tea. You’ll like it, I promise.”
    Jake took a cautious sip, nodding as he swallowed. “That is nice.”
    “This is going to be even nicer.” Naomi uncapped her lavender oil and held it out for Jake to stiff. “When you’re done with your tea, I’m going to give you a back massage and then I’ve got a beanbag neck warmer to heat up in the microwave. We’ll slip it around your shoulders before your drift off and you’ll wake up without any stress knots.”
    “You’re good to me.” Jake glanced up at her, his half smile fading. “But it doesn’t feel right to have you making a fuss over me while Faith’s still out there.”
    Naomi sat down beside him on the mattress. “I understand, but making a martyr of yourself isn’t going to help find her. Let me take care of you, and you’ll wake up in a better place to deal with the search for Faith and everything else.”
    He took another sip of his tea before saying in soft voice, “I don’t want to lose someone I love so much. Not again.” He turned, staring into her eyes with a look so raw it broke her heart.
    This was the Jake he only showed to her, the vulnerable, naked Jake who could admit he wasn’t always the toughest man in the world, and who needed her strength every bit as much as she needed his.
    “It’s going to be okay.” She cupped his face in her hands, looking deep into his troubled eyes. “We will get through this as a family. All of us—Jamison and Maddie and Mick and you and me. We’ve got each other and everyone out in that room on our side, and all of them are praying for Faith.”
    Jake nodded, but the wrinkle between his eyes stayed firmly in place.
    “And Lucy may be a little odd, but she’s a sweet, smart girl and a complete professional,” Naomi pressed on. “I know helping run a bakery and looking for missing people are vastly different things, but I’m guessing Lucy is the kind who brings excellence to everything she does. I think you made