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

proper—she’d been sure it was the right move. She would have sworn she could sense Faith to the south, much farther than the other search and rescue boats had ventured, but not so far their team wouldn’t be able to reach her before nightfall.
    Twenty minutes ago, Lucy’s entire body had been buzzing with the certainty that they were getting closer and would find Faith before the hour was up.
    But now…
    She forced herself to release her death grip on Brandon’s hand and place both palms over the tee shirt in her lap. It was Faith’s, pulled from her locker at the firehouse when Lucy said she needed something that belonged to Faith to help focus her energy. A random tee shirt wasn’t the best choice—a tracking talisman worked better if it was something that meant a lot to the lost person—but it was the best Lucy could do on short notice. And there was energy coming off the shirt, not a lot, but hopefully enough.
    Hopefully…
    Lucy closed her eyes, focusing with everything in her. She ignored the hungry sound of the river churning around the boat, she ignored the slimy strands of her own hair lying heavy and damp against her neck, she ignored everything but the gentle buzz of awareness that flowed into her fingertips through the shirt and shot out through her chest like a laser beam pointing the way.
    There! Lucy felt Faith again, the other woman’s energy much closer than it had been before.
    “We should see her any minute,” Lucy said, lids flying open as she reached out to squeeze Brandon’s arm. “I’ll take the right bank, you take the left.”
    Brandon nodded and turned his narrowed eyes toward the opposite shoreline, sending gratitude surging inside Lucy’s chest. She was so grateful that Brandon had believed in her, that he’d put his reputation at the firehouse on the line to insist that Lucy should help with the search.
    She could tell Neil was skeptical about being sent out with “the psychic,” but Brandon hadn’t questioned her instincts for a second. He’d simply sat solidly beside her, nodding in silent encouragement each time Lucy felt her confidence flagging.
    It was as if he knew what she was feeling, making her think he might have a touch of empath in him. It wouldn’t surprise her, really. Judging from their first encounter in the bedroom, Lucy could tell Brandon was more attuned to his partner than the average man, especially the average twenty-one-year old. He was special, and she meant to tell him so, as soon as they got Faith in the boat and were on their way to safety.
    No sooner had the thought passed through her mind than Lucy saw a flash of bright yellow in the tree branches twenty feet away, maybe a yard above the rushing water.
    “There!” she shouted, pointing. “In those trees!”
    “Shit, you’re right,” Neil said, excitement clear in his voice as he steered the boat toward the right bank.
    The closer they got, the more obvious it became that the person in the tree was Faith. The brightly colored suit the S.F.D. officers wore for water rescues made it easy to see where her legs dangled on either side of one large limb. She was leaning back against another limb, her eyes closed and her muddy blonde hair glued to either side of her face. She looked like she was sleeping, but she couldn’t be, because her arms were wrapped tight around a golden retriever, holding the dog safe on the limb in front of her.
    Brandon called Faith’s name once…twice. Finally, when he shouted a third time, Faith’s lids flew open, the surprise in her eyes morphing instantly to relief as she spotted the boat.
    “Thank God,” she said, sucking in a breath as she hugged the dog tight to her chest, a sob escaping her throat as the boat puttered beneath her perch. “I didn’t think anyone was coming. We got sucked so far downstream.”
    “I’m going to reach up and get the dog, okay?” Brandon said, motioning for Lucy to help Neil hold the boat steady.
    Lucy gripped the closest