Free Blaze (The Firefighters of Darling Bay Book 1) by Rachael Herron

he noticed. Not like the designers on HGTV that Coin watched at the station, not all fancy, but both her practice in the old Victorian and this little house had the same feeling, as if they had grown up around her naturally. There had to be fifty potted plants, flowers blooming and draping, all colors. Comfortable old wooden furniture—a swing and three chairs—invited him to sit. He imagined her entertaining out here, seated with her bare feet pulled up underneath her, hair loose, pouring glasses of iced tea for friends. 
    For a brief second, he wondered if he could ever be someone who sat out here with her. He imagined her bare feet resting in his lap. 
    Grace came outside, dressed in a blue zippered sweatshirt, jeans, and blue canvas shoes. Her hair, so carefully styled before, was pulled back into a ponytail. She’d rubbed off the dark lipstick, but she still wore the prettily smudged eye makeup. She looked ready to paint a house or play paintball. How was it possible that she looked even hotter now, dressed like this?
    “What are we doing?” Her face was open. Happy. Expectant. 
    Tox didn’t want to let her down. “I’m not sure if you have an online profile, but I think it’s required by law that if you do, you have to say you like long walks on the beach. So I thought we’d do that.” He’d meant it as funny and tongue-in-cheek. Now that he’d said it out loud, it just kind of sounded stupid. So he added the clincher. “With my new dog.”

 
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER SIXTEEN
     
    He’d kept the dog! 
    Grace couldn’t help squeaking when Tox led her to the dog crate leashed into the back of a black truck. “Oh, my god! Where’s your motorcycle?” 
    “Turns out she doesn’t like riding as much I thought she would. That was one exciting ride home yesterday, I’ll tell you that much.” 
    Grace grinned and climbed up on the back tire so she could reach through the crate’s bars to give the wee pup a scratch. “So you own all the big boy toys? The motorcycle, the big truck. Do you have the boat, too?” 
    “Does a jetski count?” 
    Raising one eyebrow at him, Grace decided to let him off the hook for the water sports safety lecture. Besides, the dog was taking all her attention. “Can she ride in the cab with us?” 
    “Whatever you want, darlin’.” Tox’s unexpected drawl made Grace’s knees get warm. 
    The puppy sat on Grace’s lap during the short ride to Fenton’s Cove. When Tox took the corner at First the dog almost spilled off, but then she scrambled back, seemingly desperate not to lose contact. 
    Tox parked in the lot and they walked past the Golden Spike. The jukebox inside the bar was blasting a classic Darling Songbirds song, “Take it Slow On the Curves.” Tox waved inside at Nate, the bartender. They crossed the street and walked past Crab’s Claw restaurant toward the sand. Have you ever eaten there? That would be too pushy, as if she wanted him to take her someplace fancy. It’s windy out . Too obvious. God, you’re hot. Too crazy. She sealed her lips. 
    Down near the water, though, the salt wind whipping her ponytail, the small dog stretching her leash to its limit, Grace felt the tightness in her jaw start to relax. “She’s adorable.” 
    “I know.” 
    “That fur, though.” 
    “She has a grooming appointment tomorrow.” 
    Grace nodded. “She’s too skinny.” 
    “Agreed,” he said amiably. “We’ll fix that right up.” 
    “How?” 
    “Steak. Lots of steak.” 
    Surprised, Grace said, “I can’t imagine that would be the best diet for a puppy.” 
    “I was teasing,” he said. “Mostly. But ice cream isn’t out of the question.” 
    “Really?’ 
    “Man, you’re easy to tease.”
    “Gah. I’ve always been gullible.” She bent over and undid the laces of her shoes. “Once a guy convinced me he was the first test-tube baby in the world.” 
    “Why would he say that?” 
    “I don’t know.” Grace had never