Jamie heard the sirens way before she saw them. She was driving through the curvy back roads of Pennsylvania, and all of the trees and hills made it hard to see very far at all. Another downfall of these back roads- no shoulders to pull over on. Jamie sighed and when she came upon a rare straight-away she slowed to a crawl and waited for the emergency vehicle to pass. A fire truck soon came flying around the curve and easily went around her since there were no cars coming.
Reaching down and turning her radio back up Jamie hummed along to Taylor Swift as she continued on her way home. It had been a long, dull day. Nothing exciting had happened at her secretarial job and she was just ready to go home and call it a night. Slip on her silk nightie and sprawl out on the couch watching reruns of Jon & Kate Plus 8.
But, as she rounded the last corner to her house, her heart nearly stopped. At least five fire trucks were surrounding her little country style cottage and flames were shooting up out of the second story windows. Jamie felt the blood drain from her face. The sight of her pride and joy going up in flames was enough to make her hyperventilate. Then she realized that this morning she had not put her beloved Pit Bull out back in his kennel today. She had decided to leave Bo inside, out of the heat for the day. Her breath was coming in short quick gasps as she flew up as close as she get to her driveway and barreled out of her car.
Jamie was racing towards her backdoor when a strong arm clad in yellow rubber wrapped around her waist and yanked her back.
"Oh, no ma'am, I'm sorry you can't go in there. Is this your house?" a deep male voice asked.
Jamie was shaking so bad she could barely speak.
"YES!" she managed to shriek. "And my... my dog is in there!" she said nearly hysterical. Tears were sliding from her eyes and dripping down her face.
She saw the man holding her speak into his radio telling the others fighting the fire that there was a dog within the home that needed to be brought out. After radioing it in and getting together a crew to go in after the pooch he turned back to Jamie.
"I'm Captain Cade McGuiness ma'am," he said in that same lazy drawl. "Do you know what room your dog might be in?" he asked in a compassionate tone.
I hiccupped softly and then turned to answer him. "He normally sleeps in the living room, but he has free roam of the house," I said.
I watched as the crew this firefighter had assembled entered the house. It seemed like hours before I saw them trudging back out. And one of them had my baby! I screamed in joy and started sobbing at the same time. Captain Cade McGuiness strode over to the man carrying my precious Bo and then took the load out of the other man's arms and walked back to me. He then sat Bo down by my feet where he immediately leapt up onto my chest and started licking my face. I wrapped my arms around his thick neck and hugged him to me before pushing him down and staring in disbelief at my house, quickly becoming engulfed in flames.
Kneeling down and holding onto Bo's collar I faced the Captain again. I was still crying but my sobs were under control now.
"Wh-what happened?" I asked in between soft hiccups. I took the time to take in the man's features and was surprised. He was very handsome in a rugged sort of way. Soot was streaked across one cheek and he was sweating profusely. I could imagine why, it was at least 85 degrees outside and he had on all of his turnout gear.
He faced me with a somber face. "We're not really sure yet. Unfortunately the upstairs is more than likely completely destroyed. And I'm pretty sure the house won't be livable for a while..." he said. His words barely penetrated my fear but I got the gist of it. My house was destroyed. Fresh tears leaked from my eyes and I felt the captain place his big hand on my shoulder and squeeze comfortingly.
"Is there anyone you can stay with for a while?" he asked quietly, looking me in my eye.
I shook my head no. "All of my family lives in Colorado. But I make ok money where I work and I have a lot saved up. I can stay in a hotel until the house is redone."
The firefighter's eyebrows knit into a frown but he didn't say anything. He merely nodded his head. I got the sense that he didn't approve of my plans.
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Cade eyed the beautiful blonde in front of him. She was shaking in either fear or grief, or both. He couldn't tell. Her cheeks were tear stained and her eyes puffy and red. But she was still a complete knockout. His gaze traveled up her long legs to wear her skirt began. A short, black number with a wide, red leather belt. It was cinched in tight on her waist; a very narrow waist. His eyes traveled over her zebra-striped top. It was filmy and see through but she wore a black camisole-type shirt beneath it so it wasn't that revealing. Cade could still see that her stomach was flat and her tits perky and well rounded.
Cade felt his groin tighten and shook his head at himself. The poor woman was sitting here losing everything she owned and he was having sexual fantasies about her. Cussing quietly he turned to her and asked her if she knew of somewhere she could stay. A hotel was her answer. Cade imagined her living in a hotel for the months it would take for her house to be redone. Unimaginable. Especially with a large dog; and a Pit Bull at that. It wasn't any of his business, he reminded himself. He didn't even know the girl.
But he was definitely attracted to her, and he wanted very much to make it his business. His mind made up, Cade turned back to the petite blonde behind him.
"What's your name ma'am?" he asked softly. The young woman looked at him with wide green eyes and replied "Jamie".
By then the fire was under control and Cade's crew was ready to head back to the station.
"Jamie, I get off at five o'clock this evening. Come to dinner with me. Take your mind off things and then we'll get you settled into a decent hotel."
Jamie just stared for a second as if it took that long for her to understand what he was saying. Then she looked shocked.
"Oh, no. No, that's not necessary. I can handle it on my own, I swear," she said in a shaky voice.
Cade smiled slowly at her. "I'm sure you can, but I'd love to have dinner with you none-the-less".
Jamie hesitated before nodding in agreement.