"When wildfires burn, can the heart stay tame?"
Reviewed by Audrey Lawrence
Posted March 22, 2006
Romance Contemporary
Sometimes, it only takes a small spark to ignite a fire --
one you may not be able to control or know where it will
go -- and if you aren't careful, you can get badly hurt!
This was the situation facing the normally fearless
smokefighter, Cade McKenzie, both physically and in his
heart. Injured while protecting a rookie, Cade is forced to leave
the fire fighting line on the Montana mountain to get back
to Missoula. As he and his buddy, Trey, start down, they
need to check out an isolated cabin that Cade had once
shared with his ex-wife, Jordan Wells, back in those happy
days. While never fully understanding why she had just up
and deserted him, their divorce had gutted him. But, duty
calls and with a fire raging nearby, they can't afford not
to look as campers could be there. Arriving at the cabin,
he is shocked to see none other than Jordan herself. Yet,
despite his pain and bitterness, his old passion for her
still flares up inside him. Realizing the urgency of the situation, Jordan and Cade are
forced together as they take her rented Jeep down a narrow
forestry road to safety. While driving, kindhearted
Jordan spots an injured dog and stops to pick him up.
Then, starting on their way again, the wind gusts up and
they are trapped by the raging fire. Jordan can't believe this is happening! After finally
ending her ambivalence about the old cabin, all she had
wanted to do was to clear things out at the cabin so she
could sell it. Then, she was going to fly back to Virginia
to marry her fiancé, Phil, a wonderful man, calm and
reliable, and with whom she could have the settled and
routine life that she desired more than anything. As they
encounter more difficulties, however, she begins to
evaluate what is really important in her life. But, can
they make it out alive? Gail Barrett has crafted a captivating, suspenseful tale,
not only of the physical struggles involved in trying to
escape the clutches of a forest fire, but has balanced it
with the struggle in the minds of these two strong
characters as they battle old and new ideas about each
other and themselves. So, toss another log on the fireplace
and curl up to enjoy this satisfying read!
SUMMARY
Never marry a smokejumper! Jordan Wells adopted that motto
when her marriage to Cade McKenzie ended in a painful
divorce. Now, ten years later, a wildfire sends her on a
dangerous race out of the burning forest with the very man
she is determind to forget. And suddenly, she faces a
threat
far greater than any fire. But should she throw away the
security she craves for the excitement she finds in Cade's
arms? Will surrendering to his passion doom her to repeat
the painful past or unite her with the man she is destined
to love?
ExcerptJordan Wells lifted the old metal bucket out of the icy
stream and set it beside her on the bank. Shivering, she
rubbed her wet, chilled hands on her jeans to warm them.
She'd forgotten how cold these Montana streams were. They
were little more than glacial melt rushing down the
mountains.But the place was beautiful, she had to admit. Smiling,
she glanced around the tiny clearing. Early-afternoon
sunlight sifted through the Douglas fir trees, making the
water sparkle. The clear stream raced over rocks and
overturned pebbles while the pine boughs moaned above. She inhaled the deep-forest air, that complex mix of
ancient pines and earth, so unlike the cornfields and
woods of Virginia. She'd loved this place once. Being here
had filled her with peace, serenity. She'd felt protected
from the world, sheltered in the tiny cabin with Cade. She closed her eyes and, just for a moment, let the images
swamp her. Cade's hard face. His low, rough voice. That
devastating grin. The shocking thrills, the wild excitement she'd felt in
his strong arms. But that was before the fire season had started and the
loneliness set in. The weeks apart. The endless waiting.
Never knowing when he'd come back or how long he would
stay. Then the pleading. The desperation. That stark white
hospital bed. The shattering realization that he loved leaping out of
airplanes more than he loved her. And always would. She opened her eyes with a sigh. But that had happened
years ago. That life was gone forever, like the innocent,
trusting girl she'd once been. And that was exactly why she'd come back here. To put that
painful past to rest forever and prove she was over Cade.
To sell the cabin she'd ignored for years and finally move
on with her life. To marry Phil, a stable, steady man with
a normal job who'd never rush off on wild adventures and
leave her to suffer alone. Who'd waited far too patiently
for too many months for her to accept his proposal. And she would finally say yes to him. She'd be crazy not
to. That man was everything she wanted. She'd accept, all right. As soon as she cleaned out the
cabin, she'd stop at the real estate agency in Missoula,
sign the contract to sell this place and catch the next
flight back East. She rose and lifted the dented bucket. The thick bed of
pine needles muffled her footsteps as she trudged up the
narrow trail toward the house. The wind gusted in the pine trees again and they creaked
and wailed overhead. The tinge of wood smoke wafted past
and Jordan paused. Had someone built a cabin nearby? She
hadn't noticed any new side roads or even tire tracks on
the long drive in. Maybe a passing hiker had started a
campfire despite the burning ban. Then she caught the distant buzz of an airplane and her
breath stalled. A DC3 jump ship. She'd recognize that
sound anywhere. She'd heard that sad, wrenching drone
every time Cade flew away. Her heart pumping hard against her ribs, she set the
bucket on the ground and looked up. A patch of blazing
blue sky peeked through the thrashing pines. Could there be a fire nearby? Fear crawled down her spine.
How would she know? Her cell phone didn't work out here so
she couldn't call to find out, and no one knew where she
was. She listened intently, but the lonely sound drifted
away. She inhaled deeply, but only smelled fresh air and pine.
She eased her breath back out. It was just her
imagination. Old ghosts. The very memories she'd come here
to banish. She picked up the bucket and carted it into the cabin. Old
ghosts or not, she'd better finish quickly and leave. Cade McKenzie stood in the open doorway of the DC3 and
sucked in the smell of burning pine. Below him, black,
roiling smoke pierced by huge orange flames rose from the
Montana forest and covered the earth with a threatening
shadow. Undaunted, he snapped down his face guard and narrowed his
eyes. No matter how formidable the fire, he'd stop it. The
steep hills and volatile winds only challenged him more.
And he knew the eleven smokejumpers poised behind him felt
the same. The spotter, hanging partway out the door beside him,
pulled in his head from the slipstream. "Hold into the
wind," he shouted over the roar of the rushing air. "And
stay wide of the fire. It's gusting bad down low." Cade nodded and returned his attention to the fire. They
would jump near the heel and contain it first, then split
up and secure the flanks. Despite the dry conditions, they
could pinch off the head by late tomorrow — unless the
wind changed direction and whipped the flames toward
Granite Canyon. His gaze shifted west toward the canyon bordered by a
silver ridge. From the air, the dense pines hid the log
cabin he knew was nestled beside the boulders. His old
cabin, where he'd spent the most intoxicating months of
his life — until Jordan decided she couldn't handle living
with a smokejumper and cleared out. A sharp stab of
bitterness tightened his gut. Hell of a time to think of
his ex-wife. He forced the old anger aside. She'd raked him over good,
all right, but he'd never see her again. She wouldn't have
kept the cabin after all these years. Still, he needed to
make sure no one was in there in case the wind switched
and the fire jumped the only road out. "We're on final." The spotter scooted back and struck the
side of the open door. His adrenaline rising, Cade moved
forward into jump position. His jump partner, a rookie
from a booster crew out of Boise, pressed in close behind
him. His muscles bunched, his gaze focused on the horizon, he
waited for the spotter's signal. An intense calm settled
over him and his mind stilled. And in that moment, he felt perfectly right. He was doing
what he was born for, what he loved. The spotter slapped his calf hard. His pulse jerked. He
thrust himself out of the plane and into the roaring
slipstream. And hurtled ninety miles an hour toward the
fiery earth. The wind rose again, swirling the orange flames high and
pushing sparks and smoke over the line. Cade cut off his
chain saw and lifted his arm to wipe the sweat dripping
down his cheeks beneath his hard hat. Something wasn't right; he could feel it. But what? They'd
secured the heel without problems and begun scratching a
line up both flanks. But instead of feeling confident they
would slay this dragon, unease slid through his gut. And
he'd fought fires for too many years to ignore his
instincts. Unsettled, he strode to the pile of equipment and set down
his saw, then pulled his canteen from his personal-gear
bag. He drank deeply, letting the warm water soothe his
parched throat. "Hey, Cade." His smokejumping bro, Trey Campbell, strolled over. They'd
rookied the same year out of Missoula and jumped together
ever since. And after Jordan had deserted him, they'd
spent more nights than he could remember frequenting
Montana's bars. Trey rummaged in his own bag and pulled out his
water. "Any word on this wind?" he asked. "No, but it feels like it's picking up." He frowned back
at the fire. Heavy brush and snags littered the forest
floor, fueling the surging flames. The erratic wind kicked
up sparks and slopped spot fires over the line. He recapped his canteen, pulled out his radio and keyed
the mike. "Dispatch, this is McKenzie." His radio crackled. "Go ahead, McKenzie." "Any idea what's going on with this wind? It's blowing the
hell out of our line." Voices murmured in the background. "We'll call the
district for an update," the dispatcher said. "We'll get
right back to you on that." "Thanks." He stuffed the radio in the side pocket of his
bag. "Do you mind taking over for awhile?" he asked
Trey. "There's a cabin by the rim of the canyon I need to
check out, make sure there aren't any people hanging
around." Like his ex-wife? His stomach tightened but he
quickly discounted that thought. "They're going to need a
head start getting out of here if that wind shifts." "That your old cabin by any chance?" "Yeah." Which he'd surrendered to Jordan, along with any
illusions he'd ever had about marriage. "After I swing by
the cabin, I'll recon the head again, too. When dispatch
gets back with that wind report, we can decide where to
build line tonight." "Got it." Trey's teeth flashed white in his soot-streaked
face. He shoved his canteen into his personal-gear bag,
picked up his chain saw, and loped back toward the line. Cade took a final swallow of water, then stuffed his
canteen in his own personal-gear bag. He moved a small
notebook and compass to the side pocket with the radio,
and secured the flap. A sudden blur in his peripheral vision caught his
attention and he glanced up. A blazing snag pitched
silently forward, and his heart stopped. A widow maker. A dead, burning tree that fell without
warning, killing anyone in its path. And it was heading
straight for their line. "Watch out," he shouted. "A snag!" The men immediately scattered — except for one. His jump
partner, the rookie. The kid looked up, then froze. Oh, hell. Cade lunged to his feet and sprinted forward.
The tree toppled closer and his adrenaline surged. With a
final burst of speed, he barreled into the rookie and
knocked him out of the way. And was instantly slammed to the ground. His breath fled as a massive weight crushed his back. He
struggled to lift his face from the dirt, but branches
covered his head. He couldn't see. He couldn't breathe. Where was the
rookie? He tried to shout, but couldn't move his mouth. He shoved against the ground but the branches trapped him.
Heat blazed up his back and his adrenaline rose. He pushed
again, his efforts futile against the punishing weight. "Cade! Are you okay? Oh, God. Get him out!" "We need saws in here," someone else yelled over the
roar. "Hurry up!" Cade's eyes burned. He choked down hot smoke and coughed.
Heat crawled up his neck and he gasped for breath. Chain saws wailed and men shouted. The weight shifted
slightly and the branches thrashed above him. Then
suddenly, they were gone. He lifted his head and sucked in air. Work boots stood
inches from his face, along with green Nomex pants. "Oh, man," the rookie said, his voice trembling. "Are you okay?" "Don't touch him." Trey crouched beside him. "Speak to me, buddy." "I'm fine," Cade managed. "Are you sure?" the rookie asked. "Man, that was close."
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