Tyler’s body protested as he ran up the last hill, the red flag indicating the end of the three-mile distance waving in the gentle breeze from the top. Florence sprinted light-footed at least hundred yards in front of him, her frail body barely visible because of the oversized pack on her back.

“I have no idea, how she does it,” Tyler hissed to Gunner who kept pace with him, both of them laboring beneath the weight of the forty-five-pound packs strapped on their backs.

“Too bad we can’t see her swaying ass, it would be a nice motivation,” Gunner pressed out the words between fast breathing.

“Come on, we can do this.” Tyler sped up his steps. They’d finish easily within the forty-five minute limit, but there was more at stake than simply passing the test. He wanted to make a good impression on Jules. He’d seen her a few times alongside the track and every time his eyes connected with hers, heat flushed his body.

Tyler reached the top, breathless, shedding the pack from his shoulders with one swift move, before he paced in a circle as he calmed his breath and allowed his muscles to relax.

“Okay, boys. You’re the first group in. Feel free to cheer your fellows on, or pass out. Your choice,” Jules called to them as she marked a check next to each of their names.

Tyler wished he had a ready comeback, but he had nothing. He watched as the other rookies straggled in, the forty-five-minute timer counting down. Needing to be near the woman who had him tied in knots, he wandered over to Jules and casually asked, “How many are still out?”

She glanced at her clipboard and then at him. “Five.”

Tyler looked over her shoulder and was surprised to see that Nick was one of them. “Nick’s not in yet?”

“No. You sound surprised.”

“I am. He’s been my bunkmate these last few weeks and as for meeting the physical tests, he used to be up front.”

“No need to worry. He might just be having a bad day.” Jules turned to the next two finishers and checked their names on the clipboard.

“Have you seen Nick?” Tyler asked them, earning headshakes. “Something must have happened,” he murmured, searching the trail for signs of Nick and the other two men. “Any reason I can’t go see where they’re at?”

Jules gave him a speculative look and after a glance on her stopwatch she shrugged her shoulders. “Time’s almost up. I guess as long as you don’t plan to help them along, there’s no reason why not.” She looked to the other hotshots who were helping run the test and they nodded.

“It’s never been done before, but I don’t see a problem with it.”

“A first time for everything,” Tyler murmured for her ears only, before he sprinted back down the path into the forest. About half a mile down, he realized what was holding the three men up. Nick hobbled between the other two, a grimace of pain on his face with each step.

“What happened?” Tyler asked, sprinting forward and taking Nick’s weight on his own shoulders.

“I tripped about half a mile back and these idiots refused to just leave me. Did we fail yet?”

Tyler shook his head saying, “I think if they truck they can still make it.”

The two men looked at one another and then back to Nick, who waved them off. “Go! Right now! Run!”

They took off, the weight of their packs doing little to slow down their mad rush toward the end of their run.

“You should go with them,” Nick urged him.

“No need. I finished already. Right after Blondie. Now let’s get you up that hill.”

Nick let out a moan of pain as he tried to put some weight on his injured ankle and Tyler barely kept them both upright.

“Stubborn blockhead,” Tyler scolded him, “You’re not going to walk one more step. Hear me?”

“Sounds good. I’m not gonna make the time…feels like a knife stabbing into my ankle with each step I take,” Nick said, relief, pain and disappointment fighting for dominance on his face.

“It’s not the end of the world, but this ankle needs rest. You stay here and I’m getting help. Don’t move, okay?” Tyler helped lower him to the ground and then returned to the finish line where everyone was gathered, congratulating the stragglers for making the forty-five-minute deadline with five seconds to spare.

“Hey! Nick’s injured about half a mile down the trail. Can we get a transport to take him back to the camp?” Tyler shouted.

Jules nodded. “Castor, Troy. Go get a stretcher and bring Nick back to base. I’ll organize it so that one of the mechanics will drive him to the clinic.”

Tyler bent over at his waist, catching his breath. When he straightened back up, he asked Jules, “Nick’s going to fail, right?”

“Yes.” Her eyes looked genuinely sad. “If the doctor clears him we can give him a second try in two weeks’ time, otherwise he’ll have to wait until next year.”

Tyler felt sorry for Nick, who’d worked so hard during the past three weeks of training camp, but he knew there was no way Nick could continue with the physical test, even if they gave him a pass on the run portion. He nodded and then joined the other rookies, their attitudes slightly sobered as word travelled through their ranks about Nick’s injury.

“Okay, boys. Time to finish this. First sit-ups and then pushups. Remember, you only have sixty seconds for each. You’ll go in groups of six, any volunteers to be the first guinea pigs?”

Tyler stepped forward, along with five other men.

Jules smiled. “Good to see you all are so willing to face the clock.” She spoke to a group of hotshots behind her and six men with stopwatches stepped forward and took their position on the ground, motioning for the volunteers to join them.

Tyler took his position on the ground, relaxing his muscles as he lay on the cool earth.

“Ready?”

He looked up at the man holding the stopwatch and nodded, “Whenever you are.”

“Okay. Ready. Set. Go.”

Tyler began pulling himself up using his stomach muscles, counting them off in his head even as the man holding the stopwatch counted them off verbally.

“Hey, Armstrong. Surely you can go faster than that. I mean, my kid sister would beat that lazy pace.” Gunner cheered him on with a grin on his face.

Tyler pulled himself up on number thirty, hissing the words beneath his breath, “Yeah, I bet if the prize is getting away from your ugly mug.”

Gunner laughed, joined by several others and the taunts and good-natured cheering continued.

“Ten seconds,” the man with the stopwatch said as Tyler counted sit-up number forty-six. Tyler increased his speed, pushing his abs beyond the burning point, and came in at fifty-three when his counter stopped the timer.

“Time.”

Completely spent, Tyler crushed on his back, bringing his knees into his chest as he forced his stomach muscles to relax. He heard his counter say, “Two minutes rest before the pushups.”

Tyler nodded, rolling over and looking up when Gunner squatted down near his face. “What do you want?”

“Just checking to make sure you’re still breathing. Man, I’ve never seen anyone pump out sit-ups so fast in the last ten seconds of a test. Good job, man.”

“Thanks, but I thought your sister was faster than I was?”

“Did I say sister? I meant to say my grandmother. My seventy-five-year-old granny who uses a cane. Yeah, that’s what I meant to say.” Gunner guffawed at his own joke and move out of Tyler’s reach when he made a grab for his ankle.

“Thirty seconds. If you two goofs are done insulting his female relatives, Armstrong here should get ready to push dirt.”

Tyler got back into position, saying, “I wasn’t insulting his female relatives.”

“Sure, you were. My sister, my mother, and my grandmother could beat you pansy asses without even trying.”

“Right. So, what’s your count?”

“Ten seconds. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Go.”

Tyler began pushing his body up from the dirt and grasses, bending his elbows and lowering his weight down, only to straighten them and push himself right back up before his chest could hit the ground. One. Eight. Twelve. Fifteen. Up and down. Up and down. Up and down.

His arms started cramping, and he wanted nothing more than collapse on the ground, but he kept pushing himself for one more. Tuning out the teasing going on around him, he focused entirely on the piston motion, even tuning out the counter when he gave the ten-second warning.

It wasn’t until Jules squatted down next to him and tapped him on the shoulder as his arms shook and struggled to straighten just one more time. “Armstrong, sixty seconds are up. You can stop now.”

His arms folded as if someone had pulled the plug and he barely managed to turn his head before he faceplanted in the dirt. With cramping, shaking arms, he rolled onto his back, looking up at the clear blue sky. “How many?”

“Thirty-eight. Impressive.” Jules’ smile reenergized his worn-out body and he grinned up at her. “Impressive enough so that you can’t wait to feel out the muscles that were responsible for this awesome performance?”

“In your dreams, rookie.”

“You can count on that.”

Blondie, came over and took his place. “Move over, Duracell bunny and let me show you how real firefighters do the job.”

“Duracell bunny, fitting name for you. We’ll have to get you some pink ears, though.” Gunner almost rolled over laughing and Tyler showed him his middle finger before getting up and ceding his place to her.

By the life of him he couldn’t fathom how that tiny person, who barely reached up to his chest managed to run faster and work harder than any of the guys. Tough as nails. Not one of them – and not for lack of trying – had even reached first base with her. The unwillingness to get romantically involved with coworkers seemed to be a common trait of female firefighters.

And just like that, his mind drifted back to Jules and how badly he wanted her. He stood off to the side, offering his own rude suggestions to the next group of contestants on how they might speed up their performance, but his main focus of attention remained on Jules the entire time.

Each time she came near, he tried to engage her in conversation, but she resisted it. He tried flattery, teasing, outright flirting, but she ignored his approaches. When Gunner caught on to his lame game, he changed tactics and decided to see if he could be helpful instead.

“What can I do to help this process along?”

Jules looked up at him and then squinted into the sunlight. “No teasing comments?”

“No. They weren’t working and I’m not stupid. If one thing doesn’t work, I’m willing to try a different route.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. As for your offer, we’re through here. Hit the showers, rookies. Meet us for lunch in the canteen and we’ll have your results posted by then.”

Tyler watched everyone start to disperse and couldn’t help asking as he moved to join them, “So, how’d I do?”

Jules glanced at him and tried to hide a smile that threatened to break free. “Not bad, rookie. Not bad. But not good enough that I’m willing to throw caution to the wind and slip between the sheets with you. You’ll have to do a lot better before that ever happens.”

“You ain’t seen nothin’ yet, sweetheart. You just keep watching.” At the tiny sliver of hope, Tyler’s heart burst with joy.