Chapter Four
Nothing had happened last night. Eva really didn’t know what to make of Dalton—he was … different. She couldn’t exactly put her finger on one thing, it was many. First, she’d never known a man to be so polite. She’d been in her towel and in need. Anyone else would have asked for something more. It was always instant pleasure first, consequences later.
Maybe being in the city had turned her cynical, and she was the one that had the problem?
No, it couldn’t be that.
Dalton was a guy.
Clearly, he had guy needs, and she just didn’t do it for him.
He wouldn’t be the first man who told her that. She wasn’t some kind of whore who slept around. In order to find love, she’d tried speed dating. Eva wouldn’t recommend that method of connecting with the opposite sex to anyone. It had been cold, cruel, and it had sucked.
After a few minutes of talking to someone, most men told her they wouldn’t even fuck her. They were there to pick up easy women.
Some women raved about the speed dating. She wondered if she’d just been there on a bad day.
Getting out of bed, she couldn’t believe how good the night’s sleep had been. The moment she put her head to the pillow, she’d been down for the count.
It was new, refreshing, and it made her smile.
Dalton was also extremely polite, calm, and charming. He was everything that a city guy wasn’t. It was refreshing to not have to walk on eggshells or say something wrong. She couldn’t even imagine him getting angry.
His muscles were a turn-on and a point for him, but did it really matter if he had them or not?
A lot of women loved a guy in uniform, and he was a firefighter. He saved lives.
Dalton was like a woman’s wet dream, and yet there was way more to him than just being a standard guy. He was looking for one specific woman.
Once the bed was made, she stood in front of the mirror. He wanted curves, a lot of curves. Were her curves excessive? All wrong? Her thighs had a few dots of cellulite at the top, and her stomach was rounded. It had never been smooth like she’d seen in a lot of those fashion magazines.
She’d done her time at the gym, only to feel exhausted and in need of a lot more crappy food to put her in a good mood.
Shaking her head, she pushed any thought of Dalton and his precious wife-to-be out of her mind. She wouldn’t be around for long and had no intention of staying in Hope Springs longer than earning some good money to be on her merry way.
Having sexy thoughts about Dalton wouldn’t help her.
She also desperately needed to pee, and staring at her reflection all day wasn’t going to help.
Exiting her bedroom, she went to the bathroom just as Dalton came out.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” she said.
He was wet, a towel wrapped around his waist.
Why did he have to look so good wet as well? This wasn’t helping her, not right now. Not when she was trying to protect him from her. She was a disaster, every relationship crashing and burning. Did he need protecting?
Compared to her, he was a country bumpkin while she had been hardened by the cutthroats in the city.
“Bathroom’s free.” He moved past her, and she closed her eyes as his scent appealed to her in ways she really didn’t understand. Her pussy grew slick and her nipples hardened to painful points, and it took every single ounce of control not to moan.
She finished her business and returned to the bedroom. Jeans and a shirt it was. She quickly pulled on some underwear, followed by her clothes. Brushing her hair, she was done and ready to go.
Makeup was never her thing, so she made her way downstairs to find Dalton already in the kitchen.
The scent of bacon was heavy in the air.
“I’ve chopped some fruit, and there’s some fresh-squeezed orange juice there. Bacon and eggs will be ready in a minute.”
This man was like a woman’s dream. Sexy, and he cooked—she really couldn’t get over it.
“You have bacon?” she asked.
“Yes. I can handle crackers and cheese at night because I don’t like to go to bed on a full stomach, but I have to have bacon in the morning. It’s a must-have, and I don’t go for that turkey stuff either. If I’m going to go naughty, I’m going to go all the way.”
Oh, my.
Would he go all the way naughty in the bedroom?
Okay, her own sexy thoughts were going to drive her crazy again.
Even as her cheeks heated and her nipples tightened, she forced a smile to her face, ignoring whatever was going on in her head or with her body.
“I can handle bacon.”
She took a slice of apple, biting into it as she took a seat at the kitchen counter. There were two glasses of juice, and she sipped at the one closest to her. “We’re heading to work today?” she asked.
“Yeah, I’ve got to go and investigate some of the sites that we’ve recently had to deal with. One of them was an old abandoned warehouse out near the main road. It didn’t cause damage to anyone apart from maybe some rats, but since then we’ve had four other fires. We need to check if all of them were started by the same accelerant and where the point of the fire began. Three people were hurt from the last one.”
She saw the anger in his eyes. “You don’t like it when people are hurt?”
“I don’t like it when I can’t stop innocent people from getting hurt, no.”
Eva decided to change the subject. She didn’t want him feeling uncomfortable on account of her. “And I’m allowed to ride with you?”
“Of course. You’ll have to stay in the truck for the most part, but it’ll give you a chance to get to know some of the people around Hope Springs, get used to the area. We’ll also head to the small grocery store after my shift and we’ll stock up on all of the essentials.”
“Sounds perfect,” she said.
He put the bacon and eggs on her plate, and she watched as he loaded up his own plate, which for some reason made her smile. She hated it when she felt like the pig in the room being the only one to have a decent-sized portion. Dalton looked like he needed the protein and calories to maintain all those muscles on top of muscles.
She never did understand how people could survive for a day on a few bits of food. One of the women she used to work with chewed on celery all day, and to Eva that was just a bad way of living.
There was nothing wrong with enjoying juicy pieces of fried chicken, or the odd burger on occasion. She enjoyed salads as well, so she didn’t eat all unhealthy.
Her curves had been with her a long time, and they were going to stay.
“So that was your brother last night?” Eva asked.
“Unfortunately. He’s known for rudely interrupting everything.”
Eva smiled.
When his brother had arrived last night, Dalton had gotten very possessive, which she’d liked. She could get used to this man and his way of dealing with things. It felt good to matter to someone.
She watched as he ate his breakfast and saw the satisfaction on his face. It amazed her that he really could just enjoy with abandon.
“You look like you’ve never seen a man eat before,” Dalton said.
“I haven’t. It’s refreshing and nice.”
There was something rather intimate about sharing a breakfast. She couldn’t put her finger on what, but she felt this connection or at the very least drawn to him.
Eva couldn’t stop watching Dalton, and for the first time in her life, she actually felt a sense of peace.
“Tell me about yourself,” she asked. “Have you always lived in Hope Springs?”
Dalton laughed. “Of course. I love it here. It’s a damn good place to be. I’ve never been driven to leave this town.”
“The city doesn’t call to you?”
“Nope. I vowed to protect the citizens of Hope Springs, not just a mob of nameless faces. It may make me sound selfish, but I know the people here. They deserve my help in any way I can give it.”
“It sounds perfect,” she said.
“What about you? Have you been a city girl all your life?”
She nodded. “It’s all I know. This is the first time that I’ve spent time in a small town. Please don’t be offended that it feels kind of weird.”
He burst out laughing. “I wouldn’t be offended by that. I know we’re a little different, but we’re a town that has a good heart. We care, and if you’re part of this town, everyone will have your back.”
She was seeing that, and part of her wished she could trust it. Trust Dalton in what he was saying about his town.
So many times over the years she’d tried to trust. It never turned out well. But there was no way she could compare a town to a city. Eva couldn’t stop herself though. So many times, her trust and her faith had been ruined, and she hated that she was cynical.
No matter what, she couldn’t let Dalton get under her skin. She didn’t want to hurt him because there was no way that she was sticking around. One day he’d find his sweet, country wife.
Eva refused to be a bitch who ruined his life just because she wanted him.
****
Dalton saw the attraction Eva had for him, and she was fighting it. He also saw the judgment in her eyes. She really thought he was just a small-town pushover. It was really rather cute. Still, he didn’t mind playing along for now.
He enjoyed her company, watching her eat, and the way she constantly asked questions. Anyone else, he’d have considered it an invasion of his privacy. He saw the curiosity in her eyes, and he wanted her to fall in love with the town. With him.
Hope Springs was the best place to be. It would take her some time to get close to the locals, but that wouldn’t be a problem. Providing she ditched some of her city attitude, she’d be accepted with open arms.
Once breakfast was finished, he waited outside at the passenger side of the truck. She carried a bag over her shoulder. Dalton opened the door, took her hand, and eased her inside.
“It’s going to take some time getting used to that,” she said. “I didn’t realize some men still behaved like gentlemen.”
“I like to think I’m one of a kind.” He patted her knee, buckling her seatbelt before moving toward his side of the truck.
The woman he finally settled down with would have to get used to him being protective and in control. He would treat his woman like a queen.
Dalton wanted a family. A woman to devote his time to, kids, maybe a dog or two, and a few cats. He’d even extend to a couple of rabbits if he had kids that wanted them. It was a dream he’d wanted for a long time.
There were good women in Hope Springs. There was no denying that, but they just … he didn’t know what it was. No woman had ever given him a rush before, unlike the city girl sitting beside him.
She was distrustful, hardened, and at times a little rude and nosy, but she captured his attention in a way no one else ever had.
He wanted her.
When he’d seen her in just a towel, his dick had gotten hard so fast it startled him. No woman had ever aroused him so quickly wearing something as simple as a damn towel.
The cab of the truck felt too small and quiet. Eva’s floral scent hung in the air. It wasn’t overpowering but subtle and beautiful.
“So how do you know if this is one person or just a run of bad luck?” she asked.
“Huh?”
“The fires. You mentioned that it was possibly an arsonist. What makes you think it could be that and not just a run of bad luck?”
Gripping the steering wheel, he pulled out of his driveway and headed back toward Hope Springs.
“We don’t know anything for sure yet. The fires always start slowly, and gradually build up. It’s almost as if the person who’s doing it is trying to control the flame in some way.” He hated fires above everything else. They only caused pain, devastation, and changed people’s lives in the worst ways. He wasn’t about to tell Eva the full extent of how fire had torn his life apart. Some things were better kept bottled up so deep they couldn’t destroy you.
“You sound really pissed.”
“I don’t like anyone who messes with people’s lives, or thinks they can get away with it.” They moved down the long road that made up Hope Spring’s town center. It was already full of activity as it would be during any day of the week, and especially with the upcoming annual rodeo in Vespera that brought tourists to the town.
He waved at several of the folks and pointed out the ones that Eva should know. “This is a really close-knit community. Try not to piss anyone off.”
“I come from the city, but it doesn’t mean I don’t know how to be civil.”
“Don’t you city folk look down on people in the country?”
She giggled, and he glanced over at her to see her looking out of the window at the town he loved the most.
“I guess you’re right, but now I know better. It feels so calm here, almost too calm.”
“Do you like it?”
“Yeah, I do. It’s weird because I think I’m so used to the craziness of city life, you know? There’re always people everywhere. No one stops to say hello. They’re always bumping into everyone and everything. You can’t move or think. You just exist within a city. In one of the buildings I lived in, I heard a woman had died for four weeks before they even realized that she was dead.”
Dalton winced at the image that brought to mind. “I guess having people check on you is the sacrifice you make for privacy,” Dalton said. “Everyone knows everything about each other here. There are no secrets.”
“I like the sound of that. Well, privacy is nice as well. It must feel good to have someone care about you though. I judged the town, the people, even you when I came here. That was a mistake. I’ve never felt more welcome.”
Did she even notice the yearning in her own voice?
Dalton stared at her and wondered what really made Eva tick. Why she was on this little journey to begin with?
“Do you think you could ever settle down in a place like this?” he asked.
She sighed. “I don’t know. I like to think that I could.” She rubbed at her temples. “When I left the city, I planned to just drive, never settle down again. I don’t know what I want out of life. I’m just scared to get hurt again. I don’t want to make any plans. Sorry, I probably sound crazy, right?”
He pulled up outside of the fire station, turning off his ignition.
Luke and Grayson were chatting just outside the doors of the station, but he ignored his friends and turned toward the woman beside him. “You sound confused. Have you ever taken the time to just sit and think about what you want?”
She snorted. “I’m past starting out in life. I should have it all figured out by now. Those are games for kids at school.”
“But those kinds of games help people to realize what they want. All I ever wanted to be in school was a firefighter. I wanted to help people, and I also wanted to be a husband.” He saw the shocked look in her eyes. “Even as a boy I wanted that special woman, the house, the whole nine yards. I wanted it then, and that dream never disappeared, regardless of my age, and I’ll fight every day to get it. While you’re here in town, take some time. Think about what you wanted to be as a little girl. What do you want to be now?”
Eva’s gaze was filled with unshed tears. “How do you know if the decision you make is the right one?”
“Because when you’re making the right decision, you’ll feel it, you’ll know it, and no matter what, you’ll have to follow it. There’ll be doubts and fears, but what’s so wrong with riding that wave of life while you’re making that decision?” Luke and Grayson were finally heading toward the truck, and he smiled. “Now, please forgive me. You’re about to see how bad a small town can be.” He climbed out of the truck and moved to Eva’s side.
Opening her door, he helped her out. “Eva, I’d like you to meet two of Hope Springs’s firefighters, Luke and Grayson.”
Dalton gave each man the look that told them to back off. Eva was his.