Grady Hart couldn’t remember the last time he celebrated his birthday—especially with his twin sister, Jenna.

He sat in front of a long dining table at his parents’ newly rebuilt home in the Sunset District of San Francisco. A year ago, an arsonist had burned their house to the ground, and they had lost all of their possessions, including photographs and videos of bygone birthday parties.

A large sheet cake, with twenty-nine candles burning bright, sat on the table in front of Grady and Jenna with the slogan, “Our Twins, Twenty-Nine Forever.”

“For they’re jolly good people, for they’re jolly good people …” the large family sang as they wore party hats and blew noisemakers.

“Get ready to blow when I count to three.” Cait, their oldest sister, aimed the camera.

Jenna nudged Grady. “They’re betting we can’t blow out all the candles.”

“Piece of cake for a smokejumper.” Grady gave his twin a wink.

Obviously, they weren’t identical, being boy-girl twins, and their coloring and appearances were so opposite, it was hard to believe they were brother and sister.

Grady was dark, with dark-brown hair and eyes, and a year-round tan, thanks to his outdoor job, whereas Jenna was pale and blond. She was also a happy newlywed, unlike Grady, who was a no-commitment type of guy.

Underneath the table, Jenna’s glutton of a hound dog, Harley, sang along with his baying voice, “Aaahhrrooh.”

He was obviously waiting for a piece of cake to accidentally drop onto the floor. Other family members also had pets, including a Dalmatian, a gray tabby cat, and two little lovebirds chirping in their cage.

The family segued to the birthday song, and Grady eyed the flaming candles. The heat from twenty-nine candles could melt the cake and ignite their parents’ house anew.

“Don’t worry.” Jenna elbowed him. “Every man in here, except for Dale, is a firefighter.”

Dale was their baby brother and the current concern of his well-meaning parents. He hadn’t told anyone other than Grady that he’d dropped out of college, because he didn’t want to be pressured into fire-fighting school.

Grady eyed the twenty-nine dancing candles. His thoughts flickered briefly to the cabin he’d once had in a remote location in the Sierra Nevada mountain range—and his precious Sasha, the bravest, smartest, and most loyal dog a man could ever love.

All of it had gone up in smoke while he was out fighting another fire.

Cait counted down. “Three, two, one, ready, blow!”

Grady inhaled deeply and whoosh, he blew along with Jenna, sometimes at cross purposes, with her blowing one way and he the other. Eventually, they pushed the flames into tiny whiffs of black smoke.

“Yay!” his family cheered, and his older brother, Connor, slapped his back. “You finally put out a fire this year.”

Grady closed his eyes briefly, beating back the image of the last forest fire he was in—the one where the wind whipped itself into a fire tornado, catching him and his jump partner off-guard.

He’d managed to land on the face of a rock, bruising his entire body, but his partner hadn’t been as lucky.

Grady shuddered when Cait tapped him and shouted, “Smile!”

Jenna hooked her arm around him and tilted her head toward his. “You’ve got this. Don’t let Connor upset you.”

“I’m not upset,” he grumbled. His older brother, now a fire chief of his own station, had always overshadowed him.

“I said to smile, not talk.” Cait waved her hand. “We can’t cut the cake until we get pictures of you two.”

Grady pasted on a grin. His mother bent between them, kissing both the twins, followed by his father with his hands on their shoulders. Various combinations included a self-timed, wide-angled family photo with every pet on every arm, and in the center of all, Connor and Nadine’s three-month-old daughter, Amelia, the world’s prettiest and most adorable baby.

The birds sang, the cat meowed, and the dogs barked up a storm, while Amelia cooed and babbled. His mother laughed, Cait yapped, and his father boomed.

“Did you make a wish?” Jenna whispered close to him.

“I was too busy blowing to wish. How about you?”

“I want a baby,” Jenna said, eyeing Amelia and their sisters. Both Cait and their youngest sister, Melisa, were expecting. “You still have time to make a wish.”

Grady pressed his lips into a grim line and exhaled through his nose. “I’m too old for wishes.”

“And I’m too young to quit wishing,” Jenna said. “How about another dog?”

“No dogs.” Grady felt a rumble of anger ignite in his gut. “No dogs, and no women.”

“No one said anything about women,” Jenna said with a huff. “Is there a particular one you’re avoiding?”

* * *

Linx Colson frowned as she brushed her dog, Cedar. “What were you doing running through the creek?”

Cedar gave her a baleful look and laid her head down, allowing Linx to pick the burrs and twigs from her long reddish coat.

Linx found Cedar four years ago after a forest fire worked its way to the edge of her hometown.

Cedar had been burned and suffered smoke inhalation. Her paws were blistered and parts of her fur were charred, but the dog had bravely traveled down the creek and found her way to safety.

Her owner hadn’t cared to post in any of the lost dog forums, nor did he show up in town looking for her. Linx didn’t feel too guilty keeping the dog, who obviously needed a stable, loving home.

Tenderly, Linx brushed Cedar’s lush reddish fur marked with a white crest on her chest. As far as Linx could determine, Cedar was a chow chow and collie mix with a touch of Akita.

She was intelligent, loyal, and very loving, keeping Linx company and providing her with a listening ear through the lonely nights up in these parts of the woods.

“There you go, little girl.” Linx detangled the last of Cedar’s fringe. “All pretty and sassy again. Don’t you go running off up that creek. You hear? There’s nothing up there for you. Your home is here, with me. Forever.”