Sage Turner pulled up to Park City Clothing Company on Main Street, glancing around desperately for a parking spot. Downtown was too stinking busy. Ski season was over, but the mountain biking and hiking had begun. Tourists adored her hometown, and she didn’t mind sharing, most of the time.

There was a red zone not too far from the store. She shouldn’t do it, but it was either park illegally, drive around until something opened up, or drive to the parking lot at the base of Main Street and run to the store. She didn’t mind running, but she was in a hurry to get back and help her mom, who was stressed about looking perfect for Luke Freestone’s party. She’d be two seconds in the store, and then she’d be back out.

Jamming her Jeep into gear, she leaned back and breathed in the fresh Park City air. Hallelujah that it was finally warm enough to have the soft top off. Her parents thought she was nuts driving a Wrangler around a mountain valley that was frozen a good portion of the time, but she loved it. It was still cool this time of year, high of seventy if they were lucky, perfect weather to have your top off. She could wear a coat and gloves while she drove. It was worth it to be able to taste the crisp air.

Jumping down, she patted her Jeep fondly. She’d restored it with her brother, and now that he was deployed, the Jeep was the remembrance of him she needed when the days without him got lonely.

She sprinted into the store. Her mom had begged her to run in and get her Wolford tights for her dinner party tonight. Her mom was in a tizzy about being invited to Luke Freestone’s mansion. Her parents had been friends with Luke’s dad, John, for years, but hadn’t had much contact with his sons. Sage had always thought all the Freestone brothers were good guys, but she had to roll her eyes at another request when her mom had twenty pairs of Wolford’s in her lingerie drawer. With her dad’s fibromyalgia getting worse every day, Sage wanted to help them however she could.

She found the tights within seconds, groaning at the long line snaking toward the cash register. Pasting on a smile, she hoped some random cop didn’t drive by and see her parked in the red zone. Most of the cops in town knew her Jeep and had given her a ticket at one time or another.

An older lady with blue-tinged white hair turned around and grinned at her. “You want to go in front of me, sweetheart?”

“Oh, no, I’m fine.” Had her worry been that evident? “I just parked in the red zone.”

The lady laughed, and her eyes twinkled. “As long as those hunky firemen don’t come by, you’ll be just fine.”

“I’m more worried about a policeman than a fireman.” Firemen? Oh, wouldn’t that be her luck.

The lady waved her hand. “Beautiful girl like you could talk them out of any ticket. Just flash them one of those long legs.”

Sage grinned at her, even though the reference to her long legs wasn’t necessarily a compliment. She’d been called everything from giraffe to giant. “I wish. I talk myself blue, but they always give me a ticket.” Her brother, Levi, on the other hand, got out of every ticket. He never groveled like she did, simply greeted the policeman with his friendly grin and said, “Do your worst. I probably deserve it.” Everybody loved her brother. For some reason, police seemed to have a radar where she was concerned. Maybe it was because she adored her Jeep so much and reveled in driving fast with the top off. She’d gotten a reputation with the local law enforcement during high school, and it hadn’t gotten much better since she’d graduated from the University of Utah and moved back to Park City to teach fourth grade at Parley’s Park Grade School. She reminded herself constantly to be a good example to her students, but sometimes a girl just needed to cruise.

Sirens cut through the air. Sage jumped, and the lady’s eyes widened. “Firefighters,” she whispered.

Sage calmed her breathing. They weren’t coming for her. Firefighters lived to help people, not cuss a Jeep owner for parking illegally.

The distinctive smell of smoke wafted through the store, and smoke detectors started going off throughout the shop. Sage glanced up at the sprinklers and hoped they weren’t going to start spraying.

“We’d better get a move on, sweetheart,” the lady said.

Sage hooked her arm through the older lady’s, having to stoop considerably as she was five feet and eleven point eight inches, but the elderly lady probably didn’t even clear five feet. She hurried with her new friend to the exit, now blocked with all the people who’d been in line or were browsing the store’s merchandise.

“The fire is in the restaurant next door.” A loud voice boomed. “Exit in an orderly fashion and please move to the south down the sidewalk.”

Sage peered over other women’s heads to see the fire truck parked parallel to her Jeep and the firefighters pulling their hoses. One really porky firefighter made rude gestures to her vehicle. She wanted to wilt right into the floor. Please don’t let them realize it was her that had been too impatient to find a parking spot. She had thought she could just run in and out quickly. Why had she done that? Dumb, dumb, dumb.

They cleared the door, and the lady whispered, “Ooh, they’re not happy with that Jeep, are they?”

Sage shook her head, her face blazing hot. Why had she parked there? She’d been afraid of a parking ticket, but had never even thought of a fire. The porky guy dragged the hose from the fire truck and flung it over the top of her jeep. Another firefighter hooked into the hydrant as Sage and her new friend shuffled south of the store and watched the action. Smoke seeped out of the restaurant next door, but it didn’t look like a huge blaze. A couple more firefighters ran into the restaurant. She guessed they were checking to make sure the people were all out.

The hose went taut as it filled with water. Before dragging the hose the rest of the way to the building, Porky drenched her Jeep. Just opened the nozzle right up and sprayed the interior of her vehicle.

“Hey!” Sage screamed. She disconnected from the lady and ran to save her baby.

The hose turned off and Porky whirled around to glare at her. “You’re the idiot—Oh, hey, pretty, gargantuan woman.” He eyed her up and down and puffed out his chest. “I got a little fire to take care of. Then you and me could exchange some digits.”

“You just soaked my Jeep!”

“Oh, sorry. Shouldn’t of parked there.” The other fireman ran up, and together they dragged the hose off into the building. Porky turned to give her a broad wink before he entered.

Sage stood rooted to the concrete. She knew she shouldn’t have parked there, but was soaking her beloved Jeep really warranted?

Firefighters, shouting, and smoke streamed around her as she stared into her Jeep, the floor was flooded with water. Did he ruin her Sony stereo system or Bluetooth? Would the leather seats recover? At least the floors were made of rubber, but the rest wasn’t, and it made her sick to think of Porky desecrating it like that.

The fire must’ve been small, like she’d originally thought, because the firefighters came back out pretty quickly. The first two in uniform were a beautiful girl and model-gorgeous guy. They walked past together, giving her slightly annoyed looks. She was formulating a groveling apology when Porky strode back out.

He handed the hose off to Model Man. “Here, Boot. Load it up.” Then he came right into Sage’s personal space. She had him by an inch, and she could tell it bugged him. “Heya, my beautiful Amazon. You realize we could’ve broken your windows or rolled this Jeep over, but I held the guys back because that’s the kind of guy I am.”

“You mean a loser?” The firefighter girl taunted him. “Shut it, JFK and get in the truck.”

“I’m working something here.”

“Working a rejection.” She shot back. She and Model Man strode away to the truck.

“What do you think, my gargantuan Barbie Doll?” Porky grinned at her. “You buy me dinner to make up for parking in our way?”

“In your daydreams.” Sage managed to get out. Who was this loser, and how dare he keep making fun of her height? Didn’t men realize she hated being taller than them more than they hated having insecurities about it?

“Ah, come on, don’t be like that. I got a lot of buddies on the police force. You wanna parking ticket, or you wanna have dinner with a firefighting stud?”

A true firefighting stud appeared on the threshold of the restaurant, and the sight of him sucked the oxygen out of Sage. He wasn’t picture perfect like Model Man. He was the kind of rugged handsome that belonged on a mountain man poster, minus the beard. He’d look good with a beard too, but she really liked seeing his tanned face. He had a look that let a woman know he would rescue her from a mountain lion and make her sigh with longing at the same time. His eyes were almost a navy blue, dark and full of promise. His lips were well formed with a nice arch on the top and a full lower lip. He zeroed in on her, and she stumbled a bit.

Porky reached out a hand to steady her. “Hey now, beautiful. I know I have an effect, but don’t go falling into my arms when I’m on the clock. You’re big enough I might not be able to catch you.”

“Get in the truck, JFK.” Mountain Man ordered.

“Ah, Cap, you’re ruining my play here.”

“Truck, now.” He didn’t even raise his voice, but the command in that bass made Sage back up a step.

Porky groaned, but stomped around her Jeep. “I’ll find you later, Hot Gigantor,” He called back to her.

Sage ignored him, completely focused on Mountain Man and wondering what he was going to do to her. She’d parked her Jeep in the way of a fire truck, and this guy was obviously in command. He slowly walked toward her. The turnout coat and pants made him look even bigger than he probably was, but she could tell he was built, and it wasn’t fluff like Porky.

As he came closer, she found herself slowly backing away. She hit her Jeep and couldn’t go anywhere. He stopped a couple of feet away, not getting into her space like Porky had, but she still felt surrounded by him—the commanding way he carried himself and the dangerous glint in his eyes.

“I-I’m sorry?” She squeaked out.

He arched an eyebrow. “Sorry for JFK hitting on you?”

She shook her head quickly and gestured toward her sopping wet vehicle.

“This is your Jeep.” Understanding lit his eyes. “And JFK was going to rip you a new one until he saw how gorgeous you are.”

She bit at her lip. He’d just called her gorgeous. He was tall enough he wasn’t intimidated by her height, yet he didn’t look too friendly. She was obviously in the wrong here, but it ticked her off that Porky, or JFK, had sprayed her vehicle.

“Okay, I know I shouldn’t have parked here. I was just running in quickly, and your guy acted like a total dipwad and sprayed the interior of my Jeep. Look!” She gestured behind her.

He took another step closer, and now she really couldn’t breathe. Peering over her shoulder, he blew out a breath. “That was uncalled for, but you do realize it’s illegal to park in front of a fire hydrant?” He glanced down at her, and her thoughts scattered. The way he was looking at her should be illegal. All smoky hot and stern at the same time. She’d never understood the obsession with powerful authority figures, but this guy just had it going on.

“Is it legal to damage private property?”

His eyebrows lifted again. “No. Did JFK damage your Jeep?”

She wasn’t sure yet. Luckily, the floor was rubber, and she should be able to clean it up if she worked hard, but the seats and the stereo could be a different story. “I’ll probably have to detail it, and the stereo and leather seats might be ruined.”

His eyes swept over her. “Come over to the station with a bill for any damage and the detail, and I’ll make sure JFK pays it.”

She’d just bet he would make sure. How would anybody ever tell this guy no? She almost felt like he’d issued her a challenge. Come see me again sometime, or something like that. It definitely wasn’t overdone or creepy like Porky. It was seductive, and she wouldn’t mind seeing him again sometime at all. Yet there was no way she’d go to the station and face all those firefighters again. They probably all hated her for parking in their way.

“I just might,” she said, putting as much sass as she could manage into her tone.

He grinned, and she clung to the side mirror for support. His smile made him so appetizing she wanted to beg his forgiveness for being in their way and beg him to let her take him to dinner as penance like Porky had suggested she do with him.

“I’ll look forward to it, ma’am.” He touched the brim of his firefighter hat thing, and she could’ve sworn she’d been transported to an old John Wayne film. She had to remind herself that she was a capable, twenty-first century woman, not the little sweetie who fawned over the big old Mountain Man/Cowboy/Hot Firefighter.

He gave her one more grin before striding around her Jeep and climbing into the passenger side of their huge fire rig. Sage stood still and watched him go.

“See you later, beautiful.” Porky called out from the back seat.

Sage focused on her Mountain Man and loved that he glanced her way and gave her one more devastating smile before they roared away.

“Well, sweetheart.” The older lady from the store was suddenly standing right next to her. “It could’ve been a lot worse than a fine-looking firefighter giving you the what for.”

“Yes, it could have.”

“I’d take a reaming from that man any day o’ the week.” She fanned herself.

Sage giggled, relieved it had gone so well and replaying every look that man had given her and every word he’d uttered. “I didn’t mind it at all.”

“You’d better go and see him at the fire station. Take him a treat, and I bet that grin he gives you then will be even more sexy.” She lowered her voice conspiratorially.

Sage wasn’t sure that grin could get any sexier. She thought of her mom’s “Knock You Naked Brownies,” stolen from the Pioneer Woman’s website, and smiled. She would turn on the sugar and see if that commanding man could be softened up, and maybe, if she was really lucky, he’d ask her out.

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