Page 56 of Flashback

But Dakota put himself in the middle of her path. “This is why you’ve pushed everyone out of your life, won’t answer your father’s calls. Won’t let anyone close. To punish yourself? This is why you’re hiding?”

“Like you’re not hiding yourself? You’re not exactly an open book about your addiction with the team. I thought if anyone could understand, it would be you.”

“We’re talking about people I’ve barely met. You haven’t told your own family or best friend.”

“Maybe I wanted a blank slate too.” She thumped her chest with a fist. “But don’t you get it? Mine willneverbe wiped clean. I have to live with the consequences for the rest of my life. Every time I watch one of my siblings or friends get married, have kids, I die a little knowing I will never have that. And you can say now that you’ll love me through it all, or it doesn’t matter because we’ll have each other, but I’ve heard that before. I can’t fall for it again.”

“I’m not gonna lie and say it doesn’t matter at all to me, but you never even gave me the chance. But why don’t you, right now? Stay here. Fight for this. For us.”

For a moment she was tempted. That earnestness sparking in his eyes, the firm hold he had on her hand, drew her in. Again she found herself clinging to his strength. Maybe Dakota really would be the kind of man who could overlook it all. But for how long?

It might hurt him now, but the honest to goodness truth was that he deserved so much more than she could give. He would see that eventually.

“Good intentions aren’t enough. This is one fight you can’t win.” No one could.

This time when she walked away, he didn’t come after her.

And that was for the best.

He shouldn’t be surprised that another person was walking out of his life. But the pain that hit him the moment Allie turned away almost brought him to his knees. How had he let it get this far so fast? His first instinct was to run after her, but he quickly doused it.

So what that she was the first person he’d ever opened up to and shared his past with. The ugly parts and all. Or that she was the kind of woman who’d seen him at his worst, the open gaping wounds, and stepped forward to help bandage him up. Maybe she was simply a good nurse and he’d read way too much into it.

He’d thought she’d be the kind of woman who could handle the messiness of life and not be scared away. Guess he was wrong. He’d tried. If she didn’t want to fight for him, who was he to try to convince her otherwise?

Since he had her keys, he drove her car and parked it at base headquarters. He walked up to the big open bay where the trucks were. No one was there, but a back door opened to the concrete pad behind the building. The whole hotshot and smokejumper crew was present, a couple guys at the grill flipping burgers, the others sitting in camping chairs, on coolers, or at the one picnic table set up.

Houston waved him over. “Hey, where have you been? I haven’t been able to get ahold of you.”

“Sorry, my phone was ruined.”

“How’d you do that? Drop it or something?”

“Not exactly.” He went on to tell Houston about Earl and their chase through the forest and river escape. The others quieted, listening in on the story.

Alex Sheehy whistled. “Dude, you got some crazy death wish?” He chuckled. “First you go running into a forest on fire, a tree almost falls on you while you’re on the line, and now some guy is trying to shoot you and you almost drown?”

“A man died out there in the mountains. An Army Ranger. He deserves justice. Answers. And there are two little boys who are caught up in the middle of it. They need protection.”

“Are you talking about the body they found? The guy was a Ranger?” Kane asked. “How do you know?”

“I talked with the ME. He’s been identified as Kurt Paulson.” Dakota reached into a cooler and grabbed a can.

“What’s an Army Ranger doing in the middle of Nowheresville with the likes of this hick? What’s his name? Earl?” Logan, one of the smokejumpers, asked.

“That’s what I’d like to know.” Dakota shut the lid to the cooler.

Eric Dale wiggled his fingers in the air. “Maybe he wasn’t really a Ranger. Maybe he’s a spook.”

“CIA? Yeah, right. That’s just you and your crazy conspiracy theories talking again, Dale,” Charlie Benning said.

The others laughed.

Ramos spoke up. “There’s nothing out here. It’s miles and miles of forest and mountain.”

“Yeah, think about it. A great place to hide if that’s what ya need to do.” Unlike the others, Booth wasn’t joking around.

“I don’t know about you, but I’ll stick to fighting fires.” Emily and Jojo, sitting next to each other, bumped fists.

---