Page 9 of Special Agent Anastacia

The woman who’d given him a steely stare like he should be under glass in an Insectarium, bristled and then asked… impatience heavy in her tone, “We good here?”

“Yep.” He lifted his hand to his forehead in a mock salute. “Ya’ll take care now.”

“Yeah. You too.” The prickly amazon got behind the wheel, started the car, and drove away, watching him through her side mirror. When he waved, he saw her turn her face away, pretending she hadn’t been watching him. Funny thing, he felt a strange sadness when she disappeared around the bend.

Now why the hell would it matter that she’d left? He didn’t know her, nor did he care.Right?Except, a niggling doubt kept nagging. Being truthful, he admitted he hadn’t wanted to say goodbye. In fact, he’d felt a weird ache as they’d driven away. Like he’d just lost the chance of a lifetime to know a woman who challenged him.

Shaking off the sense of gloom, he returned to his truck and had to fight the idea of following the Highlander to see where it headed. Of course, he battled those instincts because it would have been just creepy.

A scoffing at his inner struggle made him grin self-consciously. Christ, he’d never had any trouble finding female companions. In fact, women often overwhelmed him to the point where he had to fight them off… no joke. People had trouble believing that uniformed firefighters had groupies like musicians, but it happened. Hell, the idea of him stalking anyone was a laugh. Mostly, it was the other way around.

Heading in the direction he’d decided to go, his phone rang with a ring tone that had him answering instantly. Not surprised considering the news he’d seen lately about the number of fires in the state, he’d been recalled.

In less time than one would imagine, he’d organized his crew on a chat line to give them notice. Once he’d contacted them all, he headed back to base camp… back to work. They had another problem; this time it would be worse than the earlier ones. This time, they’d be flying into an area where people were caught in the direct line of where the wind change had occurred.

Chapter Seven

Long after she lost sight of the cowboy-like idiot who’d approached their car, Anastacia still ground her teeth, trying to let go of her pissiness. Thankful for having brought along her firearm and badge, as was her custom no matter where she went, she’d soon recognized the approaching stranger had only been guilty of nosiness if anything.

Once he’d opened the discourse, it became clear that it wouldn’t be necessary to use any kind of force. Mind you, after being presented with his male ego, it had been tempting.Need help! Give me a break!

Shaking off her temper, she tried justifying it instead. In her line of work, she was seldom approached by a strange male, one who swaggered and talked like he knew them intimately. Bozo had a punchable face, especially after his insult that she could be the mother of an almost fully grown teenager. Sure, maybe Hanna hadn’t left the car, but anyone with a brain and eyes could see she was fully grown and not a child.

Sighing, releasing the tightness in her shoulders, she gave one last glare through her side mirror and bit her lip when she saw him wave. Silly bastard thought she’d been watching him. It pissed her off to realize he’d been right. Trying to make sense of her irritation, she admitted to seldom meeting anyone she had to look up to. Maybe it had only been a few inches, but it mattered when she considered that the crew she worked with were shorter, fatter, or dumber than herself.

“Are you okay… Mom?” Hanna giggled.

“Shut up.”

Hanna broke up and for the first time her infectious laugh flowed freely. “He was cute.”

“He was an idiot.”

“Ana! That man could be in the movies. Didn’t you see those muscles? His shirt bulged, especially the arms. He had a great smile, and did you see his tan?”

Ana grumbled words, not liking the subject but happy to see that Hanna’s teasing had lifted her sorrow. “Probably got it from a bottle or at the spa.”

“Nope. He looked like a working man to me. I noticed his hands. They were huge and calloused.”

Ana swung to direct her gaze at her cousin. “How the hell did you see that?”

“When he waved at me from the window. I like him. His green eyes were friendly, and he cared enough to stop and offer help in case we were stranded. That means a lot, right?”

Unable to prick Hanna’s belief in human nature, Ana kept it to herself the number of times she’d seen or heard of folks being robbed or killed by just this scenario. Strangers approaching folks in trouble.

“Hanna, listen to me. We were lucky he was a good guy, but it’s never a smart thing to let strangers come near if you’re in a dilemma. Best to wait for police. Just remember that, okay?”

“Spoilsport.” Hanna griped, happy to close the conversation. “Are we there yet?”

Ana grinned, knowing the kid was pulling her chain and liking it. Soon… was all she said. Driving through the wooded area where there were few homes and less traffic, she saw the forest as the way she remembered it over the years. Earlier, they’d traveled through some burned out spaces along the highway and Ana worried that their particular area by the lake might have been affected by the recent wildfires, but they seemed to have been miraculously unaffected.

“Actually, we’re about ten minutes from the turnoff to the lake. The cabin is about five hundred yards back, but we can see the water downhill from our front windows. It’ll be a bit of a hike to get there because the walking path will be overgrown by now I’m sure.”

“When was the last time you were here?”

“I came with my dad the summer before he was killed. Both Mom and I were at the cabin when we got the call they were taking him to the emergency room. Unfortunately, we got there too late. He’d died in the ambulance.”

“I’m so sorry.”

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