Page 208 of Her Reluctant Hero
She sighed, exhausted. She had no desire to explain a man to himself. “I mean, I’ve been watching, wondering what kind of people do this job. Most are kids, and they probably think this is very exciting. But you, you’re—”
“Not a kid,” he finished for her and she heard him shift forward. She saw, as her eyes adjusted to the dim light from above, that he rested his elbows on his knees. She resisted the urge to shift herself.
“No, you’re not just a kid, which makes you harder to pin down.”
“And yet you think you have.”
“As far as being a firefighter goes. I mean, how many people have a job with a name like ‘Hot Shot’? There’s an inherent arrogance there.”
“So I’m arrogant.”
She didn’t dignify that with an answer. “I think you like the danger associated with the job. You’d rather be on the line than in charge because there you can see results right in front of you.”
A slight hesitation. She’d hit the nail on the head. “Ah, but there’s the arrogance, right? Needing to see the results of my work?”
“Very probably. And I get the feeling you are the job. You are the Hot Shot. That’s why people talk about you, tell stories about you.”
He sat back with a groan. “Nothing I like better than being psychoanalyzed by a reporter, but I’m going to see if I can find another way out.”
She bolted upright. “So soon? Do you think the fire’s passed? That it’s safe?”
“No telling till I look.”
Next to Gabe came a small voice from the darkness. “I have to go to the bathroom.”
Cooper flicked on the flashlight and winked at Peyton. “See? I knew there was a reason I brought you.”
