Page 251 of Her Reluctant Hero
“The crew is restless. Forty-eight hours off is driving them nuts.”
“Did you talk to Jen?” he asked.
“She sent me to you.” Kim folded her arms on the table. “Between you and me, Coop, this is too much for her. She looks like hell.”
“She must have something on her mind.” He pulled his sandwich close again, more as a reason not to talk than because of hunger. “Tell the crew not to sweat it.”
“Maybe you should tell them. You are the crew boss, no matter how you’re not acting like it.” She shot Peyton a glance saying this was all her fault.
“I’ll talk to them later.” He wouldn’t, though. None of their business. None of Kim’s, either.
“Can we talk? Alone?” The temper seeped out in Kim’s tone.
“I’ll go get some more tea.” Peyton rose with her Styrofoam cup, clearly glad to get out of the way.
Gabe’s own temper heated as he turned to Kim. “What?”
“You’ve never turned your back on your crew because of a woman.”
“And I’m not doing it now.” He worked hard to keep his calm. What call did she have to question him? Yeah, they’d worked together for a few years, and he trusted her judgment on the fire line, but not where Peyton was concerned. Kim was too ruthless, too focused, not someone he’d turn to for social advice. He was having a hard enough time being in a relationship without his crew thinking he was soft because of it.
“Please.” She tossed her head, a very girly gesture. Very un-Kim. “You’ve been off screwing her.”
His control snapped then and he threw the sandwich aside, the plastic tray skidding across the rough tabletop. “You will not talk about her like that.”
Kim blinked, and her eyes were wary, but not scared. “What, you love her or something?”
“Not your business.”
A flicker of hurt crossed her face, followed by fury, pure and simple. “It is when I’m having to do your job because you’re not. She is no good for you. She is no good for the crew. She’s going to cause more trouble than you know.”
Despite her words, he didn’t think her fury was directed at him, and a sense of unease had him shifting away. “She’s not, and I’m not discussing this with you. I’ll be back on top of things tomorrow. Right now I have other concerns.”
He looked toward the incident command tent, weighed his options. If he told Kim about Doug, she would be loyal to Gabe, she would believe Doug was guilty, and would spread the word of his disgrace. He couldn’t allow that to happen. It would hurt Jen too much. Kim would never believe that Gabe believed Doug was innocent, not when Gabe had made his hatred of the man clear when Jen left. It didn’t matter that these were different circumstances.
Kim had followed his gaze. “Is it because of her? Jen? Is she giving you hell? Is she keeping us from going out on another fire?” The possibility seemed to relieve her.
“No, that’s not it.”
Kim’s expression was grudging. “We should have asked for another fire when we found out she was IC.”
There, she’d proved his point. Her loyalty to him would outweigh the truth, so he’d have to keep it from her.
Peyton rejoined them then, her Styrofoam cup filled to the rim with iced tea. Kim gave her a look Gabe couldn’t decipher, and shot to her feet.
“I’ll tell them. But remember what I said, Coop. Remember why we’re here.”
“I’m telling you, she has it bad.” Peyton sat across from him. “It’s really bad when hero worship combines with a crush. You can do no wrong in her eyes.”
“Yeah, well.” Gabe picked up his sandwich again, licking barbecue sauce from his fingers. “According to her, sleeping with you instead of hanging with my crew is a sin, so you’re wrong there.”
Peyton shook her head. “But it’s not your fault, you see? It’s mine.”
“Don’t worry about her. She’s just a kid. What do you think about heading out to Missoula first thing in the morning, to Doug’s base, see what we can find out?”
Her eyes brightened, and he got the feeling she liked being on the hunt. Maybe this reporter bit wasn’t so bad after all.
Jen whipped around, wiping at her mouth when Gabe walked into the tent, intending to tell her about the trip to Missoula. Gabe noticed the wadded napkins at the corner of the table a second before the smell of vomit hit him.
