Firefighter's Rescue (Bakers Beach: First Responders Book 1) Read online

  Firefighter’s Rescue

  A Clean First Responders Romance Book One

  Bree Livingston

  Edited by

  Christina Schrunk

  Firefighter’s Rescue

  Copyright © 2020 by Bree Livingston

  Edited by Christina Schrunk

  https://www.facebook.com/christinaschrunk.editor

  Proofread by Krista R. Burdine

  https://www.facebook.com/iamgrammaresque

  Cover design by Wynter Designs

  https://www.facebook.com/groups/WynterDesigns

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.

  Bree Livingston

  https://www.breelivingston.com

  Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

  Firefighter’s Rescue / Bree Livingston. -- 1st ed.

  ISBN:

  To the everyday hero,

  Thank you for being brave enough to spend your life giving back to your communities. Also, to the families you belong to—thank you too. Your job is just as hard, taking a deep breath and holding it until your loved one returns safely.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Epilogue

  Sneak Peek! Her Pretend Billionaire Boyfriend Chapter 1

  Sneak Peek! The Cowboy’s Fake Marriage Chapter 1

  Also by Bree Livingston

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  What was his sister thinking? Worse, what had possessed him to listen to her? With his back against the wall of the dayroom, Bryan Blake rubbed his face with his hands, wishing he’d thought through this fundraising idea before presenting it to the guys in his company. Firefighters were a lot of things, but typically, they weren’t calendar material, or at least didn’t think of themselves as such. Especially guys in a small-town station like Baker Beach, Virginia, the beach town he’d moved to three months ago.

  “Let me get this straight.” Carlos Scott blinked hard. “You expect us to pose for a calendar?”

  “Like models or something?” Harris King laughed, looking around the room for agreement.

  With a heavy sigh, Bryan nodded. “Yeah, like models, but without the fancy clothes.”

  Leaning back in his chair, Derek Vaughn locked his hands behind his head, letting out a long, low whistle. “And this is to raise money?”

  Again, Bryan nodded. “For the station, yes. Each of us gets two poses, twelve in all.”

  “Well, look at that. He’s more than just a pretty face.” Liam McNeill chuckled. “He can do math too.”

  After ten years as a firefighter, Bryan had expected the ribbing. Even more so since he was the new guy. He could handle the jesting from a few of the guys, but he’d hoped for a little more support. He turned to Gregg Nichols, their captain. “A little help?”

  Bryan hadn’t been naïve enough to think getting the guys on board would be a walk in the park, so he’d talked it over with Gregg first. It had taken some real convincing, but the captain had eventually agreed with the idea.

  Clearing his throat, Gregg silenced the room. “You may recall my announcement at the end of the last fiscal year that we need to step up our fundraising efforts. With the budget cuts, the city doesn’t have the funds for us anymore. If we don’t want our jobs becoming voluntary, we need to raise money and quickly.”

  A moment of silence followed as the four men shifted in their seats. While they might not like Bryan’s idea, they couldn’t deny they needed to do something. Even if that something was uncomfortable. Bryan didn’t much like the idea either, but he was willing to endure a little embarrassment if it meant bringing money into the station.

  “Please, just tell me it isn’t going to be beefcake stuff at least,” Derek said, breaking the awkward silence.

  Shaking his head, Bryan crossed his arms over his chest. “No. I mean…you’ll be…partially clothed.” He winced, knowing that last little added bit wouldn’t go over well.

  Just as he expected, chaos erupted with the guys voicing their disapproval.

  “Listen,” Bryan said, raising his voice to be heard. “Just hear me out, okay?” He dropped his arms to his sides. “My sister, Holly, gave me the idea. I didn’t like it either.”

  “You liked it enough to tell us.” Harris laughed with Gregg joining in.

  “Look, the idea isn’t bad, and there’s a two-birds-one-stone answer here.” Bryan paused as the room quieted. “My sister knows the folks running the local shelter, and they’re desperate to find the animals homes. This will be publicity for them with the hopes of increased adoptions, and for us, it’ll bring in money for new equipment when we sell the calendars.” Bryan paused, hoping the guys would think it through.

  Gregg took the moment and added, “Basically, we’ll be geared up, holding a puppy, crouching next to a dog, or sitting with them in the truck. That kind of stuff.”

  “With our shirts off, right?” Derek grunted with the last word.

  While a couple of the guys laughed and shook their heads, Liam shrugged. “I do like the idea of helping the shelter. It wouldn’t be such a bad thing, knowing some of the animals would be adopted.”

  Carlos grinned and elbowed him. “You just like the idea of your bare chest hanging on some woman’s fridge.”

  “You never know.” Gregg glanced at Bryan. “This kind of thing has the potential to go viral. There’s a chance the entire state of Virginia could be talking about us once the calendar is printed and for sale. Who knows, we might even get orders from out of state.”

  Harris rolled his eyes. “You really think our ugly mugs can do that? Earn enough to help?”

  Ugly mugs. Right. Bryan hadn’t called Baker Beach home for long, but from his observations, none of the guys were hurting for dates. Not that he paid that close attention. He wasn’t looking for dates, love, or even a diversion. Not yet at least, and based on how his last relationship ended, maybe never.

  “I say we vote on it,” Carlos said, and Gregg nodded in agreement.

  One by one, each guy raised their hand. They were all in and willing participants.

  “So, who’s going to be taking the pictures?” asked Liam. “Obviously, if this is gonna make money, it can’t be done using our phones.”

  “I’m working on that,” Bryan replied. “The woman who runs the shelter has a friend who’s a local photographer, Elise Richards. From what I understand, she’s already expressed interes
t and offered us a reduced rate as a favor.”

  Gregg slapped Bryan on the shoulder. “Great. You take the wheel and tell us when and where. We’ll be there.”

  With that, the meeting was over. Inwardly, Bryan’s nerves were a little on edge. He’d offered a solution, and if he didn’t come through, they’d all be looking at unemployment. Hopefully, it would be as easy as he’d made it sound. Get pictures, make the calendars, sell them, and all their financing issues would be solved. Easy. Simple. Nothing to worry about.

  But he couldn’t relax. Not when his and the entire company’s future were riding on this plan. After his last experience, he’d found that something seemingly simple could turn complicated overnight.

  His wedding, for example. Something he’d planned his future around. It had fallen apart before he could even blink, and it’d been his fault. This time, there were far more people’s lives riding on him coming through, and he couldn’t let anyone down…again.

  Chapter 2

  When Elise Richards was asked to photograph the local firefighters for a calendar, she’d hesitated just long enough for her friend Sally Fisher to explain it was to help the Baker Beach Animal Shelter. Being the shelter director, Sally had lamented the need for more adoptions more than once. Knowing that, Elise didn’t feel she could turn it down.

  Aside from that, it felt like the right thing to do, and more work meant her parents couldn’t talk her into moving to Florida with them, which they’d tried more than once when they first left Virginia. Her life and career were in Baker Beach, she’d explained.

  Other than leaving for school, she’d been in the harbor her entire life. Never once had she regretted the decision to move back after finishing school in New York. The big city was fun, but in a way, it reminded her of the old saying: A nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.

  Her phone rang, and she grabbed it from the passenger seat. The special ringtone with dogs barking to the tune of “Old MacDonald” told her who was calling. “Hey, Sally. I’m headed to the station now.”

  Elise smiled, sandwiching the phone between her ear and shoulder so she could wave to a few familiar faces as she cruised down Baker Street, the town’s main road. To call it quaint would be an understatement. Norman Rockwell could’ve painted it.

  “Hey, when you get here, you can park behind me. I parked behind the building. I don’t mind the attention, but I think the guys want to keep it under wraps until they have a little more confidence that it’ll work out.”

  Elise chuckled. “Really? I’ve known those guys…well, most of them, all my life. They don’t lack confidence.” The new guy probably wasn’t that much different.

  “Well, on a one-on-one basis, they may be fine, but from what Bryan said, they all had a bunch of concerns about being photographed and put in a calendar to sell.”

  “Who’s this guy Bryan you keep talking about?”

  “New guy. Well, newish. He’s only been here a few months. He’s from somewhere near Richmond.”

  “Oh, new but not that far away.”

  “No, but you know how it is here.”

  Yeah, Elise knew. Close-knit didn’t begin to describe the harbor, and newcomers weren’t always welcomed with open arms. Coming in as a firefighter, though, that would go a long way to warming up the community.

  As she pulled in behind the shelter’s white van, she ended the call and waved at Sally, who was already unloading the last couple dogs. Grabbing her camera bag, Elise slung it over her shoulder and stepped out of her small SUV.

  “You’re all so excited to have your pictures taken today!” She stooped to pet what looked like a German shepherd and boxer mix and a small dog that could win the Ugliest Dog Contest with its overly large, lolling tongue. They wagged their tails and danced around Elise, licking her in the face. If the other dogs she’d be photographing were this excited, it would be a long day of wrangling them and the guys.

  Sally nodded. “They’re just happy to be out of the shelter and getting attention. Although, can’t say I’d mind getting attention from these guys either.”

  Rolling her eyes, Elise straightened. “Oh, stop. We’ve known them forever.” Plus, she was a professional with a no-drool policy, and even if she did, she certainly wasn’t telling anyone.

  “That doesn’t make them any less attractive.” Sally elbowed her.

  Elise ignored the comment. “Anyway, Margo, the makeup guru from the mall will be here in a little bit. She’s promised to keep the whole thing quiet until the calendars come out.”

  Sally’s jaw dropped. “Oh, wow.” She grimaced.

  “Wait,” Elise said, holding her hand up. “It’s pro bono. Sealed lips and less editing for me.”

  Breathing a sigh of relief, she asked, “You ready?”

  “Yep.” As true an answer as she’d ever given, until she stepped inside the building. Was there anything cuter than a guy playing with a dog?

  Her gaze roamed over the men and landed on the only one she didn’t recognize. Wow. Tall, broad-shouldered with large arms, and dark tousled hair. He stood just a few steps away, watching the rest of the guys play with the dogs.

  There was something about him that spoke to her. She couldn’t point to any one specific thing. He sure had a nice smile and a relaxed way that gave her the feeling that he’d make a great cover model. It was an instinct she’d honed over the last few years as a photographer.

  It wasn’t until his dark eyes met hers that her heart skipped a beat. Silly reaction. She wasn’t looking for or interested in dating or love. It was only recently that she felt like she could be her own person. After her brother’s accident, life had centered around him.

  With a discreet shake of her head, she cleared her thoughts and approached Bryan with her hand extended. “I know the rest of these guys, so that must make you Bryan.”

  “It does.” His grip was firm, and he held her gaze as he shook her hand. His eyes were a deep shade of blue instead of the brown she’d expected. “You’re our photographer?”

  “That’s me. Elise Richards. It’s nice to meet you.” Somehow, she managed to ignore the little static shocks racing from her palm. Good thing it wasn’t sweaty; otherwise, she’d be electrocuted by now.

  His lips lifted in a wider smile. “Nice to meet you too.”

  Elise pulled her hand away, hoping the tingles would dissipate. “I have to say, this was a brilliant idea.” Maybe a conversation would help kill the sensation. Plus, she wanted to feel the situation out. Just how cooperative were these guys going to be?

  “Yeah?” he asked, looking around at the absolute chaos in the station bay. “It was my sister’s idea. I’m beginning to wonder if this was her way of tormenting me.”

  “You don’t like dogs?” That was one way to kill those stupid little electric shocks. “Or is it being photographed that doesn’t particularly appeal to you?”

  Shaking his head, his gaze returned to hers, and he held up his hands. “No, that’s not how I meant it at all. These guys have been ragging me all week about this calendar idea.” He slowly lowered his hands to his sides. “I’m hoping they’ll see it isn’t so bad.”

  Why did he have to be a nice guy? Even a little cockiness would have gone a long way to put her off. “Oh, don’t worry about it. They’ll be acting like seasoned pros by the time I’m done with them.” She looked over the dogs. “The dogs…I love them, but it’s not easy photographing them. Just getting them to sit still is a challenge sometimes.”

  “Do you take photos of animals much?”

  “Uh, sometimes.” She paused a beat. “I like going to the beach. There’s an area just for dogs and their owners. In fact, I was there right at sunrise to take a few shots. Dogs aren’t predictable, so it’ll make for an interesting shoot, to say the least.” Her gaze returned to his, and she was momentarily stunned.

  If she had to rate the current smile he was giving her, it would be a ten. Dazzling would accurately describe it. Bryan was definitel
y cover material. With the way her pulse raced, she wouldn’t even mind if the whole calendar featured only him.

  “Well, we’re ready when you are.” He stooped to pet a beagle who’d wandered over to them.

  Elise raked her hand through her hair and walked to the far wall to pull out her equipment, giving herself a moment to find her ducks and put them in rows.

  Bryan was hot. Hotter than hot with a smile so magnetic it made her knees a little weak, but he was off-limits. At least for now. Not only was it unprofessional to think about him like that, but she wasn’t ready.

  Standing on her own two feet meant something to her. Being her own person. Not her parents’ daughter or her brother’s sister. Just Elise. A woman with a career and the ability to make decisions for herself. Getting involved with someone would make her dependent again. Someone’s girlfriend. In her mind, that was no different than depending on her parents.

  Until Elise could be sure of who she was and what she wanted, she would be single.

  With the pep talk over, she turned and clapped her hands. “All right, guys. Let’s get to work.”

  Chapter 3

  “You’re sure this looks okay?” Bryan held his arms out, looked down at himself, and then up at Elise. “I mean, I trust your expertise and all, but…”

  She nodded. “You look great.”

  It didn’t help that the other guys standing behind her were teasing him.