Charming the Firefighter Read Free Page B

OU GOING TO lie there all day?” James Montesano asked, tossing the basketball from one hand to the other.
    Rolling onto his back, Leo Montesano squinted at the people peering down at him, their heads shifting as if they’d been detached from their bodies. Huh. Floating heads. That would make a great name for a rock-and-roll band.
    James kept up with the ball tossing. Back and forth. Back and forth.
    It drove Leo nuts.
    He wanted to tell his brother to knock it the hell off, but the breath had left his lungs when he’d done his face-plant, and he couldn’t speak.
    Next to James, their brother, Eddie, wiped his forehead with the hem of his T-shirt, dislodging the frayed brim of his black Pittsburgh Pirates baseball cap. On Leo’s other side, their younger sister, Maddie, smirked.
    All three had dark hair, heavy eyebrows and deep, end-of-summer tans—traits Leo shared. About the only resemblances between him and his family. Because if the situation had been reversed and one of them were flat on their back, he’d be offering a helping hand.
    They just waited for him to get his own ass up off the ground.
    You’d think there would be a time or two when the odds were even among the Montesano siblings, but more often than not it was three against one.
    Them against him, usually.
    That was what he got for following his own path, being his own person. Freedom, yes. But also a lot of grief.
    “Well?” James asked, as if Leo’s being bruised and sporting a possible head injury was ruining his entire day.
    Leo squeezed his eyes shut, but as soon as he did, flashes of memory from last night’s accident scene bombarded him and he opened them again. At least when he did, everyone’s heads stayed put. And the images disappeared.
    He shot James the middle finger.
    “Guess he’ll live,” Eddie said before walking away.
    James gave the ball extra spin as it moved from hand to hand, his dark eyes hidden behind a pair of aviators. “Too bad. I was hoping we could find a sub for you.”
    “Your concern is touching,” Leo muttered as he shifted into a sitting position, the blacktop burning the palms of his hands, the bright sun warming his bare shoulders. He and James were both shirtless—no big deal when it came to playing a game of shirts versus skins, but not so great if you were pushed to the freaking pavement. His knees and palms—which had taken the brunt of his weight when he’d gone down—were scraped and stinging. He rubbed his hands against the sides of his shorts and glared at his brother. “Really. Warms a man’s heart to know his family cares so deeply for his well-being.”
    “You want concern? Stop trying to turn a fun pickup game among family and friends into a grudge match.”
    “Hey, don’t blame me. I’m the innocent victim here.” He jabbed a thumb in Maddie’s direction. “She’s the one who tripped me.”
    “I’m not sure what you’re accusing me of,” Maddie said with a sniff and a lift of her chin, all affronted and lying through her teeth. “I was merely setting a screen.”
    Eyes narrowing, Leo got to his feet. “You’re not supposed to move when you set a screen. Or stick your foot out.”
    She lifted a shoulder and sent him a small, evil grin. “Oops.”
    “You could at least try to pretend it was an accident and not a blatant act of aggression.”
    James’s eyebrows rose above his sunglasses. “
Blatant act of aggression?
What have we told you about watching CNN? It’s only for grown-ups.”
    Leo snatched the ball from James, and considered—briefly and with much relish—shoving it down his brother’s throat. Instead, he took three steps and heaved it over the ball hoop into the yard.
    “I’ll get it!” called Max, Eddie’s eight-year-old son, scrambling after it.
    Leo lifted a hand but couldn’t risk having his attention diverted. Not when Maddie, wearing a pair of cutoffs and a red Montesano Construction T-shirt, was sauntering closer and closer to him, her stride