Winter's Fire (Welcome to Covendale #7) Read Free Page A

wasn’t interested in being part of the team—and his cronies, Vermont Ward and Kade Whitney, weren’t much better. Ethan was smart, strong…and also vain and competitive. And until he improved his attitude, Adam refused to put another man’s life in his hands. “Look, you put me in charge of this stuff,” he said to the chief. “It’s my decision, and I already made it.”
    Mike groaned. “You gave the promotion to Aldridge, didn’t you?”
    “He has potential.”
    “Goddard’s going to shit a brick.” The chief shook his head. “Well, I guess that’s your funeral. Sorry about the ladder.”
    Adam’s jaw firmed. “Sorry isn’t going to keep our guys safe out there,” he said. “Isn’t there anything we can do?”
    “I’m telling you, we don’t have the budget to replace it!” The chief pounded the desk in frustration. “I’ve been over and over this crap, and I just can’t squeeze out the money. If there was any way…” He sighed. “Rhodes, you know about Ben and Valley Ridge. Think I wanted to do that? He’s a good man, and it hurts like hell letting him go.”
    “Yeah, I know.” The Covendale-Valley Ridge partnership allowed for a unique situation, in that they were one of the few small towns with paid professional emergency services, rather than volunteers. At least, they had been until the budget started drying up. A few weeks ago, Chief Smallwood had made the painful decision to close the Valley Ridge station—which meant an early and unwanted retirement for Ben Schaeffer, the station director.
    Mike and Ben went way back. The whole thing hit Adam hard, too—and not just because it increased the strain on his crew, since Covendale was now handling all services for both towns. Ben Schaeffer was an old family friend, nearly a second father to him. And he knew that for Ben, the job was everything.
    “I’m sorry, Adam.” The chief’s frustration slid into real regret. “We just can’t—”
    A knock at the office door interrupted, and the chief shot a narrow-eyed glance toward it. “What?” he barked.
    The door opened, and Dominic Shepherd stuck his head in. He looked at Adam first. The grin on his best friend’s face was suspicious at best. “Sorry to interrupt the party,” Dom said. “There seems to be a fire marshal here.”
    “Goddamn it, that’s just what we need now,” Mike said. “Why are they here?”
    Dom shrugged. “Don’t know. But they want the man in charge.”
    Chief Smallwood’s expression twisted briefly, and then he sighed. “Rhodes, can you go deal with this guy?” he said. “I want go over this again. Maybe I missed something, somewhere. You’re right—we have to replace that ladder.”
    “Er. I would, but I’m not in charge.”
    “Sure you are.” The chief smirked at him. “Congratulations, you’ve just been promoted. You’re the department liaison.”
    “The what?”
    “I made it up. But it sounds good, doesn’t it?” He actually smiled for a moment. “Just get rid of the guy, so I can find your new ladder.”
    “You got it, Chief.”
    Dom held the door open as Adam walked out, and then closed it behind him. “Hey, congrats on the promotion, bro,” he said. “Gonna buy me a new bike with your big, fat raise, right?”
    “Oh, yeah. We’ll split the raise. I’ll take jack, and you can have squat.” Adam smirked as they headed for the stairs leading to the ground floor. He was already lieutenant and squad leader. Why not department liaison too—whatever the hell that was. “So, any idea what’s up with this fire marshal guy?”
    Dom’s suspicious grin came back. “First of all, it’s not a guy,” he said. “She’s pretty hot for one of those dry insurance-type chicks. And she’s not wearing a ring.”
    “So?”
    “Hey, man. You haven’t been on a date since the Dark Ages.”
    Adam rolled his eyes. “Are you nuts? She’s a fire marshal.”
    “And?” Dom nudged him. “Look, all I’m saying is that if you’re