Radiant Burn

By Laura Harner

Living with the man he loves and helping to raise his two children isn’t something Scott McGregor can be sure he deserves—at least not until he learns the truth behind the nightmares. Uncertain whether the knowledge will fan the flames or finally bring the fire under control, Scott heads to Phoenix, only to realize time and distance may not have been enough to prepare him for what he discovers at the home of the only other firefighter to survive the Prescott blaze.
For Rob Hammond, the last two months have been a preview into heaven. With his children home, and Scott in his bed, he finally has the family he’s always dreamed of. All he has to do now is help Scott through the last of the shadows left from his close encounter with death. If Rob can keep everything on an even keel, Scott will conquer the PTSD demons that haunt him and finally get the happily ever after he deserves.

Twelve years ago, nothing could have prevented their relationship from imploding, but as each of their self-imposed barriers falls away, the battle lines shift, and Scott and Rob need each other as never before as they fight to make Mountain Shadows a home for their family.

One man is certain things will work out—the other is afraid they can’t. Only one of them can be right.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Laura Harner
• Release date: Sep 12, 2014
• ISBN: 9781937252892

Laura Harner

Laura lives on waterfront property in Arizona because she's always wanted to be an oxymoron. She once enjoyed hobbies such as gardening and travel—now the characters in her head compel her to tell their stories, so she writes. (It doesn't actually help quiet the voices—but it keeps the folks in the white jackets at bay.)She shares her home with an ever-revolving cast of characters—some of whom are actually real—and is living her dream of building her own version of the Willow Springs Ranch.With over fifty published novels and novellas, Laura is an international bestselling author of erotic romances, romantic suspense, urban fantasy, and Highland romances. Her books can be found at all major online retailers.Connect with her online at:http://lauraharner.com

Book preview

Radiant Burn

Fighting Fire V

Pulp Friction 2014

Laura Harner

Radiant Burn is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2014 by Laura Harner

Cover Art by Laura Harner

All rights reserved.

Smashwords Edition Published in the United States by Hot Corner Press.

ISBN: 978-1-937252-89-2

Warning: All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without written permission, except for brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

Contact the publisher for further information: [e-mail]

Acknowledgements

Thank you to Havan Fellows, Lee Brazil, Tom Webb, Christy Duke, and Will Parkinson. Your help is greatly appreciated.

The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following trademarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

Dodge Omni: Chrysler, LLC

Keurig: Keurig, Inc.

Mr. Coffee: Sunbeam Products, Inc.

National Park Service: United States Department of the Interior

Northern Arizona University: The Arizona Board of Regents

Post-It: 3M Company

SIG P220: SIG Swiss Industrial Company

Starbucks: Starbucks Corporation

Contents

Acknowledgements

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

About Pulp Friction 2014

Mountain Shadows Map

About the Author

Also Available

Chapter One

Rob Hammond sipped his barely-cool-enough coffee and felt the life’s blood of caffeine pump through his veins. The truck bounced over a deep rut in the washboard surface of the graded road, and he glared at the four remaining white and green cardboard cups in the drink holder on the passenger seat. Do not spill, he ordered.

Jilly would give him hell for spending money at Starbucks when she had a full pot brewing in the dining room, but it was his turn to drive his children, Sam and Kat, to the elementary school and Jillian’s daughter, Maddie, to preschool in Flagstaff. That deserved a special treat, didn’t it?

Rather than heading straight for the lodge, he took a few extra minutes and cruised through the entire Mountain Shadows campground. Years of law enforcement training would forever leave him with a need to make sure the place remained secure—even if he would never wear a uniform again. He was finishing up his last day of stored annual leave today—tomorrow he’d turn in his equipment and say goodbye to his former career, the Flagstaff Monuments, and the National Park Service. He was leaving on good terms, having given his supervisor sufficient notice to advertise for his replacement. It left the door open in case he ever wanted to take on a seasonal position for a summer, but that was difficult to imagine. Right now—he wanted nothing more than to continue as he had for the last two weeks. Spending time with Scott, working on managing the campground, completing the unfinished lower level of the lodge. And knowing he’d be home every night and weekend for his children, without the worry of having to put on a bulletproof vest to go to work.

Turning in behind the lodge, he was pleased to see the other men were already here. They planned to finish off the rec room today by adding a coat of paint and laying the flooring. Not that Robby was particularly skilled at any of the construction jobs Siggy assigned him, but he enjoyed the physical labor. It also kept the work at the lodge moving forward when Charlie and Siggy were working in town on other—and better paying—jobs. He parked next to Charlie’s truck. He briefly wondered who the beat-up Dodge Omni belonged to and hoped he wasn’t going to come in one-shy on the coffees. Gripping the tray in one hand and his own cup in the other, he performed a brief juggling act as he shut the door with his hip. It took a moment before he realized the sound of raised voices was coming from the back door of the lodge. What the hell? Was that…Siggy? Charlie? It sure as hell better not be Scott…

The thoughts passed quickly as he put the coffees on the hood before racing to the door. He opened it quietly, moved into the mudroom, then edged to the kitchen door. Jillian stood near the sink, dressed in her usual blue jeans and a loose T-shirt, but nothing else about the scene looked normal. The floor was littered with shards of glass, and it looked like they were going to need a new Mr. Coffee.

With her hips against the counter, Jillian hunched forward, one arm clutched across her stomach, her face pale except for two bright red patches on her round cheeks. Her lower lip trembled slightly, as if she was trying to hold back words or tears. Probably both.

A broad, heavy man, stood next to her, his hand gripping one of her arms hard enough to leave marks on her skin. Carl Rademacher.

You owe me, goddammit— Carl shouted.

Jillian flinched and tried to pull away, and Robby could see the dents in her flesh where Carl’s fingers dug in.

Although he wasn’t on duty, he was armed—he never went anywhere except the kid’s school without his gun, and even then it was just locked up in his center console while he was on the campus. Rob pulled his SIG P220 from the waistband holster on his jeans and stepped through the door. Weighing his options and remembering Jillian’s insistence months ago that she would never press charges against Rademacher, he decided