Burnin' It Down: Dallas Bradshaws Series, #2

By Kayce Lassiter

Fun cowboy-female firefighter romance.

 

When female fire fighter, Callie Walters, responds to a house fire at Jace Bradshaw's brother's house, sparks fly…and it ain't just the turkey that's burnin'. 

But then, Jace learns something that makes him believe Callie is a shallow gold digger, just like his ex-wife. He's had enough of that breed of cat to last a lifetime.

She takes him for a player living out of the back of a horse trailer—exactly like her rodeo bum father. That's a life she never wants to experience again.

Can a gold digger settle for life in a horse trailer?

Can a rodeo bum offer enough to capture her interest?

Will these two sort things out or will it all go up in smoke?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kayce Lassiter
• Release date: Nov 13, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386337393

Kayce Lassiter

Kayce writes snarky contemporary romance in a country setting—what she calls "Chick Lit in Cowgirl Boots" and she likes to throw in some magic now and then just for fun. Now she is adding nonfiction works to her catalogue, which include dysfunctional family stories—something she knows a heck of a lot about.Kayce is a consummate smart-alec, which shows in her humorous, heart-tugging stories about everyday people complete with broken hearts and all the flaws that come with being human. Some of her characters will make you laugh, others will touch your heart, but they will all take you to a world where dreams are possible, hearts can be mended, and people survive through the power of love.A second-generation native Arizonan, Kayce was born to deaf parents and grew up on a dairy farm. Living on a farm as a kid can be fun, but it can be lonely too. So she learned to dream, to imagine, to pretend—something she's never grown out of. She still lives in rural Arizona with her horse and dogs, including a nut-job named Riley whose claim to fame is having eaten an entire rattan chair in one afternoon.So let Kayce introduce you to her world of "Chick Lit in Cowgirl Boots" and seriously dysfunctional families. After all, what would a good story be without a little magic, or a crazy or two? That's what makes the world go round—right?

Book preview

Burnin' It Down

A fun cowboy-firefighter romance.

Kayce Lassiter

The Booked Worm, LLC

Burnin' It Down

©Copyright Kayce Lassiter 2018

Cover Art by Kayce Lassiter ©Copyright August 2018

The Booked Worm Publishing

All rights are reserved.

Without limiting the rights under the copyrights reserved above, no portion of this book may be reproduced in whole or part, scanned, photocopied, recorded, or distributed in any printed or electronic form, or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or hereafter invented, without the prior express written permission of both the publisher and the author/copyright owner, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

Dedication

This story is dedicated to my fabulous critique partners, Cheyenne McCray and Cassie Ryan. You girls keep me sane as you lovingly rip my manuscripts apart and painstakingly help me put them back together. Your support and loving truth through the years have taught me how to trust your advice and my own instincts.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Sign Up

Barn Burner - Excerpt

Books by Kayce Lassiter

Acknowledgements

Chapter One

Jace Bradshaw smiled as he greeted his younger brother. Hey, buddy, how goes it?

Dodge chuckled as he shook his hand. If I was any better, I’d have to come with a warning label.

You should probably come with one anyway. He teased his brother. Would save people a lot of grief.

Dodge laughed and motioned for Jace to enter. Come on in. I think you know most everyone. I was just about to dunk the turkey in the oil out back. Grab a beer and come on out.

Without waiting for a response, Dodge threaded his way through the crowd and made his way to the backyard.

Jace greeted those he knew as he navigated toward the back patio, where he assumed he’d find a beer. It had been a long morning, packing up and moving his fifth wheel out to his cousin’s ranch, and he was ready to relax a little now that everything was in place.

Laney Bradshaw-Landers was eight months pregnant with twins and having some issues with mild preterm labor. Her doctor had ordered her to strict bedrest until after the delivery. Unfortunately, Laney was a busy woman with a lot of irons in the fire, as well as one of the biggest cattle ranches in the area.

Her husband, Tripp Landers, shared most of her responsibilities, in addition to working as a firefighter out of Dallas Station 151, and would normally be the one to back her up in anything she needed. In addition, their ranch foreman and right-hand man, Joe Connors, was on a rare vacation in Canada, where he was helping his daughter through a messy divorce.

Joe had offered to return, but Laney wouldn’t hear of it. She’d ordered Joe to stay right where he was until his daughter was settled into her new place.

With Laney completely bedridden and on strict orders to do nothing of a business nature, Tripp needed help running the ranch when he was on-shift at the station and unable to oversee ranching activities. So Jace had packed up his fifth wheel trailer and his little sister and moved out to Tripp and Laney’s for a few weeks to lend a hand.

Jace lifted the lid on an ice chest and moved a few bottles until he found a dark amber beer that sounded good. He retrieved the beer, twisted off the top, and tossed it in a nearby garbage can as he heard his brother announce to the crowd gathered on the patio, Okay, folks, time to make this bird dance.

He glanced at Dodge, who had an enormous turkey poised above the top of a deep fryer, on the end of a long stick. The cooker was placed only a few feet from the edge of the patio—too close.

A handful of men who had gathered around to watch took a step back, giving Jace a good view of the turkey as Dodge lowered it toward the hot oil.

He hadn’t turned the propane fire off under the fryer.

Jace’s vision narrowed to center on the turkey. A gizzard bag was partially exposed at one end.

That damn thing’s still frozen.

His heart thumped. He reached one hand toward his brother. Don’t!

Dodge looked up just as the long stick broke and the frozen turkey plunged into the vat of scalding oil.

Boiling oil splashed four feet into the air.

Dodge jumped away, tossing the broken stick across the yard. Shit.

The deep fryer erupted like Mount Vesuvius.

Hot oil sprayed in every direction.

The crowd screamed as they dodged and ran from the fiery explosion, chased by hot oil.

Dodge was shaking one hand as he ran for the patio to escape the fireball his turkey had become.

The fire reached out with long, writhing fingers of flame that grasped at anything in its path.

A table only a few feet from the fryer went up like an old Christmas tree. Pieces of the flaming paper tablecloth lifted into the air.

Glowing embers spread out to seek other victims.

Black smoke and the smell of burning plastic stung Jace’s nostrils and made his eyes water as he lifted the front of his jacket lapel to cover his mouth and nose.

He grabbed Dodge by the sleeve of his jacket and jerked him back toward the patio door as one post of the patio exploded into flame.

Where is your fire extinguisher? Jace shouted at his brother.

Dodge met his gaze and shook his head. Don’t have one.

Dammit, Dodge.

Fire raced across the underside of the patio roof, passing close enough to the top of Jace’s head to singe his hair.

He ducked and ran a hand over the top of his head hoping he wasn’t on fire.

He tried to think what to do next.

Two men had a garden hose—one with the hose pointed at the fryer, and the other turning the handle.

Nooo, he bellowed.

The roar of the fire above his head drowned out his scream.

Water shot from the end of the hose, into the blazing deep fryer.

Flaming oil sprayed into the air with the velocity of a space shuttle launch.

Fire flew in all directions as it burned through the air and across the browned winter grass.

The Honeysuckle along the back wall went up like gasoline on a bonfire.

Those who made it into the house ran for the front door.

Others bolted for the side gate as pellets of fire rained down on them, burning holes in shirts and searing the flesh beneath.

The smell of burnt hair mixed with the smell of burning oil and wood.

Those stuck on the back side of the blaze sped past the empty horse pens and across the narrow pasture to the back fence, where they scaled the chain link into the neighbor’s pasture.

Jace looked at the kitchen. They’d never make it through that mob.

He tightened his grip on his brother’s jacket and dragged Dodge behind as they ran for the side gate, through a hailstorm of blazing hot shards of fire.

When Dodge stopped fighting him and began to follow easily, he released his hold.

They bolted through the gate, across the front yard, and into the street.

They turned back toward the house.

Flames shot high enough to be seen above the ridge of the roof.

Jace peeled off his jacket and shirt to make sure nothing smoldered beneath and called out, Did anyone call the fire department?

A half-dozen hands went up. Several people talking on their cell phones nodded.

Is anyone left inside the house? he demanded as she shook out his shirt and pulled it back on. Look around. Did everyone you came with get out?

Dodge pointed toward his truck. The vehicles. We need to get them out of here, in case the fire spreads to the front.

Jace shrugged into his coat. Everyone drive straight ahead. Don’t try to make a U-turn. Drive forward at least a block. The fire department will need room to work.

Sirens sounded in the distance. The engines would be there in moments.

The crowd in the front yard mobilized to move the vehicles.

The first few stragglers rounded the corner after scaling Dodge’s fence into the neighbor’s pasture. They saw the cars being moved, and ran to move their own.

Several people who were injured sat in a group on the front lawn of a house across the street from Dodge’s.

Jace waved to flag down the first of the fire engines as it approached.

The driver pulled the truck to the curb and the fire fighters all climbed from the vehicle and went into action.

Two police cruisers pulled to the opposite side of the street.

A female firefighter approached Jace. Is everyone out of the house?

Too many people. No way to tell. I asked everyone to make sure their friends were accounted for, but we don’t know who might have come alone.

He pointed toward a group of people jogging across the corner of the yard. Some guests scaled the back fence. Everyone’s too scattered to know.

He motioned toward the group on the neighbor’s lawn. Those people are injured. Probably a bunch more with more minor injuries walking around.

What happened? She asked as she pulled equipment from a compartment on the rig.

Hot oil fire mixed with a lot of stupid. He ground his teeth together at the frustration and anger that coursed through him.

She shifted her gaze between him and the house. You the homeowner?

No. My brother. He moved his car. He’ll be back in a minute.

The fire fighter pointed at him. You try to confirm everyone’s accounted for. I’ll see about getting inside.

She jogged toward a group of her coworkers who had already suited up.

Two others rolled out a hose to the hydrant across the street and a few doors down.

Jace signaled to the stragglers to move across the road.

Everyone followed and huddled on the sidewalk as neighbors came out of their houses to see what was going on.

Within moments, Jace had a crowd gathered around him that seemed twice as large as the crowd that had been at the party.

He asked them to separate into groups—those who were at the party to his left, and those who were not to his right. Those who felt they needed medical treatment were asked to join the group sitting on the lawn.

Then he addressed the group on this right briefly. Folks, I know you’re upset and want to know what’s going on. We’ll fill in the blanks in a minute. But let me first confirm if everyone is present and accounted for.

To the group on his left, he instructed them to look around. We need to make sure no one is left in the house. Do you see everyone who came with you?

Most heads nodded. Some looked bewildered.

Think about who you talked to at the party, who you saw. Do you remember anyone who might have come alone? Are they here?

Everyone scanned the people around them, some pointing, some nodding, and others shaking their heads.

No, one man spoke up. I don’t see Brenda Martin. Panic seeped into his voice. I don’t see Brenda. I was…

I’m here, a woman’s voice shouted from the back of the group. A slim hand went up in the air. I’m Brenda.

The man who’d been concerned moved in her direction.

Anyone else, Jace asked. Anyone you don’t see?

A man facing him pointed over his shoulder. There’s Jerry. He’s the only other one I can think of.

Jace looked toward Jerry, who strode toward the group with a scowl. You jackasses left me there, he accused as he walked up to a man who took a half-step backward. You coward.

Jerry poked the man in a bright blue coat in the chest. I helped you, and you just took off and left me to figure out how to get over that damn fence by myself. Didn’t even offer me a hand up.

The veins stood out in Jerry’s neck as he accused the other man.

Jace slid an arm between the men and inserted himself into the situation. Okay, let’s everyone cool off a minute.

He shifted his gaze between the two men, then addressed Jerry. Drop it. You can work this out later. Right now, we have to make sure everyone is present and accounted for.

Dodge had returned. He stepped forward to put one hand on Jerry’s shoulder. Come on, Bro. Let it go.

Jerry stabbed his finger at the man in the blue jacket. This isn’t over.

The other man slipped away, to the back of the crowd, but had the good sense not to say anything.

Jace decided he’d get nowhere with this crowd. Half of them had already consumed too much alcohol, and tensions were running high. "If anyone thinks of