Page 74 of Falling for the Playboy Pilot

I watched as she followed my instructions. It wasn’t long before she stabilized the plane and pulled away from the fire.

Laser’s voice came through clear and calm after that. Things were back under control, just the way I liked it.

I radioed back to base that I was on my way in to be reloaded for another pass. She didn’t need me anymore. I wasn’t surprised she almost panicked. It was her first full run. Everyone thought they were completely cool with things until it happened.

I would talk to her later. For now, there was work to be done. It was a steady parade of aircraft spotting and dropping retardant.

It took a couple of hours, but all three fires were contained. The crews on the ground would go into mop-up mode.

By the time I landed, I was starving and looking forward to eating a late lunch. I talked to Gabriel, high-fiving him. “Thanks for taking care of those doors,” I said.

“Told you I’d get it handled,” he said.

“Yeah, yeah. Tell Tyson I said thanks too.”

I talked to a couple of the crew. Everyone was in good spirits. I liked it when we had a good run. I turned to walk out of the hangar intent on finding Janna and food.

“Laser back yet?” I asked.

I purposely didn’t ask about Janna. I knew what a rumor mill the place could be. The last thing either of us needed was bullshit gossip. People talking about us would detract from what the real goal was—fighting fires.

Chief was waiting just outside the building when I stepped out. He looked around and then jerked his head, indicating I should follow him.

“Good job,” he said.

“Thanks. Yeah, today went well.”

I could tell there was something else on his mind. I waited for him to spit it out. I hoped he wasn’t going to say he was going to fire Janna or ground her. I was prepared to defend her, but I had to be careful about how I did it. Chief would lecture me about fraternizing and all the other bullshit.

“What’s up?” I asked.

Chief studied me for a moment. “What happened back there? Why did you deviate from the plan?”

It wasn’t what I expected. “Laser and Janna were having trouble. I thought I’d lend a hand.”

“Trouble?” Chief’s eyebrows rose. “That’s not what I heard on the radio. Sounded like routine thermal activity to me.”

I shrugged, trying to keep it casual. “Those updrafts were nasty. Figured it was better to have eyes on the situation.”

Chief crossed his arms, and I could see him weighing my words while watching my face. The old man had been doing this long enough to know when someone was dancing around the truth. “You scrapped a reload run to babysit another crew?”

“I made a judgment call.” I met his gaze steadily. “Safety first, right? That’s what you always tell us.”

Something in his eyes told me he didn’t believe me. “That’s not like you, Dalton. You’re usually the one giving this lecture to other pilots about sticking to the plan. Hell, you’ve chewed out half the crew at one point or another for going off script.”

He was right, and we both knew it. I was the guy who followed protocol to the letter, who expected everyone else to do the same. The guy who’d rather eat glass than deviate from a mission plan without damn good reason.

“So what’s going on?” Chief pressed.

I ran a hand through my hair, suddenly feeling like I was back in grade school getting called to the principal’s office. “It’s Janna,” I admitted, the words coming out rougher than I intended.

Chief nodded slowly, like he’d been expecting that answer. “Your trainee.”

“Yeah.” I cleared my throat. “She’s my responsibility, right? I’m supposed to look out for her, make sure she adjusts to the job.”

The old man studied me and I could see the wheels turning behind those sharp eyes. We both knew she wasn’t technically my trainee. She was hired and had proven to be capable. He knew it. I knew it. But how much did he know or suspect.

Chief hooked his thumbs in his belt loops. “Uh-huh. And that’s all this is? Just looking out for your trainee?”