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Olivia was a beautiful woman, and he’d seen more than one man today look at her with interest.

They talked to the older couple for a few more minutes before moving on. He could tell she was getting tired, though. As the lights came up on the displays and competitions were called out, they headed back to the pavilion station 93 had taken. They had had two ambulance calls, that day, and one crash. Luckily, the surrounding counties were covering the county calls today, so that Lockhart FD could focus on the festival. They were responsible for manning the first aid tent this weekend as well, and they’d had several patients.

Some of the faces in the ring of firefighters had changed, but not all. They shuffled to open two chairs so that Connor and Olivia could sit down, and they did so gratefully. Connor could tell that Olivia was in pain, so, after chatting for a while, they headed back to the firehouse.

By the time he pulled into the lot, her eyes were closed, and she was dozing. It was the cutest thing, her hair falling forward to hide her face. She didn’t even rouse when he put the truck into park and turned off the ignition. Connor hated to wake her, but with her neck tilted forward like that, it would hurt when she woke. Circling the truck, he very carefully opened her door. She roused a little as he slid his arms beneath her, but he whispered to her that everything was okay, and she settled her head against his chest.

Connor had carried a lot of people during his career as a firefighter, but Olivia had to be the sweetest armful. Lowering his head, he breathed in her hair, and grinned. She smelled of smoke, of course.

Connor carried her to bed, managing to get her under the covers without completely waking her. He looked down at her, her face calm in sleep, without the pinched look she tended to carry. How long did she have here? No more than a couple of days, probably.

He hoped the insurance company dragged their feet.

* * *

Olivia woke to the scent of cooking breakfast. Sitting up, she frowned. What the hell… Oh, yeah. She’d fallen asleep. Connor had been talking to her as they’d left the park, and she’d closed her eyes for just a moment. Obviously, he’d carried her in here and covered her up. She still wore her jeans and the FD t-shirt, so she was thankful for that. Her prosthetic itched, though. She needed to get it off, clean it and let it air out.

Her cheeks heated as she thought about him carrying her again. Why was she always unconscious when he did it? One of these days maybe she’d be awake when he carried her, so she could enjoy the experience. Connor was a gentleman in every respect of the word, and she was a little ashamed that he kept having to take care of her.

Granted, she’d been through a lot, and concussions tended to cause lethargy, but still. Normally she was the hundred-pound dynamo, working double shifts, drinking coffee and coming back for more. This being on the mend crap was for the birds.

And her head was throbbing right now. Glancing toward the door, she spied her suitcase. Aw, he’d brought it up for her. Rolling out of bed, she crossed the room to swing it up onto the bed. Her own clothes… yes! Olivia dug an outfit out of the stacks and headed toward the shower. Luckily, the shower faucet had one of those removable heads, and she was able to scrub her stump and everything else she needed to. It was as she was lathering her hair that she realized the scent smelled like Connor. This wasn’t his shower, was it?

She hopped out of the shower and dried off, sitting on the toilet lid as she dried her stump sleeve with a blow dryer. It wasn’t the best way to do this, but it was what she was rolling with today.

Once dressed and the room picked up, she headed downstairs to breakfast. Connor grinned when he saw her, and her breath caught in her throat at the vibrancy of him. He was so… alive. His bright eyes glittered with humor, then darkened as they took her in. Knowing they were heading back to the festival, she’d taken some time with her hair and makeup, and that look he gave her… yeah, the time was totally worth it.

Why was she feeling so differently toward him than any other man? Yes, she got hit on all the time, and for the most part it was easy to shoot them down and move on. She had sex occasionally, but she didn’t live her life around it like most men did. Having the nomadic lifestyle she did promoted little closeness, either, she supposed.

“Have a seat. The food’s mostly ready. Coffee?”

“Yes, please,” she said, sinking down onto the bench of the long table. There were two place settings at the end, and it was cute. He’d plucked a single blue flower from somewhere, and it sat in a water glass, drooping.

Connor noticed her look and gave her a wince. “I came down and Lang had already set the table. He was being cute.”

Olivia grinned at him. “I don’t mind.”

She was kind of disappointed that he hadn’t been the one to set the table.

Connor had scrambled eggs and fried some sausage links. There was a fruit salad with mint that was to die for, and she kept going back to it. “This is wonderful. I miss real food when I’m on the road.”

“I would think that would be a lonely existence, going from job to job like that.”

Olivia sighed. “Yes, it can be, but it’s what I’m used to.”

“You were in the Army, right? Weren’t you used to working in a group?”

She smiled sadly. “Yes. I was. I was a part of one of the best surgical teams to be put together. Our success rate was incredibly high.”

Connor leaned toward her a little. “And you haven’t found a group you can work with stateside? Is that why you do the contract work?”

Yeah, he would have to be smart under all that shiny. “Among other things.”

She thought of working next to Baylee and Rex. They’d been like one being, knowing what the others needed before they voiced it. When you trained with a team as arduously as they had, it was hard to replace the camaraderie. “Imagine coming into work and realizing that the station house had burned down. About half of your people died, and everyone else was being sent to other cities around Texas. Suddenly, you get to learn all new people. All new equipment and rules. New management. In addition to recovering from the trauma of where and when you were. Sometimes it’s too much to adjust to. I have knowledge I need to use, but I need to have my freedom, too.”

Connor had stopped chewing, and he’d leaned in toward her, looking straight into her eyes. For that moment, it felt like he was looking into her soul, and she allowed him that. Why she was being so vulnerable with him, she had no idea, but she thought he could understand.

Reaching out, he rested one of his big hands over hers. “I’m sorry. I’m not criticizing in any way, just curious. You’re a beautiful, smart woman, and a good nurse. It’s hard to believe no one has snatched you up.”