The Firefighter To Heal Her Heart

ANNIE O’NEIL spent most of her childhood with a leg draped over the family rocking chair and a book in her hand. Novels, baking, and writing too much teenage angst poetry ate up most of her youth. Now, quite a few years on from those fevered daydreams of being a poet, Annie splits her time between corralling her husband (and real-life Scottish hero) into helping her with their cows or scratching the backs of their rare breed pigs, and spending some very happy hours at her computer, writing. Find out more about Annie at her website: www.annieoneilbooks.com

The Firefighter to Heal Her Heart

Annie O’Neil

www.millsandboon.co.uk

MILLS & BOON

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Dear Reader,

First of all let me give you a big, fat, juicy thank you for reading my second book! I’ve been having an absolute blast, diving headfirst into the world of Mills & Boon® Medical Romance™, and will have to be dragged out kicking and screaming.

Writing this book was a no-brainer for me after The Surgeon’s Christmas Wish, as Liesel was a character who really stayed with me. I wanted to see what happened to her after she moved from America back to Australia—and lo and behold … romance ensues! And a quest for chocolate milkshakes. But I’m jumping the gun here …

Liesel’s story is set in an area where I picked grapes (!) during a backpacking trip I had in Australia. I had an absolutely amazing time there, and was impressed by how supportive all those small communities just outside of Adelaide are.

Many thanks to you again, and I hope you enjoy Liesel and Jack’s story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Have fun!

Annie O X

This book is first and foremost dedicated to all of those who volunteer for the South Australian Fire Service.

You are all heroes and heroines in my eyes.

I would also like to send a special nod (and a glass of wine) to my fabulous sister-in-law, who has been an incredible source of encouragement to me.

Lots of love to you, Kymberley.

Table of Contents

Cover

About the Author

Title Page

Dear Reader

Dedication

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

“SO, DO YOU think we should practice a tiger or a lion roar?”

Liesel was finding it difficult not to laugh as she knelt on the barnyard’s baked red earth, eye to eye with the tearful seven-year-old. This hadn’t turned out to be the farm visit Devlin had been dreaming of. Or her, for that matter. She’d been nabbed by a harried teacher to come along on the school farm visit as a “responsible adult.” The promise of some spring sunshine had won out over the nagging in her head about knuckling down to fill out the school’s immunization requirements. The “responsible adult” moniker had made her laugh at the time but now, as she kept Devlin still in the ominously named cattle crush, she knew her nurse’s credentials could come in handy.

How Devlin had managed to stick his head through the metal bars designed to keep cows restrained was beyond her. His penchant for showing off might have been the trouble. Now he was paying the price. All of the students had howled with laughter before being shuttled off to help feed the orphan lambs. The farmer, Mr. Jones, hadn’t been very quiet with his use of the word guillotine when he realized the CFS was going to have to be called. Thank goodness the word was unlikely to be in Devlin’s vocabulary. Yet.

If she could just cheer the gloomy-faced boy up a bit as they waited for a CFS crew to arrive, she was sure all would be well. The Country Fire Service dealt with car accidents all the time so would be used to extracting people from steel structures. The thought made her shiver. Blocking out the disturbing images, Liesel gave Devlin’s pitch-black crew cut a good scrub with her hand. “Not to worry, Dev, it could be worse. You could be stuck in here with a girl!”

She laughed as Devlin screwed up his young face at the idea of being that close to a girl.

“I could think of worse things.”

Liesel shaded her green eyes, squinting hard against the late-afternoon sun to see who was attached to the made-for-late-night-radio voice. Since she’d lost Eric, it took a lot to get her to respond to a man on a primal level—but the rich drawl she’d just heard sent a wave of shivery delight down her spine despite the heat of the day.

Her eyes worked fast to adjust to the glare—quickly turning the silhouetted six-foot-something male into a poster boy for South Australia’s volunteer fire service. A thick shock of sandy blond hair had become a sexy tousled by-product of the red helmet he was putting on the ground as he knelt beside her—a pair of bright blue eyes securely fixed on Devlin. Golden stubble outlined his well-defined face. She normally wasn’t a fan—but on this guy it looked more Rugged Bachelor than Unkempt Slob. Despite herself, her eyes swept down the golden hairs of his toned forearm and spied a ring-free hand. Not everyone wore a ring, but no ring was a pretty good indication …

“How long have you been caged up in here, mate?”

Devlin flicked his long-lashed eyes up to Liesel.

“Miss, it’s been about three hours, hasn’t it?”

Liesel threw her head back and laughed. “Hardly, Devlin—I think it’s closer to fifteen minutes.”

“All right, Dev—is it all right if I call you Dev? Or should I say Dare Devlin?” He paused for Devlin’s grin—a show of acceptance of the new nickname—and continued, “My name’s Jack and we’re going to get you out of here as soon as possible.” He turned, putting a hand on Liesel’s shoulder, lips parting to reveal a crooked smile. Uh-oh … that’s a knee-weakener.

“Is it all right if I call you Miss?” He laughed good-naturedly at her startled expression then stood up, putting a hand under Liesel’s elbow to help her to her feet as he rose.

Crikey. And he’s got manners.

“Miss is great.” She tried to force her lips into a casual smile as she silently raced through a quick-fire series of questions. Had her hair seen the right side of a brush recently? Had she unscrewed the lid on her mascara that morning? Then used it? Had her fair skin and freckles already had their daily allotment of sunshine? All too aware of the arrows of heat beginning to shoot across her cheeks, she grew wide-eyed as she spluttered on, “You can feel free to call me Liesel—I mean, Miss Adler. Or Nurse Adler. I’m the school nurse. Registered.”

For crying out loud—the man didn’t ask for your CV, Liesel!

Jack dropped a slow wink in her direction, simultaneously giving Devlin a soft chuck under the chin. “I think Miss Adler will do perfectly.”

Her heart did a quick-fire yo-yo trip across her rib cage as she dared to look up into his smiling eyes. They were an awfully nice shade of turquoise.

Wait a minute. Did her lashes just flutter? Get a hold of yourself, Liesel.

Her eyes dropped back to Devlin, who was looking up at her with a pained expression as he tried to wrangle himself free from his head-locked position.

Clenching her hands into tight fists, she shut her eyes. Just as suddenly as her heart had soared at Jack’s sexy wink, it plummeted with a painful twist. Here was this small boy she was supposed to be caring for and she was acting like a love-struck teen. Images of Eric flashed past her closed eyes.

Eric.

Her behavior had been disloyal to him—to his memory. She knew the day for moving on would come at some point—soon even—but this couldn’t be the moment. Could it?

“Miss Adler?”

“Yes, sorry.” Liesel forced her voice back to the soothing nurse tone she used with the children but kept her eyes fixed on her charge. “What do you need to do to get this little man free?”

Jack was going to have to give himself a ripper of a talking to when he got back to the station. He wasn’t here to flirt. Or wink, for that matter. Winking was reserved for little old ladies and four-year-olds who needed cheering up, not for cute-as-they-come school nurses. He wouldn’t mind running his fingers through a few of those corkscrew red curls of hers. From the shine glinting off of them, they’d feel about as soft as the dark green silk top she was wearing. She wasn’t even in a uniform, but his imagination could certainly fill in the— Whoa! Don’t even go there, Jack.

Ladies were meant to be off the radar, whether or not they were standing right in front of you looking as petite, cat-eyed and creamy-skinned as they came.

Jack heard himself clear his throat a bit too violently as he gathered equipment from the back of the crew truck.

Gear. Work. Much safer terrain.

He was here to help the little boy and from the looks of the heavy-gauge steel, he would need more than a bit of dishwashing soap to get him free. Poor kid. He wouldn’t be Dare Devlining for a while, from the mortified look on his face. He’d have to keep an eye on his progress and see if he’d be a candidate for the Country Fire Service cadets in a few years. With the right training, a spitfire youngster could very easily turn into a hero.

Come to think of it, their station could also do with some volunteer nurses on the force. He’d only been at the Murray Valley posting for a few weeks. His assignment was a Class A rescue mission. Its volunteer forces needed some bolstering. Big-time. The lads at the station had told him the school nurse had been someone’s granny up until recently so he hadn’t even thought of bringing the new one into the loop as regards the station. Now that he’d met Liesel?

Easy there, cowboy.

Then again, she was a nurse. He wondered if …

Focus, man.

Jack pushed himself back into action mode.

“I’m going to put some earplugs in your lugholes, all right, mate?” Jack knelt down by Devlin, feeling a little too aware of Liesel’s presence behind him. “This thing’s a bit loud. It’s called a hydraulic spreader. Basically a big set of automated pliers.” Devlin looked at him dubiously as he continued, “I’m going to pull these bars a couple of centimeters wider and unless you grow some more brains between now and then, you should be able to get that noggin of yours free and Mr. Jones can have his crush back for the cattle. What do you say to that?”

As Devlin’s forlorn face flooded with relief, Liesel felt herself choking back another giggle. This guy was good. He had such a relaxed way with Devlin that any fears she may have had about having to call the boy’s parents to explain to them that their son was going to have to spend the night in a barnyard vanished.

Thoughts of her own little boy flitted through her mind. She had imagined the moments he would have spent with his father countless times. Moments like this—well, not quite like this—watching Jack interact with Devlin tore at her heart.

It was still difficult reconciling the fact that her little Liam would not have a single memory of his father. Then again, she silently chastised herself, it wasn’t as if falling in love with a ski patroller had been a safe bet. Hazards had been a day-to-day reality with his job. As a trauma nurse in a ski medical clinic she had seen the aftermath of the daily dangers he’d faced.

And now? Now it was taking life day by day in a quiet country town. Her job as a school nurse wasn’t crisis free—but skinned knees and the odd sprain were safer territory. Better on her frayed nerves. Not to mention the fact that Liam got free childcare in the school crèche, making her nurse’s salary stretch a little bit further.

Surviving the past couple of years had worked by sticking to the day-by-day principle. Trauma centers, extreme sports, high-octane thrill-seeking? All relegated to a no-go zone. Winking, blue-eyed firemen certainly didn’t belong on the safe list.

“You might want to pop a pair of these in as well if you’re going to hold the little fella’s hand while I crank up the pliers.”

Startled, Liesel stared uncomprehendingly at the orange foam orbs Jack held in front of her. “Sorry! I was miles away.”

“No kidding.” His eyes held hers in a questioning gaze. Not accusative, just curious. “It wasn’t hard to miss.”

Telling him the truth wasn’t an option. Neither was acknowledging the tingles working their way up her arm after he’d handed her the earplugs. For crying out loud! She was behaving as if she’d never spoken to an attractive man before. For the first year after she’d lost Eric being with another man hadn’t even occurred to her. Nine months later it had all been about Liam. Now, three years later … Was this really going to be the day?

“I was just thinking about whether or not I should take a picture for his parents or if it’s best to just leave it to the imagination.”

Jack unleashed another relaxed smile as he bent to start the small generator for his pliers. “I think this is one best left to the imagination!” He signaled for her to put her earplugs in then checked Devlin’s were securely in place before pulling the cord on the generator. With one sharp tug it roared to life.

Curiosity overcame nerves as Liesel watched Jack pick up the enormous pair of pliers attached to the hydraulic hose. He indicated she should shield Devlin’s face with her hands as he slipped the pliers between the steel bars. In less than a minute the bars were gently pried apart and the little boy effortlessly pulled out his head, shooting out of the crush at high speed. Above the din she could hear him calling to the other students about his great escape.

Laughing, Liesel turned back to Jack, who was expertly returning the bars to their original position. If Mr. Jones hadn’t already seen Devlin’s shenanigans gone wrong, he would have never known they were there.

After snapping the generator off, the peaceful cadence of the countryside once again took over.

“Well, thank you so much.” Liesel resisted looking too deeply into the blue eyes trained on her. She was in serious danger of mooning. And swooning. She really needed to get a grip. “I’m sorry to have wasted your time on something that wasn’t a real emergency.”

“What?” Jack stepped back in mock horror. “That wasn’t a real emergency? I thought I’d got myself a humdinger of a job there.”

Despite herself, Liesel felt drawn to his easygoing nature. Never mind the man was gorgeous—he also seemed to inhabit an infectious sense of fun. She hadn’t felt carefree in—well, in a long time, and it was something she missed.

“You know what I mean.” She swatted at the air between them. “It wasn’t like it was a bushfire or a car crash.” She suddenly found herself unable to maintain eye contact. Firemen—especially men who volunteered to go into hazardous situations—were definitely in the no-go zone.

His voice turned serious. “Of course I do—but we take all of our callouts seriously and I, for one, would hate to think anyone would hesitate to call us if we could help.”

She looked up into those amazing blue eyes of his as if to confirm that the words he spoke were genuine.

“Truly,” he reiterated solidly, as though mind reading the few threads of doubt tugging at her conscience.

“Well, I know one little fellow who will be dining off your heroics for weeks.”

Jack leaned back against the cattle crush and nodded appraisingly at her. “So, you think I’m a hero, do you?”

A flush of heat rushed up her throat as he waited for her answer.

“Of course not! I mean, you definitely were to Devlin—”

Jack’s easy laughter stopped her inane flow of apologies.

“Don’t worry, Miss Adler. I’m always out for a free compliment if I can get one.” He tilted his head in her direction, capturing her attention with another one of those winks. Resist, Liesel. Resist.

“There is one way you can repay the Country Fire Service if you feel you owe us one.”

Liesel crooked her chin up at him, curiosity getting the better of her.

“Murray Valley needs more volunteers. Big-time. A nurse would be a great addition to our local crew.”

Liesel felt herself physically recoil from the suggestion.

Not a chance.

She didn’t do hazardous things anymore. Not with a son to look after. Not after the loss she’d suffered.

Jack knew in an instant he’d overstepped the mark. Her gentle, sunny personality vanished the moment he’d made his suggestion. There was definitely something painfully private she was keeping close to her chest. Fair enough. It wasn’t as if he didn’t have his own secrets. Secrets he kept to make his life easier, more honest. Or was that an oxymoron? Keeping secrets to stay honest.

“Liesel! Quit flirting with the handsome fireman,” a female voice called from across the farmyard. “We’ve got to get the kids back to school for pickup!”

Jack and Liesel instantly widened the space between them, staring stricken-faced in the direction of the voice. Liesel looked absolutely mortified and Jack hadn’t felt so caught out since he’d been found snogging the headmaster’s daughter behind the bike shed when he was thirteen. As if by design, he and Liesel simultaneously looked back at each other, saw their mutual expressions of dismay and immediately burst into unrestrained guffaws.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to look so disgusted! I mean, no—not disgusted.” He waved away the choice of words as if the gesture would erase them. “It’s not that you repel me or anything—”

“I think you’d better quit while you’re ahead!” Liesel laughed, wiping away invisible tears from her eyes. She threw a quick glance over her shoulder toward the growing hubbub of children. “I had better go.”

Jack felt a tug of resistance. So soon? “Right. Yeah, of course.” He stepped forward and offered a hand. “Nice doing business with you, Miss Adler.”

What a first-class dill!

Liesel’s green eyes flashed up at him, unsurprisingly bemused. He’d really gone in for the bad conversational hat trick. Nice doing business with you?

She slipped her petite hand into his and offered him a quick shake of thanks. The delicacy of her fingers instantly made him feel protective of her. Not his usual response to a woman. Normally he wanted to protect himself from whatever she might want from him. Time. Commitment. Less time at the fire station. Too much history in that department had made him wary. But this one, Miss Liesel Adler, something about her told him she wanted nothing more than to stand on her two feet.

“See you around.” Liesel threw the words in her wake as she accelerated her brisk walk into a jog to rejoin the group.

Jack watched her retreat round the corner toward the school bus and spoke to the empty barnyard. “I certainly hope so.”

It was all Liesel could do to keep the hot burn of embarrassment from her cheeks as she rejoined the group.

“Got an eye for a man in uniform, have you, you naughty thing?” Cassie Monroe—or Miss Monroe to the students—raised her eyebrows up and gave her lips a tell-me-more twist. Her friend and colleague didn’t do subtle.

“Hardly!” Liesel shot back at her colleague, a bit more spiritedly than she’d intended.

“Did you get his number?” Cassie continued, as if Liesel hadn’t said a thing.

Liesel sent her a meaningful glare. A glare that she hoped said, Stop talking right now!

“You’re going to see him again, right?”

Nope. Guess the glare hadn’t worked.

“I hardly think it’s appropriate—”

“Anything’s appropriate,” Cassie interrupted, “when you’re trying to get back on the horse again.”

“I’m not trying to get on anything—horsey or otherwise.” This conversation was definitely not going in the right direction.

“Liesel.” Cassie fixed her with a loving glare, hands planted on her shoulders. “It’s time to get back out there and you’re the only one who doesn’t know it.”

“Come along, children.” Liesel actively avoided responding. “Let’s start getting on the bus. Everyone sure they haven’t left anything behind? Rickie—have you got your backpack?”

She felt Cassie sidle up beside her and heard a whisper in her ear. “You’re not going to get away with the silent treatment this time, my dear.” She felt her arm receive a good solid pinch. “After school. Playground. I want details about the hot new fireman.”

Rubbing away the sting of Cassie’s pinch, Liesel couldn’t help but grin back at her friend. They had only known each other since the beginning of term, when Liesel had taken up her new contract. Cassie’s thirteen-year-old son appeared at the nurses’ station a bit too frequently—the only plus side being that the two women had become pretty well acquainted. A couple of girlie nights in, a few tips about where to shop, a detailed who’s who at the school and Cassie had already proved to be a great friend.

Liesel hadn’t known a soul out here in wine country and meeting a fellow single mum, even if Cassie’s son was much older than her own, had taken the edge off the anxiety she’d felt at making the decision to move away from her parents’ house in Adelaide.

In reality, there had been no other option. A disastrous fortnight at the city’s biggest A and E department had proved crisis management was no longer her forte. The other staff had known her situation and had hovered over her, making her feel more paranoid and edgy than confident and comfortable. The two-week tenure had culminated in a disastrous incident where she’d completely frozen over a patient with a gory chainsaw injury. Unacceptable. She’d fired herself before the bosses had had a chance to do it for her.

She’d made the move to Engleton and it just had to work. She didn’t have the energy, or the money, for more change. Small-town life and a job she could do without turning into a bundle of nerves were meant to put an end to chaos. To the memories. And maybe, just maybe, one day she and Liam would be more than a family of two.

In truth, she had been pleasantly surprised to discover her new posting as a school nurse was less calm and more “commotion” than she’d originally thought it might be. Mundane had been her goal but, as usual these days, she found she hadn’t quite made the right call. Apart from the requisite paperwork, it was great fun to spend time with the children, even if she interacted with most of them when they weren’t at their best.

She still had to force herself to take each case as it came, but the occasional heart-racer—a broken collarbone, a deep cut to the forehead, a pencil stabbed into an unsuspecting student’s arm—had all been little teasers reawakening the Liesel who’d spent over five years thriving off the high-stakes charge of saving lives. It was a life she thought she’d needed to lay to rest. But now she felt as though it was her personal mission to provide the children with a safe haven in the school. Everyone deserved that when they were in pain—to feel secure.