The Firefighter's Christmas Reunion. Christy Jeffries

notice Isaac’s approach.

      “Everything okay over here?” His voice came from behind her and Hannah fumbled the clipboard in her hand. That was the second time he’d startled her to the point of making her drop something. She clenched her teeth together as she bent down to retrieve it.

      “Just a little blister,” Nurse Dunn replied. “After twenty-eight years on the job, I could bandage these things in my sleep.”

      Rising, Hannah’s gaze traveled up the defined lines of Isaac’s toned, bare legs, past his blue running shorts and stopped when it got to his snug fire department tee. Her face heated at the memory of him jogging most summer mornings without a shirt, and Hannah was both thankful and slightly disappointed that they were at a school-sponsored function today and he was properly clothed. While he’d been lean and muscular back then, she could tell through the damp cotton covering his torso that he’d bulked up since high school and his body was even more impressive now.

      Her mouth went dry and she tried to remind herself that good looks were just one more thing that came easy to Isaac. He’d always excelled at everything. Except getting her.

      He’d actually had to put some effort into that, spending the entire summer after eleventh grade showing up wherever Hannah was, offering her rides and friendship and a connection that she hadn’t been able to form with anyone else in Sugar Falls. They’d emailed each other during their senior year of school, and the next June, when they both returned to Sugar Falls, they’d been inseparable. Right up to that night in the boatshed when she’d freely given him her virginity.

      Then, the very next day, he’d gone back to being the rich guy with the ski boat, not even picking her up for the Labor Day bonfire because he was too busy teaching several girls how to wakeboard.

      “I think I’m going to see if they need more water at the refreshment station,” Hannah mumbled as she commanded her feet to move, trying to get far away from Isaac. Far away from his sexy, deep voice that still sent blasts of heat all the way down to her toes.

      Whoa. She really could use a cold drink right about now to cool her down. Unfortunately, as she approached the other pop-up tent near the bleachers, she overheard someone else talking about adoption, and this time it wasn’t as well-meaning as Nurse Dunn’s comment.