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Building their future
Charlotte Taylor isn’t good at playing it safe. Reeling from the sudden loss of her job and her beloved grandmother, Charlotte knows buying a dilapidated cottage in Gordon Falls isn’t exactly practical. Especially since she just hired the one man who may love the property more than she does to help renovate it. Volunteer firefighter and part-time contractor Jesse Sykes can’t stay mad at Charlotte for very long. Though she snatched up the home he’d planned on purchasing, Charlotte’s dreams are big enough for both of them…if only she’d let him in. Charlotte promised she’d never fall for a first responder, but is it already too late?
Gordon Falls: Hearts ablaze in a small town
“Exactly when did the stove catch on fire?”
The panicked blonde pushed back a lock of hair. “About five minutes after I turned it on. I was just trying to make tea.”
Why did he have to find out the cottage he’d intended to buy had been sold this way? He forced kindness into his tone. “Don’t ever hesitate to call on us, Charlotte. But why the sudden need for tea?”
She flushed. “I just signed the papers on the place today. I told Melba I just wanted to have a cup of tea on my new deck.”
“You’re Melba’s friend?”
Chief Bradens had mentioned his wife’s friend was buying a weekend cottage in town. Now, annoyed as he was, he’d have to be nice. A friend of the fire chief’s wife demanded special care. Jesse pulled a business card from his pants pocket. “I’m a licensed contractor. If you like, I’ll help you figure out what really needs work.” If he couldn’t have the house, maybe he could at least get the work.
She narrowed her eyes. “Why would you do that?”
“Because you’re a friend of the chief’s. Because I’m a nice guy.” Because I’m trying not to be a sore loser.
ALLIE PLEITER
Enthusiastic but slightly untidy mother of two, RITA® Award finalist Allie Pleiter writes both fiction and nonfiction. An avid knitter and unreformed chocoholic, she spends her days writing books, drinking coffee and finding new ways to avoid housework. Allie grew up in Connecticut, holds a B.S. in speech from Northwestern University and spent fifteen years in the field of professional fund-raising. She lives with her husband, children and a Havanese dog named Bella in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois.
Saved by the Fireman
Allie Pleiter
Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the guards stand watch in vain.
—Psalms 127:1
To Abbie
In faith that she’ll discover many wonderful directions
Contents
Charlotte Taylor sat in her boss’s office Friday morning and wondered where all the oxygen in Chicago had just gone.
“I’m sorry to let you go, Charlotte, I really am.” Alice Warren, Charlotte’s superior at Monarch Textiles, looked genuinely upset at having to deliver such news. “I know you just lost your grandmother, so I tried to put this off as long as I could.”
A layoff? Her? Charlotte felt the shock give way to a sickening recognition. She’d seen the financial statements; she’d written several of the sales reports. Sure, she was no analyst wiz, but she was smart enough to know Monarch wasn’t in great financial shape and a downsize was likely. She was also emotionally tied enough to Monarch and torn enough over losing Mima