He wants to save her… and make her his.

Kent is a widower and fights fires like he has nothing to lose.
He knows he’ll never find love again and he doesn’t even want to try. But when the new recruit is hired at the fire station, she’s brave, determined and beautiful, and may just change his mind.

Ava is a firewoman with something to prove. She knows she can do this, even though her family doesn't.
She thinks Kent is too controlling. But he just wants to protect her.

These two are lighting a flame, but are they going to let it burn?

Cherry Falls is filled with returning characters and iconic destinations that will begin to feel like family. When you leave the city, and drive into Cherry Falls, it’s like you’ve finally come home. The cherry on top? Each book delivers a swoon-worthy, high heat romance! So welcome to Cherry Falls, we hope you stay awhile!

Chapter 1

KENT

I pull in with my truck and stare through
the front windshield at the Cherry Falls Firehouse. The place is technically my
second home, especially the last few years. I don’t know what I would’ve done
if I didn’t have the station and all my brothers.

I get out and pocket
my keys and can’t help but notice that Andrew and Porter are obviously up to
their same ole antics. Usually, I just bypass them and let them have their fun,
but today I stop next to Porter. “Andrew challenge the new guy?”

Porter looks up at
me, and it’s obvious he’s up to something with the smirk on his face. “Yeah,
something like that. We have to break Catlett in the right way.”

I shake my head, and
instantly Porter throws his hands up. “What? Y’all did that to us when we
started.”

I nod in agreement.
He’s right. Anytime there’s a new person, there’s always a challenge. Not a
hazing or anything, but definitely an obstacle challenge. Bascially, just a way
to break in the new kid.

Porter puts his
hands on his hips. “Yeah, Catlett bet a whole month of cleanup.”

“He’s smart at
least. He didn’t take the challenge for just for show.”

Porter nods.

I cross my arms over
my chest. “Did you tell him that Andrew is the reigning champion? No one has
beat him on the course yet?”

Porter starts
laughing and throws his head back. “No!”

I roll my eyes. Poor
kid, he’s new and not only will have to do his own cleanup, he’ll have to do
Andrew’s too. Tough break.

Porter grabs the
microphone off the truck behind us. “Ready?”

From across the
yard, first Andrew and then Catlett give a thumbs up. Porter giggles like a
schoolgirl and mumbles to me, “Man, this is going to be good.” He puts his
mouth to the megaphone. “On the count of three. One. Two. Three.”

They both take off,
and I’m instantly surprised when Catlett takes off and is several feet ahead of
Andrew. I follow them both as they run in their full gear. They climb the
ladder and repel off the other side. Catlett pulls even farther ahead when he
starts flipping the tire across the lot. Once there, he grabs the two hundred
pound dummy –Andrew has the one hundred fifty pound dummy – and they both drag
them back across the parking lot. Soon they’re both running full speed toward
Porter and me, and all we can do is stand there in shock. Andrew is about to
lose his title. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own two
eyes. Andrew trains every day; he has the schedule of an elite athlete.

When Catlett stops
in front of us, he bends over as if trying to catch his breath, and mere
seconds later, Andrew stops too. Porter is shocked and seems to be embarrassed.
I pat Catlett on the back. “Good job. Welcome aboard.”

Catlett stands up
and pulls the helmet off his head, giving me another shock. Catlett isn’t a
man... Catlett’s a woman.

“Uh...” I stammer.

The woman is
beaming. I can’t look away. Her hair is sweaty, and even in the ponytail
holder, it’s still going in every direction with loose blond hairs falling from
the band. She has the brightest blue eyes I’ve ever seen, and the way she’s
smiling, it’s showing off her full pink lips. She’s breathtaking... and I need
to look away, but I can’t. “You beat Andrew,” I say, and not until the words
are out do I realize how dumb that sounds. “I mean, congratulations.”

The woman pulls her
gloves off and holds her hand out. “Hi. I’m Ava Catlett.”

I look at her small
hand with the pink tips. Don’t do it, Graves, I tell
myself. But I don’t listen. I reach out and wrap my hand around hers. “Kent.
Kent Graves,” I say almost huskily. The difference is obvious between the two
of us. I’m big, dark, and rough. She’s petite, light, and soft. I release her
hand, and for the first time, I notice Porter and Andrew staring between Ava
and me. Fuck.

I address Andrew
first. “Is this what you thought you should be doing with your time? I’m sure
there’s plenty to be done on any one of the trucks or the gear inside to be
ready for the next call. Instead you’re out here goofing off.”

Andrew turns red and
nods his head before walking away with a still smiling Porter behind him. Yeah,
Andrew’s definitely not going to live this down. I should feel guilty for
bossing them around, but I don’t. I’ve been at the station way longer than the two
of them, and even though I’m not a higher-ranked fireman, people still listen
when I say what to do. Plus, if my life hadn’t been so fucked up, I would have
taken the many promotions that have been offered to me.

Lost in thought, I
realize that Ava is still looking at me. Her lashes flutter on her cheeks when
I look at her, as if she doesn’t want me to know she was watching me. I need to
nip this in the bud. Yes, she’s attractive. Yes, I’ve not felt an attraction
like this in a long time, but there’s no way I’m going to act on it. “And
you... did you really think this is the best way to spend your first day on the
job? Get to work.”

She looks stunned
for a minute, and I almost take back my stern order. Almost. Until she juts out
her chin and purses her lips. “Yeah, it was nice to meet you too.”

She walks off, and I
tilt my head to the side as I watch her ass shake side to side. I watch her the
whole way until she disappears through the big open doors of the firehouse. I
fist my hands at my sides, instantly mad at the world. This is not going to
fuckin’ work.

Before I can talk
myself out of it, I storm inside and go straight toward the chief’s office. I
knock under the plaque that says Chief Miles Malone.
The chief barely gets out the words come in and I’m
barreling through the door and shutting it behind me.

“Hey Kent.” He
watches me as I sit in the chair on the other side of his desk. “What’s wrong?”

The fact he knows
something is wrong is sort of messed up. I’m not a smiling, happy-go-lucky kind
of guy. I’m firm, reserved, and don’t say a lot. So how he knows there’s
something wrong is beyond me. “Are you trying to get us all killed?”

He leans back in his
chair with his hands on the armrests. “Explain yourself.”

“Ava Catlett,” I
say, as if just her name is explanation enough.

The chief flutters
his hand as if he wants me to go on and he doesn’t understand. “Have you seen
her? She’s small. We need to be able to trust the people we work with,
especially in this line of work.”

“She’s small
compared to you and some of the other guys here, but she’s passed all the
training required. Perfect score, actually.”

I shake my head,
disgusted. “You know those tests don’t prepare you for the real thing. You need
real life experience.”

The chief interrupts
me. “And she has it. Her grandfather was a fireman. Her father is the fire
chief in Syn City. Her brothers are firemen. She passed top of her class, she
worked the largest division in the city. She’s proven herself. You need to give
her a chance. Just like you did for Porter and Andrew when they first came.”

“If her whole damn
family is on the force in Syn City, then why isn’t she there? What is she doing
in Cherry Falls? That should be a red flag right there.”

The chief leans
forward, tilts his head, and stares at me. I can feel his stare and start to
get uncomfortable. I stand up and start pacing the room. Neither one of us says
anything until the chief breaks the silence. “I don’t think you’re worried
about Ava’s capabilities. I think it’s something else.”

I deny it. I don’t
look at him, but I deny what he’s suggesting. “No, that’s not it at all.”

“You just met her,
Kent, and already you’re feeling this strongly about her. What’s really going
on?”

I keep pacing. Fuck,
what do I say? I can’t tell him that my dick came to life today for the first
time in three years. I’ve felt nothing for a woman in all that time, and one
look from Ava’s blue eyes has me acting like a fuckin’ crazy man with a hard dick
that I can’t control. “Nothing,” I mutter.

“It’s okay to move
on, Kent. It’s time... it’s okay.”

My heart is racing,
my palms are sweaty, and I suddenly feel sick to my stomach. “I have to get to
work,” I tell him right before I slam out of his office. Fuck this, I’m going
to the gym upstairs, take out my frustrations there.