Hot in the Saddle (Heroes in the Saddle Book 1) by Randi Alexander Page A

breath, he removed the net from the window and
reached inside the car anyway.
    Hot, blistering flames—his hands would be a mess, but he
could do this.
    Heat licked at his face, singeing his skin as his fingers
found the five-point harness release and pushed.
    Nothing. Had it melted shut?
    No, wait, this was a latch variety. He felt for the piece of
webbing that would release it, tugged on it…
    A click sounded and she was free.
    Treven grabbed the shoulders of her fire suit and pulled.
She was lighter than he’d imagined. At just a few inches shorter than his
five-foot ten inches, she’d been a strong-looking woman when he’d seen her
earlier in her yellow and blue fire suit. The one that curved over her nice
behind.
    He pulled his thoughts back from wherever the hell they’d
just gone and focused on tugging her out the window, into his arms, and keeping
her limp body from hitting the ground.
    Her helmet banged against his cheek as he pulled her higher
against his chest, spun, and ran as fast as he could. That gas tank could go
any second. Why hadn’t it already? And why was the interior of the car on fire
when the tank hadn’t gone up? And why hadn’t he at least paused before he’d
rushed in to save her to consider that he could be blown to his eternal reward?
    The firetruck reached the car, and half the firefighters
that jumped off came running his way with their med bags.
    Treven sank to the ground, his knees shaking, his breath
pumping as he eased Ms. Delta onto the seedling grass of the infield.
    With a jerk, her body came to life. She coughed and hauled
off her helmet, gasping in air and hacking it back out. “What…” More coughing
as she removed her fireproof hood. “What happened?”
    She looked up at Treven.
    What they said was true. She had one green eye and one blue
eye. “You’re safe.” He reached to take her pulse, but didn’t recognize the red,
blistered skin on his… Then the pain hit.
    ****
    Delta had seen this cowboy earlier, walking through the
pits. Those dark green eyes, auburn hair, spectacular jawline, and muscled body.
Now, his eyes widened in his smudged face, then his lids flickered and a
grimace distorted his mouth.
    “What is it?” She looked down at her fire suit, then caught
sight of his hands. Delta gasped and sat up, her world spinning for a second,
then settled as three men surrounded them.
    “Ma’am, lay back.” One guy touched her.
    “No, I’m fine.” She looked at the blond man with his hand on
her shoulder. Not in uniform, but carrying a red medic bag, he had to be a
firefighter. The man’s pale blue eyes shifted and a look of horror crossed his
face as he spotted the cowboy’s hands.
    How had he gotten so badly burned? “Please help him.” Delta
held her palms a few inches under the cowboy’s burned, shaking hands. “I don’t
know what to do to help him.”
    Loud shouts came from behind her and she looked back as
firefighters in full gear shot white propellant from nozzles attached to
canisters at flames blazing from the inside of her car. “Oh.” Everything made
sense now. She gazed at the cowboy’s hands.
    This man had saved her life.
    “Aw shit, Treven.” The blue-eyed, white-haired man grasped
the cowboy’s elbow and moved his arm to look at the damage on the other side.
“We need to get you to the hospital. Right now.”
    “I can drive him.” Delta scrambled to her knees just as the
firefighter gestured for the ambulance to pull closer. “Oh.” Her brain wasn’t
functioning at full speed.
    The cowboy looked at her, and gave a half smile. “No
offense, ma’am, but I’ve seen you drive. I’ll ride in the ambulance, if it’s
all the same to you.”
    She would laugh if the pain in his eyes wasn’t so terrible
to witness. The white-haired fireman helped the cowboy—Treven?—stand.
    The crowd went wild. “Someone bring me the name of that
hero,” the announcer called. “The man who saved Delta Pennington’s life.”
    Another