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BREAKING: ONE FIRE. ONE CARELESS ARTICLE. AND A SPARK NEITHER OF THEM IS QUALIFIED TO HANDLE.
Carlisle prides itself on being quietly respectable. Unfortunately, a breaking news reporter and a fire brigade watch manager have just made that considerably more combustible.Pippa
I have spent twenty years earning my place in the fire service. Same assessments. Same risks. Same decisions under pressure. So when a newspaper article about a farm fire leaves readers questioning whether I took charge quickly enough, I am not exactly delighted. Especially when the article also points out that I am the first female watch manager in the county.
I know how these things go. One careless line, one loaded quote, one little implication, and suddenly I am not just a professional doing her job. I am a debate. So when the Carlisle Gazette agrees to send the journalist responsible to shadow the station, I am not exactly thrilled. AJ Hodgson is tall, tired, annoyingly attractive, and far too good at looking sorry while still asking questions. He is here to learn what the job really involves. I am here to make sure he stays out of the way.
AJ
I thought I had written a fair article. Sharp, balanced, carefully phrased. Then I realised careful and harmless are not the same thing. Now I am spending two weeks at Fellside Fire Station, trading my newsroom desk for night shifts, hose drills, turnout gear, and a watch manager who can cut through my best excuses with one look.
Pippa Hart is sharp, capable, and absolutely not interested in being part of my redemption story. Which is fair. Unfortunately, she is also funny when she forgets not to be, terrifyingly competent under pressure, and increasingly difficult to keep out of my head. This assignment was supposed to teach me about firefighting. It was not supposed to make me want the woman whose trust I have not yet earned.
But between long shifts, dangerous call-outs, and the quiet moments after the alarms stop, lines start to blur. Because wanting each other is already complicated. Trusting each other might be harder. And in a job where everyone is watching, getting it wrong could burn more than either of them is ready to lose.
Fair warning: there’s a cheeky dose of adult content inside. Set in England and written in British English.