Mr. January Read online

  Mr. January

  Heroes of Rogue Valley: The Calendar Guys

  Book One

  Ann Roth

  Copyright © 2015 Ann Roth

  Kindle Edition

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this ebook with other people, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you are reading this ebook and did not purchase it, or if it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy.

  Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  All characters in this book are fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  © Covers by Rogenna sweettoheat.blogspot.com

  Formatting by BB eBooks: bbebooksthailand.com

  With special thanks to John Burrow, Northshore Fire Department, and Greg Case, Ashland Fire & Rescue. Any errors or mistakes are mine.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  About the Book

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Author’s Note

  Excerpt from Mr. February

  Senior Firefighter Adam Healey is a man with a mission: get promoted to lieutenant at the Guff’s Lake Fire Department. It’s time, but more important, the promotion will finally earn him the respect of his dying father. Single mom Samantha Everett’s deadbeat ex has left her to fend for herself, and she’s working hard to support her young son with her baking business. Neither Adam nor Samantha is looking for a relationship. But love has a way of surprising people…

  Mr. January–Adam Healey

  Age 30, 6’ tall, 185 pounds

  Single

  Proud Senior Firefighter

  Time with Guff’s Lake Fire Department: 9 years

  Chapter One

  ‡

  At the ungodly hour of five-forty-five a.m., Samantha Everett pulled into the delivery slot at Rosemary’s Breakfast Nook. In the dark, the twin beams of the hatchback’s headlights spotlighted the swirling snow. Well, it was early January in the Rogue Valley.

  “Please don’t stick,” she muttered under her breath, dreading the thought of putting on the tire chains.

  Although so far, she hadn’t needed them. When she’d moved to Guff’s Lake six months earlier, locals had assured her that the usual winter temperatures tended to hover above freezing.

  So different from the bone-chilling cold and frequent snowstorms in Enterprise.

  “Look, Mom! Snow!” William chimed from the backseat.

  At five, most everything delighted him—even at this hour. His joy was contagious, and Samantha’s irritation dissipated like smoke. “I see it.”

  “Let me out.” He unbuckled his car seat straps and bounced in anticipation for her to open the door.

  Yawning—thanks to only five hours’ sleep—Samantha exited the car. The building’s perimeter lights cast long shadows across the nearly vacant concrete lot, a large area shared by several businesses. The few cars here belonged to Rosemary, the cook, and wait staff. Rosemary’s Breakfast Nook served the best breakfast in town, and snow or none, when the café opened at six, business would be brisk.

  Despite the relative stillness, it was best to be safe. “Hold onto my coat,” she directed.

  Her itching-to-be-independent son grumbled but obeyed. Samantha opened the hatchback and jockeyed a dolly cart to the pavement. William helped her unfold it. Then she carefully loaded it with today’s order. Eight dozen still-warm cinnamon rolls, and six dozen each assorted muffins and scones. Her biggest order to date would net her more money than she’d ever earned as a baker in Enterprise.

  Rosemary wouldn’t pay her until a week from Friday, but Samantha had already divided and earmarked every penny. Groceries and other household expenses, bakery supplies, and the savings account for attorney fees.

  To date, Jeff had ignored every one of the financial and custodial obligations spelled out in the divorce decree. Not one penny of child support or money for the debts he’d saddled her with, and not one request to see his son. Good riddance!

  After all this time, Samantha doubted she’d ever hear from Jeff. She didn’t need an attorney right now, but Betty Randall, her grandmotherly neighbor, believed that she did. Just in case. The woman had been so insistent Samantha lost sleep over it. Mainly because Betty gave sound advice, unlike the unsolicited guidance from Samantha’s parents.

  William helped push the dolly toward the delivery entrance. As always, the door was unlocked for her, and easy to shoulder open and back through. Pausing inside the door, she brushed the snow off her son’s parka and hat and then took care of her own coat.

  The warmth, the fragrant aroma of freshly brewing coffee, and the haze from the sizzling vat of oil greeted her. A fragrant, smoky scent filled the air, and Samantha’s mouth watered.

  “Good morning,” she greeted Rosemary and her longtime boyfriend and cook, José.

  Round and perpetually cheerful, the forty-something restaurant owner greeted Samantha and William with her usual toothy smile. “Good morning.” She winked at William. “How are you, sunshine?”

  His small brow furrowed. “My name is William Tyler Everett Jones.” Samantha had changed her last name back to Everett but had left her son’s name intact.

  From the time he’d first formed sentences, he’d insisted that everyone use his given name.

  “I know that, darlin’, but seeing you always make me smile, and a true smile is as warm as the sunshine,” Rosemary said. “Do you two have time for breakfast this morning?”

  “Say yes, Mom.” William gave Samantha the round-eyed, pleading look she’d never been able to resist.

  Guff’s Lake Bed & Breakfast, her only other paying client so far, didn’t expect her until seven, and William’s half-day kindergarten wouldn’t start for several hours yet. She ought to use the time on housework—keeping the kitchen spotless was a constant chore.

  But she really could use another cup of coffee and something to eat besides the bowl of cold cereal waiting for her at home.

  “We’d love to have breakfast here,” she said. “Can I put in an order for José’s hash browns?”

  José chuckled. “You bet. Bacon and eggs, too?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “And cocoa?” William asked, going all round-eyed again.

  Rosemary nodded. “I’ll bring it with your breakfast.”

  As she filled a coffee mug for Samantha, Jana, a waitress and Samantha’s best friend, entered the kitchen through the restaurant’s swinging doors.

  “I thought I heard you in here. Can you believe it’s snowing? I’ll bet you love that, William. Let’s get the case loaded.”

  Samantha wheeled the dolly to the counter
out front, where bright walls and colorful posters added a homey, cheerful feel to the restaurant. She and William kept Jana company while she arranged Samantha’s baked goods in the case and placed the printed Treats by Samantha sign in plain view. What didn’t fit stayed in the delivery boxes for restocking the case until the restaurant closed at one.

  Rosemary inspected the finished display with a satisfied nod. “You and William go on and make yourselves at home,” she told Samantha. “I’ll bring your food out shortly.”

  Samantha let her son choose where to sit. He led her to his favorite spot, a booth in front of the big picture window that faced the door. With the restaurant minutes from opening, Jana and the three other servers bustled around, seeing to last-minute details. Then one of the waitresses unlocked the door and welcomed in the morning’s first customers.

  Moments later, Rosemary delivered breakfast to Samantha and William. While Samantha enjoyed her food and coffee, her son chattered nonstop. During recess at Guff’s Lake Elementary, the school he proudly called his own, he would have a snowball fight and build a snowman with Douglas and Harper, his two best friends.

  Customers steadily streamed in to eat at the restaurant or collect their breakfast and morning coffee to go, some alone, others in groups. The almost twenty thousand Guff’s Lake residents tended to be a friendly bunch, and even the people Samantha didn’t recognize greeted her with nods and smiles.

  Sipping a second cup of coffee and staring out the window with relief as the snow let up, she watched an orange 4Runner pull into the lot. A solid-looking male slid out of the driver’s seat. Dressed in a leather bomber jacket, jeans, and a baseball cap, he wore a cast on one foot and a sling on his arm. A backpack swung from the other shoulder. Even with his arm injury and hobbling gait, he managed to move with a purposeful stride that for some reason reminded her of a big, sleek jungle cat. A tiger or a puma came to mind.

  The sky had lightened a fraction, and between the approaching dawn and the perimeter lights, she easily made out his face.

  And on, what a face. The broad forehead, strong chin, and straight nose only added to his overall attractiveness. With a jolt of awareness, she recognized him. Adam Healey, aka Mr. January in the Guff’s Lake Fire Department calendar that had come out last month, just in time for Christmas, as part of an ongoing fund-raising drive for the fire department’s Benefit Fund.

  The calendar featured twelve of the most gorgeous men Samantha had ever laid eyes on, and listed fascinating information, including height, weight, and marital status. She recalled that Adam was single.

  Every female in town, along with a host of men and all the businesses, had purchased calendars. Here at Rosemary’s Breakfast Nook, the calendar hung behind the display case, where it prominently displayed the January photo of Adam, grinning and posing shirtless in his firefighter hat under a deep blue sky. In the background, the snowy Siskiyou Mountains. Samantha glanced at it and blew out an admiring sigh.

  Everyone knew that the guys from the Guff’s Lake Fire Department hung out here, the station a mere two blocks away. Samantha came and went before any of them wandered in for coffee and breakfast. But today…

  Adam must have sensed her staring at him, for his gaze met hers through the window. Embarrassed, she turned her attention to William.

  “—read more Charlotte’s Web to us today,” he said, still chattering about his kindergarten class.

  “That’s such a great book,” she replied.

  The door opened, and a gust of cold air rushed in. But the man who shut it behind him sucked the chill right out of the room.

  Adam’s eyes were still riveted on her. She couldn’t seem to tear her glance away, either. Up this close, his pale-blue eyes were even more striking than they were in the calendar photo. The color of the sky just before the sun rose.

  It had been a while since a man turned her head, and she wasn’t sure she liked that fluttery feeling of attraction. She’d moved here to escape Enterprise and the past and start fresh, and for the first time in over three years, she was happy. Between taking care of William and supporting them with her baked goods business, socializing with friends and a weekly knitting class, her life was filled to the brim. She didn’t have time to look at a man, let alone date.

  Or so she assured herself.

  Ready to leave, she pushed to her feet and stacked her breakfast dishes to make life easier for Jana. Her friend sashayed toward Adam with her hips swaying and a longing look on her face.

  She was dating someone, but she wasn’t blind. By the similar expressions the two other waitresses wore, they were just as smitten. So were the other women in the café who checked Adam out with approval.

  “Hey there, Adam,” Jana said with a flirty smile. “I didn’t expect to see you this early in the morning. How are that wrist and ankle?”

  “Getting better every day.”

  “Adam!” Rosemary bustled over with a grin on her face. “You’re just in time to meet Samantha Everett, the bakery goddess behind Samantha’s Treats, the goodies that bring you back every morning. Adam’s a huge fan,” she told Samantha.

  “That’s right. Hey.” He touched the bill of his hat.

  He was a big man, a good six inches taller than Samantha and powerfully built. Even wearing ankle boots that added two inches to her five-feet-six-inch height, she felt small.

  “Hi,” she answered, cupping her empty mug to her chest. As if it could deflect the mesmerizing warmth in his eyes.

  “William, this is Adam Healey,” Rosemary continued. “He’s a firefighter.”

  “For real?” Her son looked starstruck.

  “How you doing, sport?” Adam asked.

  “My name is William Tyler Everett.”

  “That’s quite a mouthful. Mind if I call you sport?”

  “Okay.”

  This was a first, and surprised Samantha.

  Adam sniffed. “I smell smoke.”

  Right then, a waitress hurried out of the kitchen balancing several plates. Wisps of smoke followed her. The smoke alarm screeched, and people stopped eating.

  “Everyone, clear out,” Adam ordered in a booming voice. “Keep an eye on this.” He handed his backpack to Samantha. On his way to the kitchen he pulled his arm from the sling, whipped out his phone and made a call.

  “What’s that noise, and where is he going, Mom?” William asked as he and Samantha donned their coats and headed toward the door.

  “To see what set the smoke detector off.”

  “Why can’t we go with him?”

  “We don’t want to get in the way. Besides, we need to get going.” But she had Adam’s backpack and she’d left her dolly behind the display case.

  She would have handed the backpack to someone and come back later for the dolly, but her son dug in his heels. “I want to wait and see what happens,” he said, his breath clouding in the cold.

  His jaw set, reminding her of Jeff when they were still married. Before he’d walked away from her and William, just days before her twenty-seventh birthday. The last time William had seen his father, he’d been all of twenty-six months old. Yet somehow, he’d picked up that stubborn look.

  Getting him into the car without a battle wouldn’t be easy, and Samantha didn’t have the energy for an argument. With a sigh, she nodded and waited out front with the other restaurant patrons.

  *

  A burner had caught fire, and thick smoke rapidly filled the kitchen. Adam grabbed the fire extinguisher and went to work. In seconds, he had the thing out.

  “Open the back door and get some fresh air in here,” he directed.

  Rosemary complied, and José swiped his brow. “That was close. I shouldn’t have set that towel so close to the flames. It won’t happen again.”

  Adam nodded. “Hang on while I call the station.” He made the call then disconnected. “They’re coming anyway. It’s what we do.”

  His sprained wrist hurt like hell. Should’ve been more careful when he’d heft
ed the extinguisher. But his focus had been on putting out the fire before something really bad happened, and he’d forgotten to think about himself.

  He started to massage it, winced, and slipped it into the sling. With any luck, it would continue to mend, and he could start light duty next week. Eight hours a day, five days a week, doing filing and other administrative work. Not his job of choice. He preferred working a pair of back-to-back, twenty-four-hour shifts, fighting fires, or serving as a paramedic. Still, light duty beat sitting at home, twiddling his thumbs, and trying to study. The two weeks he’d just suffered through was more than enough time off.

  “When did you last have a fire and life safety training refresher?” he asked Rosemary.

  “I’m not sure. Maybe a year? Do you remember, José?”

  “I’d say more like two.”

  This year, Nate was in charge of safety training, and Adam made a mental note to let him know to schedule something here. For all he knew, Nate might be on the engine today. Since Adam had been forced to take disability leave, he’d lost track of who did what this month.

  “Let’s get this mess cleaned up and go back to work,” Rosemary said.

  José nodded. “I’ll toss everything I was cooking, and we’ll start over.”

  “I’ll let our customers know,” Rosemary said. “Adam, how about coffee and a treat on the house?”

  He couldn’t argue with that. “A scone and an espresso sound good. Make it a double. I need the extra caffeine. This studying is a real bear.”

  Rosemary frowned. “What are you studying for?”

  “The exam I need to pass so that I can get promoted to lieutenant.” The next rung up from senior firefighter and one rank below captain. Adam already knew a lot of what he needed for the job, but the class he’d enrolled in focused on management skills, which he didn’t have. He’d made it more than halfway through the sixteen-week course, but there was still a lot to learn before the written test in late February. The class and the studying were rougher than he’d expected.

  He returned to the restaurant and watched the diners file inside again.