TONY: Slow Burn (Raging Fire Book 1) by Kallypso Masters (the false prince TXT) 📕

with excellent feedback, corrections, and continued encouragement during the writing of the first draft of this first book in the Raging Fire Series. My appreciation to Trish Bordenkircher, Brenda Brandenstein, Davinia Capper, Suzanne Clemons, Meredith Fenley, Dana Garland, Darlene Good, Reanna Hanley, Hollie, Mary Hollingsead, Polli Lenning, Carolyn Nunley, Regina Peppers, and Marie Rivera. Whether you were giving me feedback on an installment or simply cheering me on, your comments were greatly appreciated!

Author’s Note

As with my other series, the Raging Fire series will deal with a lot of the stresses and tragedies associated with the firefighting community.

One of the resources I’ll be making use of regularly while writing about these four firefighters and their spouses is the book Challenges of the Firefighter Marriage, by Anne and Mike Gagliano. Mike is a longtime firefighter and the two have been married for several decades, so they know what they are writing about! I highly recommend it to all of the firefighters and firefighter spouses reading this series!

And firefighter spouse Patryce Cornett also recommends reading Honor and Commitment: Standard Life Operating Guidelines for Firefighters and their Families, by Lori Mercer, founder of 24-7 Commitment (honorandcommitment.com). She also provided the following websites for firefighters and their family members who might want or need additional resources:

Firefighter Wife—Because your Heart Belongs to a Hero (firefighterwife.com)

Fire Dept. Family (firedeptfamily.com) has a number of helpful articles and tips for fire service families.

Fully Involved Life (fullyinvolvedlife.com) offers all first responders and their families crisis intervention, critical debriefings, classes, and other resources for PTSD, EMDR, Peer Support, and Education & Training.

I’ve also listened to a number of podcasts hosted by firefighters or focusing on the fire service that have helped me gain an understanding of the firefighting brotherhood and sisterhood. The ones that have helped immeasurably are: Code 3: The Firefighters Podcast, Firefighter Training Podcast, Fire Engineering, and Firefighters Toolbox. Hearing firefighters talking about their experiences and offering ideas to improve training and experiences on the fire ground have also sparked ideas for scenes in this series.

Chapter One

“Okay, single gentlemen,” the emcee announced, “gather on the dance floor. You’re next!”

The reception at the swanky D’Alessio family resort in Aspen had been going strong for hours. Maybe things would start winding down now that Marc D’Alessio had removed Angelina’s garter, and the bouquet had already been tossed. Wedding rituals made Tony Giardano as nervous as a firefighter trying to get off a roof about to collapse.

At least all four firefighter brothers had been able to switch shifts at the two different stations where they worked in order to attend the wedding and reception. Watching their little sister tie the knot was way too important an occasion to miss.

But Tony didn’t intend to be the only one of his brothers heading back onto that dance floor. All four had been there a few minutes ago putting up a token line of defense in front of their baby sister to give Marc a hard time getting to her in order to remove her garter. Unfortunately, Rafe had instructed them ahead of time not to hurt Marc, so that hadn’t been as much fun as he’d hoped it would be. Judging by the cuts and bruises on both their faces, Rafe and their new brother-in-law had gotten into it sometime between the rehearsal dinner and the wedding ceremony—not that Tony was privy to that altercation.

Tony grabbed his next older brother by the sleeve. “Your name’s all over that garter, Matt. Come on.”

“No way. I don’t want to be cursed by that thing.”

“Don’t you envy our baby sister’s bliss even a little bit?”

“Hell, no! I’m good. The bachelor life suits me just fine. Besides, I might as well be married to my horses and the department. No time or money to spare for a love life.”

Tony shook his head and shifted his gaze to where Franco sat huddled deep in conversation with Rico Donati. Both seemed equally determined to avoid the garter toss. The two had been good friends in high school and college. After Papa’s accident, though, Franco had moved to Leadville and spent two years in fire-safety training. With the distance and the time apart, they’d apparently lost touch. Come to think of it, Franco didn’t socialize these days with anyone but family when he visited Aspen Corners. But last night’s rehearsal dinner in Rico’s bar must have given them a chance to start catching up.

That only left Rafe to join him in nabbing the garter, but his oldest brother was glaring at Mama’s plus one who was taking his place with some of the other bachelors on the dance floor. Paul Janowski, the newest battalion chief in one of Breckenridge’s fire protection districts, had earned Rafe’s ire after winning that position over Rafe last fall.

When Mama started dating Janowski, a man six years her junior, around New Year’s, the friction between the two men heated up again.

Tony wasn’t sure he liked the guy hanging around Mama that much, either, but didn’t plan on doing anything about it. Seeing happiness shining in Mama’s eyes again definitely had everything to do with Paul. Papa had been gone for more than nine years, and Mama was too young to spend the remainder of her days as a grieving widow. If the man brought her some joy, well, Tony didn’t want that to come to an end.

As Rafe headed to the bar in the corner of the ballroom, Tony shook his head. Apparently, he would be the only Giardano brother stepping up to the plate for this garter tossing thing.

While Tony wasn’t looking to get married, he was ready for this reception to be over. There was only so much wedding a bachelor could stand. At twenty-nine, he had plenty of years before he’d have to think about starting a family, if he ever found the right woman. But he was the youngest brother and none of his brothers seemed in any hurry to carry on the family name. Why should he be?

But