Hotshots (Wildfires Book 1) by Jana Leigh, Lynn Ray Lewis

could think of when she landed the copter and smiled at her godfather. He had put her through the paces and she knew she did well.
    “Good job, girly!” Jeb said with a grin.
    “Thanks,” she said softly and then she bit her lip and looked out the front windshield. She wanted to ask him a question but she wasn’t sure how the hell to bring it up.
    “What?” Jeb asked softly and she turned and smiled at him. She should have known she didn’t have to say anything, he would know something was bothering her; he always knew when something was bothering her. It had been that way since she was small. Jeb and she had a special relationship, mostly because her father always made sure that Jeb was available when he was gone.
    “The day Dad died,” she started and, Jeb growled and turned to her and interrupted.
    “I know what you are going to say. I have been waiting for someone to say something to you about it.” Jeb sighed and ran a hand over his face. “Your father knew what he was doing, he also took risks, some of them were dangerous. Up until that day, all of them worked, and he saved lives. I guess what I am trying to say is that it is in the past. Your father was the best at what he did, he did everything in his power to save people. In the moment, none of us but the one who was sitting in the pilot’s seat can say a damn thing about what happened. Be proud of your father, just let the other shit go.”
    Jez frowned and opened her mouth to say something but she could have saved her breath. Jeb opened the door and jumped out of the cockpit before she had a chance to respond. Shit, she really wanted to talk about that to Jeb. Since Nix had brought it up, it bothered her. What had he been talking about when it came to her father? Had he made a mistake? From what Jeb said it could go either way, of course, now she had more questions than answers. Fuck it all if she could let it go.
    Jez walked into the large headquarters center that was set up for their crew. It held all the latest technology used to help aid in fighting fires. She skimmed the room though looking for Gibson, he would tell her the facts.
    Gibson was one of her father’s best friends, aside from Jeb, he was probably the closest thing to a best friend Stryker had. Jeb was always number one with her father, but if there could be such a thing as a number two best friend, Gibson would be that guy. In fact, if she remembered correctly, the last year of her father’s life, she would say that Gibs was seen more often than Jeb had been.
    She spied the computer wizard sitting on the edge of the desk of a pretty woman wearing a frilly white blouse and a wide smile on her face as she listened attentively to whatever he was saying. The woman that came toward her was shaking her head and rolling her eyes at the two in the corner.
    When Jez offered her a friendly smile and her hand in greeting, she smiled back and shook hands briefly before asking “I’m Quinn, what can we do for you today.”
    Jez pointed to the corner and said in a fairly loud tone, “I came to see Gibson, but if he is too busy to talk to me today, I can always come back another time.”
    Quinn grinned at her and matched her tone. “Well I don’t know, he has been perched on that desk for almost an hour, I’m not sure I can interrupt such an intense meeting, but I will see if he has a minute to see you.”
    By the time the words had left her mouth, she had to draw back while the bear of a man grabbed Jez and swung her around in a circle, smiling all the while. She was still grinning as she went back to her computer.
    Jez was laughing before he set her back on her feet. “Hey, I missed you, and figured I should pay you a visit before the season gets too busy for some free time. I joined the team that Jeb is training. I brought the new chopper and plan to move up here soon.”
    Gibs gave her another squish and pulled her into his office so they could have some privacy to talk. He hadn’t seen