Todd Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Todd

  Copyright

  Wanna hang with the cool kids?

  Welcome to Montgomery Valley

  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

  About the Author

  Todd

  Montgomery Rescue

  Book One

  A Montgomery Valley Book

  By Dakota Rebel

  Supernova Indie Publishing Services, LLC

  Todd

  by

  Dakota Rebel

  Loving me won’t keep you warm at night when I’m dead…

  Todd –

  When my dad died fighting a barn fire it taught me two very important lessons. One, I wanted to be a hero and a fireman just like him. And two, don’t let anyone get close to you, because losing you will destroy them.

  It’s not easy pushing away the woman I’ve loved all my life. But I do it to protect her at all costs. I’d rather die alone than leave Sarra behind with nothing but memories.

  Sarra -

  I’ve loved Todd Montgomery my whole life. Everyone always assumed, me included, that we’d grow up, get married and fill the town with another pack of Montgomery kids.

  Unfortunately, he had other plans.

  As the youngest fire chief the state has ever had, he takes more pride in his job than in his personal life. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that we’ll only ever be friends. Best friends.

  But sometimes I get a glimpse of something more from him. Just enough to keep me waiting. Just enough ‘what if’ to send me to my knees in prayer every night that he will wake up and realize that I’m the only woman who is willing to risk it all to be loved by him.

  Copyright

  © 2020, Dakota Rebel

  Todd – Montgomery Rescue Book One

  Published by: Supernova Indie Publishing Services, LLC

  Warning: All rights reserved. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and occurrences are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places or occurrences, is purely coincidental.

  Wanna hang with the cool kids?

  Join the group on Facebook! The Rebel Squad is the place to be.

  Not ready for that level of commitment? That’s cool. Check out my newsletter instead. I send it out between 3 and 20 times a year, depending on how often I remember I have one.

  Welcome to Montgomery Valley

  We’re a small community tucked at the foot of a mountain range that draws all types of tourists for all sorts of occasions.

  Our family founded the town back in 1918, when Burton Montgomery purchased the land so he and his wife, Esther, could escape the flu pandemic that was sweeping the world at that time. He built a small ranch and they lived off the land with their children for decades.

  As travel became easier in the United States by way of planes, trains and automobiles, others would come through on their way to or from various places, so Burton opened a general store to sell food and provisions.

  Eventually, his children married some of those travelers, and they either took off for new land, or settled into their homesteads on Burton’s land. Over the years, the town grew and grew, and now it’s a bustling city of over 8,000 family and friends, with a steady stream of tourism to support our banks, schools, general stores, restaurants and coffee shops.

  Through journals and letters from the early 1900’s, our family has been able to piece together how Burton and Esther grew our town, and what their hopes and dreams were back then. We all do our best to continue their vision for Montgomery Valley, while making sure we keep up with the world outside our little oasis.

  So again, we welcome you Montgomery Valley. Whether you’re planning on passing through, or staying a while, we can’t wait to invite you into our lives.

  Chapter One

  ~ Todd Montgomery ~

  “Good morning, Chief,” Vivien called when I walked into the coffee shop. “Usual?”

  “Yes, please, Viv,” I murmured. I’d slept fitfully the night before and I was aching for caffeine. “And a blueberry muffin.”

  “Do you have any idea how much sugar is in one of those?” a voice behind me scolded. “You’re better off with a donut.”

  I turned around to smile at Sarra Jackson who was glaring at me with her hands on her hips. Apparently she was in full on elementary teacher mode this morning, scolding my sugar intake already.

  “Morning,” I grumbled to her. “Please save the lectures for your students. Besides, donuts are Kyle’s domain.” I accepted my coffee from Viv and couldn’t help noticing the blush that had crept up her cheeks at the mention of my brother, the police chief.

  Interesting…

  “Rough night?” Sarra asked, quirking an eyebrow at me.

  “Just didn’t sleep well,” I admitted. “You have time to sit for a minute?”

  She nodded and once I got my muffin, we walked over to a small table by the window.

  “You okay, Todd?” She reached out as if to touch my face, but must have thought better of it, and instead dropped her hand to rip off a piece of my muffin. “You look like shit.”

  “Thank you,” I said, knocking her hand away when it came back for seconds. “Go get your own muffin.”

  “No way,” she said, shaking her head emphatically. “The sugar doesn’t count if it’s yours.”

  I rolled my eyes but pushed my plate to the middle of the table. She knew I couldn’t deny her anything. And she pressed her advantage everywhere she could.

  “So, what’s up?” she asked. “Got something on your conscience?”

  I looked around the store, and figured it was empty enough that we probably wouldn’t be overheard. I leaned forward and caught her gaze.

  “Not a word of this leaves this table, okay?”

  “Yeah,” she said, her face sobering as she took in the seriousness of my words. “Todd, what’s going on?”

  “Did you hear about the fire over at Fred Mason’s place last week?” I asked.

  “We all did,” she said sadly. “They said sparks from a trash fire sent his coop up in flames. Killed over a hundred chickens.”

  “Yeah,” I agreed. “It was awful. But…it wasn’t a trash fire. Mason doesn’t burn garbage. Hell, he doesn’t even burn leaves. He composts everything.”

  “Todd, what are you saying?” she whispered, leaning even closer. “Do you think someone set the coop on fire?”

  I nodded sadly. “And it’s not the only unexplainable fire we’ve had this month. We don’t want it getting out, because we can’t know for sure yet, but we think we have a fire bug in town.”

  Kyle and I had been investigating some smaller fires that had been set throughout town, and we’d managed to keep it quiet. But once the Mason’s lost so many chickens, it wasn’t something we could keep off the gossip wires.

  So far, no one else seemed to have pieced anything together. And since we couldn’t be positive what was going on, we didn’t want to cause a panic or a witch hunt. We were entering tourist season in Montgomery Valley, and I couldn’t have the townsfolk looking at every st
ranger who walked into their shop or restaurant like a criminal.

  Especially since, considering the places that had been hit, it was most likely someone who lived here. Maybe a curious kid that had gotten out of hand, or a prank gone horribly wrong.

  Whoever it was, we’d find them. But none of us were interested in townie vigilantism.

  “Well, if I hear anything, I’ll be sure to let you know,” Sarra told me, patting my hand softly.

  “Thanks, Sarra,” I said, smiling softly at her.

  Damn she looked pretty today. I mean, she looked pretty every day. But the way the sunlight was hitting her hair through the café window was especially Disney Princess like.

  I’d loved Sarra Jackson my entire life. We’d grown up together, gotten in trouble together, and become best friends. I think everyone in town had expected us to be married.

  Including her for a while.

  But she understood me. Understood why I couldn’t saddle her with the life of being married to a fireman. When my dad died in a fire while we were in high school, it had cemented a lot of things in my life.

  I knew I was going to be a fireman, too. I was going to carry on his legacy for this town and do whatever I had to do to keep people safe.

  And I knew that I could never marry Sarra. Could never let what happened to my mom happen to her. It would be cruel to risk leaving her saddled with a bunch of kids and the memory of a reckless husband who cared more about his town than he did about his own family.

  She’d tried to argue with me, but I was adamant. Eventually, she accepted my decision, and I was incredibly fortunate that I didn’t lose my friendship with her. She knew she was the only woman I’d ever love. And she knew that wasn’t ever going to be enough to change my mind.

  “I’d better get to school,” Sarra said, standing up and grabbing her purse. “I’ll see you later, Todd.”

  She stepped into me and hugged me. I kissed her cheek and forced a smile as she turned and headed out. Sinking back into my chair I inhaled deeply and could still smell her perfume on me.

  Every single day my argument seemed more and more stupid. Certainly, my mother had told me so. But I’d seen what happened to her when she lost my dad. She said she’d known going into the marriage what the dangers were. But I saw her sit up and wait for him every night, I saw her on her knees by her bed, praying for her husband to come home…and I saw her the day that prayer didn’t get answered.

  When I thought about Sarra on her knees, begging for anything, it broke my heart. I couldn’t do that to her. I wouldn’t. Even if it meant I’d spend the rest of my life alone.

  She’d find someone. I knew she would. And when she did, I’d congratulate her. I’d hug her and I’d shake his hand and I’d honestly wish them the best. Because her happiness was all that mattered to me.

  And I couldn’t make her happy.

  Chapter Two

  ~ Sarra Jackson ~

  I couldn’t stop thinking about what Todd had told me that morning. An arsonist? In our little town. It was insane.

  The kids could tell I was distracted, and they took full advantage of it. Bickering, skipping assignments and taking too long to return from recess. Teaching fifth grade isn’t easy on a good day. But it took full focus to keep these rascals in line, and I just didn’t have it in me that day.

  I was able to wrangle them into finishing their reading assignments, so at least by time the final bell rang I’d had time to clean up the classroom and was able to end the day with them for once.

  Looking out at their little faces, I was slightly shaken that you never knew what was going to happen to them once they graduated and moved on with their lives. Would one of them grow up to be…what had Todd said…a fire bug?

  Most of them, of course, would lead perfectly normal lives. They’d get married and have kids. Some would move away. Most of them would be happy.

  Just because that stuff wasn’t in the cards for me didn’t mean they were all doomed.

  I’d spent my entire life in love with Todd Montgomery. From before I was even my students ages, I knew that the world revolved around him. And now, at twenty-seven years old, it still did.

  The difference being that back then I believed we’d be married and have at least one baby by now. I guess that’s the beauty of being a kid. Cold, hard reality doesn’t mean much.

  I would never forget the day he told me that we’d never have our happily ever after. He’d just joined the town fire department. We’d thrown him a huge party and he and I had snuck away to talk.

  Silly kid that I was, I’d thought we were going to neck out under the oak trees. But no, he’d taken me there to shatter my hopes and dreams about our future.

  When his dad had died, it definitely changed him. Honestly, I thought losing his father in a firefight would have discouraged him from joining up with Montgomery Rescue. But it seemed to fuel his passion for it.

  Todd claimed that he couldn’t do to me what his father had done to his mother, leaving me behind with kids to care for and no husband to support me. I’d reminded him that millions of firemen come home to their families every night, and that the tragedy that befell his parents wasn’t a guarantee of what would happen for us.

  But he’d been adamant. For a long time, I wondered if Todd hoped to go down in blaze of glory like his dad. I thought he was romanticizing a terrible accident as an act of extreme heroics. And it was. Truly. His father had been trying to save a kid from a barn fire. And he’d gotten the kid out…but the floor had collapsed after he’s tossed the boy to the tarps below and he’d perished.

  It was awful. It had changed all of us.

  Unfortunately, it had made Todd double down on his convictions. To the point that he’d busted his ass and raised himself to become the youngest fire chief the state had ever had.

  I was incredibly proud of him. And I’d stood by him every step of the way. His best friend. His confidant. The woman who loved him more than anyone…and threw her life away waiting for a dream that was never going to come true.

  These kids…they didn’t know anything about the world.

  The bell rang, breaking me from my maudlin thoughts. I physically shook my head and stood, opening the door to let the kids loose.

  “Have a good night!” I called after them.

  Gathering my stuff, I walked out to my car and dropped myself behind the wheel with a heavy sigh. I sat there for a while, wondering what to do next. Then I realized, there might be a way to help Todd and my students.

  I turned the ignition and headed straight for the Montgomery Rescue offices. I may not be able to help directly, but I always believed that the first line of defense is a great offense.

  When I walked into the office, three of the four Montgomery boys were sitting at their desks, all with their feet up.

  “Looks like you’re very busy,” I teased. “Where’s David?”

  “Where he always is,” Kyle said, getting to his feet and walking over to kiss my cheek. “Out in the woods chasing squirrels for dinner.”

  “Hey Sarra!” Daniel called from the back, waiving to me. He was the town EMT and fortunately wasn’t kept too busy. So, he mostly handled the office work for the guys.

  We were a small town to be sure, but there always seemed to be something going on. I definitely slept better at night knowing the Montgomery men were keeping us all safe.

  “What’s up?” Todd asked, walking over and pulling me away from Kyle. “You just come over here to flirt with my family?”

  “Not just,” I said, blinking innocently up at him.

  “Very funny.” He took my elbow and walked me outside, offering me a seat on the porch step. “Seriously, what are you doing here?”

  “Well, my heart is wounded that I need a reason,” I said, rolling my eyes. “But honestly, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about what you told me this morning. It’s been eating at me.”

  “I didn’t tell you so you’d worry,” he said, knocking his knee aga
inst mine. “I just wanted to be honest with you.”

  “Yeah,” I scoffed. “Your honesty has never been a problem.” I held a hand up between as I saw him about to open his mouth again. “Not why I’m here. Listen, why don’t you stop by the school tomorrow and give a talk about fire safety. If there is a bigger issue going on, it could help the kids. And maybe it would stop one of them from playing with fire later in life. They’re impressionable. So, let’s make a good impression.”

  “Sarra, that’s a really great idea,” he said, and his surprised tone kind of hurt my feelings.

  “I do have those on occasion,” I pointed out, glaring at him.

  “I know that,” he said, rolling his eyes. “You have way too many good ideas, actually. But yes, I would love to come talk to your class tomorrow. I’ll even wash the truck in the morning and drive it over. They can climb all over it and we’ll make an afternoon out of it.”

  “That sounds awesome,” I agreed, smiling at him. “Thanks, Todd. Recess is over at twelve-thirty, so…one o’clock?”

  “I’ll be there,” he promised, standing up and holding his hand out to help me. “See you then.”

  He leaned forward and kissed my cheek, and for just a moment we stood there, staring at each other. A lifetime of regret and hurt palpable between us.

  Then he walked inside and I went back to my car to drive home. Alone. Like always.

  Damn Todd Montgomery.

  Chapter Three

  ~ Todd ~

  “You’re a moron,” Kyle said when I walked back in from talking to Sarra.

  “Excuse me?” I glared at him.

  “We’re all just confused about why you keep pushing that poor girl away,” Daniel said.

  “I don’t have to justify myself to any of you,” I reminded them. “And you.” I rounded on my brother. “Know exactly why I can’t marry her, Kyle.”

  “I know why you think you can’t,” he corrected me. “But dude, we’ve all got dangerous jobs. You don’t see me avoiding hot girls that want to spend the rest of the lives with me.”