MATTEO: Wild Fire (Raging Fire Book 2), page 1
MATTEO: Wild Fire (Raging Fire #2)
The Raging Fire series is a spin-off of the Rescue Me Saga with characters you’ve already come to know and love.
Dakota Mathison created herself at the age of seventeen. New name, new life, new location. Lots of new locations, actually, but she always had to look over her shoulder in case the man from her past caught up with her. The rodeo circuit had been a great place to hide, until she met up with someone who knew her before she’d become Dakota.
Matteo Giardano had never forgotten the girl who’d been his sidekick in 4-H. Both shared a love of horses, and while he’d never admitted it back then, he’d loved her too. But she’d disappeared after high-school graduation…until one night in a bar after a rodeo many years later, she sashayed back into his life. Only to vanish again the next day.
Months later, she showed up on his doorstep battered and broken from her last rodeo—bucked off a bull this time, no less. The woman seemed hell-bent on proving herself, whether to herself or someone else, he wasn’t sure. Though she’d never have to prove anything to him.
MATTEO: Wild Fire
(Second in Raging Fire Series)
Kallypso Masters
Copyright © 2019-2021
Ka-thunk! Publishing
MATTEO: Wild Fire
Second in Raging Fire Series
Kallypso Masters
Copyright © 2019-2021
Ka-thunk! Publishing
Kindle Edition
E-book ISBN: 978-1941060384
Print ISBN: 978-1941060391
Serial published on Patreon: December 2019 to October 2021
Original e-book novel published: October 28, 2021
Original print version published: October 28, 2021
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
MATTEO: WILD FIRE
Content edited by Meredith Bowery
Line edited by Christine Sullivan Mulcair
Cover design by Syneca Featherstone of Original Syn
Cover images licensed through Adobe Stock
and graphically altered by Syneca Featherstone
Formatted by BB eBooks
This book contains content that is not suitable for readers 17 and under.
Thank you for downloading this e-book. Please be aware that this e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be reproduced, uploaded to share on websites, e-mailed, or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the author, Kallypso Masters, at kallypsomasters@gmail.com or PO Box 206122, Louisville, KY 40250, or within the sharing guidelines at a legitimate library or bookseller.
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction, sharing, 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 five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (See www.fbi.gov/ipr for more information about intellectual property rights.)
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons—living or dead—or places, events, or locales is purely accidental. The characters are reproductions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
To discover more about the books in this series, see the Books by Kallypso Masters page at the end of this book. For more about Kallypso Masters, please go to the About the Author section.
Table of Contents
About MATTEO: Wild Fire
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Author’s Note
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
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Epilogue
Books by Kallypso Masters
About the Author
Signed Books & Merch in the Kally Store!
About Roar (A Rescue Me Saga Spin-off)
The Rescue Me Saga
About the Raging Fire Series
About the Bluegrass Spirits Series
Dedication
To Patryce Cornett, Margie Dees, Annette Elens, Barb Jack, Lisa Simo-Kinzer, and Elaine Swinney, who have been with me as alpha readers from start to finish on this book. Your input and suggestions on ways to make my story better are invaluable. And having your honest feedback and reader reactions gave me the confidence to release my book to my other readers.
My utmost thanks to all who serve in or who have served in the fire services in their communities, including those serving with state and federal Forest Service entities. The sacrifices you make—physical, emotional, and financial—to do your best every day inspire me. You’re true American heroes, and we civilians owe you so much for your dedication.
Acknowledgements
My eternal gratitude and thanks go out to…
my content editor, Meredith Bowery, whose uncanny insights into my characters and their motivations and psychological makeup help me take them through the growth and realization we all wish we could figure out in real life.
Duffy Counsell, one of the organizers of the Leadville Ski Joring Festival who helped me bring those scenes to life and called Dakota “Bodacious!” for what she does in her first-ever Ski Joring Festival competition. Your enthusiasm for the story line were welcome too. And I’m grateful for your being available to talk over the phone and via email as I continued to ask “just one more question.” I appreciated your praise for my existing knowledge base coming into our first conversation (in large part due to the next person I’ll be thanking here). Getting the research right is a hallmark of a “Kally Book” and something my readers have come to expect! Several of my team and I are planning to visit Leadville for an upcoming festival in 2023 or beyond and look forward to meeting you and some of the legendaries in the sport.
my proofreader and line editor, Christine Mulcair, whose keen eye and superb knowledge of spelling, punctuation, and grammar give me confidence that my book is as perfect as it can be when I publish, but the way you helped me whip the skijoring chapters into shape at the last minute by sorting through the information about skijoring in general and the Leadville Ski Joring Festival in particular went above and beyond! Both before and after we connected with Duffy (who you guided me to via Facebook), you helped me by finding research sources.
Patryce and Michael Cornett, FF/NRP/FP-C, for providing their expertise from a fire and rescue perspective. And bull riding. And how to survive in extreme cold! You always seem to have just the right knowledge to help me with whatever scenario I throw at you in my Raging Fire series!
Lisa Simo-Kinzer for helping me with the scenes leading up to and at the fictitious Grand Junction rodeo after Meredith said I just didn’t get it right in the first draft. You channeled the characters for me and made the scenes much more emotional and realistic given where they were in their relationship.
TeraLe Jaques and Gina Marcantonio for their input as alpha readers before life intruded. And, Gina, as always, thanks for helping me get the Giardanos spot-on from an Italian’s perspective, right up to the day I sent this one to the formatter. And thank you to the alpha readers named in my dedication for all you’ve done to help me perfect this story.
Patreon fan club members for providing me with two more celestial name suggestions to go with Twinkle Littlestar for Matt’s two other horses—Regina Peppers for Streaking Comet and Shannon O’Malley for Big Dipper. And Hollie for catching a couple things I missed while revising!
Beth Curlin Weber, thanks for the tour of your Shasta “canned ham” camper/trailer! You helped me envision some of my scenes in a whole new way!
all my Patreon fan club members who read along as I post installments and encourage me with your comments. I love that you can read the rough drafts and then notice and appreciate the changes that come with the final version.
and to all my loyal fans everywhere who have stuck by me through thick and thin. I just celebrated ten years of publishing and I know many of you have been there right from the start! I appreciate you!
Author’s Note
The Raging Fire series builds upon characters and relationships where the Rescue Me Saga and Rescue Me Saga Extras series left off. Matteo and Dakota don’t have a history together there, but you did get to know Matteo/Matt a little better in Nobody’s Dream. In this book, Matteo and Dakota burn up the pages with their passionate personalities! And “Mama Giardano” has stolen the hearts of so many readers with her straight talk
As readers have come to expect realism in my books, Raging Fire will deal with a lot of the stresses and tragedies associated with the firefighting community, but also the camaraderie and celebrations. I try to portray some of the lesser-known aspects of being a firefighter in this series, from Tony’s water rescue and dive team to Matteo’s work with the forest service and so many motor vehicle accidents.
Some invaluable resources I’ll be making use of regularly while writing about these four firefighters and their spouses will be:
Challenges of the Firefighter Marriage, by Anne and Mike Gagliano.
I also listen to a number of podcasts hosted by firefighters or focusing on the fire service that have helped me gain a better 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.
And for those in the fire service or wanting to know more, Patryce Cornett recommends:
Honor and Commitment: Standard Life Operating Guidelines for Firefighters and their Families, by Lori Mercer (honorandcommitment.com)
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.
Chapter One
Matt Giardano tipped his head back and poured beer down his parched throat. He’d forgotten how dusty and hot it could be in the Texas Panhandle, even this late in October. Glancing around the raucous Amarillo bar, he wondered if the rodeo crowd was mostly local, or people like him who just happened to be in town and went to the rodeo.
No matter. He didn’t feel like engaging tonight. This morning’s wildland fire control training exercises had been grueling, and Matt needed time and space to process it all before he was ever put into a position of needing to use what he’d learned. He hoped his county wouldn’t get hit with fires like his brothers Rafe and Tony’s department in Aspen Corners had two years ago.
This evening, he’d attended the Saturday rodeo hoping to take his mind off work for a while. He planned on enjoying a few beers tonight before returning to his motel room. Most likely alone, but he’d keep his options open.
A loud whoop went up, and everyone turned toward the door where a woman in a tan-colored suede Western jacket stood smiling as she accepted their accolades. She must have competed today and won, judging by the pats on the back and bear hugs given as she made her way to the bar to order a longneck. Any number of cowboys—real and wannabe—offered to pay, but she waved them off.
The cowgirl’s ginger curls spilled out from under her Stetson and more than halfway down her back. He didn’t remember any redheads in the barrel-racing competition at today’s rodeo. That he would have remembered.
When she turned to the guy standing near Matt and flashed him a fun-loving smile, Matt’s cock stirred to life. God didn’t make anything sexier than a playful woman with long red hair.
Why did something about her look so familiar? He didn’t know any of the barrel racers competing this weekend. He’d checked his program before the performances in case he might recognize a name, but none had jumped out at him.
Then she looked beyond the cowboy straight at Matt, and he felt gut-punched. Her eyes widened—eyes he’d definitely seen before—and her smile faded before she forced it back onto her face.
Alison Parker?
No way. Her hair had been short and blonde in high school. But those emerald-green eyes were unmistakable and unforgettable. They’d been in 4-H together during their junior and senior years. She’d loved horses too, which apparently hadn’t changed for either of them. But they’d never dated; they’d just been friends and fellow competitors.
Too bad for him.
She excused herself, picked up her beer bottle, and approached Matt. With each step, his heart ramped up a little more, but the stiffness in her gait told him she might be preparing herself for some kind of confrontation.
With him? Why?
“Long time, no see, Matteo.”
“I could say the same, Alison. And I go by Matt now.”
She cocked her head, a bit of a twinkle finally reentering her eyes. “Matteo suits you better.” What was that supposed to mean? “And I go by Dakota Mathison these days, so I guess we both have new names to learn.”
Dakota Mathison? The Dakota Mathison Matt had watched ride this afternoon—curious to find a woman riding broncs. He’d marveled at how well the rider had stacked up against the men in the competition. After a quick Google search while sitting in the stands, he’d discovered Mathison had been riding broncs for quite a while now. Things sure had changed since he’d been interested in rodeoing.
Would he have recognized her if he’d found a decent photo of her? Mathison usually wore a helmet while competing and he wouldn’t have remembered Alison as a redhead.
Funny how he’d always had a thing for redheads and now Alison-turned-Dakota was ginger.
But he couldn’t reconcile that his former high-school classmate Alison had become a rodeo star under a completely different name and appearance.
Remembering his manners, he vacated his barstool. “Here, have a seat.”
“After the ride I had today, don’t mind if I do.”
Matt tamped down the thoughts running through his head about riding her. Mama had taught him to behave better than that around women, especially ones as sweet as Alison. However, her new name and persona gave him fantasies that were anything but sweet.
Dakota. Damn, the name was as hot as she was.
“If you want to keep calling me Matteo, I’m good with that.” His full first name coming from her lips sounded pretty damned sexy—and special.
He stood next to her only a few moments before the cowboy she’d been flirting with earlier walked off to find someone else to take home tonight. Matt grabbed the vacant stool, pulled it closer, and sat down next to her. Now they sat face-to-face.
“I didn’t see your name in the events program,” she said.
She’d looked for it? Nah. Everybody in the rodeo knew who else was participating, so she probably was just saying she hadn’t seen him around. “Not competing anymore.” He hadn’t done so since college. “Just came to watch tonight before I head home to Colorado tomorrow.”
There had been a time he’d fancied himself doing the national or regional rodeo circuit, but life didn’t always turn out the way you planned it as a kid.
“I saw you riding that bronc today. You’re damned good.”
She shrugged and took a swallow of her beer. “Thanks. It’ll do for now.” Had what he’d first read in her response as being modesty actually been dissatisfaction?
“Until what?”
Her face lit up. “I’m attending bull-riding school in January with a group of women who also want to compete in the sport next year.”
Was she insane? Women didn’t ride bulls. They rarely even rode broncs. “Those animals will get you killed.”
She came the closest he’d ever seen to someone imitating a cartoon character with steam pouring out of her ears. “Would you say that to a male bull rider?”
Probably not. He shrugged rather than answer directly. “It’s an insane sport for anyone who doesn’t have a death wish.”
She narrowed her eyes. Had he crossed the line and ruined any chance of getting to spend more time with her? Clearly, she loved the idea of bull riding. Maybe after a few falls, she’d reevaluate.
If she survived.
“I assure you, Matteo,” she began with measured words, “I take more precautions than the men do and have no wish to end my life anytime soon. No matter what I ride—broncs or bulls—I wear a helmet and vest.” She glanced away to order them both another beer. He made a mental note to ask the bartender to give him the check at the end of the night.
