Jump

About Jump

Tragedy is the kind of thing people avoid—until it finds them. Then it becomes an obsession. I spent most of my life as a smokejumper, leaping from planes at 15,000 feet into infernos that could swallow a man whole.

My job was simple: land intact, fight hard, and bring my crew home. Ainsley was a town firefighter. The kind who rode trucks, wielded hoses, and saved homes.

We were opposites in the field, but kindred spirits in the chaos. Adrenaline junkies. Lovers.

Soulmates. Or so I thought. One brutal summer day, the fire won.

Ainsley didn’t make it out, and I didn’t make it back—not really. Her death broke me in ways no blaze ever could. Now, I live in the quiet.

No friends. No parties. No damn sympathy.

I read books, avoid people, and keep my head down. But in this town, silence breeds enemies—and some of them don’t care if you’re ready to die. Which is how I ended up in a corner at a masked ball, hiding behind anonymity and a whiskey glass.

Then she walks in. Rosy cheeks. Killer curves.

A gown that makes my pulse race. And a mouth sharp enough to cut through my grief. One night.

No names. No faces. No promises.

Just heat, shadows, and the kind of trouble I swore I’d never chase again. What could possibly go wrong?