The hot firefighter, p.17
The Hot Firefighter, page 17
The lovemaking that followed was…different. When she’d pounced on me earlier, it had been sex rooted in total desire. But as I moved in her, I realized what was happening carried emotion that I hadn’t been ready for.
Was I lying to myself about what I wanted?
I held her close when we finished, feeling her chest rise and fall against mine. We slept together, and it was the best damn sleep I’d had in a while.
I woke up the next morning to my phone buzzing on the nightstand. Not wanting to wake up Dana, I grabbed it, threw on some pants, and hurried out of the room.
It was Sherriff Packard. What the hell was he doing calling at this hour? I wondered. It was a little after eight – too early to know about the car.
“Morning, Sherriff,” I said, stretching as I stepped down the stairs and to the kitchen.
“Morning, Kyle. Got some news for you.”
“What’s that?”
“Syd gave me a call this morning. He’d been sleeping at the shop when I showed up yesterday – guess he’d had a late night with the whiskey.”
“The point?” I said.
“Right, right,” he said. “Well, Syd told me he’d get on it first thing in the morning since he was staying at the shop. Anyway, he just called me let me know he’d gotten a chance to take a look. And, sure enough, someone had messed with your car.”
“Are you serious?” I stopped in place, totally floored. “Someone cut my breaks?”
“He said it was a clean snip – not at all what you’d expect from a part just wearing out.”
“But, I live in the most secure part of the city,” I said. “I park my car in my garage. There’s no way anyone would be able to get to it.”
“Haven’t you been going into the city more?” he asked. “Someone might’ve been tracking you, waiting for you to park where they could get to it.”
The karaoke bar, I realized. It was secluded and off the beaten path.
“Fucking hell,” I said, shaking my head.
“This is serious, Kyle. But, I’m sure you didn’t need me to tell you that. Someone’s gunning for you, and if they realize you found out, things are going to get all kinds of messy.”
I took a deep breath. “Thanks, James. I appreciate you looking into this.”
“Of course. I’ll stay on it and let you know when I find out anything else.” We hung up, and I tucked my phone in my pocket.
Someone had it out for me in the worst way imaginable.
I had to find out who.
23
DANA
“Goood morning!”
Kyle burst into the room so chipper that I had to give myself a moment to focus. I was still tired and groggy, and Kyle moved so quickly around the bed that he was practically a blur.
“Morning,” I said, my voice heavy with sleep. “Are you… What’s going on?”
He plopped something in front of me, and it took a second for me to realize what it was – a tray of food.
“Breakfast in bed?” I asked, wrapping my mind around what I was seeing.
He smiled, gesturing toward the spread. “We’ve got sausage, bacon, eggs, and – of course – waffles. Syrup’s here, along with some milk and coffee and orange juice.”
“This is something else,” I said. “But, you didn’t have to go to all this trouble.”
He shook his head, waving his hand through the air. “It’s fine. I’ve been up for a little while. I had to do something to burn off all the energy I had.”
My memories of the early morning were starting to come back to me. Kyle had grabbed his phone and shot out of bed, an expression of hard concern on his face, like something was seriously wrong.
And now there he was, standing over me with a smile on his face, a big platter of food in front of me.
Something told me that he’d had energy to burn off, but it wasn’t any old energy – it was the energy of someone who had a lot on his mind, who’d gotten some news he hadn’t been expecting.
“Are you…okay?” I asked.
He appeared conflicted for a brief moment. “Fine,” he said. But, it was clear her wasn’t.
I decided not to pry. Besides, the food looked amazing.
“Don’t just stare at it,” he urged me. “Eat!”
He sat down next to me, snatching a piece of bacon. Kyle bit into it, the crunch loud enough for me to hear. “You’d better eat up,” he said. “Because after I’m done with the bacon, I’m going for the waffles.”
I laughed. “Alright, alright. And…thanks. You didn’t have to go to all this trouble.”
“It’s nothing. I’ve got this giant kitchen, and I never get a chance to use it.”
It was an innocent remark, but more proof that the place was his.
Was I in denial, not wanting to accept that Kyle was as rich as he seemed to be? I wondered. After all, he wasn’t like one of those other rich guys, like my asshole ex.
Or, maybe he was simply better at hiding it.
I poured the syrup over the waffles and took a bite.
“Wow,” I said, surprised. “These are freaking amazing. You got some kind of secret recipe?”
“Just my family’s waffle secret. But don’t ask, it’s one of those ‘if I told you I’d have to kill you’ kind of things.”
Another innocent remark, this one raising the question of his family. It made me feel like there was no getting away from each other’s pasts, as much as we were carefully acting to step around the topic.
Was this whole “friends with benefits” thing doomed to failure?
I decided to change the subject.
“So,” I said, after taking a sip of coffee. “As nice as this breakfast-in-bed thing is, I should get going before too long.”
He cocked his head to the side. “Get going? You need to work this weekend?”
“Well, no. Tina’s running the shop today, and I was planning on closing tomorrow.”
“So, why go?”
“What other option do I have?”
“Easy – stay here.”
I grinned through another sip of coffee. “Wow, you’re still pushing hard on this living with you thing.”
“I’m not talking about living with me. I’m saying, just stay for the weekend. You don’t have to work, and neither do I. And, you can’t tell me you’re excited about going back to your friend’s place to crash on the couch, right?”
“Well… I mean, Pam’s been cool about it, but I can tell she’s getting a little frustrated with not having a place to bring guys back to.”
“There you go. Crash here, if only to give yourself a chance to remember what it’s like to sleep in an actual bed. And when the weekend’s over, you can go back to your friend’s.”
Part of me still wanted to say no and tell him it’d be too much.
He seemed to sense my apprehension. “Think of it like this – we’re friends with benefits, right?”
“Sure.”
“Friends is part of that. And, don’t friends hang out with each other? Crash at one another’s places?”
“You’re right.”
He gave me a smirk and a nod. “So, that’s what you’re doing – you’re crashing at a friend’s pad while you’re temporary homeless.”
“I’m also crashing in your bed.”
“That’s where the whole ‘with benefits’ part comes into play. Instead of sleeping on the couch, you sleep here.”
I popped another slice of waffle into my mouth and pressed down on the bed. It was so soft I could hardly wrap my head around it.
“A mattress like this makes it pretty hard to say no to an arrangement like that.”
He chuckled. “There you go. Anyway, they’ve got the car fixed, so I’m going to swing by and pick it up.”
“Really?” I asked, my mouth full. “What was wrong with it?”
Kyle glanced away, and I got the impression he was about to tell me something untrue.
“One of the brake lines snapped. Shitty, but it can happen. Sorry again that you had to deal with that – must’ve scared the hell out of you.”
“It’s fine.”
A beat of silence passed, and if I wasn’t sure about him lying before, I was then.
“Anyway, enjoy your breakfast and feel free to have the run of the place until I get back. See you in a bit.”
With that, he leaned in and gave me a quick peck on the cheek before heading out.
I picked at my breakfast. It was delicious as hell, but part of me was still focused on what he was hiding – what else there was to Kyle.
Because I was sure there was something more than he was letting on. Especially, with the car situation. I’d seen his ride, been in it before. It was a luxury car through-and-through, and there wasn’t a chance a guy like Kyle wasn’t on top of getting it checked out.
The idea of him taking someone for a ride in a car he wasn’t sure was safe or not…it didn’t sound right.
But, the brakes had gone out.
What happened?
I picked at my breakfast. As delicious as the food was, I was more interested in what was going on and what he was keeping from me.
After a few more bites, I set the tray aside and got up, stretching out my limbs before the open window. Wanting something clean to wear, I stepped over to the dresser and took out a T-shirt. It was huge on me, but comfy and soft.
Once that was done, I stepped out into the hallway. The house was so big that it was hard to process. My little one bedroom could’ve been tucked into one corner without evening drawing attention.
As I went down the hall, I noticed that all the doors were open. Most led to spare bedrooms, with offices here and there. I decided to get a better sense of the house and do a little exploring.
I went up the stairs, taking the long hallway through the third floor. Just as below, all the doors were open. Even the door to the biggest bedroom was wide open, with Kyle’s belongings here and there.
But at the end of the hall, one door was closed. It was a black door, catching my eye right away. I stepped up to it nothing that, unlike the rest of the doors, it was solid steel. I gave it a knock, a “thunk” sounding out.
I knew I should’ve left it alone, should’ve respected Kyle’s privacy. But, I had to know what kind of man he was.
So, I opened it.
Or, I tried to open it. The knob was latched shut, not budging a bit as I attempted to turn it.
I decided to take it as a sign and came to my senses. Whatever was behind there was Kyle’s business, not mine. If he wanted to let me know more about him, he’d tell me.
Suddenly, I felt guilty. I went into the bedroom where we’d slept and grabbed my tray, bringing it down to the kitchen and putting some of the dirty plates in the sink. I refilled my coffee and sat down one of the big, comfy chairs in the living room, watching through the windows at the branches lolling in the low wind.
It was peaceful. I knew I shouldn’t have, but I found myself wondering what it’d be like to live in a home like that, to be as wealthy as Kyle was – assuming it was all his, of course.
I let myself get lost in my thoughts, only snapping out of them when the door opened.
“Now, I have to meet her!” It wasn’t Kyle speaking – it was a woman.
I turned around in my chair so quickly I nearly spilled my coffee. Kyle stepped through the door, a frazzled look on his face. At his side was an older woman dressed in wild, eccentric clothes.
She clapped eyes on me right away, peering at me through red, thick-rimmed glasses. “Is that her?” she asked, a big smile on her face. “Is that my nephew’s new girlfriend?”
24
KYLE
Aunt June flew over to Dana so quickly I didn’t have time to react.
“Oh my God!” she repeated. “This is her?” She stared at Dana for a long moment. Dana’s expression was clearly confused.
“Kyle,” she said, turning back to me. “She’s gorgeous. I always knew a guy like you would be able to get a looker, but she’s really on another level.”
“Um, hi,” said Dana, getting her bearings. “I’m Dana. Nice to meet you.” She stuck out her hand in a businesslike way, and June swiped it aside.
“Oh, none of that handshake crap. We hug in this house.” Before Dana could say or do anything, Aunt June rushed over and wrapped her thin arms around Dana, the bangles and bracelets on her wrists jingling and jangling. “I’m Juniper, but you can just call me June.”
Me-oooow!
June let go of Dana and looked over at me. More specifically, she looked at the cat carrier I had in my hand. Margorie, one of June’s cats, was inside. And judging by the way she was bouncing around in there, I could tell she wanted out.
“Ferg, let poor Marjorie out – she’s going crazy. The poor thing had to stay in that carrier all through the flight.” She turned to Dana. “Can you believe that you can pay an arm and a leg for first class, and they still make you keep your precious angel in a damn carrier?”
June hurried over to me and took the carrier out of my hands. “Oh, you precious little thing,” she said. “Let’s get you out of there.”
“June-” I didn’t speak quickly enough. She set down the carrier and opened it up, a big, fat calico cat flying out and running around the house.
“I’ve got a bunch of pets,” said June to Dana. “They’re with sitters. But, Marjorie…she’s special, can’t go a day without me around. She’s a sweetheart – you two will be great friends.”
Marjorie let out another meow before leaping up into Dana’s arms.
“Let’s get you settled,” I said, still trying to wrap my head around coming home to see June step out of a taxi. “Why don’t I take the bags up to one of the guest rooms and-”
“Oh, none of that,” said June. “I’m an independent woman. I can handle my own bags. How about you and this gorgeous young lady – who I can’t wait to get to know better – get Marjorie’s food and litter taken care of while I get my bags and pick out which room in this amazing house I want to stay in for the weekend?”
Knowing there was no point in arguing with June, I set down the rest of the bags and gestured toward them.
“Now,” said June. “Her food’s in her crate. She likes half wet, half dry, and mix a little water in there, too. It helps with her digestion.”
By this point, Marjorie was making herself more than comfortable on my recliner, her thick, furry tail flicking in the air as she stared at me with a look I could only describe as contemptuous.
“Sure, sure.”
June smiled and gave me another kiss before grabbing her bags and heading upstairs.
“Okay,” I said once Dana and I were alone. “A little explanation…”
“That would be nice,” said Dana. But, she wore a slight smile on her face, letting me know she wasn’t too bent out of shape by what was going on.
I explained that my Aunt June had given me some shit for not visiting and that she told me we’d have to see each other again soon.
“What I didn’t know,” I went on. “Was that she meant this weekend. And, that she’d be showing up without letting me know in advance.”
Dana furrowed her brow. “Does she think…you and I…”
“I guess so.” I raised my palms. “Don’t get me wrong – I didn’t even mention you to her, let alone say anything like that we were dating. She’s got a way of puzzling these things out.”
“I can see that.”
I went in the cat carrier and took out the small package of food, along with the bowl. Together, Dana and I went to the kitchen and started preparing the food.
“I know I promised you relaxing weekend,” I said. “And, June… She’s nice. But, she’s definitely not relaxing. And if she’s under the impression that what you and I have is more than what it is, it might be better you’re not here while I explain it to her.’’
“Let me ask you this,” said Dana as she filled up a small dish with some water from the tap. “Do you want me to be here?”
“Of course, I do. I was looking forward to spending the weekend with you. June can be a little much, but she’s good company.”
“That’s what I want, too,” said Dana. “We’re keeping things casual, but that doesn’t mean we can’t spend time together with your family.”
It was a relief. When I’d seen June out front, part of me had been worried that she’d scare Dana into leaving and never coming back – especially if she had the impression that I had told people we were something more serious than we were.
“Good,” I said, putting my hands on her hips. “Glad to hear it. I’ll make sure she behaves herself.”
Dana laughed. “Something tells me a woman like her behaves however she wants to behave.”
“You’re right about that.”
I leaned in and kissed her. Dana kissed me right back. But right at the moment the kiss began to turn into something more intense, June called out.
“Whoa!” she said, her head poking in from around the corner. “Ask me how I know you two are a couple in love!”
We broke our kiss, the two of us putting a quick bit of distance between us.
“Oh, don’t you worry about me. Just because I’m single doesn’t mean I don’t know what it’s like to be in love – I have been married before, after all.”
“Three times,” I said to Dana with a smile. “To be precise.”
“And, all were worth it,” said June. “Divorce or not.” She checked her watch, a fancy thing glittering with precious stones. “Anyway, we’re getting to lunchtime, but I think I need a walk to stretch my legs after that flight. Ferg, mind showing me how that gorgeous garden of yours is looking?”
I knew it meant she wanted to talk to me alone, most likely about how I needed to put a ring on Dana’s finger. A walk was a good idea, if only to give Dana a little time to catch her breath.
“You guys go,” said Dana. “I’ll whip up something for lunch.”
“We can order in,” I said. “Don’t worry about that.” I leaned in and gave her another kiss before heading out with June.
We stepped onto the back balcony, the view sweeping over the vast expanse of my property, the mountains rising over the forest in the distance. The garden was just in front of us, and together June and I walked down the stairs towards it.
