Relief deflates my chest as I lean into her side. “Thank you again for watching her.”
“Always.” She smiles so broadly that it makes my heart skip. Sometimes she looks so much like our mother. “Your appointment went okay, then?”
“Yup. Everything is fine.” I give her a tight-lipped smile, hoping she buys it.
“Fine is good.” She nods. “Fine is great.” Stepping in front of me, she crosses one arm over the other. “Not fine is cool too, though.”
“I’m okay. Seriously.”Lie, lie, lie. But she doesn’t need to know that.
“How was your first day at the vet clinic?” My attempt to steer the conversation in a different direction works. She prattles on about yesterday’s shift as we make our way to her front door. Our conversation is so casual that I swear it makes my heart grow a few sizes. I’ve dreamed of days like this, where she and I couldbesisters. Some days, it feels like we still walk on eggshells, but we’re trying. We both are. She’s been a huge help with Brinley, and even though she denies it, I know she left New York for us.
We walk inside, and I smile at the toys littering her living room floor. The one-bedroom apartment isn't big by any means, but it’s perfect for Vivienne. This apartment complex was built just last year and is only a few minutes’ walk into town. It’s convenient having her so close, and even more convenient that my place is just above Bell’s. On days when I struggle to find a sitter for Brinley, I let her stay in the shop with me. Adding in a play area has been a big help, and having a monitor that reaches upstairs while she naps is heaven-sent. I know that the system we have now won’t last much longer. The older she gets, the more attention she’ll need. I’ll probably have to hire someone else soon and step back until I can figure out a more permanent solution. I sag onto the green couch at the same time a wail pierces the air. My head lulls back and I breathe deeply. “I swear she has better hearing than a full-grown bat.”
“That might be true.” My sister teases as she reaches behind me to grab something from the sofa table. Brinley’s cries have transitioned into yapping, and I know it’s just one of her typical tactics to get someone to peek in. I’ve made that mistake morethan once. “Do you have your phone?” Vivienne asks. “I have the cutest photos of her I want to airdrop to you.”
“It’s dead.” I mutter, rubbing my eyes. “I’m the worst about plugging it in.”
“I swear, Whitney it’s always–” She stops abruptly, eyes catching on something on her phone. Her face goes ghostly pale as she stares down at the screen. “Oh, my god.”
Goosebumps rack my body, and I shoot up into a sitting position. “What? What is it?”
Vivienne ignores me, throwing her phone. It lands somewhere on the floor with a concerning crack. She rushes to turn the TV on, where a woman from our local news station is reporting. Smoke, both black and white, fills the chaos around her. Firefighters and police are seen sprinting in every direction. Townspeople are pointing and yelling in the background.
But it’s my knees that give out as the camera zooms in on the destruction behind her.
Chapter Two
WYATT
Imight strangle my mom.
This, unfortunately, is not the first time she’s set me up on a date in the past year. The only reason I sit across from a brunette with wide eyes and pin-straight teeth is in the hopes of getting her off my back.
You aren’t getting any younger, and neither am I.
Her words reverberate in my head like a rattlesnake in tall grass. I’m thirty. It’s not like I’m on my deathbed. I have plenty of time to settle down and find someone to spend my life with. If I want to. I don’t even knowifthat’s what I want. All I’m sure of right now is that I’d rather be back at the ranch. We’re short-staffed, and I can’t afford to waste my time on this. Having Haden around has been a big help, but Wesley has only gotten busier and busier with the wedding right around the corner. I’m happy for my brother. It’s about time he pulled his head out of his ass and made things official with Blake, but damn do I miss the days when it wasn’t just me that my mother was hounding on. The days when he’d have some extra time to pop over and see me.
“Wyatt?” I blink, the brunette’s face coming back into focus. What was her name again?
“Sorry,” I bring the mug of coffee to my lips, furrowing my brows like I’ve been deep in thought and not thinking of ways to get the hell out of this. “What’d you say?”
“Do you want kids?”
My mug slips, missing my mouth. Hot, black liquid splashes against my skin, spreading into a dark stain across my white T-shirt. I curse, setting the mug down with a thud and reaching for a napkin. Just as I start to apologize, what’s-her-name jerks upright, covering her mouth with one hand as her eyes dart to the window. “Holy shit.”
I follow her gaze, hair raising on the back of my neck as panic grips her. The window we’re sitting by is now blocked. A crowd has gathered outside the Clover-Hills Diner. People pour out of the building, while others peer anxiously from the neighboring shops. Thick, black smoke churns into the sky, rising at an alarming rate.
I push my chair back, standing up and rushing for the front door. I shove past bodies, but there’s no need to yell for someone to call 9-1-1. The sirens are already wailing. I spill onto the street just as the fire truck skids to a violent stop. Orange and red flames curl at the smoke-choked air, their unrelenting dance flickering through the shattered windows of the building. Smoke, so much smoke, spills from every crack and crevice. My heart races as the heat hits me, the air thick and oppressive. It’s only when I realize it’s not my father’s bar that the tension loosens slightly in my chest. But it roars right back to life at the same time a bullet of water sprays the structure.
It’s not the bar. No, it's Bell’s. Whitney’s.
Bell’s Coffee Shop is onfire.
Chapter Three
WHITNEY
“Whitney! Whitney, wait!” Vivienne cries as I launch myself from the passenger-side door. She insisted that she drive, even though I begged her and Brinley to stay at her apartment. I don’t turn back, because I know she won’t bring my little girl out here. I push my legs as hard as I can until my lungs are burning and my muscles are aching.
