Page 127 of Burning For You

Her shoulders dropped. “He had asked me to cover a few other things, but I’ve got another job. And early on, I tried a few other stories and he didn’t take them, so I was discouraged and told myself it wasn’t worth running around for it.”

“But now that you’ve gotten a lot of coverage?” Ash asked.

“Now he wants me to do more, but I’ve told him no.”

“I don’t like any of this,” Ash said, the look on his face telling her they’d be arguing again. “I wish you had told me more about it earlier.”

“I didn’t even think about it until Clay brought it up. Cut me some slack. Do you think you’re the only one going through this? Don’t think for one minute that it isn’t affecting me. I lost my parents in a fire. I lost everything I knew and had in my life. Even my brother.”

Ash hissed. “You’ve got him back in your life now.”

She shook her head. “No. I don’t. I get it. I don’t even care about that. I’ve got a new family. I’ve got people who love and care for me, but I still have demons and you putting all this pressure on me isn’t helping.”

She stood up and walked out the back door just as Clay was coming in. He didn’t try to stop her, but it wasn’t like she could leave. She had no way to get off the grounds with Ash driving them here.

But she needed some damn air.

And she needed to be away from anyone with the last name of Ridgeway right now.

32

HOLD THE PIECES TOGETHER

“Go get her,” his mother said.

“I will. In a minute,” Ash said. “She needs space.”

What he didn’t need was his balls shoved down his throat for the second time tonight.

If there was one thing he knew about Skye, it was this: she hated attention. Hated being the center of anything. Yet there she was, boxed in by his family, answering questions, deflecting accusations that weren’t quite accusations, but felt close enough.

Worse, he could see her doubting herself.

He saw it. He felt it. And he knew he was part of the problem.

The frustration weighed down his gut that she hadn’t told him everything about Kyle. But that didn’t cancel out the guilt. If anything, it made it worse.

“If you give her too much space, she’ll start walking home,” Clay said, already opening his laptop. His fingers flew across the keys. “And she’ll need to be here if I find something. I’ll want her to confirm it’s the right guy if I pull up a photo.”

Ash snorted. “Don’t give me that shit. You don’t need her for that.”

His father didn’t even look up. “He’s politely telling you to go get her. Now.”

That was that.

He pushed to his feet and left the family room, cutting through the kitchen and out onto the back porch. Skye sat on the old wooden porch swing, arms wrapped tight around herself like she was trying to hold the pieces together. The night air had turned sharp, biting, slapping him in the face.

He stopped short, then turned back inside long enough to grab one of his mother’s fleeces. When he returned, he draped it over Skye’s shoulders without a word.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly.

She looked up at him, her eyes tired. “For what exactly?”

“For making you feel like everyone’s ganging up on you.”

Her gaze dropped to her hands. “It does feel that way.” Her voice was softer now. Thinner. Like she was worn down to the bone.

It landed like a hard punch to the jaw.