Page 80 of Burning For You

Carelessness inside was more like it. It had to be.

And he hadn’t caught it himself before he got to work.

The scanner had crackled almost immediately, confirmation arriving faster than he’d hoped. What rotten luck a patrol car was rolling by at just the wrong moment spotting the glow. That was the whole point of starting it in the back... where no one noticed until it was bigger, harder, hotter.

He filed the mistake away. He’d learn from it.

And before the sun set tomorrow, he had one more move to make. One last step to remind everyone that he knew exactly what he was doing.

21

LEVEL OF COZINESS

At two the next afternoon, Skye pushed back from her desk, finished with her work for the day. Thankfully, she was given an extra day to finish what she thought would be done yesterday.

She swung her purse over her shoulder and walked out of her apartment to head to the store for food and some kind of idea of what to cook tonight when Ash came to dinner.

They had to talk. She had to explain a little of what was going through her mind and what happened with Brenna.

How to bring up the fact that knowing he was battling the fire scared her more than anything now.

Until she saw him.

How steady he was at his job. How focused. How ready to take control.

Again, not the Ash she remembered from school, reminding her that maybe she didn’t know the guy so well.

And as much as she liked to form her own opinions of things, she didn’t like surprises either.

Just like Steve, one of her father’s friends called her name in the crowd. She’d been surprised to hear it, didn’t recognize him either until he introduced himself.

He’d asked how she was doing, then noticed she was the one writing the articles, knew that she’d gone with the Lancasters back then.

None of her parents’ friends had kept in contact with her. She didn’t think anyone even cared, so Steve calling her name had come as a shock.

She was polite, he wanted her number, said that his wife, Jill, would love to see her again. She didn’t remember Jill either, but then wondered if maybe they’d be someone else she could ask about the fire back then.

She’d handed over her card with her email, which was all she was willing to do, and then got back to the reason she was there.

Her phone buzzed when she was walking through the meat section and looking at steaks.

She pulled it out to see the text from Sean.

He was Sean Murphy to her now. Not really her brother.

Not how she thought of the four Lancaster boys.

It was sad, but it was as she’d told Brenna, these fires weren’t triggering anything.

Nor was seeing the man who she should be close to.

Her biological brother who’d wiped his hands of her years ago. But maybe there was hope yet for them. Even a glimmer.

They’d only texted one other time and that was her reaching out. This time he took the first step to see how she was doing.

She smiled over that simple question.

Good. How about you?