Page 99 of Burning For You

She just needed time.

“I felt the same way,” Rory said. “I’ve been writing and publishing for years, but in the background I needed to find Rene’s killer before I could let everything out. When I came back here, writing wasn’t on my mind. It couldn’t be. But since then, it just exploded and hasn’t stopped.”

“Because you found the answers you needed,” she said, nodding her head. “I think I’ve been doubting what was the truth all along. I kind of still do, but everyone says I’m nuts and maybe I am. I can’t go back in time and change anything. I can’t look through a magic ball to see how the fire started either. I just know it did and what the results were.”

“That’s a very mature thing to say,” Ash said. “Do you feel it or are you just saying it?”

“That’s how you end up in trouble,” Brooke warned.

He shrugged. “I only wanted to know.”

“I mean it,” she said. “I’m in this now and I’ll stick it out to the end. But what I really need is to put my energy into something else.”

“Let your words speak for you,” Rory said. “Let them come out and if you have to go back and delete more than half, then you do.”

“I know. I hate doing it, but that’s how I write my articles. I get everything out, then chop more than half of it leaving only facts. Then tweak a third time. But that’s different from fiction.”

“It is,” Gale said, nudging Rory. “Right?”

“Yep. But I can’t tell you the number of times I get going and something doesn’t feel right. I’ve tried to push through and regretted it. It’s a hard call on when to stop and redirect or keep going and hope it catches. The good part is, I can kill someone off if they really annoy me.”

Skye laughed. “Even if it wasn’t your plan?”

“It’s better when it’s not my plan,” Rory said. “Maybe you’ve read some of my books and you can tell me which ones surprised you.”

“Now you just want pats on the back,” Ash said. “I told you she has read your books.”

Her eyes grew.

She found it odd that Ash asked her last week who her favorite authors were. She had a list of her go-tos and looking at the guy in front of her and knowing he looked familiar, had her turning to her boyfriend.

“Who did you tell him?”

“I think everyone should just stop with the cloak and dagger stuff,” Brooke said. “Though maybe that is what you all like to do. Rory Connors is Rory Rene.”

“Oh my God,” she said and shoved Ash’s arm so hard he almost fell off the loveseat. “Why didn’t you tell me that?”

“I thought it’d be a nice surprise. You know, to take your mind off of everything else going on. Now you’ve got something in common to talk to someone about.”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “We have nothing in common. Rory is a New York Times bestseller. I haven’t even published one book.”

“But we all have to start somewhere,” Rory said. “So you know, ask me anything.”

“Anything?”

“Sure,” Rory said.

“How come you don’t give me that open invitation?” Gale asked.

“There goes my daughter again,” Brooke said. “Gale, you can come help me in the kitchen for that wisecrack.”

Gale stood. “It was worth a try.”

“I’m sure I’m going to have a ton of questions, but right now, I’m kind of fan-girling it.”

“Don’t worry,” Rory said. “I’ll give you my information and you can reach out when you want. Or bounce ideas off me.”

“What? Really?”