Page 107 of Knot What I Expected

I hate that her car is a piece of shit—even if I did manage to sneak over and patch the damn thing up without her knowing after the last time I saw her.

I hate that Matteo carries his favorite toys around in a backpack like the kid expects someone to tell him to run at any fucking second.

And I really fucking hate that every time I ask a question, Gabby closes up tighter.

But I can't force her to trust me.

Don't want to.

I want her to choose to.

Which might be the most frustrating thing I've ever fucking wanted.

“Havoc!”

Wreck’s roar cuts through the fire. I look up.

“Yeah?”

“Wind shifted!”

I feel it a second later. A hard gust slams into my back.

Fuck.

The fire reacts instantly.

Flames bend.

Sparks whirl.

The canopy overhead groans.

Monster explodes to attention.

Move.

My head snaps up. A burning branch comes down twenty feet away.

“Shit!”

I jump sideways. The branch crashes into the dirt, throwing sparks everywhere.

“Spot!”

Someone shouts the warning. The fire has jumped our line. I see flames licking through brush thirty yards downslope.

Motherfucker.

I drop the tool, grab the hose, and run. Because if that spot grows? If it catches the slope and gets into the crowns? We lose ground.

A lot of it.

And below this ridge?

Roads.

Homes.