Page 17 of Colton’s Inferno

Aiden lifted his hand in a small wave. “How are you feeling?”

Her whole body hurt. Her lungs still burned with each breath. Her throat was still raw. “Pretty good,” she said, “considering.”

“We’d like to ask you a few questions about what happened this evening. Tell us what you remember.”

Lucy reached for a plastic cup filled with ice water. She sipped through a straw, soothing her throat. She spent a few minutes telling them about going into the barn, loading up the tanks, and then, smelling smoke. She paused. The more she thought about it, the more certain she became. The door had been locked. Yet even in her own mind, it sounded impossible. When she got to the part in her narrative where she tried to open the door, she said, “I pushed and pulled. Heck, I pulled so much that the handle fell off in my hand. The door was more than stuck. I think it was locked.”

Chuck rubbed his chin and said, “The thing with fires is that everything expands. The door. The doorframe.”

“But it was stuck in one place. And I couldn’t get the door to budge.”

“It’s like that with old buildings,” said Chuck. “One spot might be rough or already sticking. Then, you add heat, and it locks in place.”

Lucy wasn’t convinced. “How’d the fire start?”

It was Chuck who spoke again, “My guess is that kids went to the barn to smoke or something. From what I heard, a lot of people were at the fair.”

Everything made sense, and yet, his explanation didn’t sit right with Lucy. “You think that they just so happened to come into the barn when I was there?”

“Is there any reason to think that someone wants to hurt you?” Aiden asked.

That’s where Lucy’s theory fell apart. With a shake of her head, she said, “No.”

“I’m going to be looking into what caused the fire,” Aiden said. “If it’s like the chief suspects, kids smoking or vaping or whatever, there will be evidence. Depending on how much of the door is left, I might be able to figure out why it wouldn’t open. If there’s any foul play, which is rare, I’ll let you know.”

She immediately felt better. It wasn’t just because someone had taken her concerns seriously but because she was going to be able to see Aiden again. “Can you tell me what you find out, regardless?”

“I swear,” he said, placing his palm on his chest.

A red welt ran along the back of his hand. It was a burn that he’d probably gotten while saving her. Lucy’s gut churned with guilt and appreciation both.

She asked, “What else do you need from me?”

“Nothing, right now,” said Aiden, giving her a quick smile.

God, he really was handsome. Dark hair. Blue eyes. His chin and cheeks were covered with stubble. Her fingers itched with the need to touch him. Hiding her hands into the folds of the blankets, she balled them into fists.

He continued, “I’ll come to the ranch first thing. One trip might be all I need to figure out what happened. But I’ll let know you what I find.”

It seemed like there was nothing else for her to do or say—not now, at least. “I’ll see you in the morning, then.”

“Aiden here is the best of the best,” said Chief Kane. “He’ll figure out what caused the fire.”

“See you tomorrow,” said Aiden, before walking out the door.

“See you tomorrow,” she said, even though he was already gone.

For the first time in years, Lucy’s thoughts weren’t stuck on the past. In fact, she was thinking about the future and the next time she’d be able to see Aiden Colton.

As much as Aiden told himself that he was perfectly fine, the headache that Ryan warned him about was building behind his eyes. He walked down the corridor and into the emergency department’s waiting room. Half a dozen seats surrounded a table that was covered with magazines. Most of the chairs were filled. His mother was there, sitting next to Lucy’s grandfather. On the other side of Emily was Aiden’s oldest sister, Kelly. She wore her long blond hair in a ponytail. Ted stood in a corner, quietly talking on the phone. His brother, Wyatt, sat on the other side of the table. He wore a pair of loose flannel pants and a hooded sweatshirt with a kangaroo pocket. It looked like his brother had been roused from bed and come straight to the hospital. Callum, wearing his sheriff’s uniform, was also there. Next to him was Aiden’s father, Jonathon.

To be honest, he hadn’t seen his parents in the same room since their divorce almost eight years earlier. The fact that his entire family had come out filled him with the warmth of love. That was quickly replaced by a heavy feeling of remorse. Instead of coming to the waiting room, he’d gone to see Lucy Harris.

“If I’d known you all were here,” he said, “I would’ve come out sooner.”

Emily rose from her seat and smoothed down the front of her creased slacks. “You came out as soon as you could. Besides, one of the nurses let us know that you were okay.” She opened her arms, and Aiden stepped in for a quick hug.

His father got to his feet as well. Like always, his dad wore a pair of trousers and a pristine white shirt. It always amazed Aiden that his father could work for hours and still look as freshly pressed as he did at the beginning of the day.