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If she examined their relationship too closely, it looked a little strange. She’d given up hope that she’d ever be able to date someone, what with her pseudo-cop father and her five-year-old son. Guys her age—twenty-two—never wanted a ready-made family, and they didn’t understand why she couldn’t go clubbing ’til two in the morning or spend the night at their place. They didn’t understand that work and school and motherhood barely left her with five spare minutes in a row.
But then she’d run into Michael Merrick. Only a year older than she was, with his own ready-made family. He worked as many hours as she did, and he hardly had time to scrape together for a girlfriend either. In a way, their relationship felt very high school. The closest they’d come to “spending the night together” was one morning when she’d gotten off work at 3 AM, and “early cup of coffee at his place” had turned into making out. She’d showered in his bathroom and borrowed one of his T-shirts—leading his brothers to get the wrong idea—but they’d never gone farther than that.
Back in high school, they’d never run in the same circles. He’d played baseball and worked for his parents, while she’d rebelled against her father’s strict parenting. Michael had been a year older, too, and she’d dropped out halfway through her junior year. It wasn’t like they would have bumped into each other at the prom. Still, she remembered eighteen-year-old Michael so clearly. He’d walked through the hallways like he owned the place, every pore on his body radiating don’t mess with me.
He carried himself like that now. When they’d first gone out—for a cup of coffee, nothing more—she’d been a bit wary, worried that when he learned about her profession, he’d act like he needed to “out-man” her. But there really wasn’t anything macho about him. No bravado, no chest-puffing, no sign of a domineering ass**le.
all did.
Michael had no idea why it was important, but his worries eased just a notch knowing he could reach them if he had to.
And where would they be going?
He wove between the remaining fire trucks sitting in the cul-de-sac. He hadn’t seen Hannah since she’d walked out of his house, and he hadn’t been able to look for her. Her father had actually walked him and his brothers to the door of the truck.
“Tell Adam thanks, but we’ll go to a hotel.”
“And then what?” said Nick. “Sleep in these clothes? Live on fast food?”
“You think the five of us are going to fit in a one-bedroom apartment for long?”
“You think the Holiday Inn is going to let us check in looking like this? With a dog? At least at Adam’s we can wash our clothes and get something to eat.”
“Nick—” Michael sighed. Those were all good points, and he was too tired to argue. “Fine. Whatever.” He reached out and spun the dial to turn the heat higher. He couldn’t stop shivering.
The roads were deserted at this hour. Rain speckled the windshield, and he clicked on the wipers as he turned onto Ritchie Highway. Beside him, Hunter had his fingers buried in Casper’s fur. His forehead was against the window.
At the first stoplight, Michael glanced in the rearview mirror and took stock of his brothers again. Nick looked weary, his eyes half open. Gabriel looked pissed, his jaw set, his eyes glaring straight ahead. Chris was looking out at the darkness, the streetlights reflecting off the bare spots on his cheeks where the rain had washed the soot away.
“Thanks for stopping the fires,” Michael said. “The rainstorm was smart thinking.”
Chris didn’t look away from the window. “It wasn’t just me.”
“I know. I’m thanking you all.”
Gabriel’s eyes locked on his. “Maybe you could thank us by telling us what the f**k is going on.”
Michael kept his foot on the brake. “What?”
“What do you mean, what? We looked for you, ass**le. You weren’t in that house when the fire started. You weren’t in the woods. You weren’t anywhere.” His voice gained volume. “We found Hunter and Chris, but you weren’t—we couldn’t—”
“Easy,” said Nick. “Take it easy.”
“Fuck easy, Nick! Until that earthquake started, we didn’t even know if he was—”
“Wait.” Michael slammed the gearshift back into park and turned in his seat. Gabriel looked primed for a fight, like he was ready for his oldest brother to take a swing at him. He looked like he’d welcome the opportunity.
But Michael looked at Chris. “You didn’t tell them?”
“Tell us what?” said Nick.
“We couldn’t tell them,” said Hunter. His voice was tired. “By the time they found us, we were surrounded by paramedics, and then the earthquakes started—it was all too fast.”
“Tell us what?” Gabriel demanded.
“I thought someone was in the woods,” said Michael. “It woke me up.”
“Me too,” said Hunter.
