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I wasn’t completely against calling in and telling Papa I needed a day off. It wasn’t like he was going to complain, not when all the dishes today were his specialties, and I knew for a fact he would have been in the kitchen starting around four this morning. It was pies day. He loved making pies.
Crawling into my bed, I tore off my clothes and settled under the sheets as naked as I had been in Kieran’s. It was colder in my room than in his, though, and I had to pull the heavier blanket over me to stay comfortable. As I drifted off to sleep, I let the smell of his skin on mine lead me to drifting into wonderful dreams about our time together and where it could lead.
12
KIERAN
Waking up next to Sofia was incredible. Not just because she had an insane body that drove me wild or because she was one of the most gorgeous women I had ever seen, much less been with, but because there was something extra about the way we had been together. It was different. It was special.
It was real.
This wasn’t like the girls in Nashville, who I would pick up at a bar or meet through friends, go on a few dates with, end up in bed, and then fizzle out immediately. This was something entirely different. It felt normal. As exciting and intense as our night together was, I felt completely fine with the idea of her staying at my place by herself if she wanted. I would have left her a key.
I really liked her, and she really seemed to like me, and even though she’d declined my probably wildly weird offer, it felt like there might be something there. Something much deeper than two people who shared a love of cooking spicy things and had incredible sexual chemistry. I hoped after dropping her off and sharing one last intense kiss that the next time I saw her wouldn’t be too far away.
Heading into work, I barely had time to drop off my gear before a call came in. Someone had called to report an old church having gone up, and I was dressed and on the truck in less than a minute. Somehow, even though I was the least ready of anyone in the station, I still beat half the guys to the truck. Something else for me to mention at the next meeting.
By the time we got to the church, it was already destroyed. The flames were whipping out of the top of the old, wooden building, licking the sky and burning a dark grey smoke that was filling the area nearby. People were gathered on the street, watching the fire, and I saw plenty of them with tears in their eyes.
“Stevens,” I said, grabbing an older fireman who only worked part-time now as he was semi-retired. “Is this place historic?”
Stevens glanced at the people gathered on the sidewalk and nodded.
“Ashford First Baptist,” he said. “Hasn’t been used as a church in twenty years or so, but it was the first one in town. Back then, in order to be a real town, you had to have a church, a post office, and a pub. This building acted as two of the three.”
“The post office?”
“The pub,” he said, huffing out a laugh. “Weird, I know, but the pub was built in the basement. Had its own entrance. Pubs back then weren’t just about selling beer, but it was the place people would meet for official business. Made sense to have it in the same physical building as the church. People thought it would keep you honest.”
“At least no one was inside,” I said with a sigh.
“Yeah,” Stevens said, “but the lumber company is going to have a field day with this.”
“Lumber company? What does a lumber company have to do with anything?”
“Tennessee Lumber. They’re here in Ashford. Great group of guys down there and a major source of revenue for the town. They’ve been bugging the mayor for months about some of the spots in the mountains and how there's a major risk for a massive wildfire to break out. It’s one of the reasons Chief McDaniel ended up poaching you.”
“That makes sense,” I said. “You think they’re going to use this church going up as a reason to cause trouble?”
“Not trouble, no,” Stevens said. “But I wouldn’t be shocked if Chief has you meet with them to keep them from bugging the mayor again. Kind of give them some assurance that we’re working on the problem.”
“Good to know. Thanks, Stevens.”
“Anytime,” he said. “By the way, you still need help with the chili cook-off?”
“Always,” I said. “You’re only in the firehouse three days a week, right?”
“Monday, Wednesday, Friday. But if you need me to come in just for chili, I can be there. My knees just can’t handle five days of carrying equipment anymore.”
