Reduced to Ashes

by Kay Gordon

  He held my gaze for another full minute before nodding. “Good. I’ll kick your ass if you do. You have my word on that. And I’m a firefighter, Coleman. It’s easy for me to get rid of bodies.”

  I believed him.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Tori

  I’d spent seven years keeping people at arm’s length. Those that I did eventually let close had to jump through a shit ton of hoops to get there. So why was it that Evan Coleman was managing to thaw me in such a short amount of time?

  For the first five weeks of the soccer season, I saw him twice a week except for one week where I had to miss practice due to work and then I’d missed the third game played. The first game of the season had gone off without a hitch and although our girls lost, they seemed to have fun.

  That made them work harder at the next practice, though, and they were ready by the time our second game came around. It ended in a tie with both teams at two goals, but I was proud of how they played.

  Evan told me that they played even better in the third game and had ended up winning by a single goal that was surprisingly scored by Christina. The girls swarmed me instantly when I arrived at practice, all rushing to give me the play-by-play of what I’d missed.

  Grace and Kendra had formed a fast friendship. Grace had even spent then night at Alex and Stacey’s house after the second game. From what I’d been told, the two of them had annoyed Hudson all evening long and took great joy in doing so. It was awesome.

  “Try to keep it in the air for ten seconds,” I called out to the girls during a Wednesday practice. “Whoever can juggle it the longest is the winner.”

  We were trying to teach the girls ball control and juggling was Evan’s idea. The happy squeals that were coming from them told us that they were enjoying it, too.

  “I went and saw that new movie with The Rock in it,” Evan said randomly as we watched the girls. “It was horrible.”

  I turned to him and raised my brows. “Were you expecting Oscar-worthy material with The Rock?”

  “No.” He laughed softly and I felt another chunk thaw. He always struck up conversation with me, using the weirdest subjects. I liked it, probably more than I should have. “But I thought it would at least be entertaining. That’s ten bucks I’ll never get back.”

  “I can’t even remember the last time I went to the movie theater.” Three girls were left still juggling, including Kendra, and each one was taking it very seriously. Evan nudged my shoulder with his and grinned at me.

  “The theater downtown has reclining seats and sells beer. It’s pretty awesome. You pick a movie and it will be my treat.”

  That had me freezing. Aside from Grace inviting me to ice cream one other time, an invitation I actually considered but politely declined because I had already promised my father I’d be over for dinner, we always left everything on the soccer pitch.

  It was weird because two months before, I wanted to spit in Evan Coleman’s face and then knee him directly in the balls. Now? The thought of going to see a movie with him was something I was considering.

  And that realization was jarring. That thought had me stepping away from the man next to me, ignoring his invitation and instead focusing on the girls. When Melinda was the last one still juggling her ball, I announced her as the winner and the other girls cheered loudly.

  The girls sat around eating their snacks when practice was over while I made quick work of the equipment with Evan’s help. The rest of the players and their parents were gone when we finished, so it was just Coleman and me with the little girls.

  “Did you fight any fires yesterday, Tori?” Grace asked as she stuffed her shin guards into her soccer bag and I shook my head.

  “Nope. There were a few car accidents I responded to and a couple of medical calls but no fires.”

  She furrowed her brows. “Do you get bored at work without fires?”

  “Definitely not.” I tugged on her little ponytail. Her hair was even shorter than mine and she had the same problem I did with flyaways not staying in the band. “We all have jobs around the station house to do, like laundry, cleaning, or cooking dinner. If those are done, we have to make sure our gear and equipment is ready or spend some time working out to keep our bodies in good shape.”

  “Uncle Simon is always working out. Aunt Megan says that’s why he’s so yummy,” Kendra commented easily from where she was putting her regular sneakers on. I let out a snort of laughter and cinched the bag of soccer balls.

  “That sounds like something Megan would definitely say.”

  Evan chuckled and lifted his hat off of his head, running his fingers through his sweaty hair for a minute before putting it back. “They seem like good people.”

  “They are,” I confirmed as Grace looked to her uncle with an excited expression on her face.

  “Can Kendra and I play on the playground for a few minutes before we leave?”

  I shared a look with Evan and when I shrugged, he smiled at the girls. “For fifteen minutes. You have school tomorrow.”

  Both girls let out cheers and ran towards the play structure that was set up a few fields over. I grabbed the equipment and looked at Evan.

  “Do you mind watching Kendra while I stick this in my car?”

  “Of course not.” He shook his head and hesitated, like he wanted to offer to help me. He thought better of it, though, and took a step back. “I’ll meet you over there.”

  It was shameful how fast I moved so I could get to that playground. I had the equipment put away and was taking a spot on the bench next to Evan within just minutes. He glanced over at me with a smile before looking back to where the girls were on the monkey bars.

  We were both quiet for a long moment and it was surprisingly me who broke it that time.

  “You’re good with Grace. You’re not her real uncle, though?”

  Evan had mentioned in passing that he and Grace’s father were best friends, not really siblings. I’d also seen Grace’s mother at our first soccer game, although we hadn’t spoken, and she looked like she could have been Kerry Washington’s sister. Grace and her little sister, who’d also been at the game, definitely had their mother’s beauty.

  But seeing as Evan wasn’t related to either parent, I wasn’t sure how their family dynamic worked.

  “No.” He shook his head. “I’m actually her godfather but her father, Dominic, and his parents are more my family than my own parents and brother are. They took me in when my home life was shit and neither of my parents cared.”

  Sadness hit me hard. Even though we’d lost our mother, our father had made sure that Vincent and I were happy, loved, and that we got to be kids. All children deserved that.

  “Dominic and Becca moved here after Grace was born and his parents, the people who own that house that you pulled Grace out of, were already in New Hope. I thought about leaving Nevada altogether and applied for positions in a few other places.” He paused and ran a hand through his hair.

  “I actually had a job lined up in Seattle almost four years ago and was set to move but Becca had just given birth to Jade and she had such bad postpartum depression. Dominic called me one night and I’d never heard him so broken up. He asked me not to leave, said he needed my help because he was worried about his wife.”

  “So you stayed?” I asked, my voice barely a murmur, and Evan nodded.

  “I stayed. I drove out to New Hope after every shift and spent time helping them take care of Gracie so they could focus on Becca’s mental health and her bonding with Jade. Grace and I have been pretty close ever since. Becca wasn’t really herself until Jade was about nine months old but I knew I’d never leave them. Dom and Becca are my brother and sister and I’d do anything for them both.”

  That’s when I felt the last of my animosity towards Evan Coleman disappear.

  “My brother and I have that same kind of relationship.” I swallowed and smiled when the girls raced each other on the
side by side slides. “He’s always been determined to protect me.”

  “It’s a brother thing. Especially if he’s older.”

  I rolled my eyes and stretched my legs out in front of me. “He is older by a whole almost-seven minutes and he never lets me forget it.”

  “Twins, huh?” He shook his head with a chuckle. “I bet that makes him even more protective, too.”

  “Obnoxiously so.”

  He cleared his throat and looked at his watch. “I should get her home but just so you know, that invitation to see a movie is open-ended, Victoria.”

  I had to keep myself from smiling so he didn’t know how much that pleased me. “Thanks, Coleman.”

  We stood up and the girls groaned but came over when we called for them. The four of us walked to the parking lot and I accepted a hug from Grace before helping Kendra into the backseat. When I moved to get into the car myself, I turned to look at Evan’s car. He was straightening up from the backseat and his eyes immediately caught mine.

  The two of us stood like that for a moment and something passed between us. I don’t know what but it was something and not for the first time. Kendra saying my name snapped me out of the trance I was in and I shook my head slightly, as if to clear it.

  With one more glance cast in Evan Coleman’s direction, I got into my car.

  –––

  I laughed at something Kim Kardashian did on screen and then glanced down to see that the treadmill display showed I had passed the five mile mark. I reduced the speed until I was walking and grabbed the remote to turn off the small TV that was mounted to the wall.

  Yeah, I was watching smut. Stupid reality TV was a guilty pleasure of mine. No one knew except my father and my brother, both of which loved to give me shit about it. It was nice to watch mundane, mind-numbing crap on TV, though.

  I’d gone off shift at seven that morning and immediately come home to get some rest after a sleepless night. It was past one by the time I pulled myself out of bed. The girls had a game at six so I took my time getting something to eat before getting my cardio in.

  I guzzled down the water in my bottle and stopped the treadmill after a five minute cooldown. The room I used for my gym equipment was just across the hall from my bedroom and I headed into the master bathroom to start the shower.

  I was just peeling off my sweaty workout clothes when my cell vibrated on the nightstand. I was in nothing but my underwear when I reached over to grab it and froze when I saw the number. It was an area code from Northern California, which meant one thing.

  The cyber investigation firm.

  I picked up my phone from the nightstand and covered myself with my robe before swiping the screen.

  “Hello?”

  “Victoria. It’s Gary Morell.” The voice was gruff and all business. “It’s resurfaced.”

  That was the only reason he ever called but hearing him say it still managed to cause my insides to feel like ice.

  “Damn it. I hate the internet. What kind of website is it on?”

  “An amateur pornography site. Someone with an IP address from North Carolina submitted it. It should take me about six hours to get it down. So far it isn’t anywhere else.”

  I didn’t even care that other people were seeing it anymore. I was desensitized to that shit. My biggest and only worry is that someone from my company would see it.

  “Okay. Thank you.” I didn’t bother saying goodbye but he was used to it. I ended the call and sat at the edge of my bed with my face in my hands. It was the never-ending nightmare. I fucking hated Tristan Dunsworth.

  I was so mad, so full of rage, that my hands were shaking in the shower. I dropped the shampoo bottle three times before leaving it on the floor and pressing my forehead up against the wet tile.

  Hot, angry tears burned the backs of my eyes but I refused to let them manifest beyond that. In that single moment, I hated the entire Dunsworth family and the role they’d played in shaping my life. I knew it wasn’t fair, I knew it wasn’t rational, but I hated them.

  That included Evan Coleman.

  The rage didn’t subside even once I was out of the shower. In fact, it increased when I pulled a pair of black track pants out of my drawer. There was a clean pair of shorts folded right next to them but I couldn’t wear them. I couldn’t bring myself to put them on and that was Tristan Dunsworth’s fault, too.

  The offending pants slid onto my legs and I pulled the size-too-big purple coach shirt over my simple bra and stepped back into the bathroom. Staring into the mirror, I felt like a stranger was looking back at me.

  I’d never been particularly girly. I didn’t wear dresses, paint my nails, or really even use make-up. Even before my mom had died, I was a tomboy and that only increased once she’d passed away.

  At one point, though, I did at least care a little. I didn’t go all out but when I wasn’t working, I wore my hair in styles other than a ponytail. I did wear make-up, albeit just around my eyes. I did wear clothes that worked for my figure.

  Since everything that happened with Tristan and my old station, I just stopped. I’d worn a couple of dresses but that was only in the past year and because Megan and Kelly made me. But during those moments, I remembered what it was to feel confident and desirable. To feel feminine and free.

  Just another thing Tristan had taken from me.

  I stared at my reflection for several long moments before something occurred to me.

  But… did Tristan really take that away from me? Or had I taken it from myself while using Tristan as an excuse to keep being a coward?

  God, I was a mess.

  I was just pulling my hair up into a ponytail when a nagging feeling in my gut penetrated my pity party, helping it to subside. That nagging feeling had me immediately grabbing my phone and finding my brother’s name.

  He answered on the second ring. “Hey, Vic.”

  “What’s wrong?” I asked quickly and my brother just chuckled.

  “Nothing, little sister. Nothing at all.”

  He was lying. “What’s wrong, Vincent?”

  “Jesus,” he grumbled quietly. “Sometimes having a twin sucks ass.” He paused and let out a long sigh. “I don’t mean that, obviously. I’m just having a bad day. Relationship issues.”

  I stayed quiet, waiting for my brother to elaborate, but he didn’t. He was so damn private when it came to relationships and had been for years. The only time he’d really flaunted his girlfriends around was when we were in high school and that was just the teenage thing to do. Meeting the women he dated was like a rare gift after that.

  That was another thing that was a result of Tristan’s bullshit. My misery had forced my brother to hide away his happiness so he didn’t hurt my feelings.

  He hadn’t introduced Dad or me to the current girl he’d been dating for a while. Vincent also didn’t talk about her too much so I wasn’t sure how serious it was.

  “Want to talk about it?” My question was quiet but I knew he heard me.

  “Nothing to say. It’ll either work out or it won’t.”

  Silence blanketed the line but not in a bad way. It was the kind of silence you shared between siblings or best friends to let each other know you were there if they needed you.

  “Want to come stay the night with me?” I asked softly after a few minutes and I could hear the smile in my brother’s voice when he replied.

  “Nah. I’ll see you for dinner tomorrow, right?”

  “For sure.” I paused for a second and looked out my bedroom window. “I love you, big brother.”

  “I love you, too, Victoria. See you soon.”

  He ended the call and I stared out at the quiet subdivision for another moment before going back to finish getting ready.

  I arrived at the field thirty minutes later and was glad that it was an evening game. That coupled with the clouds in the sky made the temperatures a bit more bearable.

  The second I was
on the pitch, my name was called and I smiled when Kendra ran to give me a hug. Behind her were her mother, Clarissa, and her step-mother, Stacey. I greeted both of them and dropped the equipment onto the grass.

  “Stacey and I are going to tag-team. I’ll be here for the first half and she’ll be at Hudson’s game and then we’ll switch.”

  I nodded at Clarissa with a grin. “Sounds like a solid plan to me.”

  A few other parents and kids stepped forward to greet me when I heard Grace call my name. I turned and smiled when she skipped towards me but the smile dropped when I saw her parents and sister were following behind her, not Evan.

  “Hey, squirt.” I accepted a hug from her and glanced back up the newcomers. “Hi. Dominic and Becca, right?”

  Dominic, who I remembered seeing at the hospital, nodded and held his hand out to me. “Good to see you again, Tori.”

  “It’s so nice to officially meet you. It seems that every game I come to, something happens so I can’t properly introduce myself.” Becca bypassed my hand once her husband let go and wrapped me in a tight hug. “I can never thank you enough for what you’ve done for my family.”

  I let her hug me for a long moment and when she finally pulled back, she wiped her eyes and introduced me to their other daughter, Jade.

  “Nice to meet you, Jade. Grace has told me all about you.” I glanced behind the family but when I didn’t see Evan, an unexpected wave of disappointment hit me. I tried to tell myself it was because I didn’t want to coach alone but it wasn’t a lie my brain could get onboard with.

  It was weird. After the mood swing I’d suffered earlier, I thought Evan would be the last person I wanted to see. But in that moment, I knew that it was the complete opposite.

  I cleared my throat and looked back to Becca. “No Evan today?”

  “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

  I turned my head and watched as Evan stepped forward from where he’d apparently been speaking to the referees assigned to our match.