by Melody Anne
Owen knew his brother was right, and he shouldn’t need to hear it, but he had needed to. He was now grateful it was his brother who’d come in, grateful to have him there. As much as he wanted to get back to work, maybe it was better that he was getting a break.
“You know, you lecture a little bit like Dad,” Owen said when he felt a slight sting in his eyes. There was no way he was allowing this moment to get emotional. He blamed it on a severe lack of sleep and whatever drugs the hospital had given him. He’d been fighting this fire for two weeks straight with a maximum of five hours’ sleep a night. His body was breaking down.
“Considering I’m a father now, I’ll take that as a compliment,” Kian said. “You’ve barely moved back home, less than a year now. I’d like to spend some quality time with you before you play chicken with a wildfire.”
“If you release me from this bed, I’ll get back out there to the fire, extinguish those flames, save the day, and then we can have a round of golf,” Owen promised.
His brother smiled again. “I do have your life in my hands right now,” Kian said, looking at ease as he leaned back in his chair.
“Is this revenge for that time I locked you in the bathroom?” Owen asked. “’Cause it’s time you got over that.”
Kian’s smile faded as he glared at his brother. “You nailed a damn two-by-four to the door. I was stuck in there for three hours,” Kian said. Then he smiled again. “I’d actually forgotten about that.”
“Crap,” Own muttered. “Can we forget I brought that up?” He didn’t see his brother forgetting anything.
“Yeah, that’s not going to happen.” He glanced down at his watch before looking back at his brother. “You’ve been in here a little over an hour.” He stood up and moved toward the door.
“Where are you going?” Owen called.
Kian turned and grinned at him, and Owen swore under his breath . . . and waited. “Looks like you have two hours to go before I sign anything.”
And with that, Kian left the room. Owen shouted a few curses at his brother; then he flopped back in the bed, glaring at the empty doorway. He stayed that way for about five minutes, hoping his brother was going to be a little more professional since he was a doctor.
Nope.
Not gonna happen.
With a sigh, Owen picked up his television remote. Since it appeared he wasn’t going anywhere for another two hours, he might as well catch up on the news. Brothers were definitely a pain in the ass. But he loved them, anyway.
A large man stood looking in the room at Trevor’s prone body. Letting out a sigh, he glanced behind him and saw a couple of nurses coming down the hallway. The man left the room and made his way to the staircase. He didn’t want anyone to see him at the bank of elevators.
Trevor hadn’t been his target . . . Owen had.
Originally, death hadn’t been the objective of the fire—that was just an added bonus. But as soon as he’d realized how out of control the fire was getting, he’d been quite pleased to realize Owen could be eliminated.
The Forbes family had been messing in his business for long enough. It was time they felt the burn of the anguish they bestowed on so many—especially him.
He chuckled as he stepped from the staircase, exiting the hospital.
Today hadn’t been a loss. The fire was burning strong, and Owen was scared. A frightened firefighter was a dead man walking.
Chapter Six
Eden was good at standing back and observing people and situations. She knew how to go undetected. She’d always liked seeing how things happened, how people interacted, and what decisions they came to. It was so much more fun to stand in the shadows and watch how people behaved than to be a part of the puppet show people tended to act out on a daily basis.
As she watched Owen loaded into a truck and saw the tires peel out as the vehicle made a sharp U-turn and headed out of sight, she was well aware that no one was the wiser to her kneeling on the ground.
But once the excitement died down, they were sure to notice her. She wanted to be long gone before that happened. With a strength she wasn’t even sure she had at the moment, she picked herself up and slowly made her way to her vehicle.
One fireman stopped her, his face perplexed as he asked if there was anything he could help with. Eden simply shook her head and got into her car, taking a moment before she started it.
When she began turning her vehicle around, she was aware of the tremble in her fingertips. She just gripped the wheel that much tighter, willing herself to calm down. There were things in life that were beyond a person’s control. That didn’t give anyone the right to act the fool. It just meant you had to work that much harder to keep it together.
But as she made the long drive down the mountain, she couldn’t help but have flashbacks of Owen’s face covered in soot, of the way his legs had barely been able to keep him standing. Of how close he’d come to death. And that made her think of her father, of that horrible moment she’d stood next to his lifeless body, knowing he’d never be with her again.
Owen had been close to death, so close the scythe had been slicing through the air, its sharp blade aimed straight at his throat. He’d managed to duck the fatal blow by mere inches. Her father hadn’t been so lucky.
Eden’s fingers were white. They began tingling, and she had to pull to a stop at the bottom of the mountain and shake out her hands. She wasn’t going to endanger other drivers because she wasn’t in control of herself. She took in some air and forced back the tears that needed to fall.
“Focus, Eden,” she muttered. “You’re working a job. You have questions to ask, people to investigate. Don’t make this personal. Just do your job.” She didn’t find it at all odd that she was sitting in her car talking to herself.
She did find it horrible that one of the people she had to question was none other than Owen Forbes. The man she’d always loved, the man who’d nearly died right before her helpless gaze.
She was in no way stable enough to do her job right now, so instead of going to the hospital, she made her way home. A hot shower and a bite to eat were just what the doctor was prescribing. She’d be in a much better place to do what needed to be done if she wasn’t shaking so badly.
Her body still trembled as she went inside her home, the quiet almost eerie after being around so much noise for the past hour or so. Why didn’t she have a dog? Wouldn’t it be so much wiser for her to have a pet, a companion? Maybe she’d get on that. No. She definitely would get on that. She’d go to a shelter. She knew a person could find their soul mate in a pet. She’d know which animal was meant to be hers by looking in its eyes.
Eden was relieved to find that her shaking had stopped when she climbed from the shower. Good. It was better than medicine.
Her nerves were frayed at the thought of seeing Owen for the first time in a bit over six months. She wasn’t sure how she’d managed to avoid him, but she was certain he’d allowed it. She figured she’d managed it partly because he hadn’t been around, and partly because she just didn’t go out much these days, not even with Roxie, her best friend.
It wasn’t that she didn’t love her friend; it was just that Roxie was married to Owen’s brother Kian. The risk of seeing Owen if she was with Roxie was too high, in her opinion. Forcing herself to stop thinking about the past, she gazed in a mirror and tried to decide what she needed to do next.
She needed to look professional when she saw Owen—professional and aloof. But she didn’t want to appear as if she’d put too much time or effort into it. With that in mind, it took her three times as long as normal to do her makeup and choose her clothes. She must have changed at least a dozen times. By the time she got to her kitchen, her stomach was making sounds she’d never heard before. At least it took no effort to pick out food.
She made a cup of coffee while toasting a bagel. She sat down and finished the coffee before the bagel popped out of the toaster. She barely tasted it as she filled her stomach. She’d be
en procrastinating long enough. It was time to find Owen.
She called the hospital, surprised when she discovered he was still there. She’d expected them to tell her he’d been released. Her stomach tightened as she began to fear the worst. What if something terrible had happened to him? She tried telling herself he meant nothing to her. She knew she was a liar.
It took her three tries to start her car, then twice as long to get to the hospital as it should have. She’d had to take the back roads and go slowly, as she was having a hell of a time focusing on driving.
When she finally arrived, she stepped from the vehicle, wondering if Owen was going to notice the changes in her. He liked to tell her she hadn’t changed a bit from seventeen, but she knew that was a lie, especially in the last six months. Her appetite still hadn’t fully returned, and she’d lost more weight than she could afford to lose, leaving her cheeks too gaunt and her hips too bony.
She almost laughed at the thought. She’d been on a fitness journey just last year, determined to lose ten pounds and build muscle. She’d even hired a personal trainer to help her reach her goals.
But everything had changed when she’d lost her father. She’d somehow lost her joy in life. He’d been the one to raise her, the one to tuck her in each night. He’d been her knight in shining armor and her superhero all rolled into one. She’d always thought her dad was invincible, that nothing could happen to him.
She’d been wrong.
And with his loss, she’d changed. This thought made her even sadder as she moved into the cool hospital corridor. If Owen truly was okay, she was glad their meeting would be in this place. It was easier, more sterile. There was no history between them at the hospital, no memories. It seemed she couldn’t look at very many areas in Edmonds without connecting one memory or another with Owen. Why did life have to be so dang complicated?
Eden approached the nurses’ station, grateful when she saw April sitting behind the large desk. She pasted a false smile on her lips as she waited for the woman to stop typing. Finally, April did, then smiled when she noticed Eden.
“What are you doing here?” April asked.
“I want to see Owen,” Eden said. April’s grin widened.
“Are you guys back together?” she asked. People in this town seemed to believe that conclusion was inevitable.
“That was just a kid thing,” Eden said, though it hurt her heart to say it. The wild abandon and passion she’d felt for Owen had nothing to do with childish emotion. But she didn’t want people to realize how broken she’d become when he’d left her.
“Mmm-hmm,” April said with a chuckle that was worse than nails on a chalkboard. “He’s in room 306,” she finished.
“Thanks, April,” Eden said, turning and walking away before the snoopy girl could ask anything else. As it was, Eden feared April would be blabbing all over town about how Eden had rushed to Owen’s bedside. She sort of was doing that, but she assured herself it was simply because she had questions to ask, not because she was worried.
Eden didn’t realize she was only taking shallow breaths as she approached room 306. She didn’t take her first full breath until she pushed open the door, not bothering to knock, and saw Owen fully dressed, sitting on the edge of the bed, a grumpy expression plastered on his face.
When he looked up, for just a moment his lips curved, and a sparkle entered his eyes. Too quickly, his expression changed, and she wondered what it was he saw in her expression. Was it relief? Anger? Fear? She honestly didn’t know.
“Hello, Owen,” she said quietly, feeling almost stupid at the lame greeting.
“Eden,” he replied with a tilt to his head. It was such a polite way to answer. His eyes flashed a million questions at her, but he was silent as he waited to see what she had to say, why she was there. Maybe he was just a tad bit guarded himself.
He’d tried calling her a few dozen times after their night together, after her father had died. She hadn’t been able to talk to him. So he had to be wondering why she was there now. She should just spit it all out—planned on doing just that if she could stop her brain from firing all of these thoughts at her.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
He gave her a mirthless smile as he shrugged. “I’m fine. I should’ve been out of here hours ago, but since my brother is getting his retribution . . .” His voice trailed off as he obviously waited for the small talk to end.
Kian must’ve had someone bring Owen clothes, because he’d showered and was wearing a black T-shirt that looked painted on him and a pair of jeans that molded perfectly to his legs. She didn’t want to think that way, but she couldn’t seem to help it when he was right there in front of her.
She closed her eyes for the briefest of moments, and that was a huge mistake, because then she was picturing the last time they’d been together, the way his tongue had circled her nipples, the long, hard thrust of him deep inside her . . .
Eden’s eyes snapped open, and she looked guiltily back at Owen, who seemed to be wearing a knowing expression on his beautiful face. There was no way he could’ve read her thoughts. She was sure of that—sure it was nothing more than her guilt over having them.
And since that wasn’t going to happen ever again, it wasn’t a place she needed to go, not even in her imagination. Her self-lecture finished, Eden squared her shoulders and gave Owen the most professional look she could manage.
“That’s good to hear,” she told him, barely remembering she’d asked him how he was doing. “How are the other two firefighters?”
Owen winced and Eden knew it wasn’t good. She wasn’t sure about one of the guys, but the younger one had appeared to be in pretty bad shape.
“John’s fine, but I don’t know if Trevor’s going to make it,” he said after a long pause.
“I’m sorry,” she told him, meaning the words. She found her fingers twitching with the need to reach out and touch him, not only to comfort him but also to assure herself he was truly okay.
She might be mental, she decided. She might actually have a disorder that only appeared when she was in the presence of this one human being. Her emotions were all over the place in a matter of minutes—hell, seconds—when she was around him. She’d be so much happier if she could feel nothing other than aloof indifference.
“Why are you here, Eden? It’s not that I’m unhappy to see you,” he added when she visibly winced. “But you’ve managed to avoid me like I’ve got the plague since our last night together.”
Once again an image of the two of them locked tightly together played across her memories. But following that was the sight of her father’s lifeless body. She’d never forgive herself for her desires, for how she’d ignored her father so she could think only of herself.
“I shouldn’t have been at your house that night, Owen,” she said. She was trying for coldness, but the quiver in her voice gave away her vulnerability. She hated him a little for making her feel so weak. “We both knew from the moment you opened the door it was a big mistake.”
“Us together is never a mistake,” Owen countered. “Me leaving was the only error in judgment.”
She shuddered as he said those words. “I guess we’ll never know,” she told him. Maybe they would’ve stayed together. Probably not, though. How many high school romances actually ended in marriage? Or in lasting marriages? People changed so much in their early twenties. She knew she’d changed a lot from that seventeen-year-old girl. She was sure Owen had changed, as well.
“We could try to figure it out,” Owen told her.
She shook her head. “I’m not here to reminisce about the past,” she told him. It was time to get to the subject at hand.
“What are you here for, then?” he asked. It wasn’t a rude question, just curious. But it still stung how he was all business. Even though that had been what she’d been telling herself she wanted.
“I’m helping with the investigation of the origin of the fire,” she said.
His eyes narrowed the slightest bit.
“Why do you need to talk to me about that? I’m just out there fighting the damn thing. I don’t know how it got started, and I don’t care all that much. I just want it stopped.”
“Our firm was hired . . . ,” she began, but her words fell off as suspicion entered his gaze. She hated that he was looking at her like that.
“Again, what does this have to do with me?” he asked. He wasn’t glaring at her, but he didn’t appear particularly friendly at the moment.
“The arson investigator came to our office.” She stopped again.
“Do we know for sure it’s arson?” he asked. He seemed upset by that. Of course, that could be an act, she told herself.
“Yes, we’re sure,” she said.
“Then you better find the person before they burn up the entire state of Washington,” he said with such conviction she wanted to stamp his name “free and clear” and be on her way.
“You’re being investigated,” she told him. The shock followed by anger in his eyes made her take a slight step away from him. She didn’t remember Owen ever being a great actor, and the look burning in his gaze right now was most definitely rage.
“Men have been killed in this fire,” Owen said after several tense seconds. She nodded, feeling on the verge of tears. “And you think I could have any part in taking lives?” His tone was now filled with disbelief. She wanted to assure him that no, she didn’t think that in any way.
“I have to follow all leads,” she said, a lump in her throat.
“Of course you do. Because this isn’t personal at all, is it?” he said. There was barely any sarcasm in his tone, but yes, it was there.
“No, this isn’t personal,” she told him. They both knew she was lying. If she were to admit it to herself, she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt he was innocent. But her job was to investigate who they told her to.
Owen didn’t say anything as he stood and began moving toward her. Panic filled her as she took a step back, but there was determination on his face as he backed her into the wall, his body pressed up against hers, his heat scorching her.