New Beginnings (The Girl and The Fireman Book 1)

by Amy Allen

  Agreeing with him, Lana was slightly surprised Craig, and, most likely, her brother had figured it out. She’d thought she’d managed to hide how much Jeremy scared her. At his final comment, she smiled. “Mahalo.” Giving the hint of a smile, she added, “We’re going out on Saturday,” unsure if Joshua said anything last night or this morning. She knew Craig would know who she meant so she didn’t have to explain further.

  “I’m glad to hear it.” He decided to change the subject. “So, did you have a good run?”

  Her eyes widened. “Yeah, I did. Were you guys spying on me? You didn’t say anything about me going by myself.”

  Craig laughed. “Not spying, per se. It just happened to get noticed, but wasn’t mentioned until after you were back.” What he didn’t tell her was he and Rob had wondered what held Joshua’s attention at the front door for several minutes. It wasn’t until Joshua had finally returned to the family room to say she went for a run and was home. There was attraction, and probably lust, on both sides. If more were to develop between Lana and Joshua, Craig would be very happy. From little things Craig remembered hearing Rob mention, Joshua would date a woman for a while but, for his own reasons, hadn’t settled down yet. Craig decided he was going to sit back and watch while making sure Rob did the same. Craig knew it would be up to Lana and Joshua figure out their feelings before deciding for themselves what would happen.

  Lana didn’t ask who had noticed. She happened to look away from Craig towards the door and suddenly smiled at who was standing there. “You can come in if you’d like.”

  Joshua returned the smile and stepped in, walking toward them. Seeing Craig holding a sketch pad and then noticing who the drawing on top was, he motioned toward it. “May I?” he wondered. Seeing her nod, he took it from Craig. “You did this?” When she nodded again, he smiled. “This is great. When?”

  “Today. Just after noon while I had some lunch.” Lana looked down at her lap, feeling a little embarrassed before she lifted her eyes back to his. “I don’t always have my pad with me, so if it’s a place I’ve been or someone I know or have recently met, I’ll draw the place or person/people from memory at a later time. If a place or person is described to me, I usually will draw as the description is being given though I may make a note to add more definition in later. I love to draw. There are three of them there.” Not realizing he had an understanding of sketching from his sister, she then added, “At the moment they are just simple drawings without any color, but if you’d like one of them, I’ll add the color in to the one you want to finish it.”

  He had only seen the one on top so he flipped through the next couple of pages. Joshua was awed by how well she caught his likeness. Something else she had in common with his sister. Although the sketches didn’t actually show that he was a vampire, and he was glad for that, it was almost as if she saw through to the real him. Saw the lonely man and scared boy. When he raised his head, he smiled at her. “I don’t want to take your only copies, but yeah, I’d love a copy of all three if possible.” He handed her back the sketch pad.

  Lana felt a rush of whatever that feeling was she’d first noticed when he’d kissed her last night as well as a bit of pride in herself causing her to give him a small soft smile. “I’d be happy to do all three for you.”

  Having glanced at the time, Craig cleared his throat to get Lana’s attention. “It’s about time for you to get going, doll. And I’d ask if you were sure, but it’s not worth the argument.”

  She hadn’t realized the time until Craig said something. “Mahalo. Yes, I’m sure and nope it’s not since you’d lose anyway.” Putting the sketch pad back in her bag, she wondered how much of the conversation Joshua had heard between her and Craig before she saw him at the door, but she didn’t ask. She almost didn’t want to know if he’d heard them mention the one thing she was really afraid of. Thinking of something else, she asked, “Will you two take the boys back over to the house with you, please?”

  Craig nodded. “Already planned on it.”

  “Mahalo.” Standing, she wasn’t worried about having to put any makeup on or do anything more with her hair. She’d put some mascara and light eyeliner on after her shower and knew she had lip gloss in her bag to put on after she changed at work. Grabbing her tote bag, purse, and keys she gave a quick whistle. Baal and Ash quickly moved from her room to the front door, sitting to wait.

  When they all walked out of her cottage at the same time, Joshua watched as she headed toward the carport while Craig headed toward the house with the wolves. Making a last minute decision, Joshua decided to follow her. When he saw her car, though he didn’t know why, he was surprised. It was a light blue convertible Karmann Ghia. “1964?” He asked her.

  She smiled. “Yep. I’m impressed. You know your cars. I bought it my senior year of high school while we were still on Guam, so I’ve had it for eight years now. It needed some work at the time, but I didn’t mind. It was worth it to have it looking and running good.” Next, to the wolves, it was her baby and still worth all the hard work she’d put into it. She suddenly giggled. “It also has a ragtop for those times I need it.”

  Moving around the car, admiring it, Joshua grinned and nodded. “It looks fantastic, and I’ll bet it drives as nice as it looks. Andi, sorry, Brandi, has one almost like it. I think she leaves it on Oahu at her dad’s estate.” He chuckled at seeing her nod and grin with pride, though he ignored, for the time being, the look of confusion at his last comment. He rarely mentioned to people, especially women, that he didn’t share a father with Brandi, Mike, and Eric. He knew he could consider their adopted dad in this life, Rob Masterson, as his step-dad if he wanted. Opening the driver’s door for her, he stopped her as she started to get in. Taking her hand, he brushed a light kiss across her lips, happy when she returned it. Looking down at her, his hand let go over hers and came up to move across her face. Moving to the side so she could get in, he said as he closed her door, “Drive safe. You have your phone with you?” He wasn’t quite sure why he felt the need to touch her and kiss her. He also didn’t know why he was feeling protective about her, but he decided he wasn’t going to worry about it right then.

  Lana smiled when Joshua closed the door as he spoke. Nodding, she told him, “I will and yeah, I do. If you want the number, ask Rob to give it to you.” Starting the car, she waved and pulled out. She had wondered at first who Andi was until he clarified it was Brandi. She then wondered what he meant regarding Brandi and her Ghia, but she decided to wait to ask.

  Joshua watched her drive out before he headed back to the main house. Stepping in, he saw Rob on the phone. It sounded like Rob was talking to the girl he’d been dating.

  Finishing up his call, Rob grinned at Joshua and Craig. Putting the phone back in his pocket, he asked, “You guys wanna go to a Luau? Have dinner and watch some dancing? That was Kaia, my friend who also works at the Luau. They didn’t quite fill up tonight with reservations as they usually do and have a few open spots left. Getting in is on me, and already paid for.”

  Joshua didn’t have to ask which Luau Rob meant. “Sounds good to me. Are you sure, though? I’ve heard they aren’t cheap.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure. It’s worth it. And this one is considered the Most Hawaiian Maui Luau.” Rob looked at the time. “They don’t start letting people in until four p.m., so, since it's three-thirty now, we have about thirty minutes before having to be there. The Luau doesn’t end until eight-thirty roughly but we don’t have to stay until then. Lana won’t be home until close to nine-thirty.”

  Watching Rob make sure Baal and Ash were fed and had something set up for doing their business, Joshua’s phone rang. Seeing the caller ID, Joshua answered with, “Hey Eric. What’s up?”

  “Hey, Josh. Wanted to see if you wanted to come over tonight for dinner?”

  Joshua lightly chuckled. “Thanks for the offer. I would but I have plans.”

  Eric remembered Rob had invited Joshua over. “Bring Rob and Craig. That’s n
ot a problem. I’ll just let Bree know we’ll have two more besides you.”

  Joshua burst out laughing. He could just imagine Brandi’s reaction if Eric were to tell her there were more for dinner. “If we were going to be here, I’d take you up on that but we’re heading to a Luau.”

  Eric suddenly laughed. “Do I need to guess which one?”

  “Nope. Should be fun, though.”

  “Enjoy.”

  “Thanks. Talk to you later.” Joshua hung up the phone, smiling. Seeing the questioning look on both Rob’s and Craig’s faces, he said, “Eric invited us over for dinner. He said to enjoy the Luau.”

  When they left, they took Craig’s truck since he said he would be the designated driver for the night. Arriving, they got into the Luau without problems. They were greeted with lei’s and Mai Tai’s by Lana, who was dressed in a bikini type top and a white sarong-style skirt.

  When Lana saw the three men, she only grinned, even though she was torn between either running and hiding, or joining them. She was wondering why they were there until she happened to look over at the entrance. When she caught Kaia’s eye, she noticed her friend just gave her a shrug and a grin causing Lana to shake her head as she quietly laughed. Noticing Craig shake his head instead of taking the Mai Tai, she wasn’t surprised and happy he was refusing from the start. Going back to the bar, she ordered a drink for him. Returning, she handed him a new drink, saying “It’s a non-alcoholic Mai Tai.” She then moved on to greet the next arrivals.

  At five p.m., once all the guests were in and greeted, Lana did as she did each night and grabbed her sketch pad, sitting on the grass so she was at an angle. This allowed her to be able to see any people who wanted a sketch done as well as being able to see the ocean with Lanai and Molokai in the background. She spent the next hour sketching couples and families. Even though the sun wasn’t setting quite yet, she’d add the sunset in if the guests wanted it.

  She hadn’t been paying close attention to those who were waiting or even those she was sketching, except to quickly look at the person in front of her to be able to sketch them, until a single person stepped in front of her. She did her usual quick glance up to get a basic idea of the person before looking at her book and turning to a fresh page. This time her head popped back up thinking she was seeing things. Finding her eyes hadn’t deceived her and she did see Joshua, she smiled. “Just yourself? You don’t want to have Rob or Craig in it?” She giggled at the last of her comment, especially when he quirked an eyebrow and grinned.

  “Not having one done with either of them. But, since it looks like you won’t have any more after me for sketches, I was hoping you would do one that has you, dressed however you want to be dressed in it, and me in it. With a sunset behind us, even though the sun hasn’t started setting yet.” He moved from standing in front of her to sitting down next to her on the grass.

  At Joshua’s comment, the smile that was still on Lana’s face at seeing Joshua grew. She also realized she was nodding to him instead of actually answering him. Picking up her phone, she looked at the time and said, “It’s only ten to six and sunset isn’t until just after seven. But I can add it in without a problem.” When he sat down next to her, she was only partly surprised. She felt his eyes on her as she sketched them with the ocean, Lanai, Molokai, and a sunset at their back. Once she was satisfied with how they looked and the coloring of it all, she tore off the page. Making sure the carbon she used to make duplicates wasn’t attached to the sketch, she handed it to him with a shy smile. Checking the time on her phone again, and seeing it was now six p.m., she said, “Later I’ll do in the coloring for the other three and give them to you. But for now, I need to go.” Leaning over she was about to kiss his cheek when he turned his head so her lips brushed his. Feeling even shyer, she got up and jogged toward where she was to meet the rest of the dancers since it was nearly time for their first performance.

  After Joshua found Rob and Craig, the three men found their table and seats before they followed others at the table to the buffet.

  Joshua was enjoying the food, but he was really enjoying the show. Well, if he was honest to himself, it was one specific dancer he was enjoying watching. She was good and looked so natural doing the Hula. He made a note to himself to mention it to Brandi since he knew she danced too, though he couldn’t remember right at the moment if Hula was one Brandi did. He hadn’t been paying attention to the time, or anything else, until Rob tapped him on the arm laughing. Distractedly, he asked, “What?”

  Rob started laughing more though he was glad to see Joshua genuinely seemed interested in Lana. “It’s after eight. Time to go. The two boys have been cooped up inside long enough. She’ll be home in about an hour or so.”

  Joshua nodded as he watched the end of the current dance. When the girls left the stage, he got up and joined Rob and Craig to leave. He’d been drinking just enough that he knew he wasn’t going anywhere when they got back to the house.

  Once Craig pulled up at the house and they were inside, they settled in to watch TV after Rob took the wolves outside.

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  Jeremy pulled off the road just down the street and walked back. Standing on the street side of the driveway, he looked first at the main house then over at the cottage. Lights were on in both. He suddenly smiled maliciously. She was home and still awake. It couldn’t be more perfect.

  He had decided on nine p.m. for what he had planned since it was fully dark and there was no moon shining tonight. It also helped that it was partly cloudy so it had the feel of being darker.

  Sneaking around the Banyan tree near the cottage, he moved to a dark window. He smiled more when he saw the window was left open. Quietly he removed the screen.

  Opening his case, Jeremy finished putting together the three bottles he made. One he left as a traditional Molotov cocktail, throwing that one in the window. The room was suddenly ablaze. Making sure the other two bottles were closed tight, he headed back to his car. He did the back room first on purpose. She wouldn’t realize it was on fire until almost too late. But he wasn’t finished.

  Driving back past the house, Jeremy stopped, got out and threw the other two at the cottage. As he got back in the car, he heard the two explosions only about a minute or two apart. Using those as cover, he drove away, laughing viciously.

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  They were just getting into the movie when they heard the first explosion. With Rob grabbing phones, they ran to the front door. As they got to the front door they heard the second one. Throwing open the door, Rob looked over at Lana’s place, he moved so Craig and Joshua could get out, while he pushed the wolves back in the house. Throwing his friends their phones, he called the fire in. Ending the call, he saw Joshua talking to someone while looking toward Eric’s place and Craig coming up with a hose. Looking at Joshua, as Joshua ended the call and put the phone in his pocket, Rob raised an eyebrow in question to only receive “Eric” as a reply. Nodding, he took the hose from Craig before motioning for both Craig and Joshua to grab the other two. Rob was glad when Eric, John, and Brandi joined them, having seen the fire from Eric’s house. He only nodded when Brandi volunteered to go in to keep the wolves calm. All five men worked on containing the fire while they waited for the fire department to arrive.

  Still in a happy mood at seeing Joshua at the Luau, Lana pulled in the drive and started to turn toward her ‘ohana. Seeing her place on fire, she suddenly stopped and jumped out, not caring that her car was still running or possibly parked in the way.

  Seeing Lana suddenly there and running toward the fire, Rob looked over at Joshua and yelled, “Grab her.”

  Joshua saw her and was already heading to her, leaving Eric to handle the hose, at the same time Rob yelled to him. Reaching her quickly, and seeing Craig run past him to her car, Joshua easily grabbed her around the waist. Lifting her off her feet, he pulled her back ag
ainst his chest. His reaction to her against him like that was instant and near painful though he was trying to ignore it. It didn’t help that she was making it harder by wiggling in his arms trying to get free.

  She wanted to scream as she watched her ‘ohana burn. She was trying to get out of Joshua’s arms because she wanted to make sure her two boys weren’t in there. Feeling his arms tighten, she started crying and on a sob said, “I have to get them. They can’t burn.”

  Understanding, Joshua calmly and quietly told her, “Shhh. It’s ok. They aren’t in there. They’re ok.”

  Lana heard him, but the words weren’t sinking in. She kept trying to get out of his arms until she felt something against her bottom. She suddenly stiffened, really wanting to get out of his arms. As she finally realized what he’d said, she went limp. Sniffing, she asked, “Where?”

  Without thinking of the why, he lifted her limp body up and, turning her, he put one arm around her back, and the other under her legs. Pulling her close, he smiled to himself when her arms went around him and her head rested on his shoulder. “They’re still in the main house where they’ve been since you left earlier. Andi’s with them to make sure they stay inside and to keep them company.” Feeling her nod, and not even thinking about the fact he’d said Andi instead of Brandi, he looked over at Rob as the fire trucks pulled in.

  All five men, with Lana still in Joshua’s arms, stayed out of the way as the firefighters on duty got the fire put out. Running a hand through his close-cropped hair, Rob looked over at Lana. Moving to where she was with Joshua, he tried to take her from Joshua only to find she held Joshua tighter and shook her head. Sighing, he leaned over and kissed her temple. He knew who had started the fire, even if he couldn’t prove it at the moment. And the fucker had destroyed everything except what Rob knew he’d wanted to destroy. He hadn’t destroyed, or killed, her. Or at least she wasn’t destroyed in the way that Jeremy had wanted. Rob knew that although the material items that were in her ‘ohana were important to her, they weren’t as important as her wolves were to her. He also knew, from watching how she was still reacting, that the fire had destroyed more than just the building and belongings.