“That’s about the only time islanders ever drive around here,” Arianrhod commented as she started unloading the bags she’d brought in.
“I can see why. It’s always so beautiful here. I don’t think I’ve seen a cloud in the sky since I stepped on the island.”
“Wait until it gets closer to hurricane season. So far, we haven’t had a bad season since the Winters developed the island, but our luck can only hold out for so long.”
“Is that a guess or a thinly veiled hint at another vision you’ve had?”
Arianrhod shot her a wide smile. “A guess. I’ve seen no evil heading our way again anytime soon.” She held up a finger. “That doesn’t mean we won’t have any, though. Things are not always shown to me.”
“Do me a favor, if you get anymore vision that involve me or my men, keep them to yourself.”
“Scout’s honor.”
“Were you ever a Girl Scout?”
Arianrhod snickered. “No, but it’s still a promise, right?”
Faith giggled and rolled her eyes. “Right.”
“You’re not still thinking the vision I had is the only reason Kalvin and Blaze are with you, are you?”
“No. I wondered when you told me about it,” she confessed. “I’ll never know if that vision had anything to do with their initial attraction to me or not, but I do know it has nothing to with what has happened between the three of us since.”
“That’s the important part.” Arianrhod turned and leaned against the counter behind her. “How are you doing now that everything is over?”
“I think I’ve learned to accept it. I had a tough time with it for a few days, and the betrayal still hurts. Not just Ashley’s, but my father’s, too. I doubt my mother ever knew he had an affair and the fact that he turned his back on Ashley knowing she was his daughter…” She shook her head and sighed. “I guess I never really knew the man he was after all.”
“I can’t imagine how hard it was for you to find out all of that.”
“I just wish Ashley had told me the truth when we met instead of going off the deep end the way she did. I have a sister, Arianrhod. I grew up an only child always longing for a sibling and I had one I never knew about until five days ago.”
“Is it wrong of me to say that might be a good thing considering the woman she turned out to be?”
“No, it’s not wrong. Still, if she hadn’t harbored so much hatred for me, we could’ve been like real sisters. And the money, I still can’t wrap my mind around it enough to understand. In the two years I thought she was my friend, I knew she didn’t have a lot. I paid her far more than most employers would have simply because she wouldn’t take money from me otherwise. Had I known she was my sister, I would have spilt every dime of my inheritance with her. Hell, I probably would’ve given her every cent if she wanted it. The money doesn’t mean anything to me.”
“It wouldn’t. You’re going to use some of it to open another Delilah’s Designs, though, aren’t you?”
“Kalvin and Blaze have been trying to talk me into it, but it will be a while before I can even start to think about another shop. Everything I sold in Delilah’s Designs was handcrafted by Delilah and it was all destroyed in the fire. It’ll take me months, gosh, maybe even a year or more, before I’ll have enough stuff made to fill another store.”
“What about a small display while you’re working on building your stock?” Arianrhod suggested. “You could talk to Mom about putting one inside Pleasured Minds.”
“That’s a fantastic idea! It won’t be Delilah’s Designs, though. I’ve started a new life in a new place and have even started going by a different name.”
“Hmm…” Arianrhod tapped her chin thoughtfully with the tip of a siren red painted nail. “Faith’s Designs?” She shook her head. “No, that doesn’t sound right. Faith’s Creations.” She made a considering face. “Maybe. Or Creations by Faith. No, that’s too long.”
Faith threw back her head and laughed as Arianrhod continued to rattle off names for a new shop she was sure to open in her happy new future.
* * * *
Kalvin drew his brows together as he leaned back in his chair and glared at the sheriff. “David’s an old friend of mine and Blaze’s. We worked together on the department on the mainland. He’s a firefighter, not an arsonist.”
“Arianrhod said she came close to calling you and telling you to get me as soon as she and Faith walked into Ménage a Drink even before Ashley Valentine showed up.”
“Because David was there. Yeah, I know. I told Arianrhod to call me if anyone she didn’t know tried to approach Faith. She didn’t realize Faith and David had already met or that David is a friend.”
John flattened his hands on the top of the desk and leaned on them. “Did you know Goldman is no longer a firefighter with the Billings FD?”
“Faith said he mentioned putting in an application at a department in Silver Springs, but no, I wasn’t aware he’d quit Billings.”
“I checked the departments in the neighboring cities to see if he’d transferred. There’s no trace of him applying at any department except this one.”
Kalvin sat up straighter. “He applied to work on the island?”
“I spoke to Nichols about it before I came in here. He remembers the application because he gave it serious consideration even though there aren’t any official openings. Apparently Goldman had a talk with Nichols not long after he arrived on the island. Goldman asked him to keep it confidential. He stressed his unhappiness with the departments on the mainland and, more specifically, the attitudes of the firefighters toward gay men.”
“Did David tell the chief he’s gay?”
John nodded slowly. “I’m getting the vibe you didn’t know that.”
“Hell, no. Blaze and I have known him for years. He’s even friends with Blaze’s brother.”
“And in love with you and Blaze?”
The suggestion was so ludicrous Kalvin nearly laughed in the sheriff’s face. Except…“Son of a bitch. You think David started the fire in Faith’s room because he was trying to get her away from me and Blaze?”
The sheriff straightened and ticked off points on his fingers. “He was seen having dinner with Faith in the resort restaurant the night before the fire. The same witness told me he walked her to her room, therefore he knew which room was hers. Aiden Maxwell told me he had a long conversation with Goldman about the island fire department in his office at the resort. Maxwell was summoned to the front desk to take care of guest matter and left Goldman in his office.”
“Where David would’ve gotten access to Maxwell’s master room key.” Kalvin briefly closed his eyes as everything fell into place. That key would’ve gained David access to Faith’s room. “You said you’d questioned someone who told you they saw a tall, blond-haired man trying to enter Faith’s room before the fire.”
“And that I found a man fitting that description registered in a different room down the hall who admitted to getting the suite numbers confused.”
“David also fits the description.”
John nodded. “I don’t suppose you know where he is right now?”
Kalvin reached for his cell, talking while he thumbed the number for Blaze. “No, but I know Blaze went out for his morning swim at the same time I left the house. Faith was headed to the main drag to do some shopping and she’s probably back by now.”
“In the damn cottage alone.”
Though the sheriff’s words were more statement than question, Kalvin answered him as he pushed to his feet and put the ringing cell to his ear. “If she is, she won’t be for long. Let’s go.”
* * * *
Blaze had always been a man who was comfortable with his body. When he emerged from the water and treaded the sand back up the nudist’s beach to where he’d shed his clothing, he bit back a cocky grin at the heated gazes he got from the women he passed. Before Faith had come to the island, he’d returned those gazes with an observing one of his
own. Though he’d never been interested in any of the women, he’d appreciated their bodies and hadn’t bothered to hide it.
Today, he barely spared them a glance. He had the only woman he wanted to see naked at home. At least he hoped she would be home by now. Maybe Kalvin would be, too. Then they could spend the rest of their day off making their woman’s head spin.
He bent at the waist, grabbed his shorts, and shook the sand off of them before putting them on. He’d shoved his cell phone inside the front pocket and pulled it out as he started to walk up the beach toward the access that would lead him to the sidewalk.
A quick glance at the screen told him he’d missed a call from Tyler. He slid his thumb over the call icon and waited for his brother to answer.
“What’s up, bro?” he said by way of greeting when Tyler answered just before his voicemail picked up. “Are you callin’ to tell me you’ve finally decided to pack up and move in?”
“From what you said the last time we talked, you and Kalvin don’t have room for a roommate anymore.”
“Sure we do. Kalvin’s moved into my room with me and Faith.”
“You’ve got a woman in the house now, dude. You’ll need that spare bedroom for all the clothes and shoes she collects.”
Blaze thought about the rapidly dwindling space in his closet since he and Kalvin had finally convinced Faith to stay on the island. Once she’d made up her mind to make their place her home, too, she’d gone on one hell of a shopping spree.
“Hell,” he muttered. “You might have a point.”
Tyler chuckled. “See, that’s why I love men. Give us a couple of pairs of jeans, a few shirts, a good pair of tennis shoes, and maybe a pair of boots and we’re set.”
“I always thought gay guys were as bad as women when it came to accessorizin’ and all that shit.”
“Not if you find the right gay man,” his brother sing-songed. “And speakin’ of gay men, I had a conversation with a friend of yours that raised my eyebrows a bit.”
Blaze hit the sidewalk and headed toward the cottage. “Oh? Who was that?”
“David.”
“Since when did he become just a friend of mine?”
“Oh, he’s a friend of mine, too, but I think he wants to be more than just your friend, bro.”
Blaze stopped walking, gave his cell phone a dumbfounded look, and put it back to his ear. “What the fuck have you been smokin’?”
Tyler didn’t make so much as a snicker. “I’m tellin’ you, Blaze. I’ve known the guy almost as long as you have. I talk to him all the time. But the conversation I had with him earlier today about you…My gaydar hasn’t ever gone off with him before, but it damn sure did this time.”
“What did he say?”
“It wasn’t what he said as much as how he said it. We were talkin’ about your new love. What’s her name? Faith? Anyway, he got his underwear in a wad over her big-time.”
“Naw, I don’t believe that.” Blaze started walking again, but his pace was much lower as he thought back over the days since David had stepped onto the island. Faith’d had dinner with the man at the resort, he’d been there the night of the fire in her suite and had stayed with her while Blaze had talked with Mindy Slovak, and he’d even been with her when the sheriff had arrested Ashley Valentine. He’d asked about her, too, every time Blaze had talked to the man when Faith hadn’t been around. “If anything, I’d say he’s been tryin’ to steal my woman, but she ain’t been bitin’.”
“Hey, you’re there and I’m here. I’m just lettin’ you know the impression I got.”
Blaze’s call waiting beeped and he glanced at the screen. “Yeah, and you should be here, too. Then you could see what I’m seein’,” he told Tyler. “Look, bro. Kalvin’s callin’ me. I’ll talk to you later.”
His brother said good-bye and Blaze thumbed the swap calls icon on the screen.
“Where are you?” Kalvin demanded before he had the chance to say anything.
“Walkin’ back from the beach. Why?”
“Is Faith alone at the cottage?”
“Hell, I don’t know if she’s even back yet. She was headin’ out to buy some groceries when I left.”
“Ashley Valentine didn’t set fire to Faith’s suite. David Goldman did.”
Blaze didn’t bother to end the call, shoving the phone in his pocket as he broke into a dead run for the cottage, praying he’d find it and Faith safe when he arrived.
* * * *
Faith danced around the kitchen as she finished putting away the groceries. She’d cranked up the stereo after Arianrhod left, filling the cottage with the upbeat music of the first rock station she’d tuned into. Singing along to a song by Imagine Dragons, she wiggled her hips as she shuffled her feet over the tiled kitchen floor.
“That’s some shake you’ve got there.”
She startled at the voice and spun toward the door she’d left open. She gave a shaky laugh, her hand flying up to cover her rapidly beating heart as she saw who it was. “Jesus, David. You nearly scared the life out of me.”
David smiled. “Do you mind if I come in?”
“No, of course not.” She snagged the stereo remote from the counter and turned down the volume. “I’m just putting groceries away. If I have to eat take out or delivery another night, I think I’m going to barf.”
He chuckled. “I take it Blaze and Kalvin aren’t much on cooking?”
“Or grocery shopping. It amazes me how they managed to keep such hot bodies the way they eat.”
“Tell me about it.”
Faith shot him a questioning look, puzzled by the comment. Surely he hadn’t meant that the way it had sounded. “I don’t know when either of them will be back. Kalvin is at the firehouse and Blaze went for a swim.”
“It’s good they’re finally leaving you alone again.”
Faith groaned. “Tell me about it. Even after Ashley was arrested, they still wouldn’t give me a minute’s peace for days. Don’t get me wrong, I love being with both of them, but a girl needs a little time to herself now and then, you know?”
“Yeah, time to pack up and leave the island.”
Faith froze. Had he really just said that? She spun around from the cabinet to ask and spotted the small bag in his hand for the first time. “What is that, David?”
He lifted a shoulder. “Just a little gasoline. I figured I wouldn’t need much to start a good fire if you didn’t want to cooperate.”
She blinked at him as her mind tripped and stumbled over his words. “I…you…what?”
“I never expected you to stay on the island after everything burned in your suite. You certainly weren’t supposed to move in with Blaze. It was a stupid move. Of course, I didn’t know then that you were running from an arsonist. It’s kind of ironic, don’t you think? If I had known that, I could’ve planned how to get rid of you a whole lot better.”
“Get rid of me?” she asked slowly. “Why?”
He shrugged again. “You’re in my way. You’ve taken what belongs to me and I want it back.”
“I haven’t taken anything from you.”
“Blaze belongs to me. If I have to take Kalvin, too, I’m cool with that, but you have to go.” He peeled the bag off the small gas can and twisted off the cap. “I’ll give you one chance to pack your shit and leave before I douse you and as much as I can of this cottage and strike the match.”
He had a lighter, not a match, in his other hand, she realized. Either way, all he had to do was pour out the case, flick his thumb over the roller, and toss it to set the place on fire.
“David,” she said as her mind worked to figure a way out of what was happening. Was there a way to reason with a madman? She didn’t know, but she had to try something. “If you’re in love with Blaze, you want him to be happy, right?”
“He’ll be happy when he’s with me.”
He’s not gay, she started to say. But his brother was. Maybe there were still some things about Blaze she didn’t kn
ow. Not that he was gay of course. A man didn’t make love to a woman the way Blaze did if he was all-out gay. He could be bisexual though.
“Why don’t you put down the gas and the lighter and we’ll talk about this?” It was a stupid suggestion to make. It rarely worked in the movies. Whatever made her think it would work in real life?
“There’s nothing to talk about. You have two options, leave or burn.”
She didn’t like either of those options, but she suspected that telling him so wouldn’t do her any good. “I’ll have to see him again before I can leave the island. If I don’t talk to him and make up some excuse why I’m leaving, he’ll come after me.”
David shook his head. “No, he won’t. I’ll tell him I caught you packing your shit. You told me you were going back to Chicago. That’s where your life was before, anyway. You missed all your friends and family and all that jazz and just couldn’t handle being on the island anymore. Then I’ll comfort him, if he’s really that upset about you going. I doubt he will be, though, since he’ll have me here.”
Forget hero worship. The man was truly gone over Blaze. Holy straitjackets, how hadn’t she seen that before?
“If you believe that, then you don’t know me well enough to be in love with me,” Blaze said as he walked through the opened front door.
David jerked around so hard and fast a good half a cup of gas splashed out of the can and landed on the floor at his feet. “I do love you. I’ve loved you for years. I’ve wanted to tell you for a long time, but I couldn’t out us both on the department. I didn’t want you to have to go through all the talk and ridicule the guys at that station would’ve put you through. It would’ve hurt you too much.”
“Doin’ anything to Faith is gonna hurt me more,” Blaze told him. “She’s who I love, David, not you.”
Safe and Burning with Ecstasy [The Heroes of Silver Island 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 17