Slow Burn (Into The Fire Book 2)

by J. H. Croix

  “Look, we can do whatever you want. I was just offering that to…”

  She dragged her sleeve across her cheeks and nose, shaking her head.

  “It’s okay. I feel like shit. I mean, he’s my dad. I just hate how he pulls this crap.”

  “I bet.”

  She sniffled and scrubbed at her cheeks again. I reached to the side and snagged a tissue out of the box on the bathroom counter.

  As soon as I handed it to her, she blew her nose noisily in it and tossed the tissue in the trash. On the heels of a shuddering breath, she looked back up at me. “I don’t feel right shoving him out the door to Anchorage. I’ll call Janet and see if she can find a spot for him at her B&B.”

  “Still want me to book him a ticket?”

  It killed me to step back and let her make this call, but I knew I had to. Even if he was a loser, he was her dad.

  She shrugged. “I’m not sure yet. If you do, I’ll pay you back.”

  I shook my head, only to have her shake hers back emphatically. Her curls, still damp from our shower, swung back and forth.

  I chuckled. When she grinned a little, relief hit me. I hated, fucking hated, seeing her upset. It might be only a brief respite, but seeing that small smile made me want to shout.

  That’s how deeply Maisie had burrowed into my heart. Damn.

  I didn’t have time to ponder this, so I forced my focus to the moment. “We can argue about that later. You sure? Because if you say so, as soon as we get him outta here, I’ll make those reservations.”

  “It’s never good for me to have him around too long, but let me talk to him before you make the reservations.”

  She took another deep breath and stepped back. I instantly missed her warmth and softness against me. I wanted to keep her held close, to protect her from anything that might hurt her. I shackled the urge to pull her back to me. For one, she looked ready to go back out and face her dad. For another, he was out there waiting and wouldn’t be going anywhere until we dealt with him.

  So I let my hands fall reluctantly. She looked over at me. “Do I look like I was just crying?”

  Her cheeks were a little pink, and her eyes barely damp. My heart thumped. Hard.

  “Doesn’t matter if you do, but not really. Tell me what the plan is before I go out there and make an ass of myself.”

  Chapter 23

  Maisie

  Later that afternoon, I finished a call and spun around to take care of some filing. I had my head halfway in the filing cabinet when I heard my name.

  “Hang on,” I mumbled, rolling my chair back.

  The top of my ponytail caught on the filing cabinet as I straightened up. I grabbed my hair with one hand and spun around. “Can I help you?” I asked automatically as I wrestled my now loose curls back into submission.

  I glanced up to find Janet laughing.

  “Oh hey. Did you need something official?”

  She leaned an elbow on the counter and shook her head. “Nope. Rumor has it you might need me to scrounge up a room.”

  “Do you have anything open? I know it’s last minute, but…”

  She waved me quiet. “I usually keep one room open, so it’s yours on one condition.”

  I snapped the elastic around my ponytail and looked over at her, instantly suspicious. “Um, okay. What?”

  Her brown eyes crinkled at the corners with her grin. “Tell me what’s going on with you and Beck.”

  My cheeks got hot. I mentally berated myself. I should’ve immediately connected the dots. The only person who knew I was scouting for a room for my dad was Beck. Beck had gone above and beyond this morning, and I was wrestling with how I felt about it. Between being an absolute rock when I pretty much fell apart this morning, he’d volunteered to take my dad and drop him off with Chief Masters for some firefighter and police joint training event. He’d figured it was the safest way to keep my dad occupied and out of my hair all day. Seeing as my dad had hitchhiked to my house from Anchorage, he didn’t have much say in the matter. Beck had firmly escorted him out and backed me up completely on my dad not staying with me for a few days.

  I wasn’t used to having anyone to lean on. I didn’t quite know what to think of it. Layering this on top of the rest of my muddled feelings about Beck only added to my inner confusion. The strangest part was it felt good, so good I almost pinched myself. Every time that feeling passed through me, it was like emotional whiplash. I couldn’t trust it, so I got annoyed and angry with myself.

  Janet cleared her throat. Oh, right. She was waiting while I sat here mooning about Beck all in my own head. I looked back into her kind brown eyes and shrugged.

  “What do you mean?”

  I tried to sound innocent, but Janet wasn’t having it. She cocked her head to one side and arched a brow.

  “Let me see. Well, apparently Beck was at your house at the crack of dawn. He also appears to be your father’s taxi for the day. He delivered your dad to the police chief and stopped by the café to give me a heads up you’d be asking about a room for your dad. He didn’t give much away, but I’m no dummy.”

  My cheeks were so hot at this point, I needed to splash water on my face to cool off. Seeing as that wasn’t an option right this second, I steeled myself and met Janet’s way too perceptive gaze.

  “We might be seeing each other. Please don’t say anything. I don’t want the other guys here to be weird. This job is really important to me and…”

  Janet’s gaze softened. “Hey, you know I’d never talk. I might know everything because, well, my café’s as close to the center of the universe as you can find in Willow Brook, but I don’t gossip myself. Not about anything important. Far as I’m concerned, I’m beyond thrilled to see you step out of your comfort zone. You’ve been like a turtle here, keeping to yourself too much. Plus, I happen to think Beck’s a good guy. He sure seems to think you’re special.”

  I stared at her, uncertain for a moment how to respond. Janet simply looked back at me, arching her brow. The warmth in her gaze helped ease the tension bundled inside my chest.

  I sighed. “Okay fine. We might be seeing each other. I just don't want anybody else to know about it. I don't know what the other guys would think around the station.”

  Janet shrugged. “I'm not the other guys, hon. I get why you might want to keep it quiet. But don’t try to convince yourself you ‘might’ be seeing Beck. Far as I can tell, he’s damn serious about you. He’s lugging your dad around and making sure he has a place to say. Speaking of your dad, what the hell is he doing here?”

  Emotion tightened in my chest and a familiar sad, weary feeling rose inside. That’s how I always felt when I thought about my dad. He was my dad, the only one I had, and I loved him, but I wished he could stop the endless merry-go-round of his chaotic life. I wished he wasn’t visiting only because he needed money. I knew he didn’t see it that way. I doubted he ever thought much about how his actions might be perceived by me, or anyone else for that matter. He wasn’t that deep. He was charismatic and fun and drew people into his orbit easily. The mundane, less exciting parts of life, such as paying bills, were an afterthought to him. Hence, he turned wherever he could when he found himself too far into a bad spot financially.

  “He needs money, and he flew all the way to Alaska to get it,” I said flatly. “Sounds like he got some deal for his plane ticket from his girlfriend. She probably got it for him. I don't know what to do. Beck says I shouldn't give him any money because every time I do, he'll just come back for more.”

  “Beck’s damn straight on that,” Janet said, her eyes snapping. Her lips tightened into a thin line. “Don't let him do this to you. You don't deserve it. I know he’s your dad but…”

  I cut in. “Exactly. That's the problem. He’s my dad—the only one I've got. I know he’s a loser. I know it's not good that he pulls this shit, but I can't just say no.”

  My heart ached a little, and I felt small inside. I’d spent so much of my life jumping up
and down and waving my arms for my dad’s attention. Just the attention to get my basic needs met. He pulled on the worn strings of my heart no matter what he did.

  Janet's eyes softened again. “Hon, you can love your dad, but you can say no to this. He's not starving. He probably just needs a little to get by. Don't let him mooch off of you. He needs to stop hurting you like this. Beck’s right. He'll just keep coming back.” She paused, angling her head to the side. “How many times has he done this?”

  I shrugged. “I don't know. Probably once a year or so ever since I moved out. Well, except since I moved up here. This is the first time he’s shown up here.”

  “Hon, I can't tell you what to do, but I'm gonna anyway. Your dad might not be a bad guy, but he's always been the one to look for the easy way out, no matter whose back he climbs over. This is just what he does, and as long as you let him do it, he'll keep doing it. If you want to have any chance to have a halfway decent relationship with him, at least step back. He's a charming ne'er-do-well and always was. That’s how he swept your mom off her feet. She fell in love and lust with him just long enough to end up in a real bad spot. If Beck had his way, he'd already be driving your dad to Anchorage and putting him on a plane. I got a room for your dad. How about this? He stays for tonight, long enough for you to have a short and sweet visit. Make sure he understands you're not gonna keep giving him money whenever he asks. You're not his personal bank. Tomorrow, let Beck drive him to Anchorage to take that plane. Sound like a plan?”

  I stared at her. Guilt crept into my thoughts. It was so hard to set a limit with my dad. Even though I knew he'd only been halfway there for me my entire childhood, it could've been so much worse and I knew it. In the only way he knew how to be a dad, he had tried. It had been a half-assed effort, but that was about all he could do. I knew Janet was right.

  I took a deep breath, trying to will away my guilt and soothe my anxiety, and nodded. “Okay, I’ll try. Do you need me to pay you for his room because I know he doesn't have the money?”

  She shook her head slowly. “No, hon. Don’t worry about it. How about you plan to stop by the café after your shift here? We can grab a bite together. No matter what I think of your dad because everything that went down with your mom, I'd rather be with you when you need to deal with him. Okay?”

  My chest felt full. Between Janet and Beck, I wasn't used to having help like this. I was used to facing everything on my own. It was such a relief to know that I had people like this making sure I wasn't handling everything by myself. Yet, it was an odd feeling, something I wasn't accustomed to. Emotion welled inside again. I breathed through it.

  “Deal,” I said.

  Janet stepped back from the counter and flashed a grin. “So, if Beck wants to join us, will that be okay?”

  I stared at her. I knew perfectly well that he likely would and that meant us doing something publicly. My mind spun as I contemplated the implications of that. As if she could predict the direction I was going inside my head, Janet eyed me.

  “Don't make it a thing. You're friends with all the guys that you work with here. Any one of them would grab an after work coffee at my place with you. If you make it more than it is, then everything will seem obvious. It’s obvious you need to take some time to sort out what's going on with you two, but don't be all cloak and dagger. Trust me if you want to make gossip spread like a brushfire, that's the fastest way to do it.”

  At that, she winked, spun around and left. I sat at my desk staring out the front windows and then gave myself a little shake. I got back to filing, my mind jumping rope between what to do about my dad and what to do about Beck.

  Chapter 24

  Beck

  I walked beside Cade, tugging my heavy-duty fire gloves off and slapping them against my legs, knocking the dirt loose. He did the same as we walked. I paused for a moment and turned back to look at the flames shooting into the sky behind us. Today was one of several annual exercises that we conducted with the EMT’s, the police and the firefighters. We’d set up out at the town’s transfer station and essentially lit a bunch of garbage on fire. My crew and Cade’s had finished our rotation. The last crew was stepping in to handle the rest of the afternoon until the fire died. In unison, we turned back, walking towards our vehicles.

  Cade glanced my way. “You want to grab a beer after work today?” he asked.

  My usual answer would be yes. I wouldn't even have to think about it. But today I had to think about Maisie’s dad. I'd dropped him off with the police chief, who happened to be Cade’s father, hours ago. I knew I was about to walk straight into the buzz saw of gossip in Willow Brook. Not that Cade was much for gossip. In fact, he fucking hated it. He’d been burned pretty badly by gossip years back when he and Amelia first broke up.

  I glanced his way and shook my head. “Nah. I've actually got something to take care of,” I explained, hewing to the vague and hoping that might be enough.

  Cade arched a brow. “Oh?”

  I steeled myself. If there were one friend I’d confide in, it would be Cade, so I might as well just take it on the chin.

  “Yeah, Maisie’s dad showed up out of the blue today. Far as I can tell, he's here to mooch money off of her. I actually lassoed your dad into helping me out. Her dad doesn’t have a car, and I didn’t want him hounding her all day, so I dropped him off at the station. I thought your dad would be at the training exercise this morning and that would keep them tied up.” I chuckled. “Your dad was a good sport about it. I gotta check back in with Janet, make sure she’s got a room for him. Hopefully, I can persuade Maisie to let me buy him a plane ticket to leave tomorrow.”

  We'd reached our trucks by this point where they were parked side-by-side. Cade leaned his hips against the bumper on his and stared at me, his mouth agape. He gave himself a little shake, closing and then opening his eyes.

  “What the fuck is going on?” he asked. “I kinda thought you had a thing for Maisie, well, for a while now. But I'm not sure how we got from that to you helping her deal with her dad. Not to mention, I don't know much about her dad but my mom says he's a loser.”

  I chuckled. “Pretty sure he’s a loser. I'd heard as much from my mom years back.” I paused and considered what to say next. Cade was no idiot, and he’d guess if I didn’t fill him in. “What’s going on with Maisie is we're seeing each other. I guess.”

  Cade’s eyes widened slightly and then a slow grin stretched across his face. “Damn. I'll win this bet with Amelia.”

  “What bet?” I asked.

  “Oh, I told her a while ago I thought you had a thing for Maisie. She didn't believe me.”

  Fuck. I didn’t want to worry about anyone getting nosy about Maisie and me. I wasn’t worried about Cade in particular, but news traveled like a brush fire through Willow Brook. It actually mattered to me—a lot—how Maisie felt about this. I looked over at Cade, leaning a hip against my bumper and resting my elbow on the hood.

  “Do me a favor. Don't mind if you mention it to Amelia, but ask her to keep it quiet. Maisie’s gonna stress. She thinks if anyone knows what's going on it'll affect how the other guys see her.”

  Cade eyed me, his grin fading. He nodded. “Understood, man.”

  He was quiet for a few beats. I rolled my shoulders. I'd come to a place in my own mind about Maisie, but it wasn't something I'd quite sorted out how to talk about.

  Cade gave me a long look before he spoke. “Well, about damn time as far as I'm concerned.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Just that. You’ve been playing the field for years. You're not an asshole, you’re just the worst flirt I’ve ever known. I figured it was a matter of time until you found the right woman.”

  My heart twisted in my chest, the way I'd come to know it was wont to do whenever I thought much at all about how I was starting to feel about Maisie. My muddled feelings must’ve shown on my face.

  He continued, “I figured you’d eventually settle down. That's all I mea
nt.”

  All kinds of questions tumbled through my mind, none of which I was ready to ask just yet. So I nodded. “Okay. Well, I'm off to go find your dad and Janet and figure out what to do with Maisie's dad. Should be an interesting afternoon,” I said.

  Cade pushed away from his truck with a laugh. “I’ll say. Catch you later then. Let me know if you need anything.”

  “You got it.”

  We respectively drove away with me heading straight for the station. Within moments, I walked into Chief Masters office. The police station was connected to the fire station, but the entrance was on the other side of the building. I found Maisie’s dad sitting in a chair in the waiting area. He was flipping through a magazine. He glanced my way when I came through the door, nudging his chin up.

  “Hey there. You here to pick me up?” he asked.

  “Sure thing. Give me a sec. I need to check in with the chief.”

  Hank simply looked back down at his magazine and kept on flipping the pages. I rapped sharply on the chief’s office door. At his call for me to come in, I stepped inside, closing the door behind me. Cade was a ringer for his dad. Rex Masters had the same curly brown hair, although it was now streaked with gray. His face was weathered, and he always had a ready grin. At least for me, he did.

  “Here to take over babysitting duty?” he asked with a grin.

  I chuckled. “That's exactly why I’m here. Anything I should know?” I asked.

  Rex shook his head. “Nope. Rather uneventful day. I thought about bringing him down to the training exercise early, but my shift isn't up for another hour. I figured you might want to avoid the questions his presence might bring.”

  I’d filled Rex in this morning. He was in full agreement that Hank should skedaddle from Willow Brook as soon as feasibly possible. As he put it, the only good thing he knew about Hank was he was a killer poker player.

  As if Rex read my mind, he said, “I’ve been thinking about your worry he’s trying to mooch cash off of Maisie. Take him down for a poker game at Wildlands tonight. If he’s as good as he was twenty years ago, he’ll probably clean up. The blow will be easier when Maisie tells him she's not gonna bail him out of whatever money he owes now.”