The flames were long since gone. The trees lay scarred and bare, their branches burnt and blackened. The world was made of ash. Yet hope remained. A thin green tendril of life, forged in the heat of flame, emerged from a tiny seed. Another followed quickly. Life sprung from the fertile ground, ready to start the cycle anew. The circle of fire and life continued.
***
I stood staring at the ruined remnants of West Hardware. The fire was finally contained, and we were allowed to return to the ashes to start rebuilding. My dad was a few feet away talking with Audrey and Ray. I could hear them laughing about something, their voices melding together in the warm summer wind.
Audrey's hand rested comfortably on Ray's forearm, a diamond ring glinting in the sun. The wedding had been four days after the fire started in an intimate ceremony at the local chapel. The town had celebrated their wedding, throwing a party in the hotel where most of the evacuees were staying. Everyone said it was the best party in the history of the town, as everyone celebrated instead of worrying over something we had no control over.
The next day, the tentative line that the firefighters had held for the past three days broke, and the fire traveled toward the town itself. Ray said he had to get away, that he couldn't watch as the life he had built over the past twenty years turned to ash and dust. Audrey had insisted that she needed to stay and help at the clinic, but then came the emergency evacuation order for the clinic itself.
They had left for their honeymoon immediately, leaving the fire to rage and destroy the past while they built a new future. I watched them now as they smiled and laughed with my father, never straying from one another. The two of them radiated happiness, a joy in one another that made me smile. They had finally found where they belonged.
In their absence, however, the fire had consumed everything.
When the line broke, the rest of the forest caught like a match, lighting the town. The western half of town was nothing but ash after the fire raged for over three weeks. Hundreds of firefighters from multiple states had worked tirelessly to stop the flames, but in the end it was the second largest fire in the recorded history of the state. The smoke could be seen for over a hundred miles in either direction as about one-hundred and fifty thousand acres, one-hundred and twenty homes, seventeen businesses, and millions of memories burned. My home was nothing but cinders. Andrew's and Luke's homes were nothing but ash. West Hardware and the Conifer Grocery were both just land with charred wood standing at odd angles.
It wasn't all bad, though. The fires of today lead to the forests of tomorrow. The heat of the fire split open pine cones filled with seeds. Millions of tiny seeds poured onto the cleared forest floor, and within a month, tiny green sprouts began to appear through the blackened soil. Fire cleared the old and dying trees, giving way to the new seedlings to grow and make the world greener. New life abounded.
Through the fallen beams I could see Andrew, Tyler, and Luke poking the devastated lumber piles like they were hunting for buried treasure. Andrew looked up and smiled at me before Luke called to him, pointing at the ground.
I was excited for Luke. When Ray heard his beloved hardware store had burned down, he had a long conversation with Luke. He laid out his plans as investor for the new hardware store, and told Luke that the insurance money was his to build a new shop with. Luke already had plans drawn up for rebuilding the store bigger and better, and Ray was happy to let him do it.
"I put my life into that store. My marriage, my kids, my dreams. And all I have to show for it now is some burned lumber. You have dreams for this place that I don't have anymore," Ray had said when Luke showed him the new plans. "The store is in good hands." The grin still hadn't left Luke's face.
Tyler shouted that he had found something and Luke and Andrew waded over to see. Andrew pulled something shiny from the ground and congratulated Tyler. The younger man glowed with pride as Luke patted him on the shoulder. I smiled, glad Tyler was here to stay.
Tyler's mom had flown out to survey the damage to her half of the house while Ray and Audrey were on their honeymoon. Luke had finally gotten his mother to listen, telling her that Tyler was happy in Conifer and that not leaving would be the best thing for him. Luke convinced her that Tyler would have a stronger home life with Audrey and Ray than being with a single parent in a strange city. It had taken almost the entire trip, but she had finally agreed to let him stay in Colorado. Tyler had bounced around the hotel room like a caffeinated squirrel when she told him he didn't have to move. They were still working out the details with the lawyers, but it appeared that things were going to work out.
"Holly! Come here, we found something," Andrew shouted, waving me over. I picked my way through the debris, careful of the walking cast on my ankle, to where the three men stood.
Ray had asked Luke what he wanted to name the new store. "A new beginning, a new name," he had said. Luke had said he'd think of something. As Luke brushed off the heavy metal sign that had hung over the checkout desk for as long as I could remember, I knew the name was going to remain unchanged. WEST HARDWARE: A FAMILY BUSINESS. The metal was relatively undamaged.
"It's going to hang in the new store too! I found it!" Tyler told me excitedly.
"You're going to take my old job, right?" Andrew said, nudging Tyler. Tyler nodded and began hunting for more buried treasures. Andrew's hand slid into mine as we watched Tyler and Luke poke through the rubble.
"You think you can leave all this behind?" he asked softly as he brushed some ash out of my hair. "I mean, the ash look really does become you."
"I am excited to try this school thing again. The education part especially. From what I hear, Fort Collins is a nice town. Besides, someone has to show the poor little freshman how college works," I teased. He bumped me gently with his hip.
"Hey, you'll be just as much a newbie there as I will!"
"Yeah, but I am technically a sophomore, so I know more," I said, bumping him back. He laughed and we walked toward where the edge of the building used to stand. A small green tendril peeked out from under a seared plank of wood. I bent down and moved it carefully, letting the small green plant reach for the sun.
Andrew turned to me. "I have a feeling we both have a lot to teach each other."
I laughed. I knew that things were far from perfect, but that everything was heading in the right direction. Andrew and I would be together forever, and the town would recover. Audrey and Ray had been broken, but they had found the strength they needed to fix themselves. The town was broken, but it would be fixed. I was broken, but I would be fixed, with the help of the love of my life. They say that fire always burns, but as the flames sweep away the detritus of the past, new beginnings can spring from the ashes. I smiled. I could feel the seeds of new memories germinating, reaching for the sun.
Check out my other works!
Novels
Saltwater Kisses: A Billionaire Love Story
Rainwater Kisses: A Billionaire Love Story
Champagne Kisses: A Timeless Love Story
The Woman of the Billionaire's Dreams
Teasing the Billionaire (free)
The Woman of the Billionaire's Dreams
The Woman of Her Enemy's Nightmares
Curves of the French Riviera
Curves of the French Riviera (free)
Curves of the French Riviera Trilogy
Worthy of the Billionaire
Worthy of the Billionaire's Attention (free)
Worthy of the Billionaire
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Did you love Burned? Then you should read Champagne Kisses: A Timeless Love Story by Krista Lakes!
What's more important to a soldier- his love of his country, or his love of a woman?
In the summer of 1990, Rachel Weber spent a week down on the Florida coast, soaking up the sun's rays while she waited for her life to begin. It was there that she met Dean Sherman, a handsome, muscular
soldier with blue eyes. The two spent a week together full of champagne kisses that only ended when Operation Desert Storm forced Dean to choose between his duty and his love. He chose duty.
Twenty years later, Rachel figured it was just summer love, but she never forgot those eyes. As personal assistant to powerful billionaire Jack Saunders, she never expected Dean to walk into her office after being hired as Jack's personal bodyguard. Even though she had spent the last two decades trying to forget Dean, she found herself falling for him once again.
When fate forced both Rachel and Dean to choose yet again between love and duty, Rachel had to decide between the man she had always loved and the family that had become her life. She knew she couldn't have both, but she knew she wouldn't be happy with just one. Would she choose love, or be forever haunted by the memory of those Champagne Kisses?
This thrilling romance novel brings the cast of the bestselling novels Saltwater Kisses and Rainwater Kisses back for an epic and timeless love story.
I was shocked. "You're going to war? Why didn't you tell me?" I asked.
"Because this is a vacation. Because I didn't want to think about it. Because I thought that you wouldn't want to hang out with me if you thought of me as a trained killer instead of as a pretty face." He smiled, but it was an empty smile.
I laughed. "Don't be ridiculous. I never thought of you as a pretty face," I said. I started to laugh at my own joke, but I couldn't. Instead, I began to bawl openly, leaning into his shoulder. I didn't want him to go anywhere, and I certainly didn't want him to go to war.
Dean let me cry, stroking my hair gently. The fire began to go out in front of us, having consumed all the fuel that had been put into it. My heart felt the same way. In one week, I had known such intense highs that my heart had burned like a star, and now that it was starved of fuel, I felt it being extinguished.
I moved my head from Dean's shoulder. He tried to hide it as he wiped a tear away, but I knew. I looked at him. The dying light of the fire was just enough for me to see those crystal clear blue eyes. "Make love to me, Dean. Make love to me like this is the last night we'll ever spend together..."
Read more at Krista Lakes’s site.
About the Author
Krista Lakes is a newly turned 30 year old who recently rediscovered her passion for writing. She loves aquatic life and running marathons. She is living happily ever after with her Prince Charming and her bouncing baby boy.
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Read more at Krista Lakes’s site.