Risk the Burn

by Marnee Blake

  With nothing left to say, she slipped into her car. As she pulled out of the parking lot, she couldn’t resist looking in the rearview mirror. Hunter was where she had left him, watching her drive away.

  Chapter Nine

  “Hey, Hunt. Hang on.”

  Hunter paused beside his TrailBlazer, half his stuff on the ground. Meg ran up beside him, still in her training gear. She and the other trainers had run the smokejumper recruits through one of the more rigorous sessions this afternoon. Three weeks ago, at the beginning of training, he would have found it challenging. Today, though, he’d been pleased at how little he ached afterward.

  He’d come a long way since the start of training.

  It hadn’t hurt that he’d thrown himself into it completely. It wasn’t only that he’d been planning all year for this, though that had been part of it. No, it had helped him take his mind off how badly he’d crashed and burned with Charlie.

  Still, three weeks later, he had to fight the urge every day to call or text her.

  “Hey, Meg. You leaving?”

  “Not yet.” She jerked a thumb toward the air center. “I’ve got paperwork to do.” She tucked her arms around her, probably chilled in the cool air. That week had been unseasonably cool. Not that he was complaining. It was way easier to work out without starting off sweating his butt off.

  She grinned, rocking back on her heels. “You’re doing great, you know.”

  He did know, but he was glad she’d noticed. That was the important part. “Thanks.”

  “No, seriously. You’re top of the class.”

  He knew that, too, but while he should have found a lot more satisfaction in that, he could only work up exhaustion. It had been tough, but it was almost guaranteed that he was going to graduate next week, unless something unforeseen happened. He’d expected that would fill him with victory, triumph. Something. Instead, training had been anticlimactic.

  Maybe it was that he’d worked so hard this past year to get there that he’d built it up too much in his head. It wasn’t as if he wasn’t proud of himself. He was. It was only that he’d expected to feel like a conquering hero. Instead, it only seemed like the next logical step. Something he’d expected to accomplish, not something greater than that.

  He hadn’t given himself much time to ponder it, though. He’d been too busy. In a week, training would be over and he’d be a smokejumper, like his father before him. Like his brother and uncle had been.

  Like he was supposed to be.

  “Thanks.” He grinned at his sister. “So what’s up? You just come out to give me a pat on the back?” He continued loading his car.

  “Actually, I was wondering if Lance had gotten a chance to invite you over tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow?” He shook his head. “I haven’t seen much of Lance this week.” He’d been so busy with training, and Lance had been with the other veteran jumpers. Their paths hadn’t crossed much. At least not enough to give them time to catch up.

  “Oh. Well, then, that’s good. Because I kind of wanted to talk to you first.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Meg, you’re acting weird. Are you sick?”

  “No.” Her face split into a huge grin, and she bounced on the balls of her feet. “But I am getting married.” She followed that announcement with a muted squeal, hitting a note he couldn’t imagine reaching.

  Then they were laughing, hugging in the middle of the parking lot at RAC. He rubbed his chin against his sister’s red hair. In the months after his accident, he had had moments of thankfulness to be alive. They’d come at strange times, over a particularly good cup of coffee or when his younger twin brothers asked him to play video games with them. That had faded some, maybe because the accident wasn’t as fresh, but when the moments did creep up on him, they stole his breath.

  He was here, watching his sister’s happiness. What a gift.

  Meg pulled back, swiping at the corner of her eye, still grinning like a fool. “That’s why we’re having some people over tomorrow night. I hope you can come.”

  “Wouldn’t miss it.”

  “Great. Keep it quiet, though? It’s kind of a housewarming, too. But not formal. So no gifts or anything. It just would mean a lot to me if you could be there.” She and Lance had closed on a house in Bend two weeks ago. He’d helped them move their furniture. Since Lance hadn’t come to Redmond with much and Meg was moving from a one-bedroom apartment, it hadn’t taken long.

  “Absolutely. I’d love to.” He winked at her. “I’ll be sure to catch up on my sleep in the morning. My trainer here?” He nudged his head toward the building. “She’s a real ballbuster.”

  Meg laughed. “Yeah, I hear she’s the worst.”

  He grinned, tweaking her ponytail like he had when they were kids. He loved seeing her this happy. “She’s all right.”

  He might have been mistaken, but her eyes seemed to get watery. Before he fell into full panic, though, she blinked a couple of times, hard. “I’m serious about training, Hunt. I’m proud of you.”

  It was him, then, who got choked up. Over the past year, he’d guessed that Meg had worried about him. She’d tried not to mother, leaving the real nagging to their mom. But he’d caught her concerned looks, the tightness around her eyes sometimes. He’d done what he could to keep the bulk of his trials and troubles to himself. But she was his sister. She’d been bound to notice.

  “Thanks, Meggy.” He leaned forward, folding her into a quick hug. “I love you,” he whispered in her ear.

  “I love you more, you jackass.”

  He chuckled, pulling away and finishing throwing his stuff in the back of the SUV, giving them a second to pull it together. Then, as casually as he could, he asked, “So, is Charlie coming?”

  Though there had been no way he could avoid asking, when he watched renewed concern light his sister’s eyes, he immediately regretted it. He hurried to add, “I haven’t talked to her in a while. I was just wondering how she was.”

  “She’s good. She stopped over a few days ago, dropped off a pie.” He might have been mistaken, but she almost sounded apologetic. “And yeah, she’s going to be there.”

  A zing of anticipation passed through him, but he was sure he kept it off his features. Meg didn’t need to know how much he’d been looking forward to seeing Charlie again.

  After they parachuted, he’d been sure that they’d turned a corner. There was definitely something between them. He could sense it, simmering there. When he’d asked to kiss her, he’d seen how much she wanted that, too.

  God, that kiss. There had been chemistry between them, but the force of it had nearly sent him to his knees. He’d never wanted to let her go.

  But then it had all fallen apart. She’d immediately pulled away, not only physically but emotionally. She’d given him a whole string of reasons why they needed to forget that kiss had happened. His sister, training, whatever. It had been bullshit. If anything, missing her had been the biggest distraction he’d faced during training.

  And he did miss her. At night, he lay awake, wondering what she was doing, remembering her smile, her wild curls. The way her curves had fit against him.

  He didn’t know much about her, but he wanted to.

  “Good,” he finally said. “That’s good.”

  He closed the hatch on the SUV, offering his sister a wave goodbye. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then. Text me if you need anything.”

  “I will.” She stepped back. “But Hunter?”

  He paused, his brows lifted. “Yeah?”

  “It’s Charlie.” She stopped, worrying her lower lip. “I wanted to tell you—”

  Sudden panic overtook him. “Wait. Does she have a boyfriend?” The idea was so incongruous to what he had sensed about her. She didn’t strike him as the kind of woman to kiss another man while dating someone else, but he never claimed to unde
rstand people. Maybe he’d read her all wrong.

  “Oh, God no.” Meg laughed, and the relief that flooded him made him weak. Thank God. “No, no boyfriend. But, that’s kind of what I wanted to say. Charlie is private.”

  “I know.” Even though she wasn’t shy, she never seemed to reveal much about herself.

  “No, I mean really private. We’ve been friends for years and I still don’t know much about her.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Meg inhaled. “She came from Chicago. I think. But I get the impression that isn’t where she grew up. When I’ve asked where she grew up, she has said ‘everywhere.’”

  “Everywhere?” He cocked his head. “Was she an Army brat or something?”

  “I don’t think so.” She shrugged. “Honestly, I have no idea. That’s what I mean. She doesn’t say much, and when I ask, she deflects. She’s good at changing the subject, turning things back to me. She wants to know everything about everyone else. She’s the most selfless conversationalist in the world, probably one of the most selfless people I’ve ever met. But I just wanted you to know. You have your own things. I think Charlie does, too.”

  He didn’t want to get into what his own things were, not here, not with Meg. So he nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  She smiled. “Good. That’s all I wanted.”

  He waved again, climbing into the driver’s seat as she headed back to the RAC.

  He’d guessed that Charlie wasn’t comfortable talking about herself. He’d gotten tastes of it during their bungee jump and parachuting, but he’d never suspected that it went any deeper than a desire to keep to herself.

  Now, though, he wondered if there were other reasons she’d panicked after their kiss.

  Well, tomorrow he’d get another chance to try to figure out Charlie Jones.

  It was disconcerting how much he was looking forward to it.

  * * * *

  Charlie’s cell was on the fourth ring when she swiped to answer it. “Hello?”

  She hadn’t heard it in the bathroom because she’d been drying her hair. She didn’t usually blow it out, because she was naturally curly and it was easier to let it do its thing instead of forcing it to be something it wasn’t meant to. But tonight, she wanted it to look exactly right.

  Meg’s party. Hunter was going to be there.

  “Charlie? Is that you?”

  “Leslie?” She tucked the phone under her ear. “Hey. How are you?”

  Leslie had called out again yesterday from work. Charlie was starting to worry. Maybe it was time she got bloodwork or something.

  “I’m pregnant.”

  Charlie halted on her way through the kitchen of her apartment. “You are?” The words were squeaked out in her excitement, and she jumped up and down. “Oh my God, that’s wonderful. No wonder you’ve been so sick. I was going to suggest you get in for a physical.”

  “Oh, I’ve been for some physicals. Trust me, I think they’ve looked at every crevice.” Leslie laughed, her joy apparent even over the phone line.

  Charlie joined in. “I bet. Is everything going well?”

  “I’m perfectly healthy. And Kyle and I are over the moon. We’ve been trying to get pregnant for almost a year.”

  “I had no idea. I’m so happy for you.” She was. Charlie loved babies. She couldn’t wait to be a mother. Her relationship with her parents was unorthodox, but they adored her. She wanted that feeling of belonging to someone.

  Maybe someday she’d get it.

  “I didn’t want to tell you until we were past the first trimester, but now that we are, I wanted to explain why I’ve been a flake the past couple of months.”

  “No need. I get it.”

  “And I wanted to tell you that I’ll be pulling back on some of my hours at work.” Leslie exhaled. “I figured that this was a good time for us to have a conversation that is probably about a year overdue.”

  “What’s that?” Charlie reached for the stack of mail on her table, riffling through the envelopes and flyers. Bills, mostly. A couple of coupons to department stores.

  “I know you’ve been saving to start your own therapy practice.” Leslie paused. “Instead of doing that, I was wondering if you’d be interested in buying into ours.”

  Charlie lowered the mail to the table. “Are you serious?” According to her business plan, she would be able to begin her own meager practice next year. She’d been living in her small one-bedroom and taking on personal training clients at every opportunity, but she’d begun to wonder if her goal wasn’t a lifetime away. If her own shop would ever be a reality.

  But this? She might have enough now, depending on what Leslie’s number might be. “What were you thinking?”

  “I already discussed it with Becky, and we have a proposal to send over. In the meantime, I think that the price range we’re looking at is reasonable.” She named a figure that wasn’t far from what was already in Charlie’s portfolio.

  Excitement squeezed her stomach, even as she tried to keep herself from squealing. She could do this. She could buy in, have her name on a plaque, and be part of something. Create a home here, in Oregon.

  Maybe someday she could start a family, too, like Leslie and Kyle.

  As she straightened her mail, trying to contain her nervous energy, an envelope caught her eye. Her first name—Charlie—was scribbled across the front of it. Maybe it was from her landlord. Slipping her finger under the flap, she said, “I’m looking forward to seeing the proposal, Leslie, but…”

  Her voice trailed off as she pulled the single piece of paper from the envelope. It was an advertisement for a gun.

  Why the hell would someone send her an ad for a pistol? She didn’t own a gun, having read too many statistics about how people were more likely to have their own gun used against them than to protect themselves with it.

  Flipping the paper—what looked to be a page from a magazine—she found a sticky note with the words “You should consider one.”

  The page slid from her fingers, fluttering to the table.

  “Charlie? Are you there?”

  She hadn’t responded to Leslie, letting the pause get too awkward. She adjusted her grip on the phone. “I’m here. Sorry about that. Like I said, I’m looking forward to seeing the proposal, Les, but I’ll need to talk with my attorney. I’ll definitely let you know.”

  Though they were the same words that she’d planned when Leslie had given her the figure, now they were only a formality. She would be checking with her attorney, but now it would be to see if this could be traced back to Joshua. To make sure she was still safe.

  Was this from Joshua? It didn’t seem like something he would do, but it had been a few years. She had no idea how he had changed.

  She wished Leslie good health again, hanging up. The paper in front of her taunted her. Maybe it was nothing. There were plenty of people who knew about the drug addict who had tried to steal her money a few weeks ago. This could be one of her well-meaning patients, thinking she should protect herself. But she couldn’t ignore the chance that it was something more.

  Briefly, she wondered if she should call the police. But there was nothing overtly threatening. It was an ad, for heaven’s sake. And a suggestion. But what that piece of paper had done was something dangerous. It had sucked away her earlier excitement at Leslie’s proposal. How was she supposed to consider setting down roots if stuff like this was going to happen to her?

  Maybe it was nothing. She shouldn’t panic. What she should do was call her attorney, see what she had to say.

  Picking up her phone, she dialed her attorney. When the woman picked up, Charlie said, “Hey, Peggy. It’s Charlotte Michaelson. It’s been a while. Listen, something happened and I was hoping you’d look into it for me.”

  Then she walked to her front door and checked all her locks
. Just to be sure.

  Chapter Ten

  As Hunter stepped inside Meg and Lance’s new place, a lovely ranch in a subdivision, he could hear the music, but it wasn’t loud enough to overpower conversation. The three-bedroom new construction Lance and Meg had bought near the Bend hospital was full of people. It had only been a couple of weeks, but the place looked settled. Meg was a bit of a cleaning and organizing machine, though. He bet she hadn’t been able to sleep with things in chaos around her.

  Across the room, he caught Dak Parrish’s gaze and he weaved between the bodies to join him. Snagging a beer as he passed a side table, he shook Dak’s hand and scanned the room for Charlie as he made hey-man-how-you-doings small talk.

  “I’m going to ask Heidi to move in with me.”

  The statement made Hunter jerk out of his eye-wandering and pay attention to what his buddy was saying. “You are? Congratulations.”

  Next to him, Dak sipped his beer, gazing across the room at his girlfriend. Heidi Sinclair was a Forest Services investigator, and the two of them had been together since the fall. “Now that the season is starting again and things will pick up with her job, I don’t want to spend any more time than necessary away from her.”

  There were a lot of guys who couldn’t admit that they didn’t want to be parted from the women they loved. That Dak stated it like it was a well-acknowledged fact made Hunter respect him even more. “Don’t blame you. Heidi’s great.” He took a drink from his own bottle. “If I were you, I wouldn’t want to waste time driving back and forth between your places either.”

  Dak shrugged. “I only need to figure out about the garage.” Since the end of the fire season last year, Dak had been working with his brother at a garage on the Warm Springs Tribal Reservation. They’d talked about opening their own place, but Mikey didn’t want to leave the reservation, and Dak would need to be closer to Redmond.

  “I’m sure you guys will figure it out.”

  “We’ve been through worse.”

  That they had. Last fall, their mother had been arrested for arson after struggling with mental illness for years. Dak’s family was still working through all of the ripple effects, but one thing that had come out of it was a strengthened relationship between the brothers.