Page 30 of Serial Burn

For some reason, she didn’t think her brain had made that up. And maybe that was the reason a part of her was always looking over her shoulder, expecting the arsonist from her past to show up and ... what? Kill her?

Yes. Exactly that.

She hefted herself off the floor and took some more Motrin, still thinking. Was the act of burning her church some kind of message from him? Maybe her promise to come after him had sparked his rage, and now he was setting fires to get back at her?

It was possible. Likely even. She’d awakened the sleeping beast unintentionally.

Or had she subconsciously been hoping for that very thing?

Feeling too awful to explore that possibility, she scrubbed a hand down her face and sniffed.

The smell of coffee sent her nerve endings tingling. How did she smell anything with her stopped-up nose? Maybe it was just sheer desperation for the brew. But who was fixing it? Nathan would begone, so it was probably Lainie. She had a key and knew the code to her alarm.Thank you, Lord, for good friends.

Jesslyn brushed her hair and her teeth, pulled on a fleece shacket, shoved some tissues into one of the pockets, and walked into the kitchen to find Nathan sitting at her kitchen table. He was dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved black T-shirt. He looked freshly scrubbed and quite adorable. And incredibly healthy. She wanted to hate him for that, but found herself kind of melting.

No. Wait. She didn’tmelt.Stop it.Melting was for movies, not real life. “What are you still doing here?” He blinked and she winced. “Sorry. I didn’t mean that as harsh as it came out. I was just expecting Lainie.” And if she’d known it was Nathan, she would have taken a shower.

Oh well. At least she’d brushed her teeth. And her hair. She reached up and patted it. Hadn’t she?

“How do you feel?” he asked.

“A little better maybe.” She beelined for the coffee. “And just to be clear, I’m not upset you’re here. You fixed coffee.”

“It’s pretty easy with the Keurig.”

“But I don’t have to wait sixty seconds for it.”

“Chicken noodle soup is in the container.”

“Oh, how nice. Thanks.”

“It’s just takeout from the Cornerstone Café.”

“My morning just got a lot better thanks to you, so I appreciate it.” She sipped her coffee, then looked at Nathan. And tried not to melt again. She really needed to get over whatever was making her do that. It had to be related to being sick, right? “Don’t you have to work? And where did you get those clothes, by the way? They’re not my dad’s.”

“Yes, I have to work and Andrew ran by my place to grab me a few things.” He frowned. “I couldn’t bring myself to leave you alone. Not with what happened at the church.” His eyes narrowed. “That was really scary, Jesslyn.”

“Yes. Yes, it was.” She pulled a tissue from her shacket pocket and blew her nose.

He held out a hand. “Want me to throw that away for you?”

“Ew. Gross. No.” She did so and washed her hands. Then returned to her coffee.

“So,” he said, “what’s your plan for the day, because I don’t see you doing more than taking the occasional nap in between working.”

“You know what else is scary? The fact that you know I’m going to work regardless of how I feel.”

He laughed. “Well, we’ve known each other for a good bit. Maybe not like you know Lainie and some of the others, but while you’re mysterious in some ways, you’re an open book in others.”

“I’m not sure I want to ask what you mean by that.”

He offered her a soft smile. “Nothing earth-shattering. You’re very guarded when it comes to relationships outside of your circle. And even with those inside it, you don’t share much even though you welcome their confidences. You’re driven and focused and don’t like to be distracted from whatever goal you’ve set for yourself.”

And now she needed him to leave.

HE’D STRUCK ANERVE.Or sliced an artery. He wasn’t sure which, but her frozen stillness conveyed more than words ever could.

She finally gave a slow nod. “Okay, that’s a fair observation. I guess you don’t have to leave.”

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