Page 3 of Avery's Hero

Clenching my phone, I pace across the office with a migraine threatening to jackhammer the back of my brain. “Damn, again?”

“Correct.”

“What happened?”

“Fighting between classes. That young man’s got a very volatile temper.”

Hot frustration replaces the dread in my gut like a flashfire. I’m not sure what to say, so I just offer an inelegant grunt.

“Have you considered counseling?”

I let out a rough noise. I’ve consideredeverything, but there’s no need to tell her that. I’m sure she’s seen it athousand times before—A parent that is hanging on hope that things will just magically fix themselves.

Weird for me, considering I’m a pragmatic son of a bitch. But Lincoln has a knack for getting back on my good side when things seem like they’ve hit the gutter. I love the kid to death. I just wish I could figure out how to corral that wild side. After a tense silence, I say, “Yes, but I guess, I hoped that things were getting better.”

There’s a quick rap on my open door. Frank, one of our best firefighters, has a concerned look on his face as he tosses today’s paper on my desk. I try not to look, but the words ‘New Fire Chief Tackles Arson Case’ are like magnets.

Fuck. Bad timing. Like I don’t have enough to think about with the school counselor on the line. But everywhere I look there are reminders that I’ve got the weight of the community on my shoulders too.

Meanwhile, Penny is talking about how she speculates that Linc is suffering from some kind of distress related to his home life. She finishes with, “I think you should get counseling… for both of you.”

You think? I’m currently in some kind of purgatory with little clue how to raise Lincoln in a way that we’ll both survive.

If I had time, I’d have gone long ago to clear up the clusterfuck in my head related to my divorce. “Understood.” Pinching the bridge of my nose, I ask, “Should he be picked up now?”

“Yes.”

“I’m on duty, but I think my friend’s wife, Raven Archer, will help me out. She’s my back up since I’m doing this alone. She’s on the contact list with the school.”

“Perfect, I’ll let the main office know that your friend is coming.”

I’ve already checked out by the time she terminates the call. Staring across the parking lot, I look longingly at the Pacific Ocean.God,how I miss the days when I was a kid and my biggest worry was how the wind and swell direction would affect surfing.

A soft knock on my door snaps me back to this lifetime—the one where I’m a brand new fire chief in an understaffed and overstressed department. The single dad to a fifteen-year-old who’s struggling. A man whose wife skipped out years ago with a drunk guy because I worked too much. On top of all that… I’m about to be face-to-face with the woman that took a razor-blade to my achilles when I thought I might be ready to date again.

Trying to sound detached, I call out, “Come in.”

The soft female voice behind me rattles me to my core. “Hello, Chief Mitchell.”

When I turn around, I have to force myself not to suck in a sharp breath. Damn.

She’s utterly beautiful. Just like I remember.

I want to curse when my testosterone ripples to life. With my chest clamped tight, I can only manage to roughly say her name. “Ms. Ellis.”

She smoothes a hand quickly down her unbound hair. The long, straight, chestnut cascade covers her shoulders today. The shifting light catches on the strands. The sight mesmerizes me for a few seconds.

The last time I saw her, she had it up in a twist. The kind of style that women do that defies gravity. But what I remember most is that I couldn’t keep my eyes off the delicate skin of herneck.

Only today, unlike the night of our one and only date, her eyes won’t meet mine.

I’m relieved and utterly disappointed.

Avery’s eyes should be registered weapons. When she lays them on you, you’re as good as done.

Voice straining through my tight vocal cords, I say, “Come on in.”

“This is a little awkward,” she murmurs as I move around her to close the door.

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