Page 14 of Burn It Down

I push through the door, but I’m not alone. Kade is following behind me just as the cool night air hits my face. “Are you ever going to tell me what exactly I did to you that has you so pissy?”

I whirl around to look at him. It’s just him and me outside of the bar on Main Street. It’s not lost on me that that’s exactly how his brother described me. Have they been talking about me? “You did not just say that to me.”

“I did.” He steps a little closer, and I can smell his woodsy cologne, making it nearly impossible for me to respond to him. “Are you going to tell me why?”

“There’s nothing to tell,” I say, stumbling a bit when I start to walk away from him and all his handsome looks and pheromones making me stupid.

“You aren’t driving home, are you?”

I turn around to face him again. Only I nearly run right into him because he’s closer to me than I thought. “That’s really none of your business.”

“Actually, it is. You smash into a tree, trying to get your drunk ass home, who do you think they’ll call to clean it all up?”

“You arrogant—” Nope. I stop myself and glare at him. “Well, considering you’re at a bar, I’d say you’re probably not on duty.”

His eyes glance to the left, and I follow them to the fire station, which is only a block away, situated right downtown across from the library. His blue eyes meet mine. “A firemanis always on duty. So I’d really rather not spend my night off pulling your body out of a smashed-up car.”

“How sweet,” I deadpan, crossing my arms and staring daggers at him. I’m not drunk. I am, however, tipsy, and I would never, ever drive even tipsy. That wreck I inexplicably told Elijah about—yeah, I downplayed it a bit. That wreck was caused by a drunk driver, and I wasn’t seriously hurt, but it shook me to my core. I couldn’t get into a car for a while after it. It terrified me—because if we’d have been going any faster, it could have been so much worse.

“You always like this?”

“Like what?” I snap.

“Closed off.” He waves a hand between our bodies, gesturing toward my stance. “Bitter.”

“I’m not bitter.” I drop my hands and spin around, starting my walk again because I don’t need this. I don’t owe him anything and especially not my sanity. And talking to Kade makes me feel anything but sane.

He’s walking next to me before I know it though, and apparently, he doesn’t give up. Though I’m not sure why.

“I’m not driving, okay? I live close by. I walked here, and I’m walking home. You and your fireman sense of duty can go home with a clear conscience.”

But he just continues to walk next to me anyway. “I just want to know what the hell it was I did. You can say you’re not bitter all you want, but you can’t say you’ve been friendly.”

“Do you really need more friends, Kade?”

“I just want to know. My son . . .”

I stop walking. “Where is your son, by the way?”

He looks almost guilty as he stops at my question, and I wonder why. I don’t like the guy, but it’s obvious he’s a good father. “He’s with Bowen. Asleep. Bowen thought I needed to get out, so he made me leave.”

It would be funny if I wasn’t so annoyed—but the look on his face right now, like his big brother bullied him or something and made him go out to have fun. “Bowen isn’t at work?”

He shakes his head. “The forty-eight off means there are some days we’re both off.”

I nod my head but then realize I’m talking to him calmly about normal everyday things, and that’s just unacceptable. I’m trying to get away from him, damn it. “Well, then you should go and have fun.”

“Why the hell are you so stubborn, huh? If I was an asshole in high school, I’m sorry. It wasn’t a great time for me.”

I’m taken aback by that because it sure looked like he loved his time there, but I don’t ask about it. I won’t. “You were fine. We’re fine. I’m your son’s teacher and nothing else, Kade.”

He looks almost defeated, and I feel a little bad about it. But then I lift my chin and straighten my shoulders, standing firm. “All right then, have a good night, Mr. Bell.”

“You too, Mr. Mitchell.”

Finally, he lets me go on about my way. But I don’t hear his footsteps at all, so I wonder if he’s standing still.

It takes everything in me not to turn around to see if he’s watching me, but I don’t do it.

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