Page 51 of More Than a Spark

“I wasn’t talking to my girlfriend. I don’t have a girlfriend. I told you that.” Huffing a smile, I stalked to him.

His blue eyes narrowed under his thick, brown bangs. “Oh really. Sure as hell sounded like you were talking to a girl.” He pressed his palms together under his chin and tilting his head this way and that, in a falsetto voice, said, “Oh, Ryder, you’re so cool. When are we going out next? Friday? Are we trying new things in bed on Friday?”

“You child.” I slapped his shoulder and scoffed a laugh. “Don’t eavesdrop on grown up conversations.” I’d have to watch what I said around here. Thankfully, he thought I was chatting up a girl. Shit, should I correct him? I eyed him. That would surely mean coming out formally at work. This guy couldn’t keep a secret, I was sure of it.

“Yeah, whatever, dude. Let’s get back out there.” He patted my shoulder and flashed me a warm grin.

“Yep, following you.” I strolled after him. We’d left the rest of our gear in the building that was about to go up in flames. It was too fucking hot out here to be walking around in it when we didn’t have to.

Thinking on the conversation with Milo, I stopped just inside the cinder block building. Milo had had a point. I should come out to Hazel and get her thoughts on Dad. Plus, it might be good for a practice run for all the other people and places I needed to have this conversation. I peered at Russ, throwing his gear on. Like with that knucklehead. It was only a matter of time before I slipped up and spilled my relationship with Milo anyways.

* * *

I was goingto do this no matter how fucking tired I was. I owed it to Milo. With my pulse picking up the next evening, I strolled into a trendy sushi restaurant in downtown Scottsdale and perused the place for Hazel. She worked close by, so of course she wanted to meet here for dinner. My gaze ran over the modern, dark wooden décor with an Asian flare, over tables covering a clay-colored concrete floor and booths along the wall, then landed on the square bar centering the restaurant.

Hazel twisted around in a barstool at the corner of the bar and waved at me, her brown eyes beaming and her highlighted brown hair falling past her shoulders in perfect waves.

I strode to her. “Hey, sis.” I held out my arms. It had been too long since I’d seen her. Maybe not since the holidays even?

“Hey, bro.” She hopped off her stool and hugged me. “God, it’s good to see you.” She rested her head on my shoulder for a heartbeat, then released me. “Here, sit down. I saved you a seat.” She picked up her black leather purse from the chair next to her and climbed back up into her chair.

I slid into my stool and flagged down a male bartender all in black, then ordered a whiskey, neat. I’d need some liquid courage for this conversation.

Stirring a fruity drink, Hazel asked, “Uh-oh. Going for the big guns?” She gave me a warm grin.

“Yeah, something like that.” I watched the bartender set down my drink and some waters along with menus for both of us, then sipped my whiskey. It burned a little going down, but a calming wave washed over me.

Furrowing her brows, she looked me over. “Okay, so how are things? We need to catch up.” She sucked her drink from a straw.

“Things are good. I’m living with Dad for a little bit until I get settled down here.” I rolled my lips. She probably knew that already.

“How’s Dad doing?” She hooked a brow.

“He’s doing great. Looks a little skinny to me, but what else is new.” As far as I could tell otherwise, he was in good health. I sipped more of my drink. “The guy is almost sixty and still building houses. I can’t imagine his back is going to hold out for much longer.”

“I know. He needs to retire or find a desk job.” With a tsk, she shook her head, then focused on me. “But, what about you? How are you doing, Ryder?”

“I’m doing well. It’s been hot as fuck at the academy. But then, you know, August and all in the desert.” I chuckled. She probably thought I was nuts for leaving Flag.

She twisted on her stool to face me, her eyes narrowing. “Okay, so why did you decide to transfer down here? I thought you liked your job up there?”

“I did, but I wanted to be closer to family.” With a smile playing on my lips, I poked her arm. “Closer to you. Wearetwins. We should hang out more.”

“Does that mean you called Mom?” She lifted her brows with a smirk.

I slumped my shoulders. “Fuck, Dad got to you, too, didn’t he.” It figured he’d have told her about me not calling.

“He says you’re avoiding Mom. You really need to let her know you moved down here. She’ll be happy to hear from you.” She drank her cocktail.

“Happy? Are you sure?” With a huff, I pursed my lips. “She has her new shiny family to focus on now.” Hazel had always been closer to Mom than me and I was never sure why. Maybe because Hazel was able to look past the jabs.

“Don’t be such a baby, Ryder. She’s mellowed out now that she’s older. When was the last time you spoke with her?” Her gaze hardened on mine.

“I-I don’t even know. Christmas maybe, when we all called her?” I ran my index finger over the lip of my glass. It’d been safe then, because we’d all called her at once. “It’s not like she callsme, you know.”

“At this point, she probably knows you don’t want to talk to her. It’s like a never-ending cycle with you two. You don’t call, so she won’t call and pretty soon, years will pass and you two won’t even know each other anymore.” She grabbed my forearm, resting on the bar. “Just call her.”

“Fine.” I pressed my lips together. “Fine, I get the point. I’ll call her.” I looked for the bartender. How had this conversation derailed so quickly? Mom was not what I was here to talk about. “Let’s order some food, okay?”

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