Page 11 of Slow Burn
However, instead of assuring me that whatever was going on would pass, and that I'd be back to my old self again—like she always did—she simply said, "Sounds good." The hint of sadness in her voice caused another one of those stirrings inside my chest.
"Okay. Bye."
As I reached forward to shut the laptop my mom quickly added, "We love you, Adam." Those four little words felt like a punch to the gut. I had done nothing to deserve the love of those two people. Not in the past three years anyway. I'd pushed them away and shut them out.
I wanted to say those words back. Wanted to tell them I knew how damn fortunate I was to still have them, but the words wouldn't leave my tongue. So instead of voicing my feelings, I nodded tersely before closing the lid.
A heavy sigh pushed past my lips as I scraped both hands over my face. I couldn't blame my dad for askingthe one question I thought about every single day. Firefighting had been in my blood for as long as I could remember.
If my mom were to be believed, I'd wanted to be one from the moment I'd uttered my first words. I'd never gone through the phases of wanting to be a doctor, policeman, or astronaut.
Fire had always been my passion. Until it stole everything from me. And in a cruel twist of fate, I couldn't hate it for doing what it had been created to do. Losing Angie was on me. I was the one who—
"No!" I jumped to my feet and stomped to the kitchen. There was no way I was going to give in to those kinds of thoughts. I couldn't afford to. Pulling out the carafe, I topped up my mug and headed outside.
It was a long shot but with any luck, the uninterrupted view of the beach and ocean would calm my fraying nerves. Still holding on to my mug, I balanced it on the armrest. My head fell back against the chair and I screwed my eyes shut.
The sound of the waves gently lapping at the shore filled my ears a moment later. I inhaled deeply, dragging a shot of salty air straight to my lungs. It was exactly what I needed after talking to my parents.
Heaven knew I had a lot to make up for. It was still difficult as hell to shift into this new dynamic. To let them into a place I had sealed off a long time ago—or at least attempt to.
Building bridges wasn't my strong suit.
Slowly, I lifted my head and opened my eyes; the endless stretch of blue shockingly not the first thing to catch my attention. I sat up straighter and leaned forward in my seat. There on the beach was my annoyingly friendly neighbor and she was… dancing.
She kicked up a cloud of sand before dragging her foot to the inside of her opposite thigh. Arms stretched high above her head, she spun around and around before suddenly collapsing into a heap.
I jumped up so abruptly, my coffee tipped over. I was vaguely aware of the mug shattering to pieces when it hit the ground, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from the woman on the beach.
She was on her knees now; slamming her hands into the sand before stretching out onto her front. I needed to see more. Completely mesmerized, I walked to the edge of my property just in time to see her roll onto her back and pull her knees to her chest.
The way she moved caused a stirring inside of me. A flicker of something familiar. Something good. My hand came up, absentmindedly rubbing over a spot on my chest. My gaze never leaving her.
In one fluid motion, she was sitting with her leg bent in front of her and the other stretched out behind her, toes pointing to the sky. Her back arched, the knot on her head almost touching her ass. Reaching behind her, she gripped her foot.
It was a damn shame I didn't have my phone because the picture she painted with the orange-pink sky and bright blue ocean was absolutely breathtaking.
That feeling inside my chest made itself known once more, more urgent this time. It was almost as if a bolt of lightning had zipped through the sky and struck me where I stood.
Intense.
Electrifying.
And scary as shit.
Every cell in my body warned me that there was one hell of a storm coming. One I wasn't even remotely prepared for.
6
MADDIE
My lips twitched as I took in the yellow and pink candy stripe awnings and equally colorful glass windows. It didn't matter what the question was, Sugar Booger was the answer.
With my smile stretching, I pushed through the door and was immediately greeted with the sweet aroma of freshly baked goods. Vanilla, cinnamon, and who knew what else hit me over the head and made my stomach growl.
From behind the fully stacked glass counters, Misty waved me over. Working my way through the lunchtime crowd, I met her at the edge of the donut display. Not the best choice since that really made me want to buy one. Or maybe two.
"Hey Maddie," she greeted me in the overexcited tone that'd taken me a while to get used to. "Frankie said to send you straight to the back when you get here." She let out a little giggle, her hand shooting to her mouth almost instantly. "Well, you're here, so…"
