Page 55 of Through the Fire
“We considered it,” Tio said absently as he examined the robot closely without touching it. “We have concerns about passing the background check, however. Is this a camera?”
“Do any of you want something to eat?” Wes hurried to ask. He didn’t want Kit to think he was recording her.
The twins’ heads popped up as their gazes locked on Wes. Sam looked suddenly interested as well. Wes’s distraction attempt had been successful.
“What do you have?” Ty asked, moving away from the windows.
Wes mentally ran over his inventory. Although there were all sorts of things, like ground beef and soup and rice and frozen vegetables, he didn’t think that offering to whip up a meatloaf would go over well. He decided on his favorite food. “Pop Tarts?”
Although all three of the boys’ faces immediately lit up, Kit laughed, and Wes eyed her, trying to figure out what he’d done that she’d found funny.
“I didn’t expect you to offer Pop Tarts,” she explained, as if reading his expression. “Beef jerky or a protein bar or trail mix or something, but not Pop Tarts.”
“I do have all of those other things if you’d prefer. Pop Tarts are just my favorite.”
“Oh, no.” Kit waved a hand, as if brushing away the other options. “I love Pop Tarts. Do you have the chocolate kind?”
Opening one of the cupboards above the two-burner stove, he pulled out two boxes and held them up. “S’mores or chocolate fudge?”
“You have s’mores Pop Tarts?” Ty asked, sounding impressed. “Maybe we could have a sleepover here sometime.”
Kit laughed again, but Wes was pretty sure she wasn’t laughing at him. “I’ll take a rain check on one of the s’mores, since we should probably get the dogs’ training done first,” Kit said. “I promised Jules we wouldn’t be too long.”
Disappointed, Wes returned the boxes to the cupboard. “Okay. Whenever you want a Pop Tart, let me know. I have a good supply, since I stock up in case there’s a blizzard.”
Her smile was small, but her eyes were dancing. “Understandable. You can’t be trapped here without toaster pastries. How would you survive?”
Was she teasing him? He was pretty sure she was teasing him. Were they flirting? His heartbeat quickened. “I wouldn’t. Pop Tarts are critical.”
She laughed, and he felt another strong surge of triumph. He’d done that, made her laugh, by saying the right thing.
He caught Sam looking back and forth between the two of them, his eyebrows raised, but Wes couldn’t read his expression. As soon as they made eye contact, Sam quickly looked away, and Wes refocused on Kit. He might not be able to translate most people’s body language—or even verbal cues—but he felt like he understood Kit already. By her affectionate expression, he was pretty sure that she got him as well. Their gazes met and held. The chatter of the twins as they explored and Sam’s quiet presence faded to the background as the moment stretched, the connection between him and Kit so solid that it felt almost like a physical thing.
A cold gust of wind hit him, breaking his focus, and he looked to see that one of the twins had opened one of the windows.
“T-Tio,” Sam said sternly. “C-c-close th-that.”
Kit cleared her throat, and Tio looked over guiltily, pulling Ty away from the opening. “Sorry. I wanted to see if the voice control was personalized. Window eight, close.”
Unconcerned, Wes just gave him an it’s fine wave. If he’d been in Tio’s shoes, he would’ve wondered the same thing. He understood curiosity. For him, it wasn’t something to punish.
Kit looked a little sheepish, and he wanted to tell her that he wasn’t bothered by the boys’ explorations. He loved showing off his tower. She spoke before he could get his thoughts in order, though. “Sorry. We’ll get out of your hair. Is it okay if we train the dogs outside?”
The question confused him. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Since it’s your front yard, I thought I should ask.”
“I don’t really think of it as my property. It’s all national forest land. I’m just lucky enough to live on it.”
She gave him a questioning look, but he wasn’t sure what she was asking, so he just returned her gaze silently. Finally, she asked, “So…we’re good to train in your national forest?”
“Yes. It’ll give me something to watch.” He immediately wanted to retract the words, but she smiled, seemingly not bothered by the idea of him watching her from his tower.
“Aren’t you supposed to be watching for fires?” Ty asked, sounding more curious than critical.
“The official wildland fire season’s over,” Wes explained. “Most fire spotters leave for the winter, but I always request to stay. I’m not paid during the off season, but I don’t have to pay rent, since the cabin would sit empty otherwise.”
“How do you make money then?” Tio asked, and Sam cleared his throat.
