Page 55 of Take a Hike
“That reminds me,” Charlie said as she jumped off her perch on the table. Pouring coffee into a paper cup, she added creamer and sugar.
“Who’s that for?” Ian asked, because of course he did. He was a firefighter, after all, and they were all incredibly nosy.
“Why can’t it be for me?” she asked rather than answer him. She was not a blusher, but for some reason, the back of her neck felt hot.
As if he could smell gossip, Ian’s eyes lit up. “Because it’s definitely not. Who’re you hoarding coffee for, Ms. Tough Bounty Hunter? Someone you have a crush on, maybe?”
“Mind your business.” Now the strange, prickling heat was spreading to her face. Despite that, she couldn’t hold back a smile.
“Aha!” Ian crowed. “There is someone. Who is it? You can tell me. I’ll keep your dirty, dirty secret.”
Charlie slanted a look at Rory, who gave a tiny shake of her head.
Ian must’ve caught it, because he clutched at his chest with his free, non-coffee-holding hand. “How could you betray me like that? My own wife!”
“You’d keep an important secret,” Rory said, not looking at all disturbed by Ian’s dramatics. “But something like this? The entire fire department will know by noon who Charlie’s dating.”
Still grumbling—although Charlie noticed that he didn’t deny it—Ian leaned down again, this time to teasingly bite at Rory’s neck, making her laugh. Although Rory’s uncharacteristic giggles were almost unbearably adorable, Charlie was distracted by a knock on the door of the suite. She hurried over, completely losing any control she’d had over her sappy grin.
“I have a feeling I’m going to find out anyway,” Ian said quietly to Rory, but Charlie ignored him. The firefighters could talk all they wanted. She had no problem with the entire world knowing that she and Kieran were a thing. Kind of a thing? A potential thing? Shaking off her mental attempt to define what they were starting, she checked the peephole and then yanked open the door.
“Hi.” That was all she managed to say, since most of her brain was occupied by just staring at him, taking in the huge, cranky hotness that made up Kieran Sullivan Byrne.
He lifted his chin in response to her greeting as his gaze ran over her like a warm, rough hand, making her skin feel all buzzy.She wondered if he was having the same issue, if just the sight of her had affected his ability to find and say words. The thought was rather delicious.
“Oh, it’s Byrne.” Ian’s voice had gone a bit flat, the teasing note disappearing.
Kieran flicked a look over her shoulder, giving Ian the slightest of nods before refocusing on Charlie.
The interruption brought her out of her Kieran-induced fog, and she held out the coffee she’d just poured. “Here. Saved you one. I know this is like liquid gold around here now.”
He glanced down at the coffee and one of those rare, authentic smiles touched his mouth. It was impossible not to grin back at him as he took the cup from her, allowing his fingers to brush along hers in the process. “Thanks.” His voice had turned husky, and the rough sound made her shiver in delight.
“Come in.” Stepping back, she swept her arm out to the side. “We’re watching the fascinating video feed from the compound.”
His gaze shot to the laptop as he stepped into the room. “Yeah? Anything useful?”
“No.” She closed the door behind him. “I was being sarcastic. It is not at all fascinating. As Lou said, the Freedom Survivors are boring.” She gave Ian an irritated look. “Knock it off.”
Everyone else in the room looked at Charlie in surprise, except for Ian, who maintained his poker face as he returned her glare with an icy one of his own. “I have my reasons.”
“Stupid ones.” Resisting the urge to stand in front of Kieran to protect him from Ian’s misplaced distrust, Charlie boostedherself up on the table where she’d been sitting earlier. “He’s not responsible for something his dad did.”
“She’s right,” Rory said before Ian could respond, and he jerked his head around to stare at her. “We can’t stop our parents if they go off the rails. You of all people should understand that.”
His mouth tightened as the silence in the room stretched with tension, but then Ian let out an audible breath. “You’re right.” Turning back to Kieran, he pulled his shoulders back as if bracing for an uncomfortable task. “Sorry, Byrne.”
Kieran gave a grunt, his scowl almost hiding how uncomfortable he felt. Charlie could see it in the tiny muscle jumping in his jaw and the way he shot a quick, almost entreating look at her. She couldn’t resist the appeal, so she launched into speech, grabbing at the first topic of conversation that came to mind.
“While we watch the very boring militia dudes go about their very boring day, we should probably talk about Mom.”
Although Fifi groaned, she said, “Yeah, you’re right. Clock’s ticking. I’m surprised she hasn’t shown up yet, honestly. Maybe she doesn’t need the key after all.”
A familiar figure running through Rory’s woods flashed in her recent memory, and Charlie frowned. “Maybe she is here. We still don’t know who the sixth treasure hunter is.”
Fifi’s groan was even louder this time as she tipped her head back. “Of course that’s Mom.”
It did make an annoying amount of sense. “So she needs the key, after all.”
