Page 14 of Flare Up
“Look, Wren. I know it spooked you when he called, but the fire wasn’t arson. It was electrical. And some favors were called in and, thanks to a visual confirmation from the local PD, we know that asshole is still in Virginia, where he belongs.”
The rush of relief almost buckled her knees, and she was thankful her car was in view. And she didn’t have gloves on, so the fingers wrapped around the phone were starting to hurt.
“They actually saw him?”
“Yes. Ben Mitchell is in Virginia.”
Wren unlocked her car and got in, switching her phone to her other hand so she could stick the key in the ignition. It would take a while for the car to start putting out heat, but at least she was out of the wind.
“Maybe I’m overstepping,” Grant continued. “I probably am and I shouldn’t be. But I know you, and you’ll struggle quietly rather than ask for help. And you can do it. I know you can. But you don’t have to struggle alone. You have friends.”
“I don’t know.” But she was wavering. He was right. She could do it. But he was also right about it being harder if she pushed away the people offering to help her.
“Gavin and Cait will be there. Just consider it a good meal with friends and we’ll go from there. If you want to at least look at the room, that’s great. But if you don’t want to, that’s your decision.”
She had to do something. It was awkward, sleeping on the couch, but she hadn’t been able to bring herself to reach out to the shelter offering space for the displaced residents.
“That sounds good,” she said finally. “I’ll talk to Cait and probably ride over with them.”
“Good. I’ll see you there.”
As she dropped the phone in the cup holder and put her hands over the barely warm air coming out of the vents, she tried to focus on what she needed to do this afternoon and not the fact she’d be seeing Grant in a few hours.
We.
She liked the sound of that.
* * *
Grant practically jogged up the walk to Patty’s front door. His mom had called as he was getting ready to leave and just hearing her voice settled him, so he’d spent a little more time on the phone with her than he should have.
He hadn’t mentioned Wren at all, though. He wasn’t sure what to make of the omission and he didn’t have time to analyze himself right now.
Cait’s younger brother opened the door as he lifted his hand to knock. “Hey, Grant. How’s it going?”
“Good.” He played basketball with the kid sometimes, since Gavin brought him to the Saturday morning pickup games. They’d tried to get him into hockey, but he couldn’t skate for shit.
“So what’s new in your life? Anything good?”
“Finally got my license,” he said as they walked into the living room. “And I’ve been working, trying to save up for a car.”
Patty laughed. “I told him I’d buy him a car.”
“A 1970s Buick is a not a car. It’s a boat on wheels.”
“More like a tank,” his mom said. “I wouldn’t have to worry about you driving around this city as much.”
“And you wouldn’t have to worry about him getting into trouble anywhere,” Cait added, “since he won’t be able to go anywhere since he’ll never find a parking space for a beast like that.”
Grant laughed along with the rest of them, appreciating the easy humor between Patty and her kids. The family had hit a rough spot after the death of Carter’s dad, but the vibe in the house was so much happier and more relaxed now.
Wren’s laughter mingled with the others’, and although it was softer and quieter, it caught his attention and turned his head. She was looking at Cait and her amusement had erased the signs of stress from her face.
The easy small talk continued through dinner. They all talked about work and teased Carter about what kind of car he should get. The conversation never got heavy and nobody asked Wren any hard questions, other than Cait putting on her EMT hat to ask about her follow-up with the doctor that afternoon, but Wren said everything had looked good and she should continue taking it easy until the lingering effects faded.
He did catch both Gavin and Cait giving them speculative glances now and then, and he didn’t blame them. Seated next to each other, he and Wren had fallen easily into being a “couple.” Easy banter. Her handing him the pepper without him asking. Him stealing a piece of ham off her plate because he liked the crispy edges. And her giving him a look because he knew he was supposed to trim that fatty edge off.
It was weird. He was aware of it, so he wasn’t surprised his closest friends were aware of it, too. And while Cait kept her expression pretty neutral, Gavin would scowl slightly before turning his attention back to the group at large.
