Page 11 of Heat Exchange
“How about your loyalty to our sister? Where’sthatloyalty?
“Lower your damn voice. And Iambeing loyal to our sister. If Danny goes out and rents an apartment, and then starts making do for himself, it’s just that much harder for them to get back together, and that’s what we all want, right?”
“It doesn’t matter whatweall want. Do you want them back together because it’s better for Ashley or because it’s better for Danny?”
“I think it’s better for both of them. If I didn’t, I wouldn’twantthem back together. I love Ashley—and you’re a liar if you claim you think otherwise—but I love Danny, too. He’s like a brother to me.”
“I get the whole brotherhood thing, trust me. I know all about it. But you’re taking it too far in this case, Scott. You need to remember whose brother youactuallyare.”
“You haven’t even been around for two years. Who the hell are you talking to about remembering who you are? You left. You walked away.”
“I left because of the same stupid bullshit Ashley is going through now, but at least when I left Todd, you had my back. It sucks that you don’t have hers.”
“You’re out of line, Lydia.”
“No,you’reout of line.”
The younger firefighter—Grant, she thought—walked back into the bay as she shouted at her brother and froze. After looking back and forth between the two of them, he turned and retraced his steps to make a hasty exit.
“Great. Nothing like a family spectacle to brighten everybody’s day,” Scotty said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
“Ashley should be able to visit her own father without running into Danny,” Lydia said, trying to dial back the temper. Not because she cared about being a spectacle, but because she wouldn’t get anywhere butting heads with him. “You have to see that.”
He shrugged. “Ashley goes in the front door. Danny always uses the back stairs. She probably wouldn’t even know he was there.”
“Trust me, she’d know.”
“It’s not like she’s in the habit of stopping by for regular visits, anyway.”
“That’s not the point. She should be able to if she wants to. The family home should be a safe place for her.”
He rolled his eyes so hard she wondered if it hurt. “That’s a little dramatic, even for you. They’re just going through a rough patch.”
“I’m going to show you dramatic in about thirty seconds if you don’t get your head out of your ass. It doesn’t matter if it’s just a rough patch or if they end up divorced. Right now, they’re separated and Danny shouldn’t be living under Dad’s roof.”
“Look, Lydia, I’m working here, okay? And I’m not tossing Danny out. So why don’t you go to work and leave Ashley and Danny’s marriage to them.” He turned and started walking away.
“I’m not done talking to you,” she said, and he flipped her the bird without looking back.
Lydia inhaled deeply through her nose, trying to resist the urge to run after him and bring him to the ground in a full body tackle. That would be a family spectacle they wouldn’t get over anytime soon.
When Scotty walked away, leaving Lydia alone in the bay, Aidan knew he needed to leave it well enough alone. Not only because he should mind his own damn business, but because Lydia in a temper could be a lot to handle.
But when her shoulders sagged and she looked up, as if looking for some kind of divine guidance, he walked around the back of the truck. “Hey, Lydia. You okay?”
She jumped, and he wondered if the heat in her face was from being startled or if she was thinking about whatever it was she’d been thinking last night. “Oh, hey. I didn’t know you were there.”
When she tucked her hands in the back pockets of her jeans, it took every ounce of control Aidan had to keep his eyes on her face. But his peripheral vision happened to be excellent, so he couldn’t miss the way the Kincaid’s Pub T-shirt she was wearing stretched over her breasts when she put her arms behind her.
“Sorry. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but you guys aren’t great at keeping things quiet.”
She shrugged. “I don’t care who knows. So I’m pissed my brother’s letting Danny stay with him. It’s not a secret.”
Aidan didn’t have a lot of experience with family dynamics outside of his own, and his own family was nothing like the Kincaids, but he suspected there was more to this than Danny crashing in Scott’s spare room.
If things were heated and sides were being taken, he could see it. If Danny had gotten caught stepping out on Ashley or he’d put his hands on her or something, then Scotty would have to close the door in his face. But as far as he knew, Danny and Ashley were just going through a rough patch and needed a little space.
He held up his hands in a conciliatory gesture. “I’m Switzerland.”
