When We Burn (The Blackwells of Montana #1)

Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

brIDGER

“ B irdie, you’re going to be late. Let’s go, peanut. School starts in twenty minutes.”

It’s the first morning I’ve been home to take my daughter to school all week. Between my sister, Millie, and Merilee, they’ve handled the drop-off and pickup all week, and I feel guilty as hell about it. I know that I shouldn’t. It’s not my fucking fault that some asshole has decided to torch my town. We’re all on edge and working more than our share of hours.

I finally dragged my ass home at two this morning so I could shower and sleep and be here to take my daughter to school myself.

But she’s whiny this morning, and I get it. She’s like this when she hasn’t spent enough time with me.

“Daddy, I need help.”

“Okay.” I walk down the hallway and find that she hasn’t even gotten dressed yet. “ Birdie Mae. ”

My daughter frowns and crosses her arms. “What? ”

“You’re not dressed. We have to go. Now.”

“You didn’t tell me what to wear.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I set your clothes out on your bed.” I point to them. “Right there.”

“I didn’t know.”

“I’m not arguing with you right now. We don’t have time for this. Come on.” I tug her to me and help her strip out of her pajamas, then I quickly pull the fresh clothes on.

“I hate this shirt.”

“No, you don’t. You told me last week that it’s your favorite.” I sigh, not wanting to lose my temper with my daughter. “What’s up with you today, peanut?”

“I’m hungry.”

“You ate two poached eggs on toast. Try again.”

She doesn’t answer me, just glowers as I try to get her into her shoes.

“Honey, I love you.” I pull her into my arms and hug her tight, but she doesn’t relax against me. “I love you a lot. You know that, right?”

She nods, but she doesn’t say anything.

“Are you sad because I haven’t been home much this week?”

There’s a pause, and then she nods again.

“I know. It makes me sad, too. I miss you. But my job has gotten complicated, and I have to pay extra attention to what’s going on there. Have you been okay with Bee and Merilee and Millie?”

“Yeah.” Her voice is so small, and it makes my heart hurt .

“Listen, I have to go to your back-to-school night tonight, and it’s just supposed to be for parents, but how about if I bring you with me, and then we’ll get dinner at the diner together?”

She raises her head from my chest and watches me somberly.

“Can I have a milkshake?”

“You can have anything you want, even a milkshake. We’ll have a date night. How does that sound?”

“Okay. But what if your work calls you?”

“I’m taking the night off for my best girl.” I kiss her cheek. “Now, come on. We really do have to go.”

She springs into action with newfound energy, and less than five minutes later, we’re driving to the school. I should get her there just in time.

This is when being a single father sucks the most. Yes, my daughter has a whole family who loves on her and loves on her well. But she’s my baby girl. Mine to protect. Mine to love. And moments like these are the hardest because I can’t be in two places at once.

I’ve missed the hell out of her this week.

And then there’s Dani. I haven’t seen Dani since I walked her home on Sunday afternoon. God, I’ve missed her. I’ve barely had time to shoot her a text in the mornings, and I know that I owe her a hell of a lot more than that.

I didn’t send one today because I know that I’ll get to see her in person, as long as she’s still outside greeting kids.

Pulling into the parking lot, I see that I’m in luck. I help Birdie out of the truck, and she runs inside, waving at me over her shoulder as I approach Dani.

“Good morning,” I say to her with a smile. God, she’s a sight for sore eyes. She’s in a brown dress that’s cinched at her waist, with brown boots, and I want to pull her to me and kiss her long and hard.

Instead, I have to settle for shoving my hands into my pockets and smiling at her.

And she returns the grin, but I don’t like the guarded look in those baby blues.

“Good morning,” she replies. “I started to get worried when I didn’t get a text this morning.”

She bites her lip and frowns at the ground, as if she didn’t mean to say that, and I decide to fuck the rules and reach over to tuck her hair behind her ear.

“I knew I’d see you in person, and that’s much better. You okay, kitten?”

She smiles up at me now and nods. “Yeah, I’m okay. How are you? I hear things are rough right now.”

“Things are a shit show,” I confirm, not bothering to censor myself since most of the kids seem to be inside. “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to call or see you. But I’ll see you tonight at the back-to-school thing.”

“Right, yeah. I’ll be here.” The bell rings, and she glances back at the school. “I better get in there.”

I fucking hate that I agreed to the no-touching rule at her job because I think we both could use the reassurance of a hug or a kiss, but instead, I just nod. I feel fucking useless.

“Have a good day. ”

“You, too.” She smiles, and then she hurries off, and I’m back to feeling frustrated.

I’m not doing a good job with either of my girls this week, and that pisses me the fuck off.

I should go home and sleep for a solid six hours, but I find myself pulling into a parking space in front of Bitterroot Valley Coffee Co. and my sister’s bookstore and cut the engine. The sign in Billie’s new store says that she’ll open on Saturday, and I’m so damn proud of her. I hope I’ll be able to come in that day. I plan to, but if the bastard with a fire kink decides to set something ablaze, I’ll be at work.

Walking into the coffee shop, I’m surprised to see that it’s quiet inside. I guess now that we’re past Labor Day, the tourists are thinning out and we’re headed straight for the shoulder season.

I admit, I love the shoulder season.

“Hey,” Millie says with a big smile as I approach the counter. “Your usual?”

“Yeah, but make it decaf.” She raises an eyebrow. “I’m going to try to go home and sleep.”

She nods and gets to work. “Rough week. Any leads?”

“I can’t talk about it,” I remind her and rub my fingertips into my eyes. No, there aren’t any fucking leads.

And that also pisses me off.

“But I feel like I’ve been isolated from everyone for a few days, and I wanted to stop in to see how you are.”

“I’m great,” she replies with a grin. “Holden and I are finishing up the rescue barn, and we’re getting our first horses next week.”

“That’s incredible. It’s such a great way to use that land.”

“I’m so excited.” She passes me the cup and does a little dance. “I know it will be a lot of work, and the poor horses need so much love, but I think it’s going to be great. Anyway, did you hear that we’re getting a Sidney Sterling concert at the end of the month?”

“Who is?” I ask at the mention of my favorite country artist.

“ We are. Bitterroot Valley.”

I blink at her and then look down at the coffee. “Are you on something, Mill?”

“Ha ha. You’re funny. No, the little Campbell girl, one of the kids of the family that lost their home last week?”

“I know them.”

“Well, she goes to school with my niece, Holly. And Erin is related to Sidney by marriage.”

I’m too tired for this. I need a map or a graph.

“Okay. I think.” Erin is married to Millie’s oldest brother, Remington. She’s originally from Seattle, and her family is huge. And most of them are celebrities.

“Well, Erin mentioned to Sidney that the family lost everything in the fire. I have no idea how the subject came up, but Sid loves it here, and she’s been wanting an excuse to visit, so she offered to do a concert to help raise funds for the family. Now, I’ll bet it’ll be for all the families that have recently lost their homes. ”

I blink at my best friend. “So, Sidney Sterling, country music megastar, the woman who sold out her last world tour, is going to put on a concert here ? Where would this happen? We don’t have a venue for that. The fire codes would be a nightmare.”

“Here you go, making everything not fun . Again.”

I narrow my eyes at her, and she sighs.

“The Wild River Ranch has volunteered the space. They’ll set up a stage and stuff, and it’ll be field seating.”

“No.” I shake my head, the absolute nightmare of that making my head want to explode.

“Yes. The permits have been secured,” she says softly. “But there will be a cap on tickets at ten thousand.”

“You think it’s safe to pack ten thousand people out at the ranch, at once?” I shake my head, wishing I hadn’t come in here today. “What if something goes wrong, Millie? We have two ambulances. Only two.”

“Listen, I don’t know anything about the specifics. Talk to Chase.”

“Oh, I’ll be calling your brother and his boss.” I pay for the coffee, but before I can leave, Millie stops me.

“How are things with Dani?”

“I had the best weekend of my life with her.” Millie’s face lights up. “And I haven’t seen her since.”

She loses the smile.

“Yeah. I guess I did see her this morning, and I can tell that my being MIA has given her doubts, and I don’t have time to reassure her.”

“Bullshit. Yes, you do. A text message or a quick call is all she needs, Bridge. ”

“I’ve sent texts, but damn it, she deserves more than that.”

“It’s one week,” she reminds me. “It’s not like you ghosted her for a month. And she knows you’re slammed. We all know.”

I nod and sip more coffee.

“I’m going to see her tonight at the school thing.”

“Take her flowers,” Millie advises me. “Trust me on that.”

“Good idea.” I can do that. It’s not enough, but once again, it’s all I can do to hopefully soothe the rough edges that this week has caused for us. I nod and turn to go. “Have a good day, Mill.”

“You, too, Bridge.”

Dani’s presentation for her students’ parents starts in about fifteen minutes, and I was hoping to get there early enough to give her these flowers on the down-low.

Thanks to Birdie being motivated by ice cream and french fries after this, we’re not late.

Dani’s standing by her desk in her empty classroom when we arrive, and when she sees us, she smiles.

This time, it’s a genuine smile, and it soothes my raw edges just a bit. It would be better if I could get my hands on her the way I want to, but I’ll settle for that stunning grin of hers.

“Hey there,” she says .

“Hi. I know it’s not a kiddo night, but Birdie and I have a date after this.”

Dani waves that off and shakes her head. “Don’t you even worry about it. Birdie’s always welcome here. Did your day get better, sweetie?”

I frown down at my daughter and then back at Dani. “What happened?”

Birdie sighs and leans into my side.

“Just an off day for this one,” Dani replies and pats Birdie on the shoulder. “Nothing to worry about. I hope you’re going somewhere fun for your date.”

“The diner,” Birdie says with a smile, and Dani nods.

“That will be fun.”

God, she’s gorgeous. She hasn’t changed since this morning, and her hair is a little messier, and she looks tired, but she’s so damn beautiful, it’s a hit to the chest.

“If you’d like to join us, you’re welcome to.”

“Thank you for the invitation,” Dani says, eyeing Birdie. “But I suspect that Birdie needs some alone time with her dad.”

Birdie doesn’t argue, and that tells me that Dani’s right.

“These are for you.” I pass her the bouquet of sunflowers that Summer, the owner of Paula’s Poseys, recommended, and Dani smiles.

“Thank you. You didn’t have to bring me anything.”

“Yeah.” Since no one is here, I reach out and take her hand, linking my fingers with hers. “I really did.”

More parents start to filter in, and she pulls her hand out of mine, and Birdie and I take a couple of seats in the back.

For roughly twenty minutes or so, Dani explains who she is, what her plans are for the school year, and what her curriculum consists of. Her eyes land on mine, and she gives me a half smile before continuing on.

I want her. More than I’ve ever wanted anyone.

“I’ll be staying after for a while, in case any of you have questions or concerns. I’m really looking forward to working with your kids. It’s going to be a fun year.”

About half of the room leaves, but just as many parents stay to talk with the teacher, so I decide not to hang around any longer, especially since Birdie is clearly ready to go. I don’t even catch Dani’s eye as we leave.

I need time with her soon.

Birdie bounces in her seat in the back of the truck as we make our way to Kay’s Diner. This place opened up not too long ago, and it’s outfitted to look like a vintage diner from the 1950s. I have to admit, the burgers here rival the local pub, The Wolf Den, and that’s saying a lot.

Once inside, Birdie and I are shown to a booth by the windows. The table is white, and the benches are bright red. The diner is what you’d expect in a place like this with black-and-white tiled floors, a jukebox in the corner, and old-school rock and roll memorabilia all over the walls. There’s a long counter with glossy red-topped stools, as well.

“Hey there,” Shirley, a waitress that I know, says with a wink. “How are you two this evening?”

“We’re doing well. Thanks, Shirley,” I reply and smile down at Birdie, who’s sitting in the booth next to me. “We’re hungry, right?”

“Yes,” my daughter agrees. “Starving.”

“Well, then you came to the right place. Do you need a minute with the menu?”

I shake my head and order for the both of us. Birdie loves the burger and fries on the kids’ menu, and I get the adult version of the same meal, along with a chocolate milkshake for us to share because they come in a giant metal container that is big enough for four people to drink out of.

Birdie is happy to color on her kids menu as we wait for our food, so I shoot Dani a text message.

Me: You were absolutely gorgeous today, and the hot teacher thing is doing it for me. Don’t forget to eat something tonight. Would you like me to bring you something from the diner?

I bite my lip as I see the little dots hopping, signaling that she’s replying.

Dani: You’re such a flirt. Thanks for the offer, but I’ll heat up some soup. Have fun with your kiddo. I think she needs some extra attention today. xo

Me: I’ll call you later.

I sigh and set my phone aside, then turn to my daughter.

“Did you have a rough time at school today, baby girl?”

She doesn’t look up from her art project and shrugs a shoulder. “I was just grouchy.”

“Even though we said we’d go out for dinner?”

She just shrugs again, and I tip her chin up so she can look at me.

“You know that I have to work a lot and that I have an important job.”

“Yeah. I know.”

“You can’t take it out on everyone else, Birdie. That’s not fair.” I kiss her forehead and then tap her coloring page.

I glance up and notice that Chase Wild, one of Millie’s brothers, just walked into the restaurant. He asks Shirley something, nods, and when he sees me, he walks my way and sits across from me.

“I’m waiting on an order to take home,” he says with a grin. “Hey, Miss Birdie.”

“Hi,” she says with a smile. “I’m on a date with my daddy.”

“I see that,” Chase replies. “Pretty fun.”

“I plan to call your boss tomorrow,” I inform my friend, who frowns over at me. “A Sidney Sterling concert at your ranch, man? Seriously?”

Chase lets out a gusty breath and shakes his head before dragging his hand down his face, and I can tell that he doesn’t disagree with me.

“I know. I don’t like it either.”

“Then why is it happening? We don’t have the manpower for that, and you know it.”

“We’ll pull in departments from neighboring towns, and the Montgomery family— Erin’s family—plans to hire a whole bunch of security, medical staff, you name it. I figure with so many big names in that family, they have people to make sure everyone stays safe.”

“I want meetings,” I reply, shaking my head. “I want a plan. That’s too many people in one place without having a plan.”

“Hey, I’m on your side. We’ll make it happen. I’ll make some calls and be in touch.”

Chase’s name is called, and Shirley’s holding his bag of food.

“Have a fun date, you two,” Chase says, winking at Birdie.

When he’s out of earshot, Birdie turns to me. “Sidney? Do I get to meet her?”

I laugh and kiss her head as our food is delivered.

“Probably not, but we might get to listen to her sing.”

The look on her face is so stunned, so full of absolute joy , it makes me laugh again.

“Dad! She’s our favorite! ”

“I know, baby.” And I hope that we can make it work. Because it would be an awesome thing for the community.

But damn, it makes me nervous.