Chapter 28
Twenty-eight
Two weeks into the investigation, the local news reported the lab fire was suspected arson, and the island’s already-frenzied obsession with the fire exploded.
Though he tried, Miles couldn’t get away from it. A bystander had recorded a video of the fire and caught Miles running to the ambulance with Annie in his arms. Thankfully, her face was obscured, but his wasn’t.
It initially ran with the headline: “Hero Firefighter Arrives at Structure Fire without Firetruck.”
Talk about drama. He was getting recognized everywhere, even worse than with the ferry ads. People stopped him in the grocery store to thank him for being a hero, and his first thought was to ditch his cart and run.
Once the internet algorithm picked it up, the video got millions of views, and he got requests for interviews from across the country.
He declined them all.
Miles sat at the kitchen table, his laptop open, reading the newest slew of articles. The fire chief had no qualms about utilizing the press. In this most recent article, he went into detail about the fire truck failing to start, bemoaning that they still couldn’t get the parts to fix it.
The report went on to describe the failed antitrust lawsuit and the local judge who had dismissed it. There were calls for the judge to be investigated, and several legal experts stated there was ample evidence to at least hear a case.
At least that was interesting. He scrolled on, a full glass of water sitting next to his hand, a well-intentioned idea he had completely forgotten now that he was as engrossed in this fire investigation as everyone else.
Then, the video of him running appeared again, plopped into the middle of the article under “related.”
It landed like a slap. He couldn’t read anything about the fire without running into that video.
He hardly remembered that moment. He had been working on instinct. Panic, really, that something would happen to Annie. When he had found her, she had felt so small in his arms, and she couldn’t stop coughing, and he didn’t know if she would breathe again or if she was hurt.
Why had they added it to this article? Because people loved a feel-good story?
There was nothing feel-good about it. Their fire engine would probably never work again, and they still needed to raise more money to get another one.
Even still, it would be years before a new truck was built.
They had no idea if the state case would be successful, and as far as he knew, there were no suspects in the arson case.
Nothing to feel good about at all.
He slammed his laptop shut and stood up.
“Slow down there,” Bella said.
Miles jumped. “Oh, hey. I didn’t know you were home.”
“I snuck in, I guess.” She narrowed her eyes. “Were you watching the video of your rescue again?”
“No. I hate that video.”
He let out a breath, trying to dispel the tension in his voice. He pulled open the fridge door and grabbed the first thing he saw – a can of soda. He cracked it open.
Bella stood silent, watching him.
“What’s up?” he asked, more defensively than he’d intended.
“How is Annie doing?” asked Bella. “Have you checked in on her?”
Miles took a long swig of soda and shook his head. “Not since the night of the fire.”
“You haven’t talked to her in two weeks?” Bella shook her head. “What is wrong with you?”
He made a face. “Nothing is wrong with me. By all accounts, she’s doing fine.”
“Did you guys have a fight or something?”
“No, Bella, we did not have a fight. I’m giving her some space. She had a big shock.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Men.”
He laughed at her unconvincing attempt to lighten his mood. “What’s that supposed to mean? Can’t a guy save a girl from a fire anymore?”
Bella lowered her eyes, cutting him with a glare.
A jolt ran through Miles’ chest. He didn’t like that look. He didn’t know what was coming, but it wouldn’t be good.
“So you can run into a burning building, but you can’t tell a woman how you feel?”
There it was.
He sighed. “That’s not what this is, Bella.”
She let out a dramatic groan. “Come on, Dad! I’m not blind. I know you like her.”
“First you thought I was too old for her, but now I like her? I think – ”
“That doesn’t matter,” she said, waving a hand. A smile danced on her face. “It took me a while to see it. It’s actually my fault for getting too obsessed with the women responding to the ad.”
“Ah yes. Dr. Birch,” Miles said.
Bella nodded. “Yes. I really liked her. I still like her, for the record.”
“And you don’t like Annie?” Miles asked, a bit too quickly.
“Are you kidding me?” Her mouth dropped open. “I love Annie. I would totally take her as my stepmom.”
He wasn’t going to have this discussion. “Bella, you can’t talk about people like that.”
She rolled her eyes. “Come on, Dad. What are you afraid of?”
Everything. He was afraid of everything. He had already watched the woman he loved die in front of his eyes. He had already gone through a grief so deep and so bleak he thought he would never emerge.
But he’d had no choice. He’d had to emerge – for Bella.
He couldn’t do it again. There was no question in his mind that it was not worth the risk to even consider loving someone again like that. And if there was anyone he could love again, it was Annie.
He opened his mouth to respond, stuttering out a rote, “It’s not that simple.”
“Why not?” she demanded.
“Because we’re not teenagers going to the school dance, Bella.”
“She’s perfect, Dad!” Bella narrowed her eyes. “This is the only thing I want. I never get anything I want!”
He almost turned into his mother for a second, the words “Join the club” on the tip of his tongue.
That wasn’t what he wanted to say, despite—for the thousandth time—feeling immense empathy for his mom all those decades ago.
He didn’t know what he wanted to say. He wanted her to stop asking about it. To stop pushing. He’d worried she would hit the roof if she caught a whiff of his feelings for Annie, but he’d never expected she’d demand he marry the woman.
What crime had Annie committed to be subjected to this circus? She laughed at his jokes. She charmed. She tested his resolve, his self-control, tests that he failed time and time again.
She’d made him fall in love with her, then she almost burned up in a fire.
It was far, far too dangerous to keep seeing her, to even humor Bella’s demands of wanting a stepmother.
“Yeah, well,” he finally said, “you can’t always get what you want.”
Her face reddened, her lips forming into a pinch.
For a moment, Miles was afraid she might literally explode.
Instead, she screamed before brushing past him and disappearing out the front door.
Miles shut his eyes. He wasn’t particularly proud of what he’d come up with, but there it was.
At least Bella hadn’t overreacted.