Chapter 3
three
Lachlan
“ D addy, I don’t want to go to school today,” Rose complains as I’m tying her shoes.
“Why not? You love school.”
She purses her lips. “Because Briggs is mean.”
“How is he mean?”
“He always takes my crayons and then breaks them. And this time he said you weren’t a hero, but you are.”
I fight back a smile because I was so that kid growing up. I’m not proud of it, but ... I was a punk ass. My dad was always deploying, and my mother didn’t know what the hell to do with me. I was wild and she was also—checked out.
I got away with too much, and since Caspian was as much of a troublemaker as I was, the two of us were absolute terrors to our classmates, and mostly it was his sister who got the brunt of it.
“Well, I’m not a hero. I just did my job.”
Her shoulders rise and fall dramatically. “I hate him.”
“Did you tell him to knock it off or you’d punch his lights out?” I ask.
Rose shakes her head. “I can’t punch him. He’s a boy and I’ll get in trouble.”
I don’t encourage violence, but Briggs has been picking on her since school started, and sometimes it’s just the way to get a bully to stop.
“Want me to do it?” I ask, partially joking.
Rose sighs dramatically. At six years old, she already has more attitude than I know what to do with. “No, Daddy, I just want to stay home with you.”
I finish her shoes and stay in my squat, both hands on the side of her chair. “What would happen when there was a fire? Who would watch you?”
“I’m a big girl. I can stay home all by myself.”
“You are a big girl, but not that big. Plus, I’m not a very good teacher.”
Rose leans forward, taking my face in her hands. “Please?”
God, this kid has me wrapped around her finger. Still, homeschooling is a bit out of my realm of possibilities. “Sorry, kid, that’s not happening. School for you.”
Her lower lip juts out, and a part of me, a very small part, debates giving in. She looks so damn cute like that.
Then I remember that I can’t do math at all, and don’t ask me what a dangling participle or any of that shit is. I can tell you the internal temperature of a house fire and what back draft actually looks like.
However, none of that is applicable to Rose as a six-year-old.
I let out a heavy sigh and wait for her to look at me. “Rose, you are a smart, beautiful, and strong girl. Don’t let anyone ever make you feel like you don’t belong. If Briggs takes your crayon, take it back and tell the teacher.”
“He said I’m a tattletale if I do that.”
“And tell him he’s a bully.”
“What’s a bully, Daddy?”
I smile at her and tap her nose. “Someone who is mean because they can be. I’d rather be a tattletale than a bully.”
She nods once, and I get up and extend my hand. Rose takes it and hops off the chair, and then we head out to my truck. Once she’s all buckled up, we head into town.
“Look at the big horse!” She points to the stables that are about halfway to her school. They just got two Clydesdale horses after a barn fire a few towns over. We went to assist and asked Bill and Sandy, who operate the stables, whether they could take them until the owners come up with another plan.
The people in Ember Falls never hesitate to help someone in need.
It’s why I love it here so much.
“I see. Maybe after school we can go see them?”
She claps her hands. “Yay!”
It’s so easy to make this kid happy. I drop her off at school and pull her teacher aside, letting her know about the issue between Rose and Briggs.
“I’ll keep an eye out, Lachlan,” Ms. Moss assures me, standing a bit too close. Not that it’s abnormal, since Pam has been incredibly obvious about what she hopes for out of our relationship. It’s definitely not a parent-teacher thing. “I didn’t see you at the fire hall for the party last night. I was really hoping you’d be there ...”
“Sorry, I was busy with Rose.”
She purses her lips. “Aww, maybe next time.”
“Maybe,” I lie.
“We could always make plans for just the two of us.”
I don’t know how many times I have to explain that’s not going to happen.
Dating for me is not a priority. I’m completely fine being single and having my sole focus on Rose. She’s probably the only kid I’m ever going to have, and that’s perfectly fine by me.
Her mother and I were a one-night thing, and she gave me the option to either take Rose and raise her or put her up for adoption. I didn’t hesitate in taking my daughter.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea. I work crazy hours, and you’re Rose’s teacher. It’s better we keep things as they are.” Her face falls and I quickly try to smooth things over. “You know how people talk. I wouldn’t want to make things awkward for either of us.”
She forces a smile. “I get it.”
I don’t think she does, but it’s fine.
“I need to get to the station. Thank you for monitoring the Briggs-and-Rose thing.”
“Of course.”
I quickly get out of Dodge and make the fifteen-minute drive to the station. When I get there, my three night guys are heading out of the building.
“Hey, guys, quiet night?”
Lopez lifts his chin. “Sure was, Chief.”
“Quiet is good.”
Davidson huffs. “It would be nice to do something other than clean up after these two asshats.”
Jones flips him off. “Yeah, right, motherfucker. It’s you who leaves your shit everywhere.”
“Now, ladies, let’s not fight.” I do my best to stop the argument before it gets heated.
They laugh and Lopez speaks again. “I get what he’s saying, but I’m happy with quiet as well.”
“Good man.” I clasp his shoulder. “I’ll be switching you guys to days as of next week, unless you’d prefer to stay on nights.”
We’re a small department, and the one thing I hated when I started here was the rigid schedule. The former chief didn’t rotate any of us and that was my first change as the new chief. A lot of them are way overdue for doctor’s appointments, and God only knows what else that working nights makes even harder to take care of.
“I’m good with nights, boss. It’s with the kids,” Jones explains.
“Okay. What about you guys?”
“Who would clean up after Jones if we switched?” Davidson jokes.
I laugh because I should’ve known better. These three never take the option to switch and work well together.
“All right then. Nights for another month.”
They head to their cars, and I enter the station. I check in on the day shift crew, making sure everyone is doing well before going to my office.
There isn’ t a lot of work to do in a town this size, but as the newly appointed chief, it’s my responsibility to make sure everything is ready in case of an emergency. My firefighters are always on the ready, and this month I’m instituting a new set of weekly drills to be run by the captains of each shift.
Today I get to tell them about it and hear the grumbling.
I grab the paperwork and schedule, then head to the bunk room and find them doing what they’re always doing—gossiping.
“Did you hear about the girl staying at Brickman’s lodge?” one of them asks.
“The lodge? For what?”
“The asshole put it up as a short-term rental. He was in the coffee shop talking about how much he got for it.”
I shiver at that thought. The cabin is old, dingy, and there’s not a chance in hell it’s up to code.
I go inside and see my day guys sitting around. “What’s up, fellas?” I say.
“Chief.” They stand as I enter.
I really hate this. I was a captain as of two weeks ago, but since the fire and additional press coverage, the mayor decided I should get the vacant chief spot.
Which is ridiculous because I’m one of the youngest officers on the squad, and I’m definitely not the most qualified. However, publicity dictated it.
“Who is renting the Brickman cabin?” I ask.
“Oh, he’s calling it a lodge now, as though that’ll class it up. Anyway, some girl from New York or something. She saw the listing, and I can only imagine what her face looked like when she actually saw the place,” one of my captains says with a laugh.
“Did he get approval to rent it out?”
Considering it would have to go through the fire department, I can’t imagine anyone would’ve signed off on it.
He shrugs. “No clue. Either way, the girl showed up late last night. He was talking about it at the coffee shop this morning.”
I sigh. “If he doesn’t have it permitted, he can’t do that. ”
“Are you going to tell the mayor’s son that?” Don, my other captain, counters.
If it’s between someone getting injured in that shithole or pissing off the mayor, I’ll battle the old guy any day.
“That’s not the point. Who signed off on the certificate of occupancy?”
All of them look to one another, and either they’ve never seen a permit request or one of them knows I’m about to chew their asses and make them do a whole host of chores until I feel less murderous.
Don speaks. “We can find out if it was submitted and if anyone from the station approved it.”
I nod. “Let’s do that. I’ll head down there and make sure whoever is there is at least safe.”
Without another word, I leave, get in my truck, and make my way to the cabin. It’s about two miles from my house, but back in the woods. Last time I was there was because a bunch of high school kids were drinking and lit a bonfire. We headed out because we got the reports of smoke and thought for sure the place finally had gone up in flames.
Too bad that didn’t happen if he’s got someone paying to live there.
When I pull up, there’s a newer luxury car with New York plates parked out front, and I can see the smoke coming out of the wood-burning stove because ... there’s no heat and the only electricity is off the generator out back.
We’re still in that weird time of year where it’s cold in the morning and then it warms up out of nowhere. I swear, Mother Nature is a moody bitch lately.
I walk up to the door and knock.
I can’t imagine anyone actually paying to stay in this place, especially driving a new car.
“Who’s there?” a vaguely familiar feminine voice calls from the other side.
“This is the fire department. Can you please open the door?”
“No, thank you. I’m fine.”
I jerk my head back. Well, okay. “Ma’am, I need to check on the safety of the electrical panel as well as any fire alarms installed.”
“I see them. We’re good.”
Is this woman for real? I knock again. “Please don’t make me call the police department and have them come.”
I hear a grunt, and then the door flies open only to have me rock back on my heels. It’s been four years since I’ve seen Ainsley MacKinley. The woman I’ve loved for far too long. The woman whose heart I broke, breaking my own at the same time.
For four years I’ve kept away from her, pretending she was still the girl next door who was much too young.
This girl—this woman —is nothing like that image, and it knocks me on my ass.
Instead, Ainsley is slender with curves in every place a woman should have them. Her hair is long, pulled to the side in a braid, and she’s wearing leggings and a crop top with glasses perched on her nose.
Only they don’t make her look dorky. She looks smart and fucking stunning.
“Hi, Lach. Good to see you. Sorry, I’m working and I didn’t know that you were stopping by. As you can see, the place is perfectly lovely and safe. I’m sure I’ll see you around.”
Before the most beautiful pain in my ass can shut the door, I push my hand out to stop it from closing. “Why in the hell are you in Ember Falls, and what in God’s name are you doing staying in this shithole of a cabin, Ainsley?”