Chapter 8
KINCAID
IndexEcho: Work took twice as long today because someone broke security protocol.
DrunkenPoet: Was there a reason?
IndexEcho: Never a good reason to break the rules, Poet.
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Well, that was fucked up. And a huge mistake. And fucking weird on top of everything else.
I had no business offering comfort to Alexander Marian.
Who was he to me? A fucking civilian whose restaurant I inspected. He wasn’t a friend. Hell, he was hardly even an acquaintance.
And I’d hugged him in the middle of a family crisis. Why?
To be fair, he’d looked lost. Upset and alone. And my heart had gone out to him. For some reason, he was the kind of person who made you want to offer protection and comfort. Some people were like that, I guessed.
Who, Judd? Who in your life have you ever wanted to offer protection and comfort to?
I closed my eyes and hung my head, the rain still steady on the roof of my vehicle in the hospital parking lot.
Fine. I’d once had a friend like that, back in the group foster home.
I was seventeen, and she was sixteen. She’d lost her home when her mother had gone to jail for assault.
Never mind that her mom had been defending her against high-school bullies behind the gym after she came out of band practice.
I’d always assumed that was why I’d felt protective of her.
She’d been small and nerdy, but also meek, which had made her an easy target.
I’d had a crush on her, too. Which made me wonder if comfort and protection were some kind of love language. Or, more likely, they were my own fucked-up way of trying to give someone what I wish someone had given me when I was younger.
Love and security.
“Stop this shit,” I muttered to myself as I started the engine. There were hours of work left before my shift ended, and sitting in a Billings parking lot, wondering why I wanted to comfort the local fire hazard, wasn’t helping.
The following week was spent balancing time between work and showing Kaidee around Legacy. I enjoyed the distraction of hosting her since it forced me to check out some of the places that made Legacy so popular.
“We have to stop in town to pick up some sandwiches before heading to the trailhead,” she said, zipping up her backpack before slinging a strap over her shoulder. “I called in an order from a place I read about online.”
I was itching to get out of town and stretch my legs.
Half the workweek had been spent on interagency Zoom calls keeping everyone up to speed on the current wildfire conditions and preparedness plans.
I’d spent way more time talking about the wilderness than enjoying it, and it was time for that to change.
“Appreciate you doing that,” I said before closing the top to my water bottle and grabbing the keys to the truck. “Where’re we stopping?”
She followed me out to the vehicle with her nose in her phone, scrolling through the details of the order. “Place called Timber. It’s on Founders Row, I think. Is that Legacy’s Main Street?”
I felt a foolish little twist of excitement in my gut. “Yeah.”
She glanced at me as she pulled on her seat belt. “What? You don’t like it?”
“No, I do. It’s great food. Good wine. Mostly pizza, though.”
“And Italian sandwiches,” she corrected. “The reviews on this place are amazing. And it has an interesting history. Well, the building does, anyway.”
As I drove toward Founders Row, Kaidee told me about the historic roadhouse, which I’d already heard had been a down-low meet-up spot for gay guys over the years.
More recently, it had become openly gay-friendly, even before being sold to Alex Marian to become a more modern wine bar and pizza restaurant.
“My brother’s gay,” she said offhandedly as we pulled up and saw the Pride flag waving lazily from one of Timber’s flower planters out front. “Wonder if he’s heard of this place.”
I glanced over at her in time to see her cheeks flush. “I didn’t mean it like that,” she added. “He’s also a rock climber who’s spent a lot of time in the Rockies. He’d like Legacy. I know he’s climbed Three Daughters down in Majestic.”
I nodded as I threw the vehicle into Park and got out. “Buddy of mine from my time in Iraq has done some mountain biking around there,” I said. “Says it’s gorgeous. And great trails.”
Kaidee threaded her arm through mine. “Does it make you want to try it? I know they have bike rentals in town. I’d love to go out with you sometime.”
Since she’d been here, Kaidee had been just the right amount of friendly and flirty without making me feel compelled to either ask her out or tell her I wasn’t interested.
Which had allowed me to continue walking this stupid line of not having to decide how I felt about her one way or the other.
She was a nice woman whose company I enjoyed.
And that was all I had the mental or physical energy for at the moment.
“Let’s start with foot trails first,” I said with a smile.
We stepped from the bright sun into the dimmer interior. Thankfully, the person who greeted us was a bubbly young woman, not the owner. “How many? Two?”
Kaidee grinned at her. “Just picking up a to-go order.”
The woman led Kaidee over to the bar area, but as I began to follow, I heard a muffled yelp from the hallway that led to the restrooms. I headed in that direction to see what the sound was when I saw a precarious tower of cardboard boxes stacked beneath a wooden chair, with a young man balanced on top, stretching to reach a burned-out light fixture.
“Jesus Christ,” I barked, causing the kid to wobble dangerously. “You want a broken neck?”
I lunged forward and grabbed the chair, steadying it, while the young man—who couldn’t have been older than twenty—scrambled to regain his balance. He was slight, with dark hair and wide, frightened eyes that reminded me of a startled deer.
“Get down from there. Now.” I kept my voice firm but not harsh. The kid looked scared enough already.
“I—I was just trying to fix the light,” he stammered, carefully climbing down. “The boxes were fine. I was being careful—”
“Like hell you were.” I kicked at the stack of boxes, which immediately toppled over with a crash. “You see that? That’s what would have happened with you on top of them if I hadn’t shown up. You ever heard of a ladder?”
“What’s going on?” Alex’s voice came from behind me, sharp with concern. He rushed past me to the young man, placing protective hands on his shoulders. “Tavo, are you okay? What happened?”
Tavo. I wondered if this was the person Alex had lied to protect the night of the first fire incident. The person who’d somehow managed to spray sanitizer near an open flame, since it had been clear to everyone that Alex alone couldn’t have caused the fire.
“He’s fine, Chief. Leave him alone. He’s just helping out.” Alex positioned himself between me and Tavo in a way that made my annoyance flare hotter.
Kaidee appeared behind us, drawn by the commotion. “Oh my, is everyone alright?” She looked between the scattered boxes and the trembling young man with genuine concern. “Are you hurt, honey?”
Alex’s entire body went rigid. “He’s fine,” he muttered, the words clipped and defensive.
I studied the interaction, noting how Alex’s protective instincts had kicked into overdrive, how the kid—Tavo—kept glancing nervously between Alex and me like he was waiting for permission to speak. Everything about their dynamic screamed that Alex was hiding something significant.
“You can’t have untrained staff performing maintenance,” I said, keeping my voice level despite my growing irritation. “Especially not with whatever the fuck this was. This is exactly the kind of reckless safety violation that—”
“He’s not staff,” Alex interrupted. “I just… stepped away for a minute to—”
“To what? Let a kid risk his neck because you couldn’t be bothered to buy a proper ladder?” I gestured at the fallen boxes.
Kaidee laughed, a bright sound that cut through the tension. “He’s just a kid, Judd,” she said, shooting me an amused look. “I’m sure you did a foolish thing a time or two at his age. In fact, didn’t you and Max throw ropes into the struts of a bridge one time to—”
“Not the same thing,” I clipped quickly before she could launch into a story about my shitty teenage years in front of someone like Alex Marian.
Kaidee’s attempt to lighten the tension should have been charming. Instead, something sharp and uncomfortable twisted in my chest as I watched Alex’s face darken.
“We have a ladder,” Alex said quietly but firmly, his sunshine demeanor notably absent. “And Tavo isn’t foolish. He was trying to help.”
“Like he did the night of the fire?” I suggested, raising my eyebrows.
The words hung in the air like smoke. Tavo went pale, Alex’s jaw clenched, and Kaidee looked between us with growing confusion.
“This has nothing to do with the fire incident,” Alex said carefully.
“You sure about that? You lied about the circumstances of that fire, and now I’m finding out there are people ‘helping out’ around here you’ve failed to disclose.” I stepped closer, and Alex unconsciously moved to shield Tavo further. “What else are you hiding, Marian?”
“Nothing,” Alex said, but his voice lacked conviction. “And I told you, Tavo doesn’t work for me. He’s… a guest.”
“A guest who comes behind the bar and into the back hallway to help himself to supplies?”
Alex firmed his jaw and narrowed his eyes.
“I do not have to waste another minute dealing with you and your ridiculous overreactions. I have a restaurant to run.” His eyes flicked over to Kaidee, and suddenly, the fakest smile I’d ever seen widened his mouth.
“And apparently, you have plans with this lovely woman. So… enjoy your day.”
Kaidee touched my arm gently. “He’s right. Let’s—”