Chapter 9
ALEX
IndexEcho: Hypothetically, stop lighting shit on fire. Maybe stop using the gun. What did glue ever do to you anyway?
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It had been two weeks since being on the receiving end of Judd Kincaid’s overly strict safety-consciousness.
Two weeks of feeling the embarrassment of claiming a relationship with a twenty-year-old kid.
Two weeks of waiting to get served some kind of official paperwork declaring me a lying liar who lied on a fire incident report… whatever the hell that would mean. Was there such a thing as fire court?
But nothing happened. No paperwork, no random inspection, and no to-go orders called in by Judd’s perfect girlfriend.
And that was completely fine. Good, even. Because I was busy.
My cousin Hazel was recovering from her accident well, but it had brought half my extended family to town in the process.
When I wasn’t dealing with the tourist season at Timber, I was at my grandparents’ lodge, visiting with my parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and every other person they’d seemingly attracted from various and sundry encounters over the years.
Fortunately, the lodge was completely full with family and visitors, which meant I had an excuse to leave every day or night and return to my apartment over the restaurant.
When I wasn’t busy with work or family, I was trying to make sure Tavo stayed under the radar—both the fire chief’s and the skeevy judge’s.
Thankfully, this seemed to be going okay.
When I’d gone upstairs to apologize to Tavo after the confrontation with Judd, I’d caught him telling Ella about it in such a way that the two of them were crying with laughter.
On the one hand, it had been good to see Ella laughing after how upset she’d been about Hazel’s accident, and a relief to see that Tavo hadn’t been too frightened by the incident.
On the other, it hadn’t been that funny.
And ever since then, Ella had taken to calling me Tavo’s Sugar Daddy, which I did not appreciate.
But after two weeks, I had to admit the truth to myself.
Not seeing Judd Kincaid was exhausting.
I didn’t see him at the Slingshot Showdown. I didn’t see him at the SERA firefighters’ charity bonfire. And I didn’t see him any of the four hundred times I accidentally drove past the station house.
I was tired of not seeing him.
So… I may have set a teensy-tiny, itty-bitty fire and called in an anonymous tip.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Judd roared, slamming the door to his vehicle after squealing into my back lot. “Drop the fucking box!”
I looked up from the open cardboard box I was holding carefully. Inside was a celebratory cake with way too many candles on it, but I knew from his angle it looked like whatever was in the box was on fire.
“Why?” I asked, putting on my most innocent face.
“Alex, set the box down carefully and step away.” He moved to his back seat to grab an extinguisher, but before he could pull the latch on it and point it at me, I sucked in a breath.
Made a wish.
And blew out the candles.
“For what it’s worth, my wish was for you to write me a ticket for illegal birthday candle usage.”
He stepped toward me slowly as if dreading what was in the box. When he got close enough to see the Happy Birthday, Alex! written on it, he paled.
“Is today your birthday?”
I may have been a schemer, but I was not a liar. Well… not much of one, anyway. “Yes. And my family is waiting at the lodge to surprise me, but I wasn’t in the mood for the whole production.” Which was all true. Marian surprise parties were more exhausting than not seeing certain fire chiefs.
“So, you…”
“Picked up a cake at Beartooth Market and decided to celebrate on my own. Except, well… my friend Kincaid wouldn’t like me having open flames inside the building, so…”
He looked horrified. “So you’re out by the dumpster, celebrating your birthday alone?”
I almost felt bad. But then I remembered him trying to write Tavo up for changing a damned lightbulb while I was busy filling out compliance paperwork, while also trying to help Juni fulfill a large catering order. “I guess. It’s okay, though. I can go inside now that the candles are out.”
“I think you should go to your party!” he said, sounding the slightest bit panicked.
I stepped closer and inspected his facial expression. “Be honest. Did you get an invitation? Is that why you’re trying to get me to go?”
He shook his head, and for some reason, the movement drew my attention down to the tight fit of his navy tee over muscular shoulders, a broad chest, and a slightly and deliciously padded abdomen.
“Promise.”
I blinked up. “Promise what?”
“I didn’t get invited to anything tonight, Marian or otherwise.”
“Ah. Going home to your lady friend, then?”
I bit back a wince. Did I have to sound like an annoying brat? It was none of my business. “I’m sorry,” I quickly added. “She’s very nice. I’m glad you’re with her.”
Kincaid tilted his head at me and then smiled widely. “Are you?”
I pressed my lips together and remembered calling myself a not-liar only a moment ago. “No. Definitely not.”
“And why’s that?”
He still looked entirely too smug. “Well, because you have a very nice body under all of that rule-followy…” I waved a hand at him and nearly dropped the cake. “Whatever. And I wouldn’t mind… um, never mind.”
He took the cake from my hands and held the entire box under one arm like it was nothing. I shook out my arms after holding it so long. “Rule-followy whatever?”
“You’re very smarmy,” I said with a sniff. “Probably for the best that you’re straight.”
“Probably.”
I couldn’t help but deflate a little at the confirmation. So much for my birthday wish. “Well, why don’t you take her the cake, then? I’m not really in the mood to celebrate.”
He stepped a little closer. He smelled like woodsmoke and citrus. “I would, except she went up to Glacier.”
“Ah.”
“And then she’s headed home to Colorado,” he continued, stepping even closer. He lifted a devastating eyebrow at me. “Which is fine with me since we’re not together.”
Kincaid leaned down until our noses were practically touching. His voice lowered to molten honey. “And Alex?”
“Huh,” I breathed, intoxicated by his nearness.
“I’m not straight.”
I reached out a hand to grab the front of his shirt to keep from toppling into him as I leaned the rest of the way forward and shot my shot.
His lips were dry and soft, full and warm. I let out a little noise of apology but also not. Because I wasn’t really sorry.
Maybe I should have been, but I wanted to kiss him so fucking badly. And I wanted to be kissed. And four years was too long to spend in love with a memory.
Kincaid’s big hand clasped the back of my head and held me there while his lips took complete control of the kiss.
It was strong and decisive like he was, and I realized then that I’d never kissed anyone like this.
Someone who took complete control, was clearly stronger than I was.
And who enflamed every fucking part of me from the jump.
When he pulled back, his eyes were dark and intense. “Fucking flammable.”
“What?” I breathed, feeling dizzy and untethered.
“Happy birthday, Marian,” he said as he backed away. “And next time you call in an anonymous tip, maybe remember the station house has caller ID.”
I blinked at him.
“Go see your family, Alex. They love you. And not everyone has that.”
I stared after him, face flaming, until he was long gone.
And then I went to see my family.