Chapter 48
48
ASHER
I pulled Summer into my arms before she could respond, unable to deal with her wide eyes or the fear etched in the lines of her face. I held her against me and breathed her in, but instead of her usual scent, I inhaled the sharp tang of smoke and sweat.
“I’m sorry,” I told Summer. “I should have believed you earlier. It just seemed so far-fetched that someone might be deliberately screwing with me.”
She glanced over at me. “Don’t worry about it. Now we know we need to be careful.”
Despite everything, I smiled. If we’d been in this situation a couple of months ago, she’d have given me an earful about not listening to her sooner. We were making progress.
I held her hand as we walked to the vehicle, and I was grateful as she took the lead and drove us to her parents’ place. I didn’t trust myself to concentrate on the road right now. She pulled into the drive and parked right outside the house, where someone had generously left an empty parking space.
As I got out of the car and waited for her to lock the doors, I buried my hands in my pockets and shrugged my collar further up my neck.
The snow had picked up, and an icy wind whipped at Summer’s hair as she turned toward me.
“I’m amazed the fire could start at all in this weather,” she called between chattering teeth.
“They probably used a shit load of accelerant,” I yelled back.
We huddled together and made our way to the doorstep. The door opened before we knocked, and Heather whisked us inside.
“You two must be freezing,” she said, fussing over us. “I’ve laid out a change of clothes for each of you in the bathroom. Have a shower and only come out once you've defrosted and are ready to face everyone. Okay?”
Summer’s shoulders slumped with relief. “Thanks, Mum.”
Perhaps she was as reluctant to face the inquisition as I was. No doubt our family would have even more questions for us than the police had.
Heather guided Summer and I to the bathroom door, then left as we closed it behind ourselves. I don’t know how she’d guessed we might want to shower together after the crapshoot we’d just been through, and nor did I want to think about it too much, but I was grateful to her.
Summer turned the shower on, and I stripped off. My jacket, sweater, T-shirt, and jeans hit the floor, and a puddle began to form around them. Summer undressed and put one of her hands beneath the water, which was already steaming.
“It’s fine for me, but you might want to check too,” she said.
I tested the temperature, wincing as the heat gave me pins and needles in my too-cold hand. I reduced the temperature slightly. It would hurt either way, but at least the contrast should be less now.
I stepped beneath the spray of water first, wanting to double check the temperature before Summer got in. I hissed as the blood rushed to the surface of my skin everywhere the water touched.
Summer’s mouth pinched. “Are you okay?”
“Fine,” I muttered. “Just stings a bit.”
She joined me, and I shielded her from the stream of water, holding her against my body until she warmed enough that the water might not be so painful. I moved aside, and she sighed with pleasure as it flowed down her arms and legs.
She ducked her head beneath the water and tilted her neck back as it soaked her hair. I gulped, mesmerized by the smooth, golden skin of her throat. She lathered shampoo in her hair, then turned to me.
“Did you burn yourself?” she asked, her teeth peeking out from between her lips. “I should have asked earlier.”
“I’m fine. The fire hadn’t reached the back of the house yet.”
“Are you sure?” Her eyes shone with concern. “Sometimes people don’t notice. Just let me check.”
I opened my mouth to protest but then shut it again. Who was I to stop her from checking me over? I’d want to do the same to her if the situations were reversed, and besides, I liked the idea of her looking at my naked body.
“Arms out at the sides,” she ordered.
I held my arms out and she searched each one for burns or cuts. There was a small nick on my forearm, where a shard of plastic had caught on my skin as I’d reached through the broken cat flap to get Cookie, but that was the worst of the damage.
“Arms down again.”
She lifted my hand and studied the knuckles. “You’re bruised.”
“I tried to punch out the cat flap,” I explained.
She huffed. “Men. Seriously. A boot would do the job much better.”
I pressed my lips together and didn’t mention that I’d had to do just that.
Gently, her hands ventured down my torso. She squatted, checking the fronts of my legs—for what, I didn’t know, but her proximity to my cock wasn’t helping me keep my thoughts clear.
She straightened. “Turn around.”
I did as she said and held still while she examined my backside. I was tempted to clench, a little uncomfortable with her scrutiny, but eventually, she declared me free of injuries.
I turned back, pulled her into my arms, and kissed her. “I told you I was fine.”
She smiled weakly. “I needed to check for myself.”
I kissed her again, dipping my tongue between her lips, tasting her. She gasped and opened for me.
Bang!
Bang, bang!
“You still both alive in there?” Toby called through the door. “If I don’t see you in two minutes, I’m coming in.”
Summer groaned and rested her forehead against my clavicle. “I can’t believe I’m related to him.”
“I thought Nate was supposed to be the overprotective one,” I muttered.
She rolled her eyes. “It’s a twin thing. He doesn’t care who I date, but if I’m ever hurt or scared, he needs to be close. I’m the same with him.”
I supposed that was something I’d get used to. “Let’s finish up then. I don’t want Toby seeing my naked ass.”
She laughed and shifted back under the stream of water to rinse her hair. I soaped up while she conditioned and repeated the process, and then I shuffled out of the shower and dried while she washed herself. By the time she was ready to get out, I was already dressed.
“You’re taking your time in there,” I teased.
“Shut up,” she said without any heat. “I have much more hair than you.”
My eyes journeyed down her wet, slender body of their own volition. “On your head, maybe.”
Everywhere else, she was smooth and tanned. My eyes narrowed. Why didn’t she have a bikini line? Was she sunbathing naked during the summer? Or was her golden skin natural rather than a product of time in the sun?
I waited while she dried herself and dressed. She glanced longingly at the blow drier but left her hair wet around her shoulders instead.
We exited the bathroom, and the cooler air of the hallway made me wish I’d donned the sweater Heather had left for me. Fortunately, the living room was warmer.
“About time,” Toby said as we entered. He was sitting on the floor, in front of the fireplace, his feet bare and his worried eyes belying the easy smile plastered on his face. “I hope you were both behaving yourselves.”
“Toby.” Grace shot him a look, then gestured at the coffee table. “I made hot chocolate. I know you already had some earlier, but I thought under the circumstances…”
“Thank you.” Summer reached for a mug and gulped down a mouthful. “Wow. That’s good.”
I glanced around, noting that Finn wasn’t in the room. Maybe they’d put him down for a nap in a spare bedroom. I knew they kept a cot here. Heather and Eugene had been prepared for more grandchildren ever since Tess was born.
“How bad is the damage to your house?” Max asked from the sofa.
I winced. “The front is pretty bad. I’ll need to replace the front wall at least, as well as the carpet in the front rooms.”
“You’ll have to re-paint too,” Liam said, winding his arm around Kennedy, who was sitting on his lap. “We’ll all help with that.”
Gratitude swelled in my chest. “I appreciate that.”
Perhaps, despite everything, I hadn’t lost my best friend.
“Us too.” Frannie raised her hand, drawing my attention. Her slightly dazed expression mirrored how I felt. Things like this didn’t happen to our family.
“Where’s Mum?” I asked her.
“She popped by her place to gather some of your old things, since you might not be able to get them from your house for a while.”
“That’s nice of her,” Summer said.
Toby patted the floor beside him, and Summer dropped onto the patch of carpet. He gave her a one-armed hug. Strange, how I’d never noticed before that Toby was protective of her in his own way. He may not bluster the way some of his brothers did, but the protectiveness was still there.
Frannie tugged at the end of her ponytail, visibly hesitant. “Mum said that the police think the fire might have been set intentionally. Who would do an awful thing like that?”
“I don’t know,” I said.“Has Nate called you? He wanted to talk to you too.
I lowered myself down beside Summer, close enough to feel her presence but not to actually touch.
“Me?” She frowned. “Why?”
“Because of your punctured tire. The police want to make sure it’s not related.”
Her eyes widened. “They don’t think someone will try to set our house on fire, do they?”
“You’d have to ask them that.” I couldn’t tell what Nate considered most likely.
“Could someone want to mess with your family?” Liam asked.
Frannie cocked her head. “Who would want to do that? We don’t have any enemies.”
“I don’t know.” He grimaced. “I can think of people who might want to get one over on Asher, but not you. Unless it could be an ex?
She shook her head. “I doubt it, although Dean’s ex thinks I’m the devil.”
Interesting.
“What about James?” Liam suggested, looking at me.
I sighed. “I wouldn’t have thought so, but I couldn’t imagine anyone doing this, so what do I know?” James was a cheating asshole, but it was a big jump from there to arsonist.
The others didn’t seem dissuaded by this. They bounced back ideas among themselves. The whole thing made me sick to my stomach. Did they really believe that more than one person might genuinely hate me enough to want to burn my house down? I wasn’t as likable as Max or Toby, but I was a decent guy. I tried to do the right thing.
Fortunately, the discussion ended when Mum and Dad walked in. Dad had a backpack slung over his shoulder and Mum rushed at me, her arms open for a hug. I pushed myself upright and let her fuss over me much the same as Summer had.
Once she was satisfied that I was fine, Dad passed me the backpack and Mum went with Heather to get extra seats from the dining room.
“Here. A few changes of clothes. They should still fit. You haven’t changed much.” Dad studied me closely for a moment, then added, “You’re welcome to come and stay with us, but we wanted you to have these in case you decide to go somewhere else.”
“Thanks.” I caught Summer’s eye. “Is your invitation still open?”
She took my hand. “Always.”
I turned back to Dad. “I’ll be with Summer.”
After today, I didn’t want to be without her. I was bound to spiral, and I’d rather she see me like that than my parents.
He winked. “She’s good for you. Maybe too good for you.”
I swatted his arm. “Hey.”
He shrugged. “Don’t mess it up. That’s all I’m saying.”
“Don’t worry. I don’t plan to.”
Summer didn’t seem to know what to make of this, but she smiled at Dad, nonetheless.
“Grace, I heard you were thinking of getting in touch with the original Destiny Falls couple’s descendants for your book,” she said, changing the subject with no tact whatsoever. “Have you reached out to them?”
“I have.” Grace crossed her legs and leaned back against the armchair. “I made contact with a woman who’s their great, great granddaughter, or something along those lines. Her name is Corie. We’ve been chatting about her family history, and she’s interested in reading the book.”
“She doesn’t mind that it’s a romance?” Summer asked.
Grace grinned. “She seems excited by that. I get the feeling Corie is a bit of a romantic.” Her smile faded and she turned to me. “By the way, have you worked out what’s behind the message on that rock they found in your living room? It just crossed my mind that it could be relevant to the fire.”
I dragged my hand through my hair. “I don’t know, but if whoever smashed my window is the same person who set the fire, and for some reason they want to scare me, all I can say is that they’re going about it right.”