Chapter 27
Axe
“Goddamn it,” I said as I glared at the aftermath of the horrific structural fire. While this one had been caused by pure stupidity from a campground fire that had been left unattended, it should have been handled by the local fire department. They’d been on other calls.
The fall of night was only thirty minutes away, the darkness oddly comforting. We’d kept the fire from crawling up the mountain, but it had raged hot.
The charred scene left not only a bad taste in my mouth, but also a series of nasty thoughts in my head. If only I’d been able to give the city council a piece of my mind.
There was no reason for me to think about Wade, but I was. Goddamn, the man pissed me off. He’d truly believed I’d stolen Mandy from him.
We’d stood staring at each other for ten minutes after Kenzie had walked off, disgusted with both of us.
Then Wade had been the one to leave, saying nothing. Not a single word. Maybe I’d hoped for an apology, one that was never going to come.
Life was far too fucking complicated.
To know the entire family held a grudge about something from the past was… annoying.
But it wasn’t going to fuck up my relationship with Kenzie.
Only I could do that.
Damn it. I needed to sit down and really talk to her.
“You did good,” Rock said as he slapped me on the back. He’d been made the informal leader of our team, which wasn’t something anyone talked about. No one wanted to acknowledge that a replacement for Will was needed.
“The situation infuriates the hell out of me,” I gritted back and unfastened my jacket. The fire had burned hot, destroying a small vacation cabin. Fortunately, no one had been inside.
“Everything does.” He laughed when he noticed my face. “Just teasing. I think that girl of yours is doing you some good.”
“She’s not my girl.” But I was working on it.
“Whatever you say, Axe man. Let’s get out of here. The other fire boys can handle the cleanup.”
“Yeah. Yeah,” one of the firefighters called. I’d served with Andy on engine twelve before he’d been transferred to another station.
I took long strides toward the utility vehicle. At least this one we’d been able to drive to.
“Hey,” Andy called. “So you bull ridin’ again? Gonna break that record and make us all proud?” He even stuck his fingers past his lips, whistling.
I groaned as the entire group started cheering. I’d already gotten way too much shit for the television spot.
“Shut the hell up,” I gritted out, moving toward the truck.
“Oh, come on,” Dante said as he flanked my side, trying to keep up with me. “I know you miss bull riding.”
I yanked off my jacket, tossing it in the back of the truck before grabbing a bottle of water from the cooler. “First of all, I’m not participating. I’m helping with the event. That’s it.”
“Helping who?” Denver tossed out from behind.
If I lied, they’d know. “Kenzie Sterling.”
“Oohhh…” the two of them said collectively.
“Shut the hell up.”
“Come on, buddy, you two were cozy the other night. You can’t lie. What did you do in that motel room?” Now Rock joined in.
Which called for a double-handed middle finger salute.
“He likes this girl,” Dante chimed in.
“I think we might have a winner. Ding. Ding. Ding. The forever girl.”
I spun around, getting in Denver’s face.
“Whoa. The boy is hot!” Dante stepped backward like he was some freaking dancer.
“What I wouldn’t give to be at this rodeo and watch the sparks fly.” Rock hummed some stupid love song.
“Leave it alone,” I growled, although I had a good idea. “Although…” I glanced from one to the other. “It’s a charity event. There’s going to be some rescue groups there. We want picture ops to spread good cheer. You three are going to be there.”
“No way, man,” Dante huffed.
“Oh, you owe me. If you don’t, I’m going to tell your girlfriend you whistled at another girl when we were at Ziggy’s.”
Denver bent over laughing.
“Don’t think you’re getting away scot free. I saw you on the mechanical bull that night. I took a picture.”
“You did not!”
As soon as I pulled out my phone from my bag, he tried to grab it. “Blackmail. And Rock…”
“Fine,” he snapped. “We’ll be there to help. It’s all for a good cause.”
“Then you’ve been assigned to get as many smokejumpers there as possible.”
I was proud of myself for turning the tables. Now I could grin. Maybe the event wouldn’t turn out to be such a bad thing after all.
“You’re a shithead, Axe man,” Rock hissed under his breath.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Alright. Let’s roll, dudes. I have a date tonight.” Dante strutted by me, backing away as soon as I gave him a look and my finger.
After taking a gulp of water, I realized I’d gotten a text. Seeing it was from Kenzie, I couldn’t help but smile, even if I felt a twinge of disappointment. What did I expect, for her to be gushy? That wasn’t McKenzie Sterling’s style.
Kenzie: Be safe.
No, she was balls to the wall, a go-getter who refused to allow a surly guy like me to push her buttons. She pushed back. Damn if my cock wasn’t twitching. All I wanted to do at this point was to protect her. Just like before.
Only this time, the situation we were dealing with felt more dangerous.
What I’d told her was true. I was worried she’d push her way into a situation she couldn’t get out of.
She thought nothing could beat her. What she didn’t understand was that people who committed arson had no care about who they killed.
Which was why I didn’t trust her father and had made a phone call to an old buddy of mine in the justice department to see if there was any chance he was linked to the old mill site.
If so, that could mean he was behind the arsons.
I prayed to God I was wrong, but I was willing to do whatever it took to protect her.
Now, all I wanted to do was to call her, but had a feeling she needed time to sort everything out. Plus, I’d soon lose reception on my phone. That didn’t mean I wouldn’t pine away for her.
“Oh, the lover boy in action,” Rock teased as he walked by.
“Fuck off.” While I knew there were obstacles, for the first time I was happy.
And even more than that, the guys were right. She was the one.
The only one for me.
* * *
Kenzie
“I didn’t expect to see you tonight.” As my mother looked up from the book she was reading, she had a concerned look on her face.
“I just thought I’d drop by and see how you were doing.”
“I’m fine. Come sit with me.” After placing the book on the end table, she removed her glasses. “Grab a drink.”
“I’m okay for now.”
“What’s on your mind?”
As I eased onto the edge of the couch, I sighed. “What do you mean?”
“I could always tell when you needed to share something, but had no idea what to say.”
Laughing, I thought about how many times my mother had said something similar. She knew me too well. “Where’s Dad?”
“Playing poker with his buddies. Come on, I can tell something is bothering you.”
I’d thought a lot about what both my mother and father had said about the past. I’d never found a reason to put two and two together but now, it seemed important. “Jose told me you had a fall on a horse when you were pregnant with me and the doctors were fearful you’d miscarry.”
She was surprised. “Very true. I was terrified.”
“Which was why you demanded Wade keep an eye on me.”
My mother shook her head. “He was not happy with me.”
“You do know I can now take care of myself. Right? Meaning I don’t need anyone to watch out for me.”
“You’ll always be my baby and you will always need someone to look out for you. I think you’ve found him.”
Her delight in my relationship with Axe forced me to blush.
“Where did you go to college, Mama?”
“In Washington State. Why?”
“You mentioned Daddy was the first love of your life.”
“He is the love of my life. Why are you asking?”
I don’t know why I suddenly felt uncomfortable asking Mom about her love life, but I was.
“You also mentioned you cared about someone else during those years. Right?” I found myself looking down at the table, studying the coffee table books my mother had insisted on having.
When she didn’t say anything right away, I slowly met her gaze.
“McKenzie. You’ve never been one to beat around the bush about anything. Don’t start now. Just ask what you need to ask me.”
“Fine. Did you think you were in love with Carter Beckett while you were in college?”
It was obvious by the look on her face she hadn’t expected my question. Uncurling her legs, she placed her feet on the floor, leaning over and covering her face with her hands.
“You did. So all this time, the ridiculous feud between the Beckett and Sterling families has been about a love triangle.”
Her silence nearly ate me alive. Very slowly she lifted her head, nodding.
“As I already told you, your father was beside himself that I wouldn’t allow him to come see me after I left for school.
That was mostly my father’s doing, but I had to admit, I was eager to branch out on my own.
We still talked, at least for the first couple of months.
Even when I came home for Christmas that year, we managed to see each other, but as I also told you, your father isn’t a patient man.
He demanded that we resume our relationship.
I was angry, refusing to be pushed so I told him I never wanted to see him again. ”
I sat back, lifting my head toward the ceiling and half laughing. “Very similar to how I handled shoving Axe from my life.”
“You’re right. I hadn’t thought of that.
I was serious that I didn’t want to see your father and he tried, but I ignored him.
Then I had a class with Carter Beckett and we hit it off.
I assure you it wasn’t love at first sight.
Far from it. But we connected intellectually and we just had fun together.
Eventually, I thought I fell in love. Maybe so did he. ”
“Okay. So what happened?”