24. Sticking By Her Side
STICKING BY HER SIDE
“Skye’s coming later for dinner?” Clay asked the following weekend.
Ash was in the barn helping set up for a small wedding. A brunch wedding, which still felt strange as hell to him. He’d never been to one before. Not that he cared much. It meant it would wrap up early, stay tame, and be done before most people even thought about cocktails or getting drunk.
“She said she is,” he said. “She’s meeting me here.”
Reenie, his mother, and Meredith were arranging tables near the far wall. About forty guests, maybe. Intimate. Simple. The ceremony would happen at eleven under the arch at the end of the barn. Family-style brunch after. Clean, quiet, and done by three.
Dinner was scheduled for five at the farmhouse.
That his mother was catering a wedding and cooking dinner later should have been insane. But no one told Brooke Ridgeway how much was too much.
Not if they valued their lives.
She had lots of help now, so Ash kept his mouth shut and his arms uncrossed.
Everyone said he was the favorite, being the baby, but he felt it had more to do with letting everyone else be the bad guy.
“Mom’s been looking forward to it,” Clay said.
He snorted softly. “I can’t believe we’re having this conversation. You never cared who I dated before.”
Clay’s expression sobered. “This isn’t about who you’re dating. It’s about who she is.” He lowered his voice. “And the fact that she might be in danger. Do you know what you’re doing?”
There it was.
Big brother mode. Protector mode. The look that said: I need to fix this before it goes wrong.
Just what he didn’t need.
Someone else to fight his battles or come marching in to save the day.
Even if Clay had been instrumental in helping everyone in the family.
This was different. This was his world. Not Clay’s.
“Do you?” he shot back. “Because last I checked, I’m not sixteen and I don’t need a handler.”
Clay didn’t flinch. Didn’t even snort over his younger brother giving him shit when Ash rarely gave anyone shit.
“You’re a firefighter in the middle of a pattern of arson cases. She’s reporting and being pulled into it more by the arsonist. That’s not coincidence. That’s a collision.”
He exhaled through his nose. “You think I haven’t thought about that?”
Clay studied him. Really looked. “Then answer the question.”
He opened his mouth, then closed it. Because the honest answer was complicated.
Because knowing what he was doing and being able to stop it were two very different things.
And could he stop? If he was there fighting the fire and the guy was in the crowd and watching Skye?
No, he couldn’t do anything to help because, as she’d said last Sunday, he had to focus on his job. Not to just keep himself safe, but everyone else working.
“I’m not reckless,” he said finally. “And I’m not blind. I know the risks.”
“And?”
“And I’m not walking away,” he said quietly. “I can’t. I’m sticking by her side as much as I can for this.”
Clay held his stare. “You’re attached.”
The words landed heavier than they should have.
He didn’t deny it. He didn’t need to. Clay would see right through the lie anyway.
“I care,” he said instead. “And yeah, that puts her closer to me. But I won’t put her in danger. Ever.”
Clay nodded slowly. “Good. Because if this gets ugly—”
“I’ll move her out of the blast radius myself,” he cut in. “You think I don’t understand what I’m dealing with? I’ve got some inside knowledge and it helps. The more we all know, the better.”
Even if he was turning a blind eye to the one person at every fire.
But the thing was, he’d worked two shifts last week. There was only one fire that lasted a few hours. And yep, Alan showed up.
Not a car fire. Not a fire set by an arsonist.
Nope, it was an electrical fire in a home that had some remodeling being done on it. Poor construction and people were working while it happened.
All that told him was Alan showed up when there were fires all the time.
He knew, because once he saw him, he even asked what he was doing there.
The answer, “Waiting to pick my kids up from school and swung by on the way.” Alan was gone before they put the last flame out, probably picking up those kids he was waiting for.
“You know where I am if you need anything.”
“I do. I appreciate it. All of it. The last thing I want is this to be the topic of conversation tonight.”
“It’s going to come up,” Clay said. “Maybe not as badly as it would at her parents’ house, but it will. Do you really think Gale isn’t going to ask questions? She’s nosier than shit.”
“I was hoping to stop that and let Skye know who Rory is. I don’t think she does.”
“Really?” Clay asked. “I thought for sure you would have told her all the players before she showed up. That’s how you end up in the doghouse.”
Ash laughed and finished setting up the bar before they moved out to see if his mother needed help.
“If anyone knows what it’s like living in a doghouse, it’s you, but I told her who everyone’s significant others were. Just not that Rory is Rory Rene. She wants to be a writer too, and I didn’t know how she’d be if she knew beforehand.”
He asked her some of her favorite authors one night. Just a conversation. His way of picking without coming right out with a pitchfork.
Rory was in her top five. He didn’t know if she’d notice him by the picture on the back or not. Guess he’d find out.
Clay ignored his comment about the doghouse and glanced toward the barn doors, where the fall light spilled in. “Let’s get this set and get the day done.”
“Sounds like a plan to me.”
And when four rolled around, the bar was picked up and put back to normal. All clean and ready to go for the next event.
The tips weren’t as much and he hadn’t expected it. They didn’t do much work.
Hell, Clay could have handled it on his own, but it wasn’t as if he had much more to do today and had already committed to helping weeks ago.
Before his life got so complicated.
He pulled his phone out and sent Skye a text to leave now if she wanted. That he was done working.
She replied quickly she’d leave in five minutes.
When the barn doors were locked, he drove to the farmhouse and parked on the side, then went inside to the smell of a roast in the oven.
“How the hell do you manage to make everything you did hours ago and then this?”
There had been family-style plates of French toast, bacon, scrambled eggs, muffins, fruit, scones, and a few other things he had paid little attention to. Only what he’d snagged when he snuck back in the kitchen a few times.
“Because once the food was served, I cleaned up and left. Meredith and Reenie took care of the rest along with the servers. This was pretty mild anyway.”
“It seemed it,” he said.
He opened the fridge and got a bottle of iced tea. His mother knew what he drank when he wasn’t drinking alcohol.
And though he wasn’t working for a few days, he also didn’t really care if he had a beer or not tonight.
Maybe he wanted to make sure Skye knew he was telling the truth. That he didn’t drink much. He wasn’t out getting drunk and having parties when he wasn’t working.
That she didn’t need to worry that she was born to alcoholics and maybe she’d end up with someone who drank a lot also.
Just bits and pieces of things he’d picked up when they talked.
And even though they didn’t see each other every day, they did chat or text.
She was working, he was always working it seemed. Even on his days off, he’d sleep until noon the latest, then go help Corbin or Clay. He rarely had a day where he wasn’t working somewhere.
Seemed Skye was doing the same since she’d confessed she’d started her book.
The arsonist was being quiet. Nothing since the abandoned building. No emails either.
Almost two weeks at this point.
Maybe the person was running scared and moving on.
It was too much to hope, he was sure.
“How hungry are you? Or just distracted. Everyone knows to behave,” his mother said.
Ash laughed. “Gale never behaves. Neither does Clay.”
“I’m sure Clay already had a talk with you. He’ll back off now.”
His mother always seemed to have her finger on every pulse. “I’d like to keep the fire talk down, if you can help. It’s been quiet and maybe it’s been nice.”
Nice for the two of them to not worry about it. Not run out at every alarm.
Did Skye get a few other articles written in the past two weeks? Yep, she had, but only one had been printed.
She even admitted that she wasn’t chasing anything.
As if she had learned her lesson.
Or maybe she’d been truthful all along and was only doing this for her book and now that she started it, she had what she needed.
Guess they’d have to talk about that some more too.
Gale and Rory came in a second later. Exactly who he wanted to talk to.
“Where is Skye?” Gale asked, looking around. “We got here early thinking we’d beat the others.”
Meredith and Clay were home and cleaning up after the wedding. Just next door so they’d come over last minute. Reenie went home to shower and change and he expected her and Ford to be here any minute.
His mother had already said Blaze was on the way with Arden and Gracie.
“She’s coming now. I was here for the wedding. Listen. I didn’t tell her who you were, Rory. I mean, your pen name. She’s a big fan and wants to write. She might recognize you.”
“That will stroke my ego if she does.”
Gale nudged his arm with her elbow. “Your ego gets stroked every night with me.”
He put his hands to his ears. “I don’t want to hear those things.”
“Why, Ash?” his mother asked. “Sounds like words that might have come out of your mouth a time or two.”
Great, they were starting to bust his ass already. “I’ve outgrown it all. And you should too, Gale.”
His sister snorted. “I don’t think so. Not around family. Has Skye written anything yet? Do you know?”
“I’m sure she has, but she hasn’t told me. I just know she has a book she’s been wanting to write. Crime fiction, kind of like her past. That’s why she’s doing the freelance reporting thing. She wanted to get some inspiration.”
“I guess I could see that,” Gale said. “Though I’d think she’d stay away from the fire part of crime and yet she dove right in. You don’t think that’s odd?”
“What does that mean?” he asked.
“Gale,” his mother said. “Keep your opinions to yourself.”
“No,” Ash said. “I want to know what she is thinking.”
“I’m playing devil’s advocate here. Nothing more.”
“You do it all the time. Now shouldn’t be any different. Just spit it out.”
“Do you think she needs that adrenaline rush or going to the fires to be able to put it on paper? Like if she’s not seeing it in person, she gets, what is it, writer’s block, Rory?”
His face shrank back. He hadn’t thought of that.
Was that why she couldn’t start the book until now?
Did she really need to be in the action to almost feel it again in order to even start?
“I don’t know anything about that,” he said. “But I do know she wished she didn’t get caught up in it. If that were the case, I’d think she’d be going to every fire and she’s not. Not even car accidents or anything else crime related.”
“That’s right,” Rory said. “Gale, sometimes you put your lawyer hat on more than you need to. Remember, I went through some of what she did. Fighting for Rene helped me write. I thought it was my therapy, but it’s just what I was meant to do.
But coming back here, it’s been some of my best work.
I couldn’t do that until I was free of the past. It might not be any more than that.
And sometimes to be free of something, you’ve got to return and tackle it. ”
He let out a sigh. “Can you say that to her if it comes up? It’d mean a lot to her and me.”
“Oh man, Ash is in looooooveeee,” Gale said, moving over to give him a big hug. “I know it. That said it all. I’ll be good. I promise.”
His mother laughed. “You’re never good, but you’ll try, Gale, and that is more than you’ve done before with your brothers when it came to situations like this.”