Chapter 28
twenty-eight
“Most people guard against going into the fire, and so end up in it.” - Rumi
Cole wanted to see Jocelyn sitting at his kitchen island in the morning light every damn day for the rest of his life.
Even with her distracted, just having her there settled something in him. The way the sun caught her hair, pulling out the auburn tint, or how it kissed her skin so she looked like she was lit from the inside… It about wrecked him.
She had one leg tucked up, looking real easy in her body, but her eyes said she was someplace else entirely. She'd called her uncle to check in earlier, so might've been the fire weighing on her.
Could’ve been their night together, too, and fear twisted a fist in his belly at the thought that she might've been sitting there, hoping it’d stay a one-time thing. Or worse, that she was wishing it hadn’t happened at all.
Because he sure as hell wasn’t.
He used to be a one-and-done kind of guy, back when he was still trying to outrun all that heat burning him up inside. But he wasn’t that kid anymore. Now he knew, every time his eyes had landed on that photo of her on the mantel, it wasn’t just habit.
It was him waiting.
Waiting for this, for her, sitting in his kitchen after a night tangled up in his sheets like she belonged there. Because damn if it didn’t feel like she did.
He set a plate in front of her, drawing her mind back.
Her brow loosened as she smiled down at his creation. “What’s this?”
“Taste it,” he challenged.
Her gaze slid to his as she cut herself a bite, watching him the whole time she brought the fork to her mouth. She only broke the contact when she looked down, surprised. “Is that—”
“A frittata,” he confirmed.
“How…?”
“Experimenting is my thing. The recipes on that menu downstairs? Mostly came from me.” He shrugged and straightened. "Frittata is kinda like an omelet.”
“Kind of, but not exactly,” she said, eyeing him. “This is amazing, Cole. You sure you don’t want to turn the Nail into an all-day eatery?”
He blew out a laugh and shook his head. “Nope. What I got is plenty to keep me busy.”
Her mouth curved slow. “I thought you liked staying busy."
He turned back to the stove to get some grub for himself. “Noticed that, huh?”
“You seem to have an endless supply of energy.”
He turned and grinned at her. “You’d know.”
She rolled her eyes. “Speaking of busy…”
“Oh no.” He groaned, dropping his head. It wasn’t a surprise; there was plenty he needed to do that day, like building some more of the booths for the festival at the end of the week. But he'd wanted to bask in this for a while yet. “Can’t we just act like nothin’ else matters? Just for one day?”
She smiled at him grimly, and then an uncertain look glimmered in her dark eyes as she looked down. That, he knew, was related to them.
He wanted to pull her in close, tell her he wasn’t going anywhere.
But she already looked like a spooked horse, and the last thing he wanted was to make her bolt.
So he kept his hands to himself, walked to the island like it didn’t cost him, and sat down to eat his breakfast, pretending it was just another morning.
“What’s on your docket, then?” Didn’t sound like he was rattled, thank God. Even if he was.
She pinched the edges of her plate. “I’ve been putting it off, but I know I need to go talk to Daniel Abbott.” Tension had her stung tight, and it bled into her voice.
“Sure you’re ready for that?”
She shrugged, but the movement sure wasn’t casual. “It doesn’t matter. This is what I came here for, and if my uncle’s house burning down taught me anything, it’s that someone in this town has something to hide.”
Didn’t surprise him that her mind went there. His had, too, while they stood there watchin’ that fire eat through her uncle’s place like it had her mama’s. But now there was a new kind of fear sitting heavy in his gut, turning his breakfast to dust before he could even swallow.
“And what if they’ve moved past warnings?”
She glanced up so fast, she might’ve snapped her neck. “You think they might do something to hurt me?”
He played over the conversations he’d had with folks about getting rid of Jocelyn.
Felt like townie nonsense—folks with too much time on their hands making a big deal out of a festival that didn’t much matter in the grand scheme.
Might’ve been something more buried there, though, some bad blood somebody was hiding under a concern about the town.
“Jocelyn, your mama died. Even if it was an accident, somebody still lit that match. And they know damn well what they did.”
They know. Those words echoed in his head like somebody else had said them. She looked just as shaken. But deep down, she knew, too. Hell, it was why she came back—to dig into what really happened that night. ‘Cause even if nobody said it out loud, there was always something that didn’t sit right.
“No way you didn’t think it’d be dangerous.” He worked at keeping his voice from rising.
“I knew people wouldn’t be happy,” she started, her mind clearly spinning.
But he was close to spittin’ now to think she’d never considered the danger of it all. “It was just revenge on your mind, not a killer covering his ass.”
“His?” she repeated, voice already dark.
“Figure of speech.” A pit opened up in his stomach, threatening to swallow him whole. The notes, the fires, the things that didn’t add up.
“You think I’m here for revenge?” she asked now, soft and low.
Dangerous ground. But the accusation was there in her voice, and it made him stiffen.
“I don’t know.”
“That’s a bullshit answer, Cole, and you know it.” She stood then, slim hands balling into fists at her sides.
He planted his palms on the counter top, the cold surface cooling his overheating skin. “Seems like it sometimes. The way you go off half-cocked at people.”
She reared back. “Half-cocked? All I want are answers! You agreed that things were suspicious. Your own parents said to find out who did this.”
“If that’s all you were doin’—”
“To hell with you, Cole.” She snatched her purse and sandals off the floor and made straight for the door. Didn’t even stop to put ’em on—just stormed out, barefoot and burning mad. The door slammed behind her hard enough to make his teeth clack together.