Читать книгу A Firefighter in the Family - Trish Milburn - Страница 10

“Add some shrimp to the grill,” Carol said. “We’ve got one more person who wanted to give Karl the teasing he deserves.”

Will, who was tending the meat on the grill, stared at them for a moment before turning his back and adding more shrimp.

The awkwardness eased gradually as conversations resumed, like the slow receding of a wave back out to sea. Randi wished she could ride that wave into open water, where the expanse of blue gently rolled and soothed.

Shellie crossed the deck and gave Randi a hug. She returned the gesture, grateful for another friendly face. If it weren’t for Eric and the women in this family, she’d be a total outcast.

“Randi, how have you been?” Her father sounded like he genuinely wanted to know, but the deep warmth and vitality his voice used to hold was absent.

“Fine, thanks. You?”

Everyone seemed to hold their breath as they awaited his answer, as if he might suddenly yell, I’m a paraplegic, how the hell do you think I feel? Instead, he said simply, “Okay.”

Randi had to alleviate the tension or she was going to snap. She looked at Karl. “So, you popped the question. I remember saying I would relish this day so I could say, ‘I told you so.’”

Karl offered a half grin. “You’re not the only one.”

He sounded so forlorn that everyone, including his new wife-to-be, laughed.

The laughter broke the tension for a few moments, but when they sat down to eat, it returned. Randi stood to the side, not sure where to sit. She imagined that if she took a seat the brother next to her would move.

Considering they’d not done so during previous family gatherings, she didn’t know why she thought they suddenly would. Maybe it was the fact that a fire and not a holiday had brought her to Horizon Beach this time. A fire that would remind them all of that horrible day when their lives had changed.

But she needn’t have worried. Inga guided her to a chair between her and Carol. A safe zone where she had at least the sliver of hope that she’d be able to eat something.

Though conversations gradually picked up around her, the one topic avoided was her reason for being in town. Her brothers and father had likely picked the fire apart molecule by molecule, but none of that discussion materialized now. Not even Eric brought it up, though she caught him watching her a couple of times with an expression that said he wished he could make it all normal again.

Her mother reached over at one point and patted her hand, a loving gesture but one that fell short of demanding her other offspring welcome their sister with wide-open arms. Maybe Inga loved her while still holding her responsible for her father’s condition. Could the two feelings coexist?

Randi tried to take another bite of shrimp, but it seemed to expand in her mouth with each chew. When she attempted to swallow, it nearly choked her.

She looked over at her father, who was talking baseball with Josh, the second oldest and quietest of her brothers. The Great Avoider, they’d always called him, because he didn’t like conflict. He’d never said anything negative toward her regarding the fire that had ended their father’s career, but he hadn’t stood up for her, either.

They sat outside, so close to the ocean she could hear the tide coming in, but Randi couldn’t draw in a deep breath. How odd to feel she needed fresh air when she was in the midst of it. She stood and picked up her plate.

“Thanks for dinner. It was delicious.” She looked at Karl and Shellie. “Congratulations on the engagement.”

“Don’t leave so soon,” Carol said. “The party’s just getting started.”

“Sorry. I’ve got a ton of work to do.” Randi’s heart cried out for her father to ask her to stay, but he said nothing.

Before anyone could say anything, she hurried to the kitchen, deposited her food and paper plate in the trash. The door opened behind her, but she didn’t turn as she dumped the ice in her cup down the sink.

“I wish you’d stay,” Inga said, sorrow thickening in her voice.

Randi closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry to rush, but I have lots of notes to go over and people to call before the trail goes cold.” She pasted a smile on her face as she turned to face her mother. “Thanks again for dinner.”

The sadness from Inga’s voice crept into her eyes, her mother’s heart knowing work wasn’t the reason Randi was departing so quickly. Inga sighed then went to the refrigerator and pulled out a large plate. “I know how much you love my cheesecake, so I want you to take a slice with you.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I insist. I have plenty.”

Randi watched as her mother placed the generous slab of cheesecake on a plastic saucer with a plastic fork and covered it with cling wrap. She filled a small disposable foam cup with strawberry topping. Randi’s mouth watered at the remembered rich, creamy texture of the dessert.

Inga handed the cup and saucer to Randi and kissed her cheek. “Call me before you go home. Maybe we can have lunch.”

Randi fought tears and nodded. “Okay.” She headed for the front door before she lost her composure. She hadn’t been this shaken in a long time. She was halfway to the street, Thor on her heels, when Eric caught up with her.

“Go on back and enjoy yourself,” she said.

“I’ll take you to your hotel first.” He sounded sad and sorry he’d forced the situation on her.

She stopped walking but didn’t look at him. She didn’t want him to see the tears threatening. “I’ll walk. It’s a nice evening.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah.” Without making eye contact, she lifted onto her toes to give his cheek a quick peck. “Thanks for trying.” She headed for the sidewalk that led back to Sea Oat Road.

She’d gone half a mile when she reached the first public beach access. She took the boardwalk over the dunes and headed for the compacted part of the shoreline where the edge of the waves wet the sand. She kicked off her mules and carried them in one hand as she let the feel of the sand beneath her toes comfort her.

She focused on the sound of the surf and the fresh feel of the breeze and imagined them both carrying her worries away. She remembered that from one of the dozens of self-help books she’d read when the nightmares and bouts of crying after the accident had finally worn her down to where she could barely function.

A therapist was probably what she’d needed, but Miranda Leann Cooke had enough of her father and older brothers in her to avoid a shrink and convince herself she could handle it on her own. For the most part, she’d done okay. For now, that would have to suffice.

As the sun dipped below the horizon and the first dim stars twinkled, Randi wondered if her walk on the beach had been the right choice. Couples soaking in the romance of the scene lined the shore, nuzzling on blankets or walking hand in hand. Other than a couple of joggers, she was the only solo stroller.

Not only could she not find comfort in family, the latest man in her life had decided that her job kept her away too much and had moved on to someone else. Pete hadn’t been her great love, but the loneliness still got to her during weak moments. And reinforced the fact that if she cared about someone, they always let her down.

Twenty-nine and unattached. It wasn’t as if her biological clock was ticking—she wasn’t even sure she had one. Still, it would be nice to have someone to share life’s ups and downs with, someone with whom to stroll on the beach, go on a dolphin-sightseeing cruise, someone to jog with in the mornings. Someone who wouldn’t abandon her.

Again, Zac’s face popped into her mind, only adding to her foul mood. Romance with Zac Parker was a long-gone possibility.

She stopped and watched a pelican glide through the air before nosediving into the water. Thor nuzzled her hand and looked up at her. “Not that you’re not a wonderful companion,” she said to him. “It’s just not the same.”

Randi sat down and let the edge of the cool water tickle her toes each time the waves rolled in. She thought of her brothers. Will, married and the father of a two-year-old son. Josh, married. Karl, engaged. When Eric finally paired up, she’d be the only one left alone. Why did she suddenly feel as if a dark, hungry chasm was growing inside her heart?

Normally she stayed too busy to be lonely, but being back here, seeing her family—not to mention Zac—brought that buried loneliness to the surface where it stung and ached.

The breeze brought the sound of giggles. She turned to see a young couple kissing and laughing a few yards up the beach.

She wondered what that would be like—to be that carefree, that happy, that in love. She’d been that girl once, before she’d dared to follow in her brothers’ footsteps, before she’d gone into that fire, before Zac Parker had sided with the Cooke men against her despite how close they had grown. She’d been that girl once, but no more.

A WARM SUMMER Saturday night, and the joint was hopping. Just the way Zac liked it, especially after the day he’d had. Keeping busy was key to not focusing on his latest encounter with someone looking to make him an arson suspect—or the fact that person was Randi. What the hell was it with his karma?

He handed three beers to a customer and turned to the next only to find Randi Cooke standing there. His jaw muscles tensed.

She held up a hand. “I just want a bottle of water. And do you have an empty bowl?”

“An empty bowl?”

“So I can give Thor half the water.”

Zac looked across the packed bar but didn’t see the dog.

“Don’t worry. He’s on the beach.”

Zac fished a bottle of water out of the cooler and handed it to her along with one of the disposable peanut bowls.

In return, she handed him three dollars, said thanks and walked toward the front corner of the bar. He watched as she poured part of the water into the bowl then stepped down into the sand and walked a short distance. She bent out of sight before standing back where he could see her.

After the way he’d wronged her, the only reason she could be here was the investigation. It certainly wasn’t to reconnect, no matter how much he’d once wanted that.

“Hey, can I get a cosmo?” A girl wearing a tiny, lime-green bikini top stood at the bar.

An influx of new customers and those seeking seconds…and thirds…kept him busy, but his eyes continued wandering back to where Randi had taken a seat and appeared to be eating. The Beach Bum’s menu included only beverages and peanuts, so she’d brought it with her. Sometimes she caught him looking, other times she was either eyeing the crowd or staring toward the whitecaps of the waves against the much darker expanse of water. What was she up to?

Fifteen minutes passed, then thirty. Finally, he broke. “Be back in a minute,” he said to Suz, the other bartender. He wove his way through the laughter, but it didn’t penetrate his sour mood. What rolled inside him was more like a potent mixture of anger, frustration and a dash of the desire to flee. She had yet to accuse him of anything, but he couldn’t banish the feeling that it was only a matter of time. She was, after all, a Cooke. And she’d probably relish some payback against him.

Not for the first time, he wondered if he should’ve left Horizon Beach after he’d been cleared of the arson charges two years before. But he liked the little town and didn’t want to look like a coward. And he’d savored the idea of the Cookes having to see him and live with their mistakes. Petty, yes, but he wasn’t any more perfect than the next guy.

When he drew closer to Randi, he noticed how much prettier she was in her casual clothes. And when she wasn’t questioning him. Her ponytail hung down her back, looking so silky he wanted to touch it. Man, he had no right to make fun of Adam’s hormones with the way his reacted to Randi—despite their past and the reason she was back in Horizon Beach. She appeared oblivious to the reveling going on around her. Rather, she stared toward the Gulf, her forehead creased.

“Trying to figure out how to bust me?”

She turned her head to look at him. A moment passed before her look of concentration faded. “No.”

The simple answer, combined with her more casual attire and the appearance that her thoughts had been elsewhere, alleviated some of the tension knotted in his shoulders. She looked like just another bar customer, though normally such a beautiful woman wouldn’t be sitting alone.

“You’re not staking me out?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“So you are?”

“I didn’t say that either.” She raised her eyebrows, and the barest hint of a suppressed smile curved her lips.

Very nice, intensely kissable lips.

Snap out of it, Parker. You destroyed that path a long time ago.

“I don’t want you harassing my customers.”

“Have you seen me talking to any of them?” The semismile was gone, as if she’d remembered who he was and what he’d done to her.

He stared at her, trying to figure her out.

She pointed at the chair opposite her. “Have a seat.”

“I’m working.”

“And yet you had enough time to come over to talk to me.”

She didn’t miss a beat, damn it. He looked back toward the front of the bar. Suz did seem to have the flow of business under control. Maybe he could do some questioning of his own. He pulled out the chair and sank into it.

Randi scanned the crowd. “Looks like you’ve got a good business here.”

He examined her face, her eyes, looking for the hidden meaning. “Can’t complain.”

She turned back toward him and leaned forward, propping her forearms on the table. “Listen, whatever you might think, I’m not in the business of railroading people—no matter who they are. And I’m pretty good at figuring out who the real culprit is.”

Had she just insinuated she thought he was innocent?

“Are you always right?”

“As an investigator, so far, so good.”

He noted her qualifier but chose to ignore it. Instead, he glanced toward the water and saw Thor snoozing in the sand. “Guard dog or accelerant detection?”

“Both.”

“He find anything in the rubble?”

“Maybe. We’ll know for sure when I get the lab report.” She paused so long, Zac looked back toward her. “Why’d you give up being a firefighter?”

Hot anger hit him in the gut, as if his career—one he loved—had been stolen from him only yesterday instead of two years ago.

He snorted at her question. “You’re kidding, right?”

“No. Why would I be?” She leaned back in her chair and gave him a look of challenge. “I seem to remember being a firefighter meant more than anything to you.”

More than her. She didn’t say the words. She didn’t have to.

No matter what he’d done though, did she have to pretend?

“I wasn’t hot on the idea of working with people who didn’t have my back.”

She scrunched her forehead.

“You seriously don’t know?”

“Would I have asked you if I knew?” Irritation laced her words.

“I’m surprised you didn’t hear it from your brothers.”

She looked down, but not before he saw a shadow cloud her pale blue eyes. Only a moment passed before she raised her gaze and stared straight at him. “Must have slipped their minds.”

Were they still estranged, even after all this time? Why did he find that surprising? He knew how unyielding the Cooke men were.

He glanced out toward the tide and let the familiar story flow out like the waves, curious how she’d react. “You’d been gone about six months when we got a call to a house fire. Turned out it was the house of a woman I’d just broken up with. Hell, it wasn’t really even a breakup. We’d only gone out three or four times.”

“And it was arson and the finger pointed at you?”

Zac noticed the sound of disbelief in her voice.

“Yeah. Easy target. The ex. A firefighter who understands how to make a house burn quickly. Not a native.”

“All circumstantial evidence. What about the woman? What did she say?”

He snorted a mirthless half laugh. “Swore up and down I was trying to kill her. Only she wasn’t at home. Though she normally would have been asleep at that time. She worked nights.”

“Did the investigators have any actual hard evidence on their side?” she asked, all business.

The conversation wasn’t going how Zac had expected. Where was the finger-pointing? The animosity?

“At first. They found a can of gasoline and matches in my truck, and a ‘witness’ said she’d heard me threaten my ex.”

“Pretty damning evidence, and yet here you sit.” Randi looked down at her empty water bottle. “Why did your ex-girlfriend think you tried to kill her?”

“She was psychotic.”

“Really?” Her voice rose slightly in surprise.

“I don’t know if she’s been diagnosed, but it’s there. You don’t notice at first, but that’s why I broke it off.” That, and the fact it had just never felt right. Not like his time with Randi had.

“And she didn’t take it well.”

Damn, it was odd talking to Randi about another woman.

“Obviously not. She burned her own place and tried to pin it on me.”

She tilted her head a fraction. “They proved that?”

“Yeah.” He watched her face, trying to figure out if she thought someone had made a mistake and he really was guilty after all. Hell, he’d strap himself to a damn lie detector machine if it’d erase this new suspicion.

“How?” She didn’t sound accusatory, simply curious.

“She told a friend how she got the idea after reading about an unsolved arson in the newspaper, how she planted the evidence and got her coked-up neighbor to claim to be a witness to me threatening her. The friend told the police.”

“And you didn’t go back to the department after you were cleared?”

“My innocence didn’t matter to a lot of people, including your family.”

She crossed her arms and shifted in her seat. “They thought you did it?”

“They sure didn’t back me up. Can’t say I wanted to be best buddies after that.”

“Why did you stay in Horizon Beach?” She stared, unwavering, at him, her captivating blue eyes making his breath catch. How could he still be attracted to her after all this time? When she could put him through the hell of suspicion again? They weren’t even the same people they used to be. They didn’t know each other anymore. But his body didn’t seem to mind.

Randi was listening to him, wasn’t she? Wasn’t that more than her brothers had done?

Zac let out a sigh. “Sometimes I ask myself the same question.” He stood and stalked back toward the bar. This time, he was the one who needed a drink.

RANDI WATCHED the power in Zac’s movements as he zigzagged through the crowd. Heat surged to her face when she realized she was watching him in a purely I’m-still-attracted-to-him way. Only it wasn’t the same as before. While he’d been young and exuberant then, now he was all man and rough around the edges. Accusation and the loss of a dream did that to a person. But why did she care? Hadn’t he just received a little of his own medicine? He was no stranger to turning his back on someone he supposedly cared about.

She needed to ask Eric about the other side of Zac’s story. Lord knew most of her brothers were aces at holding a grudge, but she hoped Eric would give her the honest story, one not tainted by hard feelings. It was one thing to hold a grudge when someone had done something to deserve it, quite another when they hadn’t.

And she couldn’t abide a wrong—even if it had been perpetrated against someone who’d once wronged her.

Someone who’d broken her heart.