Wilde Fire (Forever Wilde 3)

His eyes stayed glued to the ground between his knees. “I overheard them talking about trying to buy that property. But John said they couldn’t afford it. I thought it wasn’t fair. I mean, there was this huge family house just sitting there empty, and it already bordered the Walker land. It seemed perfect, you know? But he told Mom even if they could afford it, he wasn’t sure the owners would sell it.”

“So, you got to thinking,” I said gently.

“Yeah. I thought if there wasn’t a house on it anymore, it’d be cheaper. And what did it matter if it burned down? No one was there, nobody would get hurt.”

He looked at me with wide, imploring eyes. “I didn’t know all your stuff was still in there! I swear I didn’t know anything was still in there. I thought it was empty. Lots of the blinds were down and it was dark.”

I nodded but didn’t say anything in hopes he’d keep talking. When he didn’t, I prompted him again.

“And tonight?”

That’s when he started crying.

“I didn’t think you were home,” he wailed. The reality must have hit him then because he began sobbing so hard, he almost hyperventilated. “I could have hurt you real bad. I didn’t know! I swear, Otto, I thought you were at the lake house. Uncle Seth was on the phone earlier telling you to meet him at the lake house. I could have sworn it! I just wanted Uncle Seth to stop seeing you so he could get back together with Aunt Jolie!”

I moved a little closer and rubbed circles on his back, trying to murmur advice on slowing his breathing down. Once he seemed to catch his breath, he looked up at me. Tear tracks caught in the moonlight and the look of devastation came over his pale face.

“After I threw the bottle in the bathroom window, I saw the litter box on the floor.”

I squeezed the back of his neck. “She’s okay. I put her in the barn after I put out the fire. But I hope you learned your lesson real well, Hal. Even if I hadn’t been home, that poor kitten would have been burned to a crisp.”

Yes, my words were harsh, but so was the reality of what he’d done. That was nothing compared to the guilt he would have felt if Seth and I had been asleep in my bed when it had happened. I shuddered to think of how close we’d come to that scenario.

Saved by a goddamned model train set.

Hal let out a long, tortured sob again and seemed to curl in on himself. We sat together in silence until I realized the barest flicker of red lights could be seen dancing against the trees between us and my parents’ old yard.

Someone had called the damned fire department.

Chapter 33

Walker

Seth,

I’m on my last leg home from Hawaii. Saint and I are trying to get to the ranch in time for Christmas dinner. I can’t wait to see my family, but then I’ll have to figure out what the next stage of my life is going to look like. There’s a firefighter job waiting for me in Dallas, but I’m going to try my best to find a way to stay in Hobie. After all this time overseas, Walker, I miss my family. I need time on the ranch. Time to relax and reacquaint myself with life in the fresh air and sunshine.

But know this: after I get settled, I’m booking a flight to Minneapolis and starting my search for you. If you’re still single, you’d better have a damned good reason you aren’t sleeping in my bed every night, Seth Walker. I’m sick and fucking tired of waiting and wanting.

You belong with me.

Otto

(Unsent)

This time when the middle of the night call came in about Otto and a fire, I was overwhelmed by a feeling not only of deja vu, but also of inevitability.

It was like my subconscious knew something else was coming down the pike. Either that, or Otto had been right and bad things, like fire, really did come in threes.

I hustled out of bed and raced to the scene. When I heard the location of the fire, I damn near shit myself. Before I could even draw breath to ask the seriousness of the blaze, the dispatcher stopped me.

“He’s fine, Sheriff. No casualties.”

Thank fucking god.

When I pulled up, however, Otto was nowhere to be found.

“Where is he?” I asked as I approached a group of people including my deputy, Shayna, Grandpa, Doc, and the fire chief.

It was Doc who answered first. “Took off on Gulliver.” His face was pinched with concern, and I noticed he was gripping Grandpa Wilde’s hand for all he was worth.

“What?” I asked. “He went for a horse ride?”

It was like three o’clock in the damned morning.