Warnings and Wildfires

“Shoot, Aubrey. I told you to wait until I got back. Are you okay?”

“Sully fixed me up. I’ll survive, but your new leggings didn’t. Sorry. I’ll replace them.”

Celia shakes her head, chestnut-brown curls bouncing everywhere. “Don’t be silly.” She rushes over and scoops me up in a hug. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“He’s a strong dog,” Sully says.

“Gambler?” Celia chuckles. “Yeah, his owner, Ty, is a big brute himself. He can handle him. My little sister can’t.”

I roll my eyes and barely restrain myself from sticking my tongue out at her.

Sully takes a step back. “I should get going.” He nods at my sister, but his gaze doesn’t linger, igniting a spark of hope inside me. “Nice to meet you, Celia.”

“Thank you for taking care of me,” I say.

“Anytime.” He reaches over and squeezes my shoulder. “I hope you’re able to come to class Sunday.”

Our eyes meet and all I’m able to do is stammer out a, “Me too.”

After he leaves, I slump back against the couch.

“Wow, you weren’t kidding.” Celia’s hushed tone and bright eyes suggest she’s interested in an afternoon of girl talk.

“Well, if he wasn’t interested before, he’s definitely not interested now. He not only witnessed my epic slam into the pavement but had to listen to my sniveling while he picked gravel out of my skin.”

Her gaze drops to the bandage covering my knee. “Ouch. He must like you a little or he wouldn’t have helped you out.”

“Doubt it. He’s just a nice guy. I’m sure he felt obligated.”

“The world needs more nice guys. All the guys I know would’ve whipped out their cell phone to take a video instead of helping out a girl.”

“You know a lot of assholes.”

She smirks and throws herself into the easy chair on my left. “True story.”

I groan, remembering I never offered Sully anything and Celia raises an eyebrow. “I didn’t even offer him a soda. I’m such a jerk.”

“I’m sure he understood.” She raises an eyebrow. “So you like him? I can see why.”

Uncomfortable with the question and my feelings, I glance away. “I’m not the best judge of character.”

“Aubrey,” she sighs.

“Anything good?” I ask, gesturing at the mail in her hands.

She flips through the stack. Her eyes narrow and she shakes her head. Disappointment clouds her eyes when she hands over one long white envelope in particular. “Please tell me you didn’t contact him, Aubrey,” she says in her best big-sister-disapproves tone.

Embarrassed, I snap the letter out of her hand. I don’t have to read the return address to know who it’s from, but I still glance at it quickly before tucking the letter under my thigh.

Ice swirls in my chest, making it hard to breathe.

A single tear runs down my cheek and I swipe it away before Celia sees. She’s spent enough time worrying. And I have a much bigger problem.

Somehow he found me.

CHAPTER TWO

Did I practically have my face shoved in Aubrey’s crotch this morning and not do a damn thing about it?

The brief moment has been replaying on a loop in my head all day. So close. When she rolled her leggings off, I was treated to a quick glimpse of pink cotton panties. The primal urge to rip them off and bury my tongue in her almost overwhelmed me. I managed to keep myself in check and tend to her instead of mauling her. Barely.

“Earth to Sully.” Jake snaps his fingers in front of my face and I bat his hand away. “What’s got you so twisted?” he asks.

About five feet three inches of plush curves I want to explore.

“Nothing.” No, I didn’t share my morning with my brother. He’s prone to saying something obnoxious about Aubrey that will make me want to punch him.

I hook my arm around his neck, drawing him closer.

“Hey, why you trying to choke me?”

“Smile.” I hold out my phone to snap a selfie.

Knowing who the photo’s for, he pulls a total goof-face.

“Maddy’s the only person I’d take a selfie for in the middle of our favorite bar. Makes us look like douche-wads,” he mutters as I send the picture.

“Hey, hero,” someone says behind me.

“Officer Hollister!” Jake shouts. “Join us.”

“What are you talking about?” I ask as soon as he sits across from me.

His mouth tips into a grin. “Heard all about your heroics. Rescuing a dog and a girl in one morning.”

“What girl?” Jake asks.

“Never mind.”

“At least that explains you being off the grid this morning,” Jake says. He elbows Liam in the side. “He was late to open the gym. Had a line of pissed-off gym rats waitin’ outside when I showed up.”

“Maybe if you ever showed up on time, it wouldn’t have been an issue,” I grumble.

Ignoring me, Jake focuses his eager-puppy face on Liam. “Explain.”

Liam signals our waitress and orders a beer before answering my brother. “Bree was on the phone with Aubrey for close to an hour hearing all about how you rescued her and played doctor.”

I groan and sit back. Liam’s fiancée, Bree, hasn’t been subtle about trying to set Aubrey and me up. “She was hurt. What was I supposed to do, leave her bleeding in the street?”

My brother’s watching me with an amused expression that I kind of want to wipe off his face. With my fist.

“Aubrey’s the cute, tiny one, right?” he asks, holding his hand up about an inch above the table. “With the fantastic ass?” he adds, complete with an obscene grabby-hand gesture.

“Shut up.”

“Did you get any?” Jake insists.

Liam groans and shakes his head.

“She’s a client,” I say through clenched teeth. “I don’t date clients.”

“Who said anything about dating?”

Liam throws a narrow-eyed glare at my idiot brother. “She’s Bree’s friend. Knock it off.”

“Hey, I’m single. Doesn’t Bree have any hot friends she can—”

“No,” Liam answers before my brother even finishes the question.

Bored with us, Jake motions for Liam to move so he can prowl around the bar seeking out a bedmate for the night.

“Sorry,” I say when Liam returns to his spot.

He shrugs. “He grows on you after a while. Like fungus.”

I laugh at the stupid joke and Liam grins.

“Thanks.”

“All kidding aside, Bree wanted me to say ‘thank you’ for being so nice to Aubrey.”

“They’re pretty tight now, huh?”

“They talk a lot,” Liam says.

“Bree doing okay after everything that went down?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know if you ever get over something like that.”

Isn’t that the truth.

“But,” he continues. “Classes started and she’s throwing herself into that and adjusting to the new house.”

“How’s your new job?”

Another shrug. “Starting back at the bottom kinda sucks, but it won’t be forever.”

Liam gave up his relatively quiet deputy sheriff gig to join the much livelier Empire City Police Department. All so Bree could remain close to her grad school.

“You’re a hero. She’s lucky to have you.”

He snorts. “She’s her own hero.”

I pick at the label on the bottle in front of me. “Yeah, I guess she is.” I grin at him. “What’s she keeping you around for anyway?”

“Hell if I know.” He laughs but then turns serious. “I should thank you. Your class probably helped save her life.”

“That and your shotgun lessons.”

He groans and looks away. “Yeah.”

After a few minutes of silence, he sits forward. “Don’t take this the wrong way.”

“Nothing good ever comes after those words.”

He ignores me and continues. “Don’t give Aubrey mixed signals if you’re really not interested. She’s a nice girl and she’s been a good friend to Bree. Don’t make me kick your ass.”

Offended that he thinks I’m such an asshole, I open my mouth to tell him to fuck off.

“Don’t tell me to fuck off, either. I’m serious,” he adds.

I groan and shake my head. “No signals, officer. Promise. She’s been taking classes at my place for a while. I’m serious about not dating clients.”

“Uh-huh,” he grunts in that disbelieving tone that sets me on edge.

Keegan’s big voice booms over the bar noise, rescuing me from this stupid conversation. “Figured you guys would be here.” He stops and slaps a hand on each of our shoulders.