Beautiful Burn (The Maddox Brothers 4)

“I can’t hang out with you.”

He continued as if he hadn’t heard me. “I’m off at ten tonight.”

“I’m in bed by ten.”

“What about breakfast? You don’t have to be at work until nine, right?”

“Because I like to sleep in, genius.”

“Are you a bacon and eggs girl? Or pancakes?”

I frowned. They both sounded fantastic. A free breakfast was as good as a free dinner, and Sally had decided she wasn’t going to allow Maricela to add to the pantry until I spoke to my parents on the phone—which I didn’t plan to do … ever. I wasn’t turning my life around for them; I was doing it for Finley, and that meant I would soon be living on Ramen noodles unless Maricela took pity on me and brought over some of her famous tamales.

Free breakfast sounded perfect, but using someone for food, knowing he was interested in me, wasn’t being the good person I was trying to be. “No.”

“No?” he asked, surprised.

“I’m sort of busy with myself. I’m sure you can find another girl to hang out with.”

My feet finally decided to complain about the cold three steps into my walk to the MountainEar. The door chimed when I pushed through the front door, fading while I stomped my boots on the mat.

“I was beginning to wonder if you were coming back,” Jojo said. Her bright smile faded. “Did you know Maddox is outside?”

I turned to see Tyler standing outside the door, his hands in his jacket pocket, waiting.

I pointed to the windows, demanding that he go back where he came from. He shook his head.

“What are you doing?” Jojo asked.

“How do you get rid of these guys? He’s like gum stuck to the bottom of my shoe.”

“I couldn’t tell you. I’m fairly certain Maddox has never waited outside in the cold for any girl. You should make him wait until he turns blue. You know … for the rest of us.” She held out her hand. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

I pulled the small card from the camera and handed it to her. Excitement lit her face as she inserted the card into the side of her monitor and sat, the wheels whining as she scooted her chair closer.

My fingers were red and frozen, and I wondered how they’d managed to work while outside for that long in sub-freezing temperatures. Quickly getting the right adjustments and shot became an obsession, making it easy to lose track of time. Even standing next to Jojo while she clicked through the hundreds of photos, I wanted to go back out and do it again.

Jojo shook her head and perched her elbow on the desk, cupping her chin in her hand. She covered her mouth with her fingers, the clicking of the mouse getting faster.

“I don’t even know what to say.”

“The truth. I’ll still have the assistant job if they suck, right?”

“They don’t suck.”

“They don’t?”

“These are incredible!”

I took a deep breath. “They are?”

“Daddy!” Jojo called, sounding more like an impatient pre-teen than a young woman capable of managing an entire business.

Wick hurried out of his office, hobbling but motivated. “They’re good?”

“See for yourself,” Jojo said, still clicking the mouse.

I crossed my arms, feeling my skin burn as it slowly warmed, and shifted my weight, unsure how to take their reaction. Wick put one hand on his daughter’s shoulder, bending over to get a closer look at the monitor.

“Ellison,” Wick said, staring at the screen. “These aren’t bad, kid.”

“Yeah?” I said, sniffing.

He stood upright and patted me on the shoulder. “She needs an assignment, Jojo. Not any of the usual boring shit, either. Something both the locals and tourists want to know more about. Something exciting. Sexy!”

Jojo frowned. “Ew. Don’t say that, Daddy.”

Tyler finally pushed through the door. “I’m not leaving.”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t you have a job to do?”

Wick snapped his fingers. “Yes! That’s it!”

“What’s it?” Jojo asked.

“Ellie’s first assignment!” He pointed to Tyler. “She can follow the hotshot crew. We know the basics, but what do they really do? How dangerous is their job? How physically arduous? What does it take to be a hotshot? Who are they? What do they do in their down time?”

“No,” I said, more begging than answering.

“Oh my God, Daddy, that’s brilliant!”

“Jojo,” I pleaded. “I’m not a journalist.”

“I’ll help you,” Jojo said. “I can rewrite it, or write the whole damn thing if I have to. You just take notes and get the pictures.”

Wick smiled, all of his yellow teeth on display. He puffed out his chest, proud of his daughter. “This is going to be a feature. Edson and Wick. It could get picked up by the AP.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Are we sure this is even possible?” I asked. “I’m sure there are safety concerns.”

Wick pointed to Tyler. “Make this happen, Maddox. I’m calling in a favor.”

“Don’t call in a favor,” I said.

Tyler took a step toward Jojo’s desk. “I’m sure I could work it out with the superintendent. I have the day off tomorrow. I could take her in and speak with him.”

I sighed and raked my fingers through my hair, pleading to Wick and Jojo with my eyes. “Stop. Let’s think about this for two seconds. You want my first assignment—as an amateur photographer—to be a featured story about following hotshots into fires? Really?”

Jojo turned off her computer, slipped on her coat, and winked at me. “Bring me back something amazing.”

“It’s my second day of taking photographs. You want amazing?”

“I have faith in you,” Jojo said. “Get out of here. Work day is over, and José is outside.”

I trudged to my office to gather my things. When I returned to the lobby, Tyler was standing in the dark, chatting with Jojo about my assignment. Jojo had already turned off the lights and was waiting for me to leave, keys in hand to lock up behind me.

Tyler walked with me to the curb where the Audi was parked, white clouds puffing from the exhaust. Sally hadn’t authorized the use of the car, but José was certain my parents wouldn’t want me walking miles in the snow.