All Fired Up

by Kristen Painter

  “Aye, it is as good as your hospitality is kind.” Alrik slanted a glance at Calleigh. “Tis a clever woman who can warm a man inside and out.”

  Moreen blushed. Corrigan dropped his spoon and Seamus crowed with laughter. “You’ve got a smooth talker, there, Calleigh. I daresay I could learn a thing or two from the lad.”

  Calleigh smiled politely. So Alrik thought she was a clever woman? Would he still think so when she told him what her first change was?

  Chapter Seven

  Alrik did not mind Calleigh’s silence on the way home. Riding in the car while it was daylight was bothersome enough. At night, the ride distressed him a great deal more.

  Lights came toward them at alarming speeds, blurring like the dancing lights of the Valkyrja that were sometimes visible in the Northern sky. He ducked the first time, but held himself still when she laughed softly at his actions. She would not ask him to kiss her again if she thought him timid as a child.

  When she turned the car off, he exhaled the breath he had been holding.

  “Riding in cars isn’t really your thing, is it?” The smile on her face was sweet, not mocking.

  “Not entirely, nay.”

  After they got out, Calleigh pushed a button on the small black box hanging from her keys and the car beeped. “C’mon. Let’s go inside and I’ll make us some hot chocolate.”

  He raised his brows.

  “Do you know what that is? Have you ever had it?” she asked.

  “Aye, I know the drink but I have not had it since I was in England.”

  “When were you in England?” Wisps of icy breath spiraled from her mouth.

  “In the year 1715. Hot chocolate was very popular. My charge was wealthy, so I had it several times. I liked it very much.” So had his charge.

  The spoiled daughter of a wealthy merchant, Amelia Maxwell Sinclair had gotten the talisman from her father. The attempt to please his brat failed miserably when Amelia had desired more from Alrik than the Phoenix was willing to give. Fortunately, he had not shared with Amelia that a Phoenix must do whatever a charge commanded of them. For all her begging and pouting, she had never phrased her words in a proper command.

  Calleigh laughed as she unlocked the door to her home. “Always rely on the kindness of strangers, do you?”

  “Strangers are rarely kind.” He could not recall the last time one of his charges had regarded him as something more than just a source of good fortune. Most of them treated him as though he were merely one more possession, as though he owed them something. He smiled softly. Calleigh had bought him gifts of clothing. Calleigh had taken him to meet her family.

  He shut the door and helped her out of her coat. Inhaling her delicious scent, he leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Did I behave in a manner that pleased you tonight?”

  She shivered and the desire to warm her pulsed through him.

  “You did just fine,” she answered.

  “So perhaps you will reward me?” With a kiss. He tossed her coat over the couch.

  She pulled away. Her smile did not reach her eyes. “I think now might be a good time to tell you I’m ready to make my first change.

  “As you wish.” Alrik’s gaze cooled, his face impassive. He nodded and stood waiting.

  “What is your first change?” His tone was matter-of-fact.

  She hesitated, unsure how he would react when she told him. “I can change whatever part of my life I want?”

  “Aye. The choice is yours.”

  Taking a deep breath, Calleigh exhaled slowly. The kiss she’d shared with him had made her heart ache and her family’s unkind words about Brad had only made her feel worse. She knew they were right, but she didn’t want them to be. There was one way to fix everything. One way to make things right.

  “I want…I want Brad and I to be together. I want us to be married. And I want the reason for our breakup not to have happened.” She blurted out the words, hoping she wouldn’t have to specifically mention the cheating.

  Brad’s cheating aside, she still missed him. Kissing Alrik had raised questions and feelings of guilt. Maybe she shouldn’t love Brad anymore, but she did. Everyone deserved a second chance, didn’t they? If they were married, and the cheating had never happened, they would be happy together. He’d have no reason to cheat.

  A second chance for Brad to prove he loved her. To prove that Jeana had been the instigator of the cheating. Her aunt and uncles would see how wrong they’d been about Brad. And this way, no one would know that Brad had cheated on her.

  One chance. That was all he was getting. If Brad screwed up this time, they were utterly, completely, without a doubt done.

  “This is your desire?” Although Alrik’s voice was emotionless, Calleigh still wanted to defend her decision.

  “He still loves me. I know he does. And I still have feelings for him. Yes, this is what I want.”

  Alrik nodded, dropping his arms down by his sides. “With the power of the Phoenix, I grant this change.”

  The wings of fire Calleigh had only thought she’d glimpsed once before unfurled over his shoulders. The feather-flames crackled and snapped, glazing his skin with a crimson glow.

  There was no heat, but she stepped back anyway. The air wavered as the fire wrapped around him. The blazing wings enfolded him until she could no longer see his face.

  The inferno flared brighter, intensifying, then snuffed itself out from the floor up, like a burning fuse. The last flickering flames disappeared before her at eye level.

  Alrik was gone. A ring of pale ashes marked the spot where he’d been standing.

  Was that it? Calleigh stood there, unsure what to do. What happened now? Was she married?

  She looked down at her hand. No ring. Nothing seemed different.

  Maybe it hadn’t worked. Or maybe it just hadn’t worked yet. She wondered if she should clean up the ashes or leave them. Had he said anything about what to do with them? She couldn’t remember.

  Gathering Snickers from around her feet, she did the only thing that made sense. She went to bed.

  ***

  Beep, beep, beep…

  Calleigh opened one eye. She didn’t remember changing the setting on her alarm clock from radio to buzzer.

  Reaching to swat the annoying thing off, she nearly knocked over a lamp that hadn’t been there last night.

  She sat up. That wasn’t her nightstand. These weren’t her sheets. This wasn’t her bedroom.

  The pillow next to hers was indented. She could hear the shower running. Someone had slept beside her. She was not alone. Her heart thumped in her chest, cold panic raising the hairs on the back of her neck. Where was she?

  From the pale gray walls and exposed-wire halogen lighting to the black leather chair and stainless steel and glass nightstands, every nuance of the place was sleek and modern…and cold.

  Slipping out of bed, the stained concrete beneath her feet was warm. Radiant heat. Whoever lived here had money. Tiptoeing to the closest window, she pulled back the gunmetal silk drapes.

  The view astounded her. Forget money. Whoever lived here had seriously deep pockets. Central park spread out below, the people walking through its winding paths mere dots of color.

  Who did live here? She glanced around, looking for some sign. Maybe in the closet.

  She stopped short at the sight of herself in the full length mirror. Her hair was straight. Stick straight. She shook her head. Her once curly mop fell back into place like a fringe curtain.

  Odder still, she wore a skimpy black nightie trimmed in coffee-colored lace. She plucked at the shiny fabric. Silk.

  The shower shut off. Her heart leapt again. She should hide. But where? The closet.

  She hurried inside and peered through the crack between door and frame.

  Brad walked out of the bathroom wearing a white monogrammed robe. He toweled his hair as he crossed the room.

  Dumbstruck, Calleigh glanced down at her left hand. A sparkling solitaire winked back
at her. Feeling like a fool, she walked out of the closet.

  “I see you’re up.” He kissed her cheek. “Did you make coffee?”

  “We’re married,” she whispered.

  He playfully smacked her backside on his way into the walk-in. “For a whole week now. Or hasn’t it sunk in yet?”

  But this wasn’t Brad’s apartment. Although, it was certainly his taste.

  “No…I guess it hasn’t.” She was married to Brad.

  “So, is there coffee?” He buttoned his shirt while he talked to her, his eyes on the mirror.

  “Shouldn’t we be on our honeymoon?”

  “Cal, you know I’ve got the Layton-Miller estate to finalize. We talked about this. You agreed to wait until I wrapped this up.”

  “Oh yeah, I am. Totally.” The black leather belt he buckled reminded her of the one she’d bought for her uncle’s birthday.

  “That’s my girl. Now, about that coffee…”

  “I just got up, I didn’t make any yet.”

  “I’ll just grab a cup at the office then. Try to finish packing your stuff in the next few days. Today would be even better. I need to get the movers in there to empty that place. The realtor already has two prospective buyers lined up.”

  “Buyers? What stuff?”

  “Where’s your head this morning?” He snapped his watch bracelet closed. “The rest of your Brooklyn stuff.”

  “We’re selling my brownstone?” That couldn’t be right. Had she really agreed to that?

  “I don’t have time to go through this again. We discussed it, it’s a done deal. I have to go. Walk me out.” He grabbed his briefcase.

  Calleigh followed him. The bedroom was one of the few actual rooms in the apartment. The rest of it opened up loft style into a huge concrete and steel space with floor to ceiling windows.

  Snatching his overcoat from a twisted metal rack by the doors of what looked like a freight elevator, he hit a button on the wall. The lift hummed as it traveled toward them.

  He ran his fingers through her hair. “That Japanese straightening thing really did wonders, didn’t it?”

  So that’s what had happened. “Yeah. Wonders.”

  “I might be late tonight with all this paperwork to be finished, so if you want to spend some extra time at the gym, feel free.” He pecked her on the mouth as the doors opened behind him.

  Gym? What gym? “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “See you later.”

  “Bye.” The doors shut and he was gone.

  She was married to Brad. Alrik had done everything he’d promised. Amazing.

  She walked around the apartment, inspecting the place. Very few things looked familiar to her. By the ivory leather couch, there was a picture of her parents newly framed in black metal. On the kitchen counter she found the Belleek spoon rest that had been her mom’s.

  She returned to the bedroom to take a better look in the closet. Her clothes were there. Well, some of them anyway. Most of the stuff on her side she didn’t recognize. The styles and colors didn’t look like things she would’ve bought.

  In the bathroom, her bright blue hair dryer and hot pink toothbrush drew the eye like bits of obscene flotsam in the pristine sea of white ceramic and brushed chrome.

  After a shower, she found a bathrobe and slipped it on. She wandered around, searching, searching. The apartment was too quiet. The something she was missing was so obvious she couldn’t name it.

  Maybe talking it out would help.

  “Coffeepot?” No.

  “House plants?” No, but they would help.

  “Candles?” Another good idea, but not it either.

  Why couldn’t she think of it? “For Pete’s sake, just spit it out. What’s wrong? What’s missing? C’mon, think. Cat got your tongue?”

  Cat. “Snickers! Here, baby!”

  She called and searched but to no avail. Her fuzzy baby wasn’t here. None of his toys, not his cat bed that he never slept in anyway, no food dishes, nothing, not a cat hair in sight.

  Calleigh dialed Brad’s cell phone.

  “Hello?”

  “Brad, it’s me—“

  “Honey, I’m in a meeting, let me call you back—“

  “No. Where’s Snickers?”

  Brad’s voice lowered to a whisper. “He’s at the groomers, you took him there yesterday. What is wrong with you?”

  “Then where’s all his stuff?”

  “At the brownstone, waiting to be picked up like everything else.”

  “Wait a minute, he stayed at the groomers overnight? Why?”

  “Can we talk about this later? I really have to go. And seriously, get a little caffeine in your system or something. You’re not making much sense today.” He hung up.

  Her heart slowed to a normal rhythm. Snickers just hadn’t moved in yet. That’s all. For a week, though? Weird, but at least she knew where he was.

  She didn’t want to call Brad back and ask him why she didn’t have a job to go to, so she decided to ignore that for the moment and head out to Brooklyn instead. At least she could get Snickers’ things.

  Once dressed in jeans and a T-shirt she recognized, she took the elevator down. It didn’t surprise her to find the building had a doorman.

  “Hi…Dexter.” Thank goodness for name tags.

  “Morning, Mrs. Volk.”

  Hearing her married name made her smile.

  “Do you have the keys to my car? I can’t seem to find them.”

  “Your car, ma’am? I thought you sold that to Dr. Welborn in 9B?”

  “Oh. Yes, you’re right. Sorry, habit.” Her mother’s car was gone, too? Good thing she knew her way around the subway system.

  ***

  Sheets of newspaper littered the floor of the living room. Boxes towered in stacks marked Goodwill and Storage. The walls and windows were bare. Her rugs were rolled and bound with packing tape. No sign of the ring of ashes anywhere.

  The home she’d grown up in looked abandoned and sad. With all its trappings packed away, her home was somehow less itself. The happy memories seemed as thin and distant as vanishing fog.

  She drew her fingers across the chair rail in the nook, the nicks from her father’s rocking chair runners clearly visible on the base board. The door frame going into the den still held her height measurements from ages one through eight.

  Something squishy squeaked beneath her foot. A pink and yellow rubber mouse, the tail long ago chewed off, stared blankly up at her. Once Snickers was moved in, she’d feel more at home in the loft.

  Gathering his things into a plastic grocery bag, she looked around for something else to take back with her. One of the boxes marked Goodwill hadn’t been sealed yet. She rummaged through the paper-wrapped items, pulling off just enough wrapping to see what they were.

  An award from work, her cordless phone, a jar candle. She put the award in a box marked for storage and crammed the candle in her purse. She reached into the box and pulled out another item and unwrapped it. Alrik’s talisman.

  The bird looked different than she remembered. Graceful and beautiful. Almost alive.

  Rewrapping the carving, she put the candle in the bag with Snickers’ stuff and the talisman in her purse.

  Before heading into the city, she went to the Dollar Discount and bought a new litter box, litter, cat food and some treats.

  Dexter opened the door for her when she got back to the apartment building.

  “Quite an armful you’ve got there, Mrs. Volk. Care for some help?” He smiled as graciously as he had that morning and rang the elevator for her.

  “No thanks, I’ve got it.”

  The doors opened and she got on, nodding goodbye. Did they really need to live in a building with a doorman? He was a nice guy, but she could push the elevator button herself.

  The light on the answering machine blinked. Three messages. The buttons had symbols instead of words. Very European. It took her a minute to determine which one meant play.

  A
message from the groomer. Snickers was ready. Wonderful! She jotted down the number so she could call for directions.

  Next was Jeana inviting her to lunch the next day at their usual spot. Their usual spot. They must still be friends which meant Jeana hadn’t slept with Brad. Calleigh determined to do her best to forgive and forget. If Brad got a second chance, so should Jeana. She was family. And besides, that awful night had never happened.

  Finally, Brad confirmed he would be late and not to hold dinner. Which was good, considering she didn’t have a clue what she’d be fixing.

  When she got back with Snickers, she fixed his litter box and set out bowls for food and water. He walked around sniffing and inspecting.

  “I know, Snickems. It’s not exactly home, is it? It will be…we just have to get used to it. And add a few things.”

  Snickers meowed plaintively.

  “And buy a scratching post. Good idea.” She ruffled his fur on her way to the bedroom.

  Where to put the carving? The nightstand drawer was too shallow. Some further investigation revealed a dresser drawer full of bras and panties. The talisman was not going in there. She settled on the bottom shelf of the nightstand, atop a stack of art books.

  She ate a bowl of cereal for dinner, watched a little TV, then decided on a hot bath. She lit the candle she’d brought back and set it on the bathroom counter. The spacious tub looked out over the city through a bank of windows. As the sky darkened, the lights twinkled brighter. The city glittered like an antique brooch, tarnished but still beautiful.

  The bath water cooled, but still she sat there. Tomorrow will be a better day. A shiver ran through her. Time to get out, the water was sucking the heat out of her.

  Brad came home so late, she barely registered his arrival. She heard him shower, felt the bed move when he got in, mumbled a response to his good night.

  If she had dreams, she didn’t remember them when she woke. Filling the coffee pot while Brad got ready, she wondered what lunch with Jeana would be like.

  Snickers meowed to be fed just as Brad called her name. She dumped a can of food into the cat’s dish and went back to the bedroom.