Flame (Firefighters of Montana Book 5)

by Victoria Purman

  She’d been too busy working, studying, and building her business and, having survived the almost unbearable loss of the two people most important to her, she hadn’t let herself think about opening her heart to a child.

  Unbidden, uncontrolled, the thought whizzed by her in a flash—what would a child of hers and Dex’s look like? Would it have his independent streak or her need for being settled? A boy or a girl? Tall and blonde or shorter and dark. She willed the traitorous and impossible thought away.

  “It’s good to see you, Cady.” The look in Dex’s eyes, so kind, so full of caring, still made her hold her breath as it had always done.

  “It’s good to see you, too, Dex.” And she had to change the subject, to swing this around to business. “So, what can I get you both? Well, what can I get Lila? I know you don’t do cakes.”

  Dex studied the display. “I’ll take that chocolate cupcake for Lila, that one there with the mile-high frosting and the pink marshmallow on top. And she’ll have a hot chocolate, too.”

  Cady dug her hands in the pocket of her Cady’s Cakes apron. “With extra marshmallows?”

  A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “She’d like that.”

  “And a black coffee for you?”

  Dex paused. “Wait a minute. Throw in a red velvet for me.”

  Cady shrugged and shook her head. “Dex, you really don’t have to.”

  He stood taller, taking a step closer to Cady. “I can’t bring Lila to Cady’s Cakes and not eat a cake. That would make me the worst uncle in forever, so make it a red velvet, thanks.”

  Their eyes met and held for a moment. So much couldn’t be said now. How much she loved him. How much she missed him. If circumstances had been different… no, Cady had no right to think that or to want him anymore. She’d made her choice. She’d built her wall. There was a movement in the window and they both glanced to the table. A grey-haired lady was chatting with Lila, whose little face was serious and sad.

  “Fuck,” Dex muttered and was at his niece’s side in what seemed like two strides.

  Cady walked quickly behind him. Lila and the lady looked up.

  Dex placed a protective hand on her shoulder. “Everything okay, Lila?”

  “What a sweet little girl you have. My name’s Moira. I saw you come in a minute ago and I just had to come over and talk to young Lila here about her arm and her leg.”

  Dex’s hackles rose. He’d promised Mitch and Sarah he would protect their daughter and what had he done? Gotten totally distracted by Cady and left Lila to the clutches of some old busybody. He felt like kicking his own ass.

  “You have, have you? Lila, we can go if—”

  Lila looked up at her uncle. “Uncle Dex, Moira’s husband has the same thing as me. He had a stroke and Moira says his arm and leg don’t work properly either. Just like mine.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.” Dex dropped his chin in a nod of appreciation to the woman. He’d thought the worst. He always tended to when it came to people. He held out a hand. “Dex McCoy, ma’am. I’m Lila’s uncle.”

  “Very nice to meet you. My husband Harry uses a computer just like Lila does. She’s a very smart girl.”

  “She sure is,” Dex said.

  “It was so lovely to meet you, Lila. Maybe we’ll see you in Cady’s Cakes again. Perhaps I’ll bring Harry, if I can drag him away from his workshop. He still loves to tinker out there.”

  “See you, Moira,” Cady said with a warm smile.

  Moira looked at Cady and winked. Dex didn’t miss it.

  “Have a wonderful day, Cady. And we’ll see you next Saturday.”

  Dex waited until the woman passed on by before sitting down. He took a deep breath and searched his niece’s face. “Lila, do you mind people asking questions?”

  The little girl shrugged. “People figure out I’m different because I can’t walk properly. I know the words to tell them so I tell them.”

  “Well, that’s a good thing.”

  He heard Cady clear her throat. “I’ll be back with your things.” Before he could see her face, Cady had turned and scuttled back to the counter.

  *

  Dex was so glad he’d convinced Mitch and Sarah to let him give Lila this experience. The expression on her face was a thing of pure joy as she realised the chocolate cupcake with Montana mountain high frosting that Cady had placed on the table was all for her.

  And Cady. She’d made Lila feel special and safe and like a star.

  That was how he should have made her feel. Instead, being with him had made her scared and frightened. The truth in her words still burned.

  “Aren’t you going to eat your cupcake, Uncle Dex?”

  He looked across the table. Lila’s plate was a mess of crumbs while his was still pristine. The red velvet creation was still sitting, untouched, in the centre of a gleaming white plate, on top of a napkin, placed on the plate like a diamond.

  “Would you like it?”

  Lila’s eyes widened. “But it’s yours! I can’t eat what’s yours, Uncle Dex. That wouldn’t be fair.”

  Dex chuckled. The kid was going to grow to be an international human rights lawyer, he knew it.

  She leaned her good arm on the table, her right arm tucked under the surface on her lap.

  Dex was struck by a wicked idea. He put both hands on his lap and lowered his head. And when he opened his mouth wide and bit the top of the cupcake clear off, Lila laughed so loud people from surrounding tables looked over at the commotion.

  *

  Cady was at a table across the room, taking an order from a young couple who looked to be on their first high school date. The girl was giggling nervously, matched only by the nervous throat clearing of the young man. When Cady heard the little girl’s laughter, she looked up.

  Lila was laughing and laughing, her voice about the sweetest sound Cady had ever heard. And Dex… oh, Dex…he was sitting opposite, a huge grin on his face, chewing and laughing too, his face half full of frosting and red velvet crumbs and delight. Her heart lurched. Her knees buckled. Her feelings for Dex forced themselves up into her throat like a geyser and seemed to leak out of her eyes.

  She still loved him. Damn, she still loved him. She doubted she would ever stop.

  *

  As Lila chatted, Dex’s mind wandered back to Cady and her comment about working in the florist shop. He couldn’t believe all she seemed to remember was that she’d pricked her fingers on the roses. How could she not remember the blooms, or smell of fresh flowers, or the grateful customers who appreciated the arrangements she’d made for them?

  Maybe Mitch and Sarah weren’t the only ones who’d built a wall.

  When Lila yawned, Dex realised it was time to go. He helped Lila out of her chair and they slowly walked across the shop to the counter to pay the bill.

  “No way.” Cady waved at Dex as he fished in the pocket of his jeans for his wallet. “Your money’s no good in here. This is on me.” She came out from behind the counter and kneeled down in front of Lila so they were face-to-face. “This was my special treat for a very important visitor.” She held out her left hand to shake Lila’s. “It was so delightful to meet you, Lila. I hope we see you here at Cady’s Cakes real soon.”

  “Thank you, Cady. I loved my cupcake.”

  “Oh, wait.” Cady reached for a box on the counter. “Dex, this is for Mitch and Sarah. Can you tell them I said hi?”

  Dex looked at the box then down at Lila. “Care to deliver them yourself?”

  Cady was confused. “I don’t do deliveries. I’m sorry if you thought—”

  “Come to North Fork tomorrow. Mitch and Sarah are putting on lunch. Mitch is doing his famous barbecue. Would you like to come?”

  Lila’s eyes widened. “You should come. Daddy does hot dogs and Mommy makes the best potato salad forever.”

  Cady shoved her hands in her apron. “I don’t know…”

  “I know you’re not working tomorrow. Sunday’s your only da
y off, right? I could swing by and pick you up.”

  “No…”

  “Right.” Dex rubbed his hand across his spiky hair.

  Cady rested a hand on his arm. She was smiling. And to Dex that meant there was just the slightest hope.

  “No. I mean, I can drive myself. I know the way to North Fork.”

  “We’ll see you tomorrow then. Midday.”

  “See you tomorrow, Cady!”

  Dex took Lila’s hand and they walked to the front door. When he pushed it open, he turned back. Cady was still watching them.

  Chapter Seventeen

  As Cady drove out of Glacier Creek and along the sweeping roads around Flathead Lake towards North Fork, she took in the towering mountains in the distance, snow at their peaks, the pine trees below the timberline and the bluest of blue water in the lake. This was her world; she knew that in the core of her being. It had been the place she’d wanted to escape from when she was younger, and now it was her haven. It was her life now. And it was a good life, but there were things about it she wished were different. She wished her mom and gran were still alive, not just so they could see how successful she was now, but because she missed them terribly. They weren’t there for weekend breakfasts and after work phone calls. They weren’t there to watch Dirty Dancing each Thanksgiving. It had been their ritual. Some people did the Super Bowl, but the Adams women had chosen Patrick Swayze and watermelons and no one putting Baby in a corner for as long as she’d been able to remember.

  She opened the car window to let some air in and it blew her hair around her face. When Dex had offered to pick her up, she’d insisted on driving herself as an act of self-preservation. She needed to know she could leave when she wanted to. If she felt the need to get out of there in a hurry, she didn’t want to have to explain to anyone the reasons why. And that wasn’t about Mitch or Sarah or little Lila. Or even about Dex. It was about all of the McCoys, together. Cady still wasn’t sure how she would react to being in the middle of a loving family again. A mom and dad. An only daughter. A devoted uncle. Given the nightmares that had been plaguing her, Cady was filled with trepidation that being amongst all that love would remind her up close about how much she’d lost.

  Every day was hard, but this time of year was especially so. Thanksgiving was around the corner and, for the third year in a row, she’d have to watch her favorite film on her own. And then after that, it would be Christmas and a fresh set of memories to make her sad.

  As she drove, getting closer and closer to North Fork, Cady thought about Dirty Dancing and about Johnny and Baby. She’d never wanted to think about what happened after the movie ended, after they’d done the lift and Baby’s father had shaken hands with Johnny. Did the rebellious drifter really end up with the good girl? Perhaps it was better not to know so there would be no disappointment, so the dream couldn’t be crushed. Baby had probably gone off to college and fallen in love with someone else and Johnny most likely went back to his old neighborhood and taken up the plastering and decorating job his father had lined up for him. No matter how much love there was, some things were just never meant to work out.

  She and Dex were not meant to work out. That was all.

  Up ahead, Cady saw the turn off to North Fork and took it, her little car bouncing over the rutted road. She hoped she’d still believe that by the time she reached the farmhouse in the distance.

  *

  When she pulled up, Cady she saw movement on the porch. Lila and Sarah were waiting on the swing. She cut the engine, and looked up at the ranch house. It wasn’t grand. It wasn’t expansive. It was simple but beautiful—stone and timber, with a long and wide porch running all along the front. Not a bad place to raise a family. Not a bad place to want to keep a little girl safe, either.

  Everyone wanted a safe haven, didn’t they? When she left, she’d never imagined she would need one and she was lucky enough to have one back home in Glacier Creek.

  Cady got out of her car, slung her long-strapped handbag over her shoulder, opened the back door, and swept up the boxes from the back seat. She heard her name as she walked across the lawn to the porch.

  Sarah and Lila were standing at the railing, waving in her direction.

  “Cady! Cady!” Lila’s golden hair shone in the sunshine.

  Sarah put a protective arm around her daughter’s shoulder, ready to steady her if she lost her balance.

  “Well, hello, Miss Lila,” Cady said.

  “What’s in the boxes?” the little girl called out.

  Cady and Sarah laughed. “Something for you, of course!” Cady climbed the front steps slowly, judging with every step if walking into their home would stir up the feelings she was trying to suppress.

  “Hey, Sarah.”

  “Hey, Cady.” Sarah’s smile was warm and open and the two women hugged each other.

  “It’s been a really long time. Thank you for inviting me to lunch today.” Cady and Sarah had gone to school together, although Sarah was a couple of years older. She still had the slim physique of a teenager, her hair pulled back into a high ponytail, but there was a story in the lines around her eyes.

  “It’s our pleasure. I hear Cady’s Cakes is doing really well. Congratulations.”

  “It is, thank you.”

  Sarah grinned and tugged on Lila’s long plait. “Lila hasn’t stopped talking about your cupcakes.”

  “And the hot chocolate, Mommy! Cady gave me extra marshmallows. It was the best hot chocolate in forever.”

  Cady looked at mother and daughter. There it was, a tugging pang about her own mother. But where she’d been worried it would make her jittery with grief, it was comforting instead. This wasn’t going to be as hard as she’d imagined.

  “Well, thank you, Miss Lila. That’s the best review I think I’ve ever had.”

  Cady followed them inside, taking care to hold the door open for Sarah and Lila to go in first. The open plan living area was cosy, with fabric-covered sofas and throw pillows arranged like a family might use them, not as a designer would. There was a big, open fireplace at one end, stacked with logs, with a large rug in front. A bookcase filled with books stood against one wall and expansive windows opened up the view and brought the stunning Montana skyline inside.

  “Daddy! Uncle Dex!”

  It seemed Cady wasn’t the only one who knew the sound of Dex’s old truck. Through the windows, she could see it come rumbling around the drive and then pull up out front.

  “Watch out on the steps, Lila,” Sarah called after her daughter, who was trying hard to run towards the door like any other little girl would. “Make sure you hold the handrail.”

  Cady and Sarah watched Lila head out to her dad and her uncle.

  Sarah looked apologetically at Cady. “I have to remind her every time. She gets excited but I don’t want her to go tumbling down the stairs.”

  “Of course you don’t.” Cady put the boxes on the kitchen bench. “North Fork is incredible. You’re so lucky to live here.”

  “We know, but it was touch and go for a while. Mitch and Dex’s father had to go into care just after Lila’s accident and we didn’t know if we could keep the place. Once Mitch mentioned it to Dex… well, Dex did what he always does. He gave us his savings, even sold his brand new truck, and came back to Montana. He became a smokejumper so he could help us with Lila. He’s been amazing.” Sarah wiped her eyes. Cady felt her eyes welling. “He’s done everything possible to help her recovery and allow us to keep the ranch, to keep her protected and safe her at North Fork.”

  Dex was so much more than the drifter she’d imagined he was. Something shifted inside Cady, rearranged itself.

  “That’s what families do, right?” Cady breathed, trying to stop fresh tears. “And it’s especially what parents and uncles and aunts and grandmothers do for their kids.” She’d been so lucky to have that in her life as she’d been growing up.

  Sarah looked out to the yard through the kitchen window. “Funny thing is… she
doesn’t really need protecting at all. She’s got my intelligence.” Sarah winked at Cady. “And the McCoy spirit.” Sarah shook her head in disbelief. “You know what she told me this morning? That she wants to jump out of a plane like her Uncle Dex.”

  “Oh, no.” Cady smiled but the idea sent a cold shiver through her. Surely Mitch and Sarah would never let her do anything so dangerous. Couldn’t she be hurt—or worse?

  Sarah opened the boxes Cady had brought and the scent of chocolate and cinnamon wafted around the room. “Oh, these look amazing.”

  “Thank you. You should come into my shop sometime for a coffee and a cupcake. It would be my treat.”

  “You know, I might just do that.”

  “Everyone in town would love to see you, you know that, Sarah. It’s been too long. You should have seen Lila yesterday. She looked like a queen on her throne right there in the window seat.”

  Sarah teared up. “Did she?”

  “And the way she handled Moira Masterson? Superb.”

  “You mean Mrs. Masterson from school?”

  Cady laughed. “Yes! The toughest English teacher we ever had turns out to be one of my best customers. She’s in every Saturday with a bunch of her friends for book club. I think they quite like being away from their husbands, to be honest.”

  Sarah laughed. “Speak of the devil.”

  Mitch walked into the house, carrying Lila upside down. Her feet waggled in the air by his ears and her plait dangled. She was giggling uncontrollably.

  “Hey, Cady. Good to see you.”

  “Hi, Mitch.”

  Dex walked in behind his big brother. His eyes found Cady’s right away and she felt the breath disappear from her lungs in a sudden, urgent whoosh. And then he was on his way to her, that slow stride of his creating a rhythm on the wooden floor that was one tenth the speed of her pulse.

  “Cady, he said softly, and leaned down to kiss her cheek. It was slow, intimate, his breath on her skin, his hands on her shoulders, his body in her personal space, his scent of pine and fresh air and man making her dizzy.

  “Hi, Dex.” She gave him a little smile, aware they were being watched by Mitch, Sarah, and especially Lila.