Hot Lava

by Anne Conley

  “I’ll just be in the truck.” Zane was up and out of the room, leaving them alone. A loud cackle sounded from outside, where Zane’s professionalism had completely fled.

  “Katie, I’m sorry about before.” His murmur into her hair sounded as futile as it felt.

  She shrugged against him, wriggling out of his grip and scrambling off the bed like he was fire and she didn’t want to get burned.

  “It doesn’t matter. You didn’t believe me, didn’t trust me. That’s all I needed to know.” She felt her hair and let out a wild shriek.

  He’d never seen her so mad. The thing was, he had an idea she was mad at him, even though she was taking it out on her hair, tugging and smoothing it. Logan stood, trying to regain control of himself.

  He still didn’t believe Walter didn’t have anything to do with the fires, but that was a different situation altogether. Right now, he needed Katie.

  “If we can just talk about this, I can explain—”

  She cut him off. “Do you still think Walter did it? With what limited evidence you have?” Katie left off smoothing her hair and planted her hands on her hips.

  “Babe, I was at most of the scenes. I have more evidence than you do.” Logan was trying to sound reasonable. This was not a good feel for him though. He was used to being listened to, not questioned.

  “I know my brother. That’s all the evidence I need.” The fire in her eyes called to him, and he knew he should just shut up, but he couldn’t.

  “If you will just listen to me,” he began again.

  “If you will just listen to me,” she retorted. “But you won’t, so you can go. Tell Zane thank you for getting me loose. I’m sorry to have dragged you guys out for something like this.” Her back was turned to him. He was dismissed.

  “It’s our job.” And it suddenly didn’t seem sufficient. None of his words did. He wanted to tell her how he felt right now. He didn’t understand what was roiling through him, though, and he had no way of explaining it.

  Logan skulked to the truck where Zane waited. He knew he needed to say more but didn’t know how to say it.

  “So … you and Katie on the skids?”

  His friend was trying to be helpful, judging by the look on his face, but Logan was in no mood to be bolstered right now. He needed to wallow and figure out how to fix this shit.

  But how could he fix it when she was the one who was wrong? He couldn’t be with a woman who overlooked all the evidence in favor of her misplaced loyalties.

  He grunted at Zane while at the same time thinking about Katie and her brother.

  Someone was setting fires on purpose around Pamona Gulch, endangering lives and structures, flipping the bird at everything Logan stood for, and she just outright disregarded it. He’d told her Walter was the suspect and told her to take him in to answer questions. If Walter was the one doing it, wouldn’t she want to know?

  He imagined Walter in cuffs, and something inside him tore a little. The idea made him cringe as he pictured the freckle-faced, redheaded teen Katie loved so much spending the night in jail.

  He’d really pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes with his happy-go-lucky innocence. The kid acted so naïve, but Logan knew the truth.

  Walter was playing his sister, and Katie was too blind to see it. The idea drove Logan crazy and made him want to shake her and make her see reason.

  But she wouldn’t even listen to him at this point, and there wasn’t anything to do about it.

  That’s what hurt.

  He’d had his fucking feelings hurt.

  Zane had already driven away from the square and was headed back to the firehouse. Logan had to get his head back in the game. He had a fucking job to do.

  “Did you hear that Hollywood has changed his story?”

  Logan stared at Zane. “What do you mean, changed his story?” Fists clenched, Logan was suddenly ready to rip someone’s head off. If Hollywood was going to say it was a different truck, Logan had some crow to eat.

  “He is making it clear he didn’t actually see who was driving the truck.”

  “But it was Walter’s truck, right?”

  “Yeah. That part’s the same, but if he didn’t actually see Walter, there’s a reasonable doubt.”

  “Huh.” Logan didn’t have anything to say to that. It didn’t change his thoughts much. Katie still should have taken Walter in to answer questions.

  Reasonable doubt, indeed.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Three weeks went by—the slowest three weeks of Katie’s life. The fire department had allowed Walter to continue his classes even though they thought he’d committed arson. And for some wild reason, Walter wanted to do it. She couldn’t understand, but his innocence allowed him to hold his head high and learn everything he could. They were both determined to act as if nothing was happening. They went to the firefighting class, where Logan studiously ignored them on his check-ins. It wasn’t awkward. At all. Brant was gone, having moved to Cloudcroft, and nobody thought that was the least bit suspicious.

  But Katie and Walter were stubborn and determined to do this. Even if the entire situation broke her heart into a zillion pieces.

  Walter wouldn’t talk about what was happening at school, and that hurt Katie. She knew things couldn’t be easy, but Walter simply came home, did his homework, ate, and went to bed. Everyone would eventually find out they’d accused the wrong person, and an apology would happen.

  Someday.

  Katie had gone about her business, opening her store every morning, finishing her store window to get it ready for the after-Thanksgiving Christmas retail rush, taking care of Walter, and ignoring the fact Brant had skipped town. Pam hadn’t spoken to Katie again after the disaster in her shop, choosing to look the other direction when they ran into each other.

  Meanwhile, Walter pretended nothing was happening. She supposed it was a sort of denial, but she wondered if counseling might be in order. It wasn’t a healthy way to deal with things, and when she tried to talk about it, he would always counter with, “I’m innocent. They’ll figure it out.”

  Confidence of youth.

  Katie had been busy hurrying up and waiting for lawyer’s office visits, court dates, and police interviews. Luckily, the police didn’t seem to have anything concrete on Walter and had actually listened to her theory about Brant.

  Today was the last day of class—the day they all had their race. Walter was pumped, seeing it as an act of redemption. She just wanted it over with. One less thing to worry about.

  The boys were so gung-ho. Ryder had been over at the house every evening this week, and they’d all been practicing the obstacle course. Last week, the department had announced that the winning team would be determined by the best three times. Another group had lost a team member throughout the course of the classes, so this was the fairest option available.

  And her team had purposely sucked in the public practices in class. Katie was hopeful, for the boys’ sakes, but not optimistic. She was still awful at suiting up, the cumbersome weight of it all hampering her speed.

  Her girls were going to be there, as well as most of the community and a few early tourists. A light layer of snow had fallen this weekend, and more was expected tonight, so some people had come over from neighboring areas to hit the slope of Pamona Gulch.

  She had to perform for the audience, but her heart wasn’t in it. She didn’t know if it ever would be again.

  Katie drove the boys in her Acura, since Walter’s truck was still impounded, and they got out, the excitement palpable in the air.

  Ryder and Walter let out a whoop and went to join their friends on the makeshift sideline while Katie went over to sign in. There was a crowd here, which she’d anticipated but wasn’t prepared for.

  The registration table was set up w
ith fresh fruit and bottles of water, along with numbers.

  “You get the fruit afterward.” The succinct words brought Katie up short as she looked at the speaker as he held out their numbers.

  Logan.

  He looked like hell, and her gut twisted at the sight: dark circles under his eyes, a pair of sunglasses perched on his head, and his hair stuck out every which way as if he hadn’t combed it in days. He actually looked like he’d lost a little weight in the last few weeks, and she mentally commiserated with him. She would never ask how he was doing. That would show she cared.

  And she didn’t. Any man who wouldn’t consider giving her brother the benefit of the doubt was an asshole. She didn’t care about him at all.

  No. She loved him.

  And it hurt like hell that he wouldn’t even listen to her. It boded horrifically for any future relationship, and she wouldn’t even entertain thoughts of going there with him, no matter how much sleep they both lost.

  Of course, it could be Captain Chavez had Logan all twisted and not her at all. Although, last she’d heard, the captain was doing fine. He just wasn’t the captain anymore. She took a deep breath and took the numbers he held.

  “Do I need to sign anything?” She eyeballed the clipboard in front of him.

  “Uh, yeah. Waivers. As the guardian, you sign Walter’s too. Is Elliot here?” He didn’t look for his friend though. His eyes were staring at her. Through her.

  “No, he had a shift. London’s supposed to be here later. I’ll sign his too.”

  She was signing all the papers when Logan spoke again. “Look, Katie, I’m sorry.”

  Holding a hand up, still signing, she didn’t even look at him. She couldn’t look at him. “Don’t. Just. Don’t.” Practically tossing the clipboard at him when she finished, Katie stalked away.

  The girls were yelling at her from the perimeter where they had set up chairs to watch and cheer her on. She could go talk to them and get her mind off Logan, but she had an obstacle course to focus on.

  Every time Logan saw Katie, he realized what a dick he’d been. Hollywood had confessed he hadn’t actually seen the driver of Walter’s truck, and now the arson investigator was looking at Brant more closely because he was a better fit for the profile. Charges against Walter hadn’t been dropped yet, but it was only a matter of time, and Logan was an ass for not listening to Katie.

  He didn’t know how to fix it.

  Logan had been watching her go about her life as if nothing were wrong, ignoring the whispers about her and Walter that permeated the air everywhere she went. Everyone was talking about Walter as if he had burned down the buildings in town, assuming he was guilty.

  Just like Logan had.

  She’d ignored it all, focusing on Walter and her shop. She hadn’t gone out. She hadn’t done anything outside of work besides the stupid firefighting class. For Walter.

  This kid was enthusiastic about it, even though Logan had been ignoring the two of them for weeks. He knew now it was from guilt. Guilt because he couldn’t admit he was wrong and these people were suffering.

  The people he loved.

  Logan clenched his teeth together, gritting them to keep from roaring his frustrations. The clipboard creaked in his hand, and he realized he was about to break the flimsy composite wood.

  With a sigh, he called Katie’s team together.

  Walter and Ryder came jogging over, and Katie came much slower. Eventually, they all got there, and a whiff of Katie’s aroma swamped him, making his knees weak. Sunshine. Female. Utterly arousing.

  “Okay, here’s the deal. You guys are going to watch the first heat of runners. That will give you a time to beat, if that helps.” He dug around in his pocket. “Firefighters are a superstitious bunch. Today, you guys are firefighters, so I brought you all a good luck charm.” In a sentimental moment, he’d taken pennies to a local jeweler and had them made into necklaces. Handing them around, he looked at each person. Ryder looked appreciative, Walter awed, Katie looked like it was a rattlesnake. He had to push it at her until she finally accepted it.

  They would need the luck. Running over the obstacle course elements in the last practice, his team had looked like a bunch of bumbling clowns. But they’d had fun, their laughter and smiles almost contagious.

  His team. As the acting chief, he’d given them up to take on a supervisory role, but he couldn’t stop the proprietary feelings from happening. They were his team. She was his girl.

  No, she wasn’t. He had to remind himself that. She was his girl as much as this was his team. Officially, that wasn’t the case for either of them.

  Ouch.

  A whistle blew, signaling it was time. They stood in a group, and Logan was behind Katie, trying not to go into full-on creeper mode and sniff her hair. The first heat was interesting and gave them a time to strive for. Logan wasn’t confident, but then again, he told himself he wasn’t invested either.

  They had set it up so two people could race against each other. Ryder was up first in his group, and Logan followed him over to the start line.

  “Remember to be safe on that ladder.” Logan thought the ladder business was a mistake and could imagine all sorts of horrible things befalling the civilians. But that’s what the forms were for, as well as the harness they were using. He could only hope for the best.

  To his surprise, Ryder winked at him. “We’ve got this.” With a huge grin on his face, he got ready to start. When the gun went off, he ran to the bunker gear and suited up in the fastest time Logan had ever seen this kid make. Logan’s mouth fell open.

  Fully geared, Ryder raced to the hose hookups, which he did with zero problems. That had to be something he’d practiced, as it was difficult to do with the gloves on, and the last time he’d seen it, Ryder had dropped everything when he picked them up.

  Next was the ladder, where Hollywood was ready with the harness. Ryder stepped into it like a pro and started running up the ladder.

  Well, not actually running because he always kept three points of contact on the rungs. Logan had made sure each competitor understood they would be disqualified for scoffing at safety.

  Logan watched in awe as Ryder was the first to the top of the burn house, where Jude stood with a sack to put over the hat and mask, blindfolding them to find the items inside the house.

  After he’d disappeared into the room, Logan looked over at the rest of his group. Katie and Walter had shit-eating grins plastered on their faces.

  Logan laughed in spite of himself. They’d been practicing. His team was going to shark everyone here.

  A horn sounded from inside the house. Ryder had finished his heat with the best time so far. The person he was competing with had struggled with the hose couplings and was just now up the ladder and getting his blindfold.

  Walter came over to Logan to wait for the next heat to begin.

  “I think those lucky charms are working.” Walter’s freckles seemed to pop as his grin crinkled his entire face. Logan’s heart swelled.

  “Or somebody’s been practicing in secret,” Logan muttered good-naturedly under his breath. “Hey, man, I wanted to apologize. I’ve been out of line with you and your sister.” If Katie wouldn’t talk to him, maybe he could make things right with her brother. “I shouldn’t have rushed to judge until after I had all the facts and both sides of the story.”

  “I understand. It’s your livelihood.” Walter’s face had fallen from the joy of being ahead to the reminder of his mess. “No worries.”

  “I’m going to make it up to you somehow. Now, get ready to kick some serious ass. If you and your sister have been practicing like Ryder has, you guys have this in the bag.”

  They bumped fists and turned to wait for Walter’s heat to begin.

  His time was even better.

  Logan was plea
santly surprised. His team had been practicing, intent on winning this competition, even though most of the fire department hated Walter. Now that doubt was cast on his guilt, he was giving them the big “fuck you” by getting the best time so far in the race.

  But he wasn’t being a dick about it. When he was back down and with his sister, Logan saw the hug they shared and the whispered words of encouragement. He felt a huge hole open up inside because he’d fucked up and wasn’t a part of that anymore.

  Katie jogged over to wait for her heat to begin, and they stood wordlessly while they watched the competitors.

  “You guys have been practicing,” Logan mused, stating the obvious in an inane attempt to end the silence.

  She turned to him, her eyes brimming with tears. “We didn’t want your pity. We wanted to earn this. Some respect.” She sniffed, and he longed to take her in his arms, but he clenched his fists at his sides instead.

  “I respect the hell out of you, Katie.”

  She scoffed, and those words seemed to dry her tears as she fumbled with the necklace they’d all put on. The necklace he’d just given her for luck.

  “I don’t need this.” Yanking it off, she tossed it in the dirt at his feet and turned to where the starter was watching them, waiting for her signal. Katie nodded at him, and he looked at the other competitor.

  “Stick with the hose in the house, Katie. The walls have traps to dis—”

  The pistol went off, and Logan’s words were lost in the dust of her heals as she ran to the bunker gear to suit up.

  Katie ignored him and focused on the race. They’d practiced this so many times she felt confident she could win this, as long as the blindfold part didn’t have any surprises. She and the boys had tried to practice that part, but without the equipment, and with the element of mystery of knowing what the inside of the burn house looked like, they were essentially going in blind. But the boys had managed it really well, so she was confident.