“Since our parents died right before her high school graduation, Rayne has done everything she could to stick to the plan our parents laid out for her. They wanted her to be educated in several fields, do and see many things, but most of all, to get the hell out of Celestial. Why they moved here, I will never know, but that’s it.”
“I don’t understand,” Ashe asked. “Are you saying that because Blaze told Rayne he loved her, that somehow we’re interfering with her dreams?”
“That’s just it. It’s not her dream. I don’t even think she knows what she really wants. For the last five years, she has been following that damn structured life plan, because that’s all she’s known. Then you two came to town, and blew everything to hell. She’s never had a boyfriend, not a real one at least, so she’s never had to deal with the entanglements of a real relationship.”
“So what do we do?” Blaze asked.
“I don’t know. We’re all in uncharted territory.” Heaven sighed.
“I’ll say,” Charity said. “I’ve known Rayne my entire life, and I have never seen her as happy as when she is with you two. But she’s so damn determined to fulfill this damn dream of moving away to a big city and making a name for herself. Did you know that she graduated high school early, and while she was in her senior year, she was doing her freshman year of college, consecutively? By the time that girl was twenty-one she had two degrees and was close to finishing her third.”
“Damn,” Blaze muttered, getting to his feet. Ashe didn’t blame him. If he could move, he would, but he was still in shock. He knew that Rayne was smart, but he didn’t realize just how smart she was. Not that it was a problem, because it wasn’t. Now he understood her need for organization, paperwork, and information. It was all engrained into her.
“Look, you guys have had a bomb dropped into your laps. We’ll leave and do this safety thing later,” Ace said, getting to her feet, looking at the other women.
Ashe rose with them and walked them to the door. After thanking them for the information and what help they could give them, he returned to the living room to find Blaze packing a small bag. “What are you doing?”
“I’m not going to get in the way of her dreams.”
“So you’re gonna cut and run?”
“It’s best, Ashe. You know it. If we stay, she’ll feel guilty and end up doing something she doesn’t want to do. I will not be the person responsible for getting in her way.”
“But you don’t know that. You heard her sister. She’s never known anything else. We can help her with that.”
“Sure we can, and when she gets pregnant, we can help her raise a kid, while she gives up her dreams.”
“It won’t be like that, and you know it.”
“No, it will be like that,” Blaze shouted. “I love that woman more than my own life, Ashe. I want her to be happy. I want to be her first choice. I will not be the one who stops her, or the consolation prize. I won’t do it. That’s why I am leaving. I love her enough to walk away.”
“Damn,” Ashe whispered, running his hands through his hair. He knew Blaze was right. They needed to think of her. She’d had everything planned out until they arrived, and he knew, just as he was standing there thinking of her, that if they stayed, she would concede to them. He didn’t want that for her. He wanted her to have everything. He loved her that much. Unlike Blaze, Ashe never got to tell her how he felt, but that didn’t mean he didn’t feel it.
Sighing, Ashe muttered, “Hang on, I’ll go get my bag, too.”
Chapter Nine
Rayne wandered around the town she loved most, aimlessly, not knowing what she was going to do. She looked on as the people she grew up with and loved, laughed, loved, and lived the lives they chose to live. Everywhere she looked she saw happiness, and wondered what she’d done wrong. She didn’t understand how having a detailed and constructive plan for her life could be so wrong.
A lot of people had them. Her parents had one. It was because of them she was determined and successful in all of her endeavors. Without their guidance, goddess only knew where she would have ended up.
Sitting on the street bench in front of the Best Lay Hotel, she watched as life moved about her. Walking down the street, she saw Fairy and Helios, arm in arm, laughing. Then there was Pisces and Landon, kissing as Landon dropped Pisces off at the sheriff’s shack. Over at the Crystal Tumbler, she looked on as Jude, Dew, and Leo tried desperately to make Moon Goddess laugh. All of them, everyone around her, looked content, satisfied with what the universe gave them, except her. She wanted more.
Wanting more wasn’t bad, at least she didn’t think it was.
Could she be wrong? She didn’t think so. The equation of her life was clearly defined and her math was correct.
“Looking a little serious there, Rayne,” Miz. Raven said, sitting down next to her. “Everything all right?”
“Yeah,” Rayne muttered.
“Wow, would you look at that.” Miz. Raven gasped. Rayne looked up and toward the direction Miz. Raven was, and smiled. “It’s a bright moon tonight.”
“Oh, sweet child. That’s not just any moon, that’s a lovers’ moon.”
“A lovers’ moon?” Rayne questioned.
“It’s called that because when lovers are under the full moon, the moon blesses their union.”
“I don’t understand.”
“The fabled lovers’ moon illuminates the night, just like you see right now. It shines upon couples with its magic light. The treasured heart of love is magic, Rayne, and doesn’t come calling often. When lovers become one, their hearts merge, blending so brightly, making the moon crystal clear. To find love and hold it in your arms is magic itself, and one possession that is so dear. Love is what makes life worth living, and being around it is pure joy. The promise of forever isn’t easy for some, and they get scared, and turn their backs on love. But for those who have the courage to embrace it, they bathe in the magic of the moon. That’s what makes the moon so bright. It’s the selfless giving of one soul to another.”
“How can someone do that, but still be themselves?”
“Sweetheart, you will always be who the cosmos intended you to be. There is no changing that. But love is faith. To have love, is to have faith that what you need most is worth giving up what you know for the unknown. So many people walk this beautiful earth, lonely, hoping to find love. Many find it, but don’t realize it, and walk away before giving it a chance. Others never find it, because they are too wrapped up in themselves, and they miss out on the universe’s most magical gift.”
“I want to find love,” Rayne whispered.
“Then look toward the cosmos and make a wish on the lovers’ moon, but something tells me that you’ve already found love, and you’re afraid.”
“I am afraid.”
“I think if you were to take the time to look around you, you would see where your heart belongs. You don’t need a chart or a diagram to tell you that. Just open your eyes and look. Now, I have to go rescue Moon Goddess. Those handsome devils have been barking at the wrong moon. They are just as lost as you, my dear, but no worries. I have it on good authority that those bikers are about to have their clocks ecologically cleaned. Good night, my dear.”
“Good night, Miz Raven,” Rayne replied, watching the small elderly woman walk toward the Crystal Tumbler. Taking another look at the lovers’ moon, Rayne marveled at its size and brilliance. She couldn’t believe that something so beautiful glowed so vibrantly, illuminating everything around it. She was just about to get up and leave, when the moon’s rays narrowed and shined on one building.
Rayne gasped as the lovers’ moon shone down on the fire station just as Blaze and Ashe walked out of the building, each carrying bags. Jumping to her feet, she ran as fast as she could, praying she could make them understand.
She caught up to them, just as they were throwing their bags into the bed of Ashe’s pickup truck. “Where are you two going?”
“We’re
gonna head on out, Rayne. Don’t worry, we left our resignations on your desk, in triplicate,” Ashe replied.
“But why?”
“It’s better this way, fire starter,” Blaze said, coming around to face her. “You have your life ahead of you, and so do we.”
“But I thought—”
“It’s all right, babe. No hard feelings okay,” Ashe said, leaning down to kiss her cheek. She wanted to say something, but when Blaze lightly touched her lips with his, she lost all train of thought. They were leaving, and her heart was breaking.
“We’ll drop you a letter when we land somewhere,” Ashe added, getting in his truck, sliding behind the wheel. She had to stop them, only she didn’t know how. This wasn’t supposed to end this way. She needed to tell them that she loved them, and they weren’t letting her.
“Stay sweet, Rayne,” Blaze whispered as he closed the passenger side door. Within seconds, Ashe started his truck and was driving away.
No! No! No! Her head screamed at her, but her heart wept, too fragile to utter a single word. Her whole life she knew what she needed to say and when, yet now, with the loves of her life slowly driving away, she couldn’t stop them, didn’t know how to stop them. Turning quickly, she ran into the firehouse. Walking to her desk, she saw their paperwork piled neatly, all signed and ready for her signature. As she went to grab her pen, the emergency phone rang. Picking it up, Rayne muttered, “Celestial Fire Department, what is your emergency?”
“Hey, Rayne, it’s Fairy. A bunch of us girls are getting ready to start a fire. Want to come out and dance with us under the moon?”
“No thanks, Fairy, I’m about to start one myself, but thank you for the invitation. Be careful with the fire, okay? If you need me, I’ll come running.”
“Okay, Rayne, night!”
Rayne placed the receiver in its cradle and that was when she knew how to get them back. Gathering their resignations, she balled them up and threw them in her trash can. Walking into the kitchen, she grabbed box of matches and some lighter fluid. Heading back to her desk, she remembered clearly what Ashe told her about setting a controlled fire.
“Step one,” she said aloud. “Make sure the contents are in a secured location. Check. Step two, douse the contents with just enough fluid, but not too much.” Opening the lighter fluid, she pointed the tip down at the trashcan and squeezed the bottle. As she squeezed, she remembered the look on their faces as they drove off, and it made her heart hurt even worse. She was so lost in thought, she had forgotten about the lighter fluid and when she snapped back to reality, the small bottle was empty, dribbling the smelly liquid from its tip.
“Damn, I hope there was enough in there. Okay, Rayne, this is easy. Ashe showed you what to do. Step three, take a few steps back, and light the match. Gently throw it into the controlled container, and never walk away. A fire can get out of hand when you leave.”
Doing as Ashe instructed, Rayne lit the match and let it fly.
* * * *
Ashe stopped at the one stoplight in town, his heart breaking in two. When he accepted the assignment in Celestial, he thought everything would turn out perfectly. Blaze would get over his depression and get back to work, and they could start living again. Well, two out of three wasn’t that bad. As he waited for the light to turn green, something in his gut told him they were making the wrong decision, but Blaze was adamant. He was going to leave with or without him. Figuring misery loved company, Ashe went along.
It hurt to think of her not being around. Ashe still marveled at the thought of after two days, he could be head over heels in love with a woman. He had read and heard about people falling in love so quickly and always thought they were jumping the gun, or quick on the trigger, but just thinking of Rayne, he knew without a shadow of doubt, he was totally in love with the stubborn woman.
“I’m going to miss her,” he whispered to Blaze, who just kept looking out the window. He didn’t expect Blaze to respond. Hell, Ashe knew Blaze wouldn’t be speaking to anyone for a while. That was just the way he was, and Ashe accepted it, but it still hurt. Blaze felt things deeper than he ever did, from disappointment to heartache, and that was one of the things Ashe loved about his partner, that and his wicked sense of paybacks.
The light turned green, and instead of stepping on the gas, Ashe just looked out his rearview mirror and saw a large fireball shoot out one of the windows of the firehouse. The ground shook violently, rattling the truck. Ashe turned around quickly in his seat to see flames spiraling out the windows of the firehouse and the large bay door. “What the fuck!”
“Oh God,” Blaze yelled. “Rayne is in there!” Ashe needed no other information. Slamming on the gas, he turned the truck’s wheels hard right, peeling rubber as the truck fishtailed.
“Grab the gear!” Ashe ordered as he slammed on the brakes a few feet from the firehouse. Jumping out of the cab, he and Blaze quickly donned their fire protection suits and raced into the fire station.
“We have to get the truck out of here.”
“Okay,” Ashe breathed into his respirator. “I’ll get it out, you go find Rayne.”
Blaze nodded, and then started running toward the stairs, deeper into the fire. Ashe jumped into the cab of the fire truck and pulled down the visor, letting the keys fall into his hands. Quickly he put the key into the ignition and started up the truck, threw the gear into reverse, and stepped on the gas. Once outside, he parked the truck and raced to grab the hose.
After securing the hose to the fire hydrant, he pulled on the nozzle and held tight, as he started dousing the flames. It didn’t take long for residents to come running, and soon Ashe was not alone. Jude, Hercules, Virgo, and Dew were with him on the hose. Ashe turned to Jude and said, “Keep the hose pointed at the flames I’ve got to go find Blaze!”
“Got it!” Jude replied as Ashe ran back into the fire.
Back inside, Ashe ran right into Blaze. “Where’s Rayne?”
“She wasn’t upstairs.”
“Shit, that means she down here somewhere,” Ashe said, getting down on all fours, with Blaze following. Together, they made their way toward the blaze, the heat unbearable, but with their stubborn determination, neither was leaving the building without Rayne. They knew she was in here somewhere, now all they had to do was find her.
Passing her desk, which was a molten mess, they passed the flames, and crawled into the kitchen. What they saw stopped them dead in their tracks.
There was Rayne, with a dishtowel on fire, trying to swat at it, as she did before at the Crystal Tumbler. “Oh, come on you stupid thing, go out!” she said determinedly, as she waved the dishtowel around as it were some kind of sparkler on the fourth of July.
Shaking his head, Ashe stood, took off his mask, and shouted, “Woman! Just what in the hell are you doing?”
Rayne jumped and the dishtowel flew into the air, landing in the sink. Gasping, she replied, “I was trying to put out the fire.”
“The fire is in the bay, Rayne. Not the kitchen,” Ashe said furious.
“I know that, but when I tried to put that out, my rag caught fire. So I ran in here to put it under the water. Only it wouldn’t go out!”
“That’s because that’s the rag I used for the oil change on my truck, the other day!” Ashe stated.
“Oh,” she whispered.
“We have to get her out of here, Ashe, the fire is spreading,” Blaze informed him.
Ashe nodded, taking off his mask and was about to place it on Rayne when she said, “The fire can’t spread. It’s in a safe containment. I made sure.”
Blaze and Ashe stopped and looked at Rayne incredulously. However, it was Blaze who spoke first. “You started this fire?”
“Uh huh.” She smiled as if she did nothing wrong. “I did everything Ashe told me.”
Blaze rounded on him so fast Ashe had to take a step back, “What the fuck did you tell her?”
“Nothing, I swear.”
“He taught me how to start a
controlled fire. I just did what he said.”
“Rayne, a controlled fire is never set in a firehouse!” Ashe yelled.
“What better place to have one? Besides, I didn’t want you both to leave, and I couldn’t think of a way to get you back.”
“Enough!” Blaze shouted, and then looked at Ashe, “You clear a path. Fire starter and I will follow you out.”
By the time Ashe and Blaze were able to get the fire out the entire bay and the small kitchenette were destroyed. They were going to have to wait until morning for the inspector to come out and make sure there wasn’t any structural damage. They were very lucky that the fire didn’t reach the second floor, but that was thanks to all the volunteers that showed up. Everyone was exhausted and hungry, as most of them headed over to the Crystal Tumbler, where Leo had stayed up, providing coffee and food for those who needed it. As it was right now, all Ashe wanted was a hot shower and a nice cool bed to sleep in.
Securing the fire truck, he headed toward his truck.
“Hey, Ashe.” Moon Goddess smiled, walking over to him. “I know you guys don’t have a place to stay, so I have set all three of you up in a room at the hotel. It’s yours for however long you need it, until you can get the fire station fixed.”
“Thanks, Moon. Just let me go get Blaze and Rayne.”
“No problem, you’re in room seven.”
After removing his gear, he quietly opened the truck door to find Rayne sleeping peacefully. Dirty and covered in soot, she was still the most beautiful thing he ever laid his eyes on. Aggravating as hell, and after the stunt she pulled tonight, he wasn’t sure he could keep himself from spanking her ass, but regardless he still loved her. She may be one of the smartest women he knew, but she was an innocent of many things in life. It was endearing and he cherished that about her.
Great Celestial Balls of Fire [Celestial Nights 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 10
