Night had descended early and there were a few flakes coming down. It was beautiful, but the temperature was well below freezing.
Shivering in the cold with just my sweater on, Owen came over to wrap his coat around me. The breeze picked up for a moment, and I could tell he was cold too.
“Owen, I’ll go get my jacket. You must be freezing.”
“Nah, I have three layers on. Badass, badass and badass.”
I laughed at him. The stuff he said sometimes.
He grinned down at me, then his face got serious. “I wanted to do something. And at the risk of making myself look like a complete ass, I’m going to give you a present.”
Patrick was still hanging near the door and looking around in confusion. Eventually he stepped out and asked, “Is there a point to this?”
Owen turned me toward the center of the street then waved at someone down the block. Lights of a couple of large vehicles came on and started moving forward along the dark street.
They looked like fire trucks and I giggled when I recognized my father’s station number emblazoned on the side. The funny thing was, they were decorated haphazardly with Christmas lights.
I looked down the walkway and saw a few scattered customers and business owners watching the two truck light parade as it neared the front of the shop. Two familiar faces were Rachel and Kelly, who had just stepped out of the shop next door.
I grinned up at Owen. “What are you up to?”
He gave me a panty-dropping smile and arched his eyebrow. “Well, a little birdie told me that your birthday was next week. Since it looks like I’m going to miss it, and Noah is the only one that’ll be here to celebrate with you and your family, I thought I’d give you something.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. Little birdie my ass. My dad had chirped.
He nodded back at the trucks that had come to a stop in front of us. One of the guys got out, connecting a string between the trucks. More lights came on and I gasped.
The words “Happy Birthday” were spelled out in bright flashing bulbs.
I laughed as my dad climbed out of the truck. His crew joined him, and they all appeared to be having a grand time.
The heat of embarrassment stole over my cheeks, but I couldn’t stop laughing.
“Okay, guys!” I called out to them. “Very cute, but isn’t this a misuse of equipment?”
They all gave me an innocent look, pointing to my dad. He shrugged.
Clapping commenced from a few people lining the walkway, followed by a few of them wishing me a happy birthday. I waved my thanks as I watched them go back to their warm shops.
When I turned back to Owen, he was gone. Then my eyes slid down to find him kneeling in front of me.
He cleared his throat nervously and gazed up at me with a very serious expression in his eyes.
“This is the part where I make an ass out of myself. Because I’m not particularly good at saying the things I want to say to you in person.”
I tilted my head, giving him a questioning look.
“I should have written a letter.”
“Go on.”
His hand reached up toward me with a box, and I blinked at it.
“This is me telling you that I love you. I had this planned a little differently, but after we talked last night, I thought it might be time to ask.”
“You had something else planned?”
He smirked, “Yeah, a couple of months ago. But that didn’t work out quite like I wanted.”
“I see,” I replied as I looked into his green eyes.
He swallowed and lowered his voice so that I was the only one that could hear him. “So, I’m asking. Just like I asked you what you wanted when we were together the first time. I want to marry you. My question is, what do you want, sweetheart?”
I chewed on my lip. It was a moment I would never forget. If it had just been his goofy display for my birthday I still wouldn’t have forgotten it. But this man, on his knees asking me to marry him in front of everyone that meant the most to me, was priceless.
“Well,” I said and licked my lips. His eyes dropped to my mouth and he clenched his jaw. There was passion there, a need, much like my own when I looked at him. “At the risk of making you look like an ass by saying no…”
His eyes popped back up to mine and narrowed as he gave me a smirk.
“I have conditions.”
“I figured you would,” he chuckled.
“I like to work. I won’t give up the store anytime soon. I’m not a stay at home behind locked doors kind of woman.”
“Agreed,” he said, looking amused.
“And you have to let me know whenever you make any more huge changes.”
He nodded in agreement.
“And you have to promise that you’ll be safe. That you won’t go running into danger involving guns, knives, ex-convicts or criminals,” I took a big breath. “And that you’ll be safe when you’re in the department.”
His lips pursed. “I promise I’ll always think of you first.”
It was my turn to narrow my eyes at him. Not exactly a promise, but not a refusal.
“Then, yes. I want to marry you.”
He stood up, grabbed my hand, and smiled down at me. Opening the box, he took the ring out and slid it over my finger.
The middle gem was a bright blue surrounded by diamonds and set into the band. It wasn’t flashy, it wasn’t huge, but it was perfect.
“That is never coming off your hand, baby. Even at the shop.”
I smiled at him, happy for the first time in a very long while. His green eyes gazed at me for a moment before his mouth descended on mine. My arms slid around his neck as he pulled me against him. It was a kiss that reminded me of our first one, hungry, electrifying. But there was so much more to it. I knew him, knew who he was deep down where he never allowed anyone else to see. He was mine as much as I was his, and I knew I would always be accepted, cherished, and loved by this one man.
When our lips parted, the world around us suddenly came into focus and I remembered that we were surrounded by other people.
The sound of the fire truck’s siren made me laugh, and then my dad was beside me. He hugged me into his shoulder and congratulated Owen. Noah came into view, as did Rachel and Kelly.
Pulling away from my dad, I gave him a kiss on the cheek before gesturing toward the shop. “Everyone come in, it’s too cold out here.”
“Duty calls sweet-tart,” my dad said. “We have to get back to the station. But I’ll come over tomorrow.”
“Okay, Dad,” I said as I hugged him.
“Let that heart burn strong and bright, kiddo. You deserve to be happy.”
I gave him another kiss on the cheek and waved at his crew before being grabbed around the waist by Owen and dragged back to the store. He gave me a nudge through the door, then wrapped his arms around me.
“Happy?” he asked.
I smiled up at him. “Yes, very much.”
“Good,” he said, and gave me a light kiss on my forehead.
I looked around the shop, but no one was around. “Where did everyone go?”
He wiggled his eyebrows. “Noah said something about taking the girls to eat, and I wanted you to myself anyway.”
“We’re not having sex in the shop,” I laughed.
He feigned innocence. “I would never…”
I raised my eyebrow at him.
“Maybe later? I’ve been wanting to put the worktable to good use for a while. Explore any other fantasies you might have had.”
My cheeks started to burn. “Maybe.”
A serious look passed over his face. “I want you to come back with me to Denver.”
“Owen, we just talked about this. I have a business to run here.”
He frowned, then gathered me in his arms and hugged me close. I could feel his heavy sigh, and his heart beating rapidly.
“What’s wrong? I’ll be right here when you get back, I promise. Are you just l
onely there?”
He laughed. “No, there’s plenty to do and most of the guys find something to do after hours if we’re not studying or exhausted. A couple of them have invited me out a few times. It’s not that. I just worry.”
I pushed at him gently and he loosened his grip. “Everything will be fine. Two weeks is nothing.”
He nodded. “Noah is going to be staying at the house with you girls. If anything happens, he’s armed.”
I laughed. “I’m starting to see a pattern here. Fleming's and weapons. Overbearing and protective. Does paranoia run in your family?”
He chuckled. “You have no idea. I’m meeting some guys at the house in a few minutes because they’re delivering a tree. Should give you plenty to do while I’m gone. Decorate all you want, just keep the pink under control. I’m sure Rachel had some Christmas plans in mind, and it might take her mind off the house.”
“Very good idea.”
He smirked and stepped back from me. “I do have them from time to time.”
Shrugging off his coat, I handed it to him. The loss of its warmth and musky scent nearly made me frown. I was going to have to go through his closet and find a dress shirt I could steal from him soon. I might be able to wear it as a light jacket around the shop while he was gone.
“Go get our tree, Owen.”
He smiled and took one last look at me, before he ducked through the door, heading down the street to his car.
Looking down at my ring, I moved my fingers around, and watched the gems sparkle in the light. It was perfect and so was he.
I chuckled and walked through the shop. Okay, maybe he wasn’t perfect, but he was mine.
I opened the doors to the workshop and saw Patrick leaning against the worktable. He wore a frown on his face like he was in deep thought.
“Hey, Patrick. Did you catch the fire truck show outside?”
He stared at me with an enigmatic expression on his face.
“Yeah, I caught it. And the performance afterward.”
Tilting my head, I regarded him. “Performance? You mean Owen proposing? It was sweet.”
“Hmm,” he pushed himself off the table and rose to full height. “We both know it was a performance, Maddie. He has no intention of treating you the way I would.”
I rolled my eyes and grabbed my smock off the back of my office chair. “We’re not having this conversation again. Don’t make things weird or uncomfortable, please. You’re a great guy, but the heart wants what it wants, and he’s the one.”
He blanched. “Uncomfortable? You want to talk about being uncomfortable? How about watching your girl pretend she doesn’t like you for the last year? How about this silly game you’re playing with this guy, when you know you’re better off with someone like me?”
A small shiver ran up my back listening to his words. My hands stilled on the knot I was tying around my waist. The smock went slack a little, then I continued again.
Walking around the table to put some distance between us, I said, “Don’t be silly. First, we’re friends. Second, you work for me.”
He watched me circle around the table, fury written all over his features.
I gave him a smile, hoping I could calm him down. I had multiple weapons in the office in the form of heavy vases and scissors if he came at me. Surely, this was some joke. Odd, but nothing serious.
A chemical smell hit my nose and I jerked. Rachel was right when she said my sense of smell was a little off. It was mainly due to working around a lot of naturally potent smells in the shop from the flowers. The chemical smell was out of place.
“Patrick—”
“I’ve been patient, Maddie. I was willing to let yesterday go. Embarrassing me in front of your friend was unpleasant, but I knew you didn’t mean it.”
I swallowed hard trying not to inhale whatever it was that was tickling at my nose and figure a way out of this mess.
“I’m sorry you felt embarrassed, Patrick. I shouldn’t have said it that way but truly, I’ve only ever thought of you as a friend. Maybe we can talk about it down at the coffee shop for a while.”
He closed his eyes and shook his head. “No. No. No. NO! I’ve been trying to get your attention for months. I’ve been showing you just how powerful I really am all over this city. Fighting fires for you to watch. Then your house? I saved your house. ME! Not that idiot that thinks he’s going to be a fireman. Where was he when I was resetting your life?”
I flinched. “That was you? Resetting what?”
“Erasing your past, Maddie,” he said with a euphoric smile. “Getting rid of everything so you could start your life over. Jason and Owen won’t be in the way anymore. Don’t you see?”
Clenching my jaw shut, I glanced at the back door. There was an old gasoline can sitting on the floor in front of it. I needed to get out of there. It was nearly closing time, and I knew Owen would be back, but with the tree being delivered, he might not come tonight like he always did.
“Patrick—”
“NO!” he yelled. A strange gleam danced over his face, before he set a matchbook on the worktable. He held up one match in reverence then moved it toward the box. “We’re going to erase everything tonight, and then you’re coming with me. We’ll forget all of this. You’ll see.”
Picking up a vase on the counter, I hurled it toward him and ran for the shop.
He bellowed behind me in a thick growl. Nearly to the door, my hair was yanked, and I tumbled back, just as I heard a loud sound.
I screamed as my back hit his chest. Then I smelled smoke.
Chapter Twenty-Two
~Owen~
I stood in my living room eyeing the biggest tree I'd ever seen. Maybe I had been a little overzealous with my purchase. Call it the excitement over spending the holiday with Maddie. Regardless, it was monstrous.
The tree was fresh, filling the house with a pine smell. It reminded me of Christmas even in its bare state in front of the bay window. The top however, was squashed against the ceiling. If the girls wanted a star or angel or whatever, they would have to do without.
I wondered if they were the type to do strings of cranberries and popcorn, like I remembered from holidays with my grandparents, or whether they did the puffy ribbons and bows thing.
Smiling at the thought, I went to the office to write some supplies down. It was going to be fun getting to know Maddie’s preferences for things. Then someday, having some kids to conspire with to derail her. If puffy pink and purple ribbons was her thing, the sooner the kids came the better.
Lights, popcorn, hot chocolate, condoms.
After I finished, I scratched condoms off the list. We still had to talk about that, and the night before. I shifted uncomfortably when my dick got semi-hard just thinking about it. That woman was so easy to please in bed. Forget visions of sugar plums dancing in my head for Christmas. I had visions of Maddie in some stockings bent over in front of me in my head.
I let out a frustrated groan. It was going to be a long two fucking weeks with my hand as a friend.
I pulled my phone out of my back pocket and checked the time. Close enough to closing time at Maddie’s shop.
I smirked and wondered if she would make my dreams come true on that worktable of hers before we left the shop.
“Two fucking weeks,” I mumbled as I grabbed my keys, and walked through the door.
When I started the car, my phone rang. Bill calling.
“Hey, Bill. I was just about to go pick up Maddie from the shop.”
“She’s not with you?” he barked, panic evident in his tone.
My heart skipped at his words, and I threw the car into reverse. “No. What’s wrong?”
There was a hesitation over the phone, and multiple people talking in the background.
“BILL! Where the fuck is Maddie?”
“We don’t know yet. But the shop is on fire. They’ve got emerge—”
I dropped the phone and hit the gas which didn’t get me much further than
the curb on the other side of the street when my car spun around. The night was frigid, and the roads had become slicker than they were during the day.
Growling, I eased into the gas and shot down the street as fast as I could safely go without killing myself. The thought of Maddie inside the building ripped through me, and I slammed my hand on the dash.
I could hear Bill still yelling over the phone, but I couldn’t understand a word he was saying and didn’t care. I needed to get to her shop faster than I was going.
Eight lights up, two of which I ran, and four streets over, I pulled up behind a patrolman who was waving me away. I didn’t give a fuck what he was trying to tell me, as I barged my way past him to the other side of one of the fire trucks.
I could see the flames inside the small shop and the smoke billowing out of the roof. The firemen were running a hose on it, but it was taking forever.
I felt a sturdy hand on my back and turned to see Bill. He looked as stressed as I felt, but still gave me a small nod.
“She’s not in there. They confirmed. Have you heard from her at all?”
I shook my head and dug my cell out of my back pocket to check for messages. Nothing.
“I know how to find her. Are Rachel and Kelly okay?”
“Yeah, down there,” Bill said as he motioned down the street where both girls were huddled against Noah in the cold. “How can you find her?”
I leaned around Bill and whistled for Noah. His head turned toward us, and eased Rachel away from his chest.
Motioning him to join me, he began jogging toward us as I dialed Brock.
“Hey, fucker,” he answered.
“No time,” I said in a clipped voice. “I need a trace on Madison. Now. She’s gone.”
“Hold.”
I turned to Bill. “I have a tracker on Madison.”
He looked confused for a moment as Noah walked up.
“I injected her with a tracker. I can’t explain everything, but needless to say all of our family has one. I told her it was a B12 shot. She doesn’t know.”
Bill gave me a surprised look then turned to Noah. “What is he talking about?”
Smoldering Heart_Fleming Brothers [Book 1] Page 22
