Reyn's Redemption

by Beth Cornelison

  They were trapped upstairs.

  The distant wail of a siren seeped through Olivia’s concentrated attention on the front door of the Russells’ house. Reyn had been inside a long time. At least it seemed like a long time. It seemed an eternity.

  Worry clawed at her, and she could hear the pounding of her heartbeat in her ears.

  When the fire engine pulled in the long drive to the farmhouse, George Russell was the first to scramble off. He ran to Hannah who told him through her tears that their daughter was in the house.

  As Hank ran past Olivia with the long hose from the pumper truck, Olivia jumped up and followed him. “Hank, Reyn’s in there! He went in the front to find Sara.”

  Hank spun to face her.

  “Reyn and Sara are in that?” His tone told her how serious he judged the situation.

  Olivia swallowed the knot in her throat and nodded.

  Hank bit out a vile curse and continued toward the house.

  Once in place with his hose, he sprayed inside the front door. After a minute or two, he dropped his hose and rushed forward. “Holy cow!”

  Then Olivia saw him, and her breath stilled. Stepping out of the clouds of smoke. Emerging from the front door with Sara’s limp body in his arms. Walking out of the burning house like a Phoenix rising from the ashes. A conquering hero returning from battle.

  Relief raced through her, so sweet it brought tears to her eyes. Hank took Sara from Reyn and ran with the girl toward the two ambulances just now bumping up the driveway.

  Reyn took a few more steps, stumbled and fell to his knees. A paroxysm of coughing seized him, and he clutched his chest. Olivia flew to him, anxiety squeezing her own lungs. “Reyn!”

  He raised his head to look at her. His eyes were red and tearing—from the smoke, she knew, though her own eyes watered for a completely different reason. Sweat rolled off him in streams, leaving tracks in the soot that smudged his face and blackened his clothes.

  She’d never seen a handsomer man in her life.

  “You did it.” She dropped to her knees in front of him, swiped at the sweat on his brow with her fingers. “You got her out.”

  His gaze shifted to the activity behind her, where the paramedics were tending to Sara. Closing his eyes, he took a couple deep breaths then coughed again.

  Frank Johnson, one of the paramedics, pushed her aside. “Come on, man. Let’s get you some oxygen.”

  Frank helped Reyn to his feet, and Reyn stumbled toward the end of the second ambulance where an oxygen tank waited for him.

  “Out of the way, Olivia,” Charlie Smith shouted.

  She sidestepped as more hoses were brought out to douse the fire.

  What if Reyn and Sara hadn’t made it out of the house? What if— She shuddered and didn’t finish the thought.

  The ambulance bearing the Russells’ little girl bumped down the dirt driveway, headed for the hospital, and Hannah stumbled numbly toward the house. Olivia squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. Please, let Sara be all right.

  She met Hannah halfway and pulled the sobbing woman into her arms. “Let me drive you to the hospital. You’re too upset to be behind the wheel, and I’m just in the way here.”

  Hannah nodded. “Please.”

  Glancing to the end of the second ambulance, Olivia spotted Reyn, wearing an oxygen mask, while Frank dabbed some type of ointment on Reyn’s ears. She took a deep breath and shivered in the aftermath of the nerve-splitting tension. Waiting for Reyn to come out of the burning house had wrung her out. But he’d done what he set out to do. He’d saved Sara’s life.

  As she ushered Hannah to Reyn’s truck, she recalled his agitation over seeing his calendar picture at Lila’s. I’m just doing my job…that doesn’t make me a hero.

  Olivia climbed onto the front seat, and a smile ghosted across her lips. “It sure makes you a hero in my book.”

  With a weight in his chest that had nothing to do with smoke inhalation, Reyn stared at the smoldering house. The team of volunteer firefighters nearly had the fire under control, and according to recent word relayed to the paramedics from the hospital, the little girl would be all right after a couple days. Still, an uneasy feeling deep in his gut wouldn’t allow him any peace. The fire brought back too many memories.

  “You sure you won’t let me take you in to be checked out?” The EMT with “Frank” on his breast pocket propped a clipboard on his hip.

  Still sitting on the back end of the ambulance, Reyn nodded and removed the oxygen mask in order to speak. “I’m okay. Just give me a couple more drags on the good stuff before you take it away, huh?”

  “Sure, take your time. I need you to sign here, saying you refused to go to the hospital with us.”

  Reyn took the clipboard and pen from Frank.

  Surprised at how his hand shook when he tried to write, Reyn signed the form and handed the papers back.

  “Put another dab of ointment on those burns this afternoon and tonight, and I think you’ll be good to go tomorrow.” Frank took a small tube from his pocket and held it out to Reyn.

  “Thanks.”

  Behind Frank, he spotted Olivia, stepping out of his truck. She’d left about twenty minutes earlier with the little girl’s mother, but now she trotted across the lawn to him, her expression a combination of worry, relief and admiration.

  When she reached the ambulance, she simply stared at him for several seconds. Taking his chin in her hand, she turned his head to examine the burns on his ears then scanned the length of his body as if satisfying herself he was in one piece.

  Distress darkened her eyes to the color of good bourbon. Her concern flowed through him like the burn of whiskey as it washed down, spreading warm fingers through his blood. Despite the intoxicating effect of her penetrating gaze, his gut still rebelled. Her worry was a barometer of her growing attraction and attachment to him. The hell of it was the feeling was mutual.

  Yet nothing about his situation had changed. He still couldn’t get involved with her, still couldn’t live up to the hopes and expectations he saw lighting her eyes. He still feared he’d hurt her if she got too close. His track record spoke for itself.

  Olivia took a step closer, moving into the V of his splayed legs and grabbing the front of his shirt with her fingers. “You scared the hell out of me.”

  He held her watery gaze and nodded. “Sorry.” Through the oxygen mask, the word sounded muffled.

  Shaking her head, she gave him a short laugh. “I’m not. You saved Sara’s life.”

  Uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation, he averted his gaze.

  Olivia worked her fingers through his hair to grasp the elastic strings that held the mask in place then carefully slipped it from his head.

  Curious about her intent, he raised his head again with a querying look. Her gold gaze collided with his, shooting off sparks. She glided in smoothly and pressed her lips to his, the soft warmth of her mouth rocking him to his core. He couldn’t have pulled away to save his life. After battling the demon, after reliving the moment he’d spent his adult life running from, he needed this, needed the balm her kiss gave his soul.

  Sinking his fingers into her silky hair, he anchored her head, ensuring that she didn’t escape before he’d had his fill of her sweetness. Her blazing tresses gently abraded the singed backs of his hands, but the discomfort was of minor concern compared to the velvet crush of her mouth against his. With the tip of his tongue, he traced her lips, and with a sigh, she opened to receive him. She held his cheeks and deepened the kiss, drawing as eagerly on his lips as he did hers. The honeyed taste of her mouth fed the hunger inside him, stoked the desire that flashed through his blood.

  He could have gone on kissing her forever and never tired, never had enough. But his lungs seized, and he pulled away abruptly when another bout of coughing racked his body. When the cough quieted, she placed the mask over his mouth and nose again. He met her eyes as he sucked in deep breaths of the pure air.

  H
er lips curled into her tempting, lopsided grin, and her eyes glowed with a new warmth. “Wow. Not every day a girl gets to kiss a real live hero.”

  His gut wrenched. Denials sprang to his lips. But when tried to speak, his throat closed, and he started coughing again.

  “Are you okay?” She rubbed his back as he fought the spasms in his lungs and caught his breath.

  Lifting his arm, he twisted away from her touch and shook his head. “Don’t call me that,” he rasped.

  “What?” She tried again to touch him, and he caught her wrist.

  To be sure she heard him, he pulled the oxygen mask down again. “I’m no hero.”

  Her wry laugh expressed her disbelief and disagreement. “Are you kidding? You saved that girl’s life. I’d say that makes you hero material.”

  He drew slow, deep breaths into lungs made tighter by the frustration and doubts that plagued him. “I’m a fireman. I was just doing my job.”

  “You’re not a fireman in Clairmont. What you did went beyond the call of duty.”

  He shook his head and drilled a hard gaze into her. “That’s not how it works. My responsibility doesn’t have geographic boundaries. It was my duty to at least try to get the kid out of there.”

  She raised her hands in surrender. “All right, whatever your reasons or the responsibility you felt, the fact is, you did it. You risked your life to save that little girl. That makes you a hero to Sara, to her mother. And to me.”

  He sighed and hung his head, suddenly exhausted from coughing, from the adrenaline crash, from battling the knot of emotions he couldn’t put into words. “Is that what the kiss was about? Some kind of misplaced hero worship?”

  She scoffed and braced her hands on her hips. “I kissed you because I wanted to. Because I’ve wanted to since you got into town.” She paused, tipping her head. “Why did you kiss me back?”

  His gaze clashed with hers, and he prayed she couldn’t see the truth in his eyes. He’d kissed her because he’d needed the solace she offered him, the sweet reprieve from the torment inside him. Because he wanted her more than he had any right. Because her sexy lips proved a greater temptation than he’d had the strength to fight. “Because I wasn’t thinking straight. It didn’t mean anything.”

  He’d wounded her. He saw the pain flicker in her eyes, and his own heart twisted. But it was better to put her false ideas about him to rest before she got in deeper, before he had a chance to hurt her worse.

  She lifted her chin and said nothing for a long moment while her gaze searched his. “Liar,” she said finally. “You kissed me because you feel the same thing happening between us that I feel. You know there’s something kinetic between us, a chemistry you want to explore as much as I do.”

  “Maybe. Just don’t mistake lust for something nobler.” Turning from her incisive scrutiny, he put the oxygen mask back over his nose and inhaled slowly.

  Before she could answer, Vance Horton and George Russell walked past, stripping off their turnout gear.

  “I think the answer is obvious,” Horton told Russell and cast a meaningful glance toward Reyn. “I don’t think it’s any coincidence this happened right after he showed up in town.”

  Russell turned a dark glare toward Reyn as well.

  Reyn bristled. “I had nothing to do with this.”

  “We’ll see about that,” Russell returned.

  Olivia faced the men with her arms crossed over her chest. “Have you lost your minds? How dare you suggest Reyn set this fire! He saved your daughter’s life.”

  “Maybe he’s the one who put her at risk to start with,” Horton returned. “Certainly wouldn’t be the first time he started a fire like this. Before you go defending the boy, ask around about his history in this town. The truth might surprise you.”

  Before Olivia could respond, the two men stalked to the pumper rig at the end of the driveway. Reyn tossed the oxygen mask aside and stood, tension coiled tightly inside him. “I asked you not to do that.”

  “What did I do?” Her brow knit in confusion.

  “You were defending me. I fight my own battles, thank you.” His movements stiff, he marched toward his truck and heard the thud of her footsteps as she jogged after him.

  “Reyn? Reyn, wait.”

  But he didn’t wait. He needed time alone. Time to think. Time to get the taste of Olivia’s kiss out of his mind so he could focus on the investigation into his mother’s death.

  And then get the hell out of this town.

  Chapter Seven

  Olivia knew they weren’t going to Baton Rouge to get the coroner’s report as planned. Reyn needed time to recover from the smoke he’d inhaled at the fire that morning. Anticipating the need to take time off later in the week for the trip, she worked that afternoon until almost time to head to Monroe for her classes.

  When she did leave work, though, she headed first toward the hospital to see Lila and Sara. From there, she planned to swing by Lila’s house to check on Reyn before heading out of town.

  The new crack in her windshield created a lonely whistling sound as she drove through town, adding to the sense of disquiet that had plagued her since the fire. She knew the source of her unrest. Reyn.

  All day she’d thought of his kiss, the dark flavor of smoke and need she’d tasted when he claimed her lips. He could deny all he wanted that it had meant something, but she knew better. Something more profound than simple lust had been behind the fervor of his kiss. He wanted her, but he also needed something elemental from her, something that he seemed to find in her kiss. Something he wasn’t ready to admit he needed or was afraid to acknowledge.

  And what about her own reaction? Remembering the avid crush of Reyn’s mouth, a hot, tingling sensation crept over her skin. The simple fact that she couldn’t stop thinking about kissing Reyn bothered her. Being attracted to him, even acting on that attraction, was one thing. Falling in love with him was another matter all together. Falling in love? Was that what she was doing?

  Her fingers tightened on the steering wheel. The idea nettled her. Kissing him had been an emotional response to the fear she’d felt while waiting for him to emerge from the burning house. She knew where acting on her emotions would lead her. She’d been down that thorny path before. And based on Reyn’s prickly response to her kiss, she couldn’t ignore the fact her emotions were unwanted. She had to rein in her heart before it got away from her and ended up getting trampled. She had no use for another broken heart.

  Olivia pulled into the hospital parking lot and scanned the area for an empty space. After cutting her ignition, she sat and stared out her cracked windshield for a moment, lost in thought.

  Naturally, she wanted to fall in love then get married and raise a family some day. Some day. But she had time to wait for the right man. Someone she could build a future with, share her heart with. After her disastrous relationship with Billy Russell, she set high standards for the man to whom she’d give her heart. She sensed his eagerness to leave Clairmont as soon as he could.

  Heaving a deep sigh, satisfied for the moment that the issue was settled, she climbed out of the car and headed inside.

  Clairmont has never been my home…even when I lived here.

  Reyn’s comment, made the first time they’d come to the hospital together, reverberated in her head with new clarity. At the time, she’d believed his comment held a note of wistful longing. Now, as she rode the elevator to the pediatric floor, she considered his words and the yearning she sensed in his kiss in a different light.

  Could the something he longed for be the home and family he denied himself because of whatever ghosts still haunted him about his mother’s death? Was it possible that by breaking through the defensive walls he’d erected, by helping him put the ghosts of his past to rest, she’d find a man who wanted to build a home and raise a family like she did?

  The questions shook her to the core, and she was still reeling from the possibility, when a familiar male voice wafted into the hall from
Sara Russell’s room.

  She paused outside the door and listened.

  “Well, I’m glad to see you’re doing better. I know you’re looking forward to getting outta here so you can go swimming again.”

  Reyn.

  Her stomach did a little flip flop hearing his voice, still gritty from the smoke.

  Olivia knocked then opened the door a few inches. “Hello?”

  She peered around the corner and spotted Reyn at Sara’s bedside. The mere sight of him, ruffling Sara’s hair, caused a riot of emotions inside her. Witnessing this caring, thoughtful side of the man who’d risked his life this morning filled her chest with a tender ache.

  Oh, yes, he was definitely a hero in her book. The best kind. The kind that cared.

  Hannah hovered close behind Reyn, and she waved Olivia into the room. “Look, darling, Miss Olivia came to see you too.”

  Sara and Reyn both glanced toward her. Sara, her face pale and a nasal cannula running to her nose, lifted a bright smile. But Reyn’s expression darkened. His gaze focused on Olivia’s lips, and something bright and hot flickered in his eyes before he met her gaze. He scorched her with the penetrating intensity of his stare, and she knew he was remembering their kiss. Like she had been all day.

  With effort, she shook herself from his spell and smiled at Hannah. “I…I just wanted to check on Sara before I headed to class.”

  “She’s doing much better. Doc Humphry says she can go home tomorrow.” Hannah frowned. “Though for the time being, home is the Motel 6.”

  “Let me know if I can do anything to help.” Olivia stepped farther in the room then faced Sara. “Katy can’t wait for you to come and play Barbie with her one day soon.”

  Reyn cleared his throat. “Well, it looks like you’re in good hands. I’m going to slip out. I promised Gram I’d play cards with her.”

  She wanted a moment alone with Reyn but knew it would have to wait. Hannah hugged him as he walked out, and he gave Sara a little wave. He didn’t look at Olivia before making a quick retreat. His avoidance raised new questions in her mind. Was he regretting their kiss?