Page 85 of Burning Skies
“I need to pick up your mother. She has some errands to run.”
“Aunt June, have you seen my dad lately? He hasn’t responded to my texts.” By the time I got the balls to talk to him, he said we’d talk in person when he got back from Dallas. But he was supposed to be home by now.
She waves a wrinkled hand. “Who knows? Who cares?” Aunt June isn’t his biggest fan.
“Okay, well, let me walk you out to your car.” The woman is eighty. I’m worried she might trip on the sidewalk.
“I can manage.” She kisses me on the cheek and ambles off.
I follow behind just in case she needs a hand, but she gets to her old pink Pontiac GTO without a problem.
When I make it back to the office, I stare at the tray of food. What am I going to do with all this?
My colleagues eat a few of them, but by the end of the day, there are still several left. I text Beau.
Me: My aunt made me some food. Would you like some? I can’t eat it all. But fair warning, everything she makes looks dirty.
I take a quick photo and send it to him. He responds a minute later with a laughing emoji.
Beau: Hysterical but sweet of her. Bring them by the firehouse. It’ll give me a chance to see you.
My heart skips a beat, and I feel like I’m floating on water as I drive over after school. We haven’t had a chance to hang out all week. I’ve had a ton of essays to grade and he had to help his brothers at the ranch. Now he’s on a three-day shift at the firehouse.
When I get there, I’m not sure where to go. I don’t want to wander around while I carry the sausage fest, so I leave the tray of food in my SUV. I wander over to the open bay where the engines sit and two guys in Wild Heart Fire Department uniforms see me.
The younger one smiles at me. “Can I help you?”
Damn it. I didn’t plan this well. I glance around, looking for Beau. I’m reluctant to come right out and ask for him. What ifthese guys are friends with Trig? “Hi. I was told I could bring food by here. One sec and I’ll grab it.”
I turn around and head back to my SUV. I parked in the back. As I stand there, I text him that I’ve arrived.
Burly arms wrap around me, and he nuzzles against my ear. “Hey, gorgeous.”
“Oh my God, you scared me.” Laughing, I turn in his arms and lean up to kiss him.
When his tongue slides into my mouth, I groan and run my hand through his hair. A minute later, he pulls away and looks back at the station. “Probably shouldn’t be kissing you out in the open like this.”
I touch my lips, which tingle. “Maybe not, but sneaking around is starting to get annoying. I just want to be able to kiss you when I want to kiss you.”
His eyes twinkle back with a smile as he cups my face and runs his thumb across my cheek. “It won’t be forever. I promise.” After another kiss, he offers to carry the tray of food. “Want to come in and meet my friends?”
“Will this get people talking?” I shouldn’t care, but I need to handle this carefully with my family.
That gives him pause. “Maybe.”
“I should probably go then.”
“Wish I didn’t have to work tonight. Want to go out tomorrow evening? We could grab a pizza and watch a movie or something.”
“That sounds fun, but Cynthia is coming over. If I had known you’d be free, I wouldn’t have made plans with her.”
He scrubs his face. “Sorry. I need to coordinate with you better.”
“You’re juggling a lot. I understand.” My brothers run around on the ranch until they’re ragged. I don’t know how Beau does so much.
I help him unload the tray of food. When he gets a good look at it, he barks out a laugh. “You weren’t kidding when you said she makes dirty food. These look like…”
“Like uncut sausages?”
