Page 8 of Fanning the Flames


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“That’s sweet and slightly annoying.”

“I’ll be so obnoxious with my support.”

“Well, I can’t wait for that,” Sadie giggled.

Joan tightened her arms, filling Sadie with love. Sadie did the same. She adored Joan and so appreciated her unwavering encouragement. On one level, it made Sadie’s Café something within reach. But the onus was still on Sadie to like, do the work, and make the big boss decisions, and have all the responsibility, and…

And what if I fail?

“I’m gonna go lock the truck,” Joan said. She dropped a kiss on Sadie’s lips.

Sadie wandered toward the window, suddenly chilled without Joan’s heat. The thick curtains that once blocked everything out had been replaced with less severe off-white drapes.

A strange green glow briefly lit up the outside. She pulled one of the curtains back to see if it was lightning.

Nothing shined through the overcast sky. She started to let the curtain fall, but it happened again. A pale green shimmer dancing through the clouds. Huh. Weird.

Well, it wasn’t Villain activity. Vector City had no Supervillains anymore. Three of them were imprisoned, however the Supers properly secured people with superpowers. And the other three were running an up-and-coming food truck. It was nice not to worry all the time about potential destruction.

Things were comfortable. Easy. Uncomplicated. Maybe even a teensy bit boring. But boring was good. Boring was what Joanie had wanted for a long, long time. Boring was…

Safe. And it was good to be safe.

CHAPTER2

Joan formed another large fireball between her hands. She lobbed it into the night sky over the river. Mark shot a big, icy ball at it, dissolving it on contact.

They’d been at it for a good ten, maybe fifteen minutes. Every blast of fire brought relief, like her body was grateful for the release.

The row of riverfront warehouses provided coverage from prying eyes. A good place to discharge built-up fire. She’d never gone so long without using it to fly or fight.

“Are you almost out?” Mark asked, shooting little ice pellets into the cracked blacktop.

“Not yet.” Joan wiped rogue hair off her slightly damp forehead. “You definitely let the Supers know we’re doing this?”

“I texted Zee to let them know there was no cause for concern.”

A slow smile pulled at her lips. “Youtexted Zee. I didn’t realize you had Race’s number.”

“It’s for shit like this so the Supers don’t freak out.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Mark crossed his arms. “Don’t start with that.”

“Just saying you two have this very entertaining flirty repartee.”

He sprayed her butt with a snow shower.

“Which I get to witness once a week when they drop by the truck to get dinner because we have—” She made air quotes. “Good hand-cut fries.”

“We do have good hand-cut fries.”

“That you personally serve.”

Conjuring up a big block of ice, Mark said, “Focus on the task at hand, nosy.”

Joan shot a streaming flame at it, melting it to a pool of water in seconds. They did it twice more, each time with a little less oomph.