“You can be honest,” I said, keeping my gaze away from Cole’s. even though I could feel him staring at me.
“I am being honest.”
I was never going to be able to believe anything Cole said. Especially when he had no intention of sharing who he was with me. I reached down and grabbed hold of Jasper’s hand. “Come on, honey. You can play in my office while I finish up.”
I didn’t look at Cole as I led my son over to the kitchen door and pushed through. Jasper was protesting, but I ignored it as I set him up in my office and then shut the door behind me as I walked back out to the kitchen. Cole had brought Jasper’s dishes from the dining room and was in the process of rinsing them off in the back sink.
I contemplated saying something to him now that we were alone. I hated confrontations, but boundaries needed to be set if we were going to continue this partnership.
“Please, stay away from my son,” I blurted out, my strength wavering as I walked up to Cole.
He flipped off the faucet and then slowly turned to face me. “I’m sorry,” he said, his gaze meeting mine. “I didn’t mean to overstep.”
My entire body was shaking, but I forced myself to remain strong as I held his gaze. “Well, you did. Jasper has been through a lot in his life. The last thing I want is for him to get attached to someone who has every intention of leaving.”
Cole’s eyes widened as he processed my words. “I didn’t think about it like that.” He nodded. “I will keep my distance.”
“Thank you,” I whispered.
He leaned back on the counter. “Did he enjoy the chicken noodle soup?”
I wanted to tell him to stop being nice to me, but I’d already berated him about Jasper and I could hear my grandmother’stskfrom the grave. “Yes, it was very good.”
He met my gaze once more. “You had some, too?”
I pinched my lips together. “Was I not supposed to?”
He chuckled. “No, I’m glad you had some.”
Silence fell between us. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to keep talking, but my entire body wanted to get the hell out of this kitchen and far away from Cole. So I just gave him a curt nod and headed into my office. I gathered mine and Jasper’s things together before I grabbed ahold of Jasper’s hand and led him out of my office.
Cole was no longer in the kitchen, which I was grateful for. Jasper followed behind me as I made my way out the back door. I finally felt like I could breathe as I drove out of the parking lot.
My mind wandered with questions as I drove the ten minutes to our rental. Right before I got to our street, I saw a ton of flashing lights. I slowed at the stop sign and glanced to the left to see that our house was engulfed in flames.
I parted my lips, but no sound came out. Fire trucks lined the road, and fire fighters were standing in my yard with water blasting from their hoses.
“Oh my gosh,” I whispered as I pulled in as close as I could and then turned off my car. “Stay in the car,” I said to Jasper, who was whimpering in his seat.
I wanted to protect my son from this mess, but I needed to find out what had happened. The safest place for him in the meantime was in the car.
“Ma’am! Ma’am!” a firefighter called after me as I approached my house. “You can’t be here,” he said as his hand caught my elbow and pulled me to a stop.
“This is my house,” I whispered, tears brimming my eyes as I waved toward the inferno that had overtaken my home.
His gaze was sympathetic, but he shook his head. “I need you to get back into your car until this is out,” he said.
“Wha-what happened?”
“We don’t know yet. We need to get the fire out before we can do anything.” He started to guide me toward the road. “Please, go back to your car. We’ll come to get you when it’s safe.”
My entire body felt numb as I nodded and obeyed. I climbed into the backseat of my car and held Jasper while we watched them put out the flames. I wasn’t sure how long it took them, but it felt like an eternity until the fire was gone and all that remained were charred pieces of my house. Smoke rose from the pile of rubble.
Jasper was passed out, now, so I gently laid him down on the back seat as one of the fire fighters approached the car. I climbed out and gently closed the door as I turned to face him.
“Name’s Wesley,” he said as he pulled off his glove and extended his hand. “I’m the chief.”
“Willow.”
