Violet chuckled. “No. You were worse.”
He scoffed. “Seriously?”
“Totally.” She nodded and then moved forward into the house.
“In my defense,” Dylan said as he followed behind her, “she did have a stalker trying to come after her.”
I didn’t care if they thought I was being overprotective. Frankly, I would do this for anyone poking around the scene of a fire before we had a chance to overhaul. But I was definitely making damn sure I did it for Violet.
Dylan showed Violet the few spots he’d marked for her on the first level and left us both inside to go canvas the neighbors.
She squatted down at one of the numbered evidence cards and glanced back at me. “I’m assuming it’s pointless to argue with you about following me around.”
“That’s a good assumption.”
She rolled her eyes. “Here then, hold the flashlight on this spot while I collect a sample.”
I took the flashlight from her and held it on the spot she’d indicated. “Seems like the fires are always at the beginning of the month.”
She nodded. “Not a specific date, but I have noticed it’s always between the third and tenth. The BBQ joint threw us off, but now it makes sense why.”
“Sucks that the eyewitness didn’t get a good look.”
“Yeah, and I’m afraid the arsonist is getting bolder. Not being as careful.” She finished the second spot Dylan had marked and I followed her into the third room.
“Might be a good thing. The bolder he gets the less careful he’ll be.”
She put her hands on her hips and glared at me. “Bolder could mean careless, but it can also mean more dangerous. If someone gets hurt or dies because we couldn’t catch this guy…”
She didn’t finish her sentence. Didn’t need to. I closed the distance and pulled her into a hug. “You’re doing the best you can.”
“Yeah, and sometimes that isn’t good enough.”
I knew that feeling all too well. You couldn’t save everyone, and you couldn’t prevent every tragic accident either. You constantly played the what if game in your head.
After a moment, she stepped out of my embrace and went back to collecting evidence. I held the flashlight for her and we both fell quiet while she worked. Our conversation hung heavy over us. It shouldn’t, but it surprised me that she dealt with the same thing that first responders constantly dealt with. It made sense, we couldn’t save everyone in the moment, but people behind the scenes worked hard to stop bad things from happening again and bring justice to the victims.
She was hyper-focused, meticulous as she examined and collected evidence. Violet was good at, and obviously enjoyed, her job. Would she be willing to leave it and move to Charlotte at some point? I forced my shoulders to relax. I had to remember that we would figure all that out when the time came. There was no use worrying about it right now.
After she was done on this level, I followed her upstairs. “Want to grab lunch later? Or dinner before my shift?” I asked as she moved into the third bedroom after having finished looking around the first two.
I leaned my shoulder against the door frame and crossed my arms over my chest, letting my gaze roam down her body. The tiny leather-like shorts she wore reminded me of that day I pulled her out of that fire.
She spun back to me. “Sure. Let’s do dinner. Since I’m starting earlier today, I can leave a little early.” I nodded and she studied me as she took a few steps forward, coming to stand in front of me. “And then tomorrow night you’ll be off again?”
“Yeah.” I reached out and gripped her chin with my thumb and forefinger. “And I can’t wait to spend all night showing you how much I’ve missed you.”
Her lips parted with a sharp intake of air. I leaned forward, claiming her mouth. There was nothing chaste or gentle about this kiss. It had all my need for her wrapped up in it.
I pulled back, wishing we were anywhere but in this charred house, and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Want to come up to the cabin tomorrow when you get off? I can make us dinner and we can sit by the fire.”
She nodded with a smile pulling at her lips. “You cook?”
I shrugged. “Yeah. Nothing fancy. When I first became a firefighter, I got stuck doing a lot of the cooking that first year, so I had to learn.”
“Hmm. Well, dinner at your place sounds great. I can bring dessert.”
I gripped her waist and tugged her close. “That’s perfect, considering I was already intending to have you for dessert.”
