Page 88 of The Firefighter's Fate

I take in a deep breath.

There’s no point in lying to him.

“Yes. I did.”

Connor is still unmoved except for the most momentary flash of something behind his eyes. I realize it’s hurt.

“Why?” he asks me.

“You need to talk to your father,” I reply.

Connor’s hands close to tight fists that seem to shake with wrath, and he shakes his head as if he were holding back a tidal wave of raw emotions. He is still blanking the man who raised him.

His outburst at the cabin surprised me. His reluctance to having his photo taken went from zero to a hundred miles an hour. It wasn’t a disagreement... it was a rant. A fury. I had touched a nerve back there.

And now, with trying to reconcile the man with his father at The Oak, it’s clear I’ve hit an even bigger nerve...

“You shouldn’t have gotten involved with all this,” Connor says to me. “You have made a big mistake.”

He turns away from me to glare at his father one last time before he spins around and storms straight out of the coffee shop.

Okay, so this truly was a bad idea...

I take a step to follow him out of the door, but Waylen speaks up to stop me in my tracks.

“It’s too late, Ember. You won’t get through to him now. It’s gone too far. Trust me, it’s over. We’ve lost him.”

I turn back to the Penmayne patriarch.

“I thought this would help,” I whisper. “I thought this meeting might be what he wanted.”

I think of Connor. I think of all the pain he’s gone through. I think about his kind soul and how he’s only ever wanted to help his small town.

How he didn’t want to be famous.

And how I’ve tried to make him so.

I’ve done all this because I was forced to. I’ve ruined this man’s world because I was selfish for my career.

And tears start to come.

Waylen shakes his head.

“He’s gone, Ember.”

44

EMBER

I tentatively step inside the fire station, expecting to be thrown out the minute I’m inside the place by an angry Penmayne, but I’m instead greeted by a somber-looking Eric. His eyes dart down to the ground when he sees me. It’s like he’s been expecting me, yet he’s afraid to even talk to me.

“Is Connor around?” I ask him, glancing around in search of the man. “I would really like to talk to him.”

“He’s not seeing you, Ember,” Eric replies softly.

“Do you know when he might be back... or when he might be free for me to come and see him?”

Eric slowly shakes his head. He’s still refusing to meet me in the eye.

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