Page 60 of Fire Peak

“There’s a spot where it goes over a sandbar and gets shallow, so it heats up. Elias explained it to me. He says you get used to the cold pretty quick. Then everyone goes for ice cream afterwards.”

“That sounds fine. Need some money?” He took out his wallet to pay for the pancakes.

“No, because anyone who stays in longer than ten minutes gets a free ice cream cone from Pirate Patty. She has an ice cream stand. And you can’t use a dry suit.”

The games people played in Firelight Ridge in the absence of internet.

“If you can’t stay in that long, do you get free hot chocolate and a free hot tub?”

“Oh, I’ll stay in. Elias says people with more body fat can handle it better. I’ve got my thick thighs working for me. Take that, haters. Oh, I see Elias.” She waved out the back door of the bus. “I have to check on him, brb!”

As she rushed down the back steps, he watched her with a sense of wonder. How could he love someone so much after fifteen years of never knowing she existed?

Hailey’s appearance in his life had done something to his heart. Now he barely recognized it.

His phone buzzed. Mark Jones. Time to play his ace card.

26

Charlie surfaced from her nap to find Ani sitting next to her bed. She blinked, wondering if she was still dreaming. Her vision was blurry, and that burning in her thigh felt worse than ever.

“Ani?” she asked weakly, reaching out a hand to touch her knee. It felt real. “Is that you?”

“It’s me. I promise.” Ani smiled, her dark eyes gleaming. She was so beautiful in the sunlight streaming from the window that Charlie had to blink again.

“But you’re angry at me. You still came?”

“You’re hurt. Of course I came, as soon as I heard. You’re still my best friend, even if you pissed me off.”

“Fair. And I’m sorry. You pissed me off too, although you had a very valid point.”

Ani waved her off. “So much has happened since then. It’s not important now. Will you let me look at your wound?”

“Yes, please. It burns. Is it supposed to do that? Also I feel woozy.”

Ani knelt next to her and put a hand on her forehead. “You don’t seem feverish.”

“Okay. That’s good, right? I just want to feel better. There’s so much going on right now. There’s my dad, there’s April, there’s smoke bombs and cameras and arrows and Bulldog and some Chechens and Vasily?—”

“Shhh. One thing at a time. Let’s take a look here.” Ani pulled a band around her thick hair to keep it out of her way. “Can you turn over onto your stomach?”

Charlie obeyed. This new position gave her a lovely view out the casement window. Sweet birdsong from fox sparrows and white-winged crossbills filled the room. It should have been relaxing, but Charlie’s gaze kept straying to the window. Would an arrow make it to the second floor? What about a smoke bomb?

“Have you ever dealt with an arrow wound before?” she asked Ani, to distract herself.

“As a pediatrician, no,” Ani said dryly. “Arrow wounds are not a big part of my practice. But it’s a wound like any other. I can handle it, don’t you worry.”

“I’m a little past worry, well on my way to fucking pissed.”

“It’s an assault. It’s traumatic.”

Ani would know, thought Charlie. She’d been assaulted at the age of twelve in a racial hate crime, and hadn’t walked normally since. But she didn’t like to talk about that, so Charlie held her tongue.

“I met Nick in town, after Molly picked me up at the airstrip,” Ani said in a lighter tone, as she peeled off the old bandage. “Sam flew me in. He’s a real sweetheart, isn’t he?”

“Nick?”

“Sam. Nick seems nice too. He was having breakfast with his daughter.”

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