Page 17 of Fire Fight

“N-nice to meet you.” Cadence nods and takes a seat, hands gripping the edge of the table until the skin over her knuckles form shiny white circles.

Raelene hands her daughter a cup of coffee, half milk, and Cadence releases one hand from its death clutch to take it, draining it in one go. Then she holds it in both hands, a shield over her chest like she expects me to lean over and rip out her heart.

Her eyes keep fixing on me, then dancing away. It’s almost cute if I ignore the pallor of her skin, the quiver as a fast beat pulses in her neck.

A moment before the silence would turn awkward, she clears her throat. “Arnold says you go to Ashford Crest, too.”

I nod and my father picks up the slack. “I hope you’ll show her around the place. It’ll be nice for her to know someone.”

“Does this count as knowing each other?”

I try not to stare at her, but it’s difficult. It’s always been difficult. In any room, she’s the central focus, like an unseen director has arranged the lights until my eyes can’t help but turn her way.

“You know what I mean. And you’ll need to give her a lift to and from school until I sort a car.” He turns to her. “I’ll put it in the schedule for next month. We can go to a dealership and find you something suitable.”

Cadence breaks into a wide smile as he presses on her gold-digger button, bringing her to life. “That’s so generous, but I don’t—”

“Yes,” he cuts in with a raised hand and a laugh, turning to include Raelene in his generosity. “Both of you do. I love living up here for the view, but it makes it impossible to get anywhere on foot.”

“I caught the bus to Alabaster.”

He touches her hand lightly, just resting against it for a second, and a bolt zaps me. Jealousy? Unease? Ridiculous. I’m just on edge.

“The bus is twenty minutes down the hill, and you don’t need to worry about the expense for a second, it’s just necessity. Even Emily got a new car when she started working here.”

I shake my head to dislodge the emotion as my father wanks on about how it’s his pleasure, and the money’s there to be spent. His gaze turns to Raelene and an expression I haven’t seen on him before fills his face.

It looks like adoration.

A sickening tug at my abdomen suggests the gullible fool has fallen in love. Given his age, it’s the perfect timing for a midlife crisis.

I concentrate on my breakfast; eggs, wholemeal toast, a protein smoothie with a banana to soften the taste.

“Blaine can take you swimming,” he offers when the conversation lapses. “He’s out in the harbour so often, he’s practically a dolphin.”

I clench my jaw, aggravated by the offer. Swimming is my excuse to leave the house when my nerves scream at the silence. The last thing I want is company. Especially now when I’m pissed that nothing went the way I expected.

Didn’t she see the message I wrote on her chest?

Is she too stoned to care?

“It’s Drake,” I say, chasing the confrontation she denied me. When his face tightens, I add a sweetener. “It’s Drake,Dad.” Usually, I don’t refer to him at all or call him Arnold or father if he annoys me.

“Your birth certificate says—”

“Blaine Drake Arlington. I go by Drake.”

“Not in this house.”

“You don’t use the same surname?” Raelene asks Arnold, sitting next to him. Her hand squeezes his knee.

Ugh. Like I’d want her as my rescuer if it was needed. “He wasn’t around when the birth certificate was being completed.”

“I was there. Your mother—”

My eyes narrow, daring him to take up the challenge. Miracle of miracles, he backs off.

“We only found each other last year. Blaine’s—Drake’s—mother died unexpectedly. When I saw the notice and went to offer my condolences, I belatedly discovered I’d been a father for all these years.”

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