Page 87 of Burn With Me

But I don’t have too much time to dwell on it because I have to put together the information I pulled about starting a co-op for Farmer Joe.

Thank goodness for distractions.

Thirty-Six

Luke

“Sam, you didn’t have to stay late with me,” I say as we make lasagna for dinner for everyone.

“I know I didn’t, but then you said you were going to make your mom’s lasagna, and you know it’s my favorite. I wasn’t going to miss that. Did you make the pasta fresh?” he asks as he roasts garlic for the sauce.

“Of course I did. My mom would kill me if she knew I made this and didn’t make it from scratch. I made the dough earlier today, just in case we got any calls.”

“Have you guys heard from the lab about what the firebug is using to start fires?”

“Hey guys! What smells so good?” Carter says as he sits down at the table.

“My mom’s lasagna recipe. I’m making enough that we should be able to freeze some as long as everyone doesn’t eat it all in one sitting.”

“How long are you on the B team? Just this week, right?” Sam turns to Carter.

“Yeah, I’m covering for Austin while he’s off for his honeymoon,” Carter responds.

“Cool. And, yeah, Sam. We did. It looks like the accelerant starts with gasoline in some places and diesel in others, which explains why it burned hot and fast but also took longer to put out than normal fires.”

“What the actual fuck,” they say in unison.

“Wait, so this person has been figuring out the ratio of the two to make our lives a living hell?” Carter asks.

“That’s what it looks like. Now, we just have to hope to catch the person before they go after whatever they’re really trying to do. We let the police force know about an hour ago after we put our report together, just in case they see anything suspicious, but the rest of the units are going to get an update sometime tonight or when they’re on shift next. The chief was out telling the bordering towns as well, so we’ll have all hands on deck for this.”

“That’s a good idea,” Sam says, and we work in silence as that information sinks in.

I was hoping for just a group of kids messing around because they’re bored in a small town. However, the person doing this is calculated and trying to see how to cause the most damage.

The question is, what’s their end game?

“Hey, Carter? Can you think of anyone in town who would be mad at someone else?”

He doesn’t answer for a couple of minutes while he ponders the question. “I can’t think of anyone. The town as a whole gets along. I mean, you have assholes like Brian and Eddie—Ken, who owns the diner, his son. Eddie is gone now, and I’m pretty sure he’s doing time up in Nevada, if I remember correctly, and Brian, while an asshole, has never been a violent person.”

“Brian is a stupid fuck who doesn’t like when someone tells him no. He has too much pride in his image, but that image has started to break down since people at The Bar saw how he acted with Am,” I say, shaking my head as I remember that night.

“Yeah, I heard Sarah charged him double the last time he was in there. He wasn’t a happy boy,” Carter says with a laugh.

“Serves him right. When someone tells you no, the answer is no,” I say through gritted teeth.

Just thinking about what Am had to deal with before I got there makes me want to punch something.

“Speaking of Am,” Sam says as he adds the tomato paste to the garlic and onions, “have you told her how you feel yet?”

I smirk thinking back to how she almost slipped and told me she loved me as I was leaving the farm today. “Soon, I just don’t want to scare her off.”

“Fair. She can get in her head and become skittish. She was always famous for self-sabotaging relationships growing up.”

“What about you, Carter? Do you have anyone in your sights?”

“No, although I’ve thought about asking your sister out, Sam.”

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