Page 15 of One Little Spark

Hastings frowned. “Not sure. Hard to tell at this moment. With the storm, it could have been a lightning strike. That’s how it was reported, anyway. We’ll know more when the sun comes up.” He clapped Aiden on the back. “Go home and get some sleep.” Then he walked over to where Jory and Chief Bowers were standing.

Aiden turned to locate Hazel. His truck was still parked down the street so she must be around somewhere. He finally located her over by the ambulances. She was sitting, talking to Tommy Vincent. That was one troubled kid. Aiden touched his jaw, where someone, probably Tommy, had landed a punch at the football game. He wondered if the kid lived at the apartment complex. Had he started the fire? Aiden’s gut told him it was a very real possibility.

Aiden watched Hazel with Tommy for a couple of minutes. It was hard to really see because of the shadows the streetlights were casting, mixed with the red and blue lightsfrom the emergency vehicles. The more he studied the two of them, the more it became obvious Hazel was trying to calm the kid down. He was tapping his feet, and his hands were fidgety. Then, suddenly, he stopped. Hazel had placed an arm around Tommy’s shoulders, and whatever she’d said to him must have worked because he relaxed into her.

She turned then and addressed a man who was standing not too far away. It was that “new” doctor, Bryson. He wasn’t new anymore. He came to town at least a year ago now but new compared to everyone else at the hospital. He smiled at her and she smiled back. Tommy glared at Bryson, but when he looked back at Hazel, his gaze softened. The kid had a crush on Hazel. By the looks of the smile the doctor was giving Hazel, he was interested as well.Join the club, boys.

Aiden wanted to go over there and tell the pair of them she wasn’t available. That Hazel was his, and his alone. But he couldn’t do that because it wasn’t true. It didn’t matter that she made him laugh or the fact that her smile lit up his brain. It wasn’t relevant that she was caring and kind and smart and easy to talk to. No. All that mattered was she was Jory’s sister and therefore untouchable.

A movement in the corner of his eye made him turn his head. Phoenix was standing off to the side in the shadows. He was watching Hazel as well.Shit.Did he want her, too? This was too much for him. Torture. He had started in her direction just as Jory called his name.

“What?” he demanded.

Jory walked over. “We’re heading back to the firehouse. Hazel can bring your truck and pick you up from there.”

Aiden glanced over just in time to see Hazel climbing into the back of the ambulance with Tommy. “I think she’s going to the hospital with the Vincent kid.”

Jory grunted. “Figures.” He sighed. “Come with us, andI’ll bring you back here to get your truck later.”

Aiden hesitated, the desire to go after Hazel all but gagging him.Be smart, man.He ruthlessly squashed the ache in his gut and shook his head. It made sense to head back to the station on the engine. He needed to take care of his gear anyway. He followed Jory and took his seat in the back seat of the fire truck. A vehicle alert chirped loudly as they backed out of the parking lot. The ambulance with Hazel and Tommy had already left, but Bryson was standing there staring at his phone. Phoenix was still in the shadows, watching.

#

The feel of the sunlight full on his face made Aiden finally open his eyes. He squinted at the clock. It was already gone noon. Time to get his ass out of bed. He rolled out and padded toward his bathroom. Hazel hadn’t come back last night, at least not before he fell asleep.It’s none of my business, he’d told himself again and again, but he’d been determined to wait up for her. Exhaustion finally got him in the end, and he fell asleep as the sun was coming up.

He grabbed a quick shower, got dressed in a deep red T-shirt and faded jeans, and headed for the kitchen. The smell hit him as he came down the stairs. Eggs and bacon. He inhaled deeply, and his belly growled.

“That smells great. Did you make enough for two?” he asked as he came around the corner into the kitchen. He stopped dead.

“Three, actually.” Hazel smiled up at him.

A man sat at the kitchen table, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “Morning, or should I say afternoon?” He smiled. “I don’t think we’ve met yet. Paul Bryson.” He offered his hand.

Aiden shook the man’s hand, but it took all his restraint to stop himself from crushing it. The man had soft, delicate hands. Aiden’s were all banged up and roughened by callouses. He hadno doubt he could crush the man’s hand to dust.

“Morning,” Aiden greeted him, his voice raspy from the late night, the smoke from the fire, and an emotion he refused to identify.

Hazel grabbed a plate and took up the remaining eggs and bacon. She handed him the plate and then poured him a cup of coffee. Aiden glanced at the table. It was small, and somehow being squished in between the two of them just sat wrong with him. He remained standing and leaned against the counter instead. Hazel handed him a fork.

“Sorry to spring company on you,” she said. “Paul drove me home. I went with Tommy Vincent to the hospital and he asked me to stay with him for a while.” She frowned. “He’s all alone, Aiden. You know his mom left years ago. Well, now his dad vanished as well. I didn’t ask where. I’m not sure he knows. Anyway, I just felt like I had to stay with him. I waited until he fell asleep before I left. I wrote him a note with my number so he wouldn’t feel so alone when he woke up.”

Of course she did because that’s just the type of person Hazel was. He bit back a sigh. This kid was always in trouble, and she was leaving him her cell number. It was a typical Hazel move, and he loved that about her, but it also generated a major spark of anxiety in his chest.

“That was nice of you,” he said and then forked a bunch of scrambled eggs into his mouth to stop himself from saying anything else.

Hazel shrugged. “It sucks being on your own.”

“I agree,” Bryson said. “Sometimes it’s hard to be alone all the time.” He smiled at Hazel.

Aiden immediately lost his appetite. “So, you were at the hospital, too?” he asked as casually as possible.

“I was on-call last night. I was headed home after being called back to the hospital for emergency surgery. I stopped to see ifI could help and ended up back at the hospital. When I was finished, I stayed to complete the paperwork, and then bumped into Hazel on her way out. I offered her a ride, and she repaid my kindness with an invitation to breakfast. Very tasty, by the way. Absolutely hit the spot.” He beamed a toothy grin across the table at Hazel. Hazel smiled back, but her brows were pinched together.

Aiden set his plate on the counter and took a big gulp of coffee. It burned all the way down. This guy was laying it on thick.

“Would you like more coffee?” Hazel asked Bryson.

He declined. “I really should be going. I need to run some errands.” He took another drink from his mug and then turned to Aiden. “I understand Hazel just moved in here with you. She says you have been best friends with her brother since you both were in kindergarten. That makes you like another older brother I guess.”

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