Page 102 of Burn It Down

Idrag my tired ass through the front door a little after eight to find Jake, Cassie, and my dad, playing UNO at the dining room table. Jake’s eyes are on me as soon as I step into the room.

“Hey,” he breathes, a relieved smile spreading across his face.

I hadn’t ever realized how much desire a person could fit into one syllable.

“Hi,” I say back with a smile of my own as he stands from his chair to greet me halfway.

“Come, sit. There’s plenty of salmon leftovers. I’ll fix you a plate.”

Jake gets up from the table and I arch a brow at my dad, taking the open seat next to Jake’s vacated one. “You ate salmon?” I ask, skeptically.

He smiles and shrugs a shoulder. “Jake told me he’d fix me a steak if I didn’t like it. Figured it was a good way to get a steak, but as it turns out, I liked it.”

“And you?” I ask, turning to my sister. I’ve been trying to get these two to add salmon to their diets foryearsand every time,I’m met with so much resistance you’d think I was asking them to eat shoe leather.

Cassie wags her eyebrows. “We both know Jake could hand me a bucket of fried deer turds and I’d try one if he asked me to.”

“I’ll be sure to ask him to do just that,” I deadpan. Jake slides a plate and a beer in front of me. “Thank you.”

He laughs as he takes his seat. “I will play no role in convincing your sister to eat deer feces.”

“Whose side are you on anyway?” I nudge my shoulder into his.

He licks his lips as he leans over and slowly plants them on my cheek. That simple act alone is enough to make me just want to crawl into bed, wrap myself around him, and stay there for a year. Although Jake’s kisses are often heated, they’re never rushed. Even now, with my dad and sister at the table, he takes his time, letting his lips linger against my skin like he’s savoring how it feels for the first time all over again.

“Yours. Always yours,” he whispers against my skin.

“Jake’s having the paperwork drawn up for the sale next week,” my father says, dumping a bucket of ice on my moment. Is it too much to ask to just let me eat dinner in peace? I don’t want to talk about selling the shop every fifteen fucking minutes.

“Could wenottalk about this for one day?” I snap, my fork clattering to my plate.

“Weneedto talk about it because I want you to come with me, Dylan,” my dad urges. “I still want to work on cars and I can’t imagine going back to work for someone else. Not when you and I work as well as we do together. I’m begging you. Let the building go. We can move. Transfer the shop somewhere safer. Stay together.”

“And then what?” I ask, my calm voice at direct odds with the anger bubbling inside me. “We sell the house to be closer to the new shop? We saddle Jake with a building that has a decliningvalue just so we can start over? We leave Mom behind?” I throw my napkin onto my plate and slide my chair back, done with this conversation.

As I walk down the hallway toward my room I know I’m not being fair. As much as losing my mom hurt my sister and I, I can’t imagine what my dad felt…feels.But just as I’ve found my missing piece, everyone wants to changeeverything.

I’m not surprised to find Jake has followed me to my room. I expect him to close the door and try to talk some sense into me, but instead, he grabs the keys to his Corvette off my dresser and throws them at me.

“Let’s go.”

“Jake, I’m exhausted. I don’t want to go anywhere.”

“Too bad. These walls are closing in on you. I’ll be in the car.”

I scrub a hand down my face and follow him out of my room.

“We’ll be back,” Jake says to my dad and sister who are still sitting at the table, talking quietly.

I open the driver’s side door of Jake’s Corvette and slide into the seat. When I turn the key in the ignition the sound of the engine draws all my attention and I close my eyes, pulling in a deep breath, my chest loosening slightly.

I pull out of the driveway and start down the road. It’s dark out, but in the glow of the street lights, I catch Jake watching my hand on the gearshift.

Jake stays quiet as I drive along backroads I’ve been navigating since I was fourteen. He’s relaxed in the seat despite my high speed and tight turns.

He trusts me.

Helovesme.

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