Page 27 of When We Burn

“I have a job. She has a job. I have a kid. She has a cat.”

“Wait, she has a cat?”

“Yeah, it was a stray. Not that Pickles is any excuse.” I shake my head, and Millie frowns.

“Who’s Pickles?”

“The cat.”

“Back up.” She leans on the counter and crosses her arms over her chest. “You haven’t even taken her on a real date?”

“You’re not listening. She came to my house for dinner.” I say the words slowly so she can comprehend them.

“Was Birdie home?”

I lift a brow at her. My best friend is starting to piss me off.

“Then it wasn’t a date, Bridger. Did you walk her home and kiss her?”

I wince. “I walked her home, but before I could kissher, Birdie interrupted. That seems to be happening a lot. Getting interrupted.”

“Interrupted doing what?”

I turn at the sound of my sister’s voice and wince again.

“Nothing.”

“He’s trying to date Dani, but he’s a single dad, and his kid is always around,” Millie informs her, giving her the bare version of the story.

“Oh, I wanted to talk to you,” Billie says, and then pauses. “Well, now I want to talk to you about a couple of things, but the first is, I want Birdie for the weekend.”

“Convenient,” Millie says with a toothy smile, waggling her eyebrows. “Say you have the weekend off, Bridge.”

“I have the weekend off.” I turn to my sister. “Why do you want my kid?”

“Because I’m less than two weeks from opening my supremely fabulous bookstore, and I want to celebrate with my best girl. I’m going to spoil the shit out of her. Auntie time is important, and I’ve been too busy to take her much. I’ll pick her up from school tomorrow and bring her home on Sunday.”

I blink in surprise, thankful once again that my kid has such an incredible network loving on her. It’s not the first time she’s spent the weekend with Bee—one of the necessities of being a fire chief and a single dad. But then a plan begins to form. “Okay. What was the other thing you wanted to talk about?”

“You’re dating Dani? Our friend Dani? Mybestfriend, Dani Lexington?”

“I don’t know any others.”

Billie frowns and looks down at the coffee that Millie just passed her. “But it’s Dani.”

“Do you have a problem with her?” I cross my arms over my chest, waiting. “Like you just said, she’s one of your best friends, Bee.”

“I know. I love her to pieces, but…I’m surprised, that’s all.”

“Why?”

My sister sighs, side-eyes Millie, and chews on her lip.

“It’s okay,” Millie says. “Say it.”

“She’s just not your usual type. And I say that with all the love in my heart for Dani. She’s the best. But with her past, and—” She blows out a breath. “You know what? Never mind. It’s none of my business.”

“She’s stronger than you give her credit for.” My voice is low but not soft, and Billie winces. “Don’t tell me you think she’s damaged goods or something fucking stupid.”

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