Page 52 of When We Burn

She springs into action with newfound energy, and less than five minutes later, we’re driving to the school. I should get her there just in time.

This is when being a single father sucks the most. Yes, my daughter has a whole family who loves on her and loves on her well. But she’s my baby girl. Mine to protect. Mine to love. And moments like these are the hardest because I can’t be in two places at once.

I’ve missed the hell out of her this week.

And then there’s Dani. I haven’t seen Dani since I walked her home on Sunday afternoon. God, I’ve missed her. I’ve barely had time to shoot her a text in the mornings, and I know that I owe her a hell of a lot more than that.

I didn’t send one today because I know that I’ll get to see her in person, as long as she’s still outside greeting kids.

Pulling into the parking lot, I see that I’m in luck. Ihelp Birdie out of the truck, and she runs inside, waving at me over her shoulder as I approach Dani.

“Good morning,” I say to her with a smile. God, she’s a sight for sore eyes. She’s in a brown dress that’s cinched at her waist, with brown boots, and I want to pull her to me and kiss her long and hard.

Instead, I have to settle for shoving my hands into my pockets and smiling at her.

And she returns the grin, but I don’t like the guarded look in those baby blues.

“Good morning,” she replies. “I started to get worried when I didn’t get a text this morning.”

She bites her lip and frowns at the ground, as if she didn’t mean to say that, and I decide to fuck the rules and reach over to tuck her hair behind her ear.

“I knew I’d see you in person, and that’s much better. You okay, kitten?”

She smiles up at me now and nods. “Yeah, I’m okay. How are you? I hear things are rough right now.”

“Things are a shit show,” I confirm, not bothering to censor myself since most of the kids seem to be inside. “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to call or see you. But I’ll see you tonight at the back-to-school thing.”

“Right, yeah. I’ll be here.” The bell rings, and she glances back at the school. “I better get in there.”

I fucking hate that I agreed to the no-touching rule at her job because I think we both could use the reassurance of a hug or a kiss, but instead, I just nod. I feel fucking useless.

“Have a good day.”

“You, too.” She smiles, and then she hurries off, and I’m back to feeling frustrated.

I’m not doing a good job with either of my girls this week, and that pisses me the fuck off.

I should go home and sleep for a solid six hours, but I find myself pulling into a parking space in front of Bitterroot Valley Coffee Co. and my sister’s bookstore and cut the engine. The sign in Billie’s new store says that she’ll open on Saturday, and I’m so damn proud of her. I hope I’ll be able to come in that day. I plan to, but if the bastard with a fire kink decides to set something ablaze, I’ll be at work.

Walking into the coffee shop, I’m surprised to see that it’s quiet inside. I guess now that we’re past Labor Day, the tourists are thinning out and we’re headed straight for the shoulder season.

I admit, I love the shoulder season.

“Hey,” Millie says with a big smile as I approach the counter. “Your usual?”

“Yeah, but make it decaf.” She raises an eyebrow. “I’m going to try to go home and sleep.”

She nods and gets to work. “Rough week. Any leads?”

“I can’t talk about it,” I remind her and rub my fingertips into my eyes. No, there aren’t any fucking leads.

And that also pisses me off.

“But I feel like I’ve been isolated from everyone for a few days, and I wanted to stop in to see how you are.”

“I’m great,” she replies with a grin. “Holden and I arefinishing up the rescue barn, and we’re getting our first horses next week.”

“That’s incredible. It’s such a great way to use that land.”

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