Page 138 of When We Burn

“That’s what we keep telling her,” Millie says as she runs her hand down Dani’s arm. “And she wouldn’t come back here with us.”

“Would someone please tell me what happened?”

Dani cries against my shoulder, hard sobs that break my fucking heart.

“I was there,” Blake says. He’s holding Birdie, who looks terrified, and I nod to the house.

“Daddy,” Birdie cries, and almost launches herself into my arms.

“It’s okay, peanut. I’m here.” And even though I’m covered in soot, I won’t stop Birdie from snuggling into my chest. “Let’s go inside.”

“Wait.” Dani lifts her head, pointing behind me. “Don’t you have to put out the fire?”

“I have men for that, kitten. They have it covered. You’re my priority right now. Let’s go inside. I want to know if my girls were ever in that fire.”

“No,” Dani says, shaking her head. “We wereover there for a while after you dropped us off, but Birdie didn’t feel well, so we went home.”

Home.

“I left the lights on and everything over there because she was really bad, and I didn’t want to waste time getting her where she’s comfortable.”

I kiss her head and breathe her in, not caring at all that she smells like smoke. She’s safe, and she’s whole, and that’s all that matters. “Thank you.”

“Dani called me because Birdie really felt unwell,” Blake continues. “So I came to have a look. Cupcake threw up, and that set us in motion of cleaning everything up, including the kiddo.”

“So, we didn’t hear the oven timer go off,” Dani picks up. “I was baking cookies for Birdie and burned the last batch. But when I opened the windows, the smell was way worse than it should have been.”

“I saw the lights,” Birdie chirps and points out the window. “And then we saw the fire, and it was scary.”

“I bet that was scary.” I kiss Birdie on the cheek. “Are you feeling okay, peanut?”

“Yeah. I feel better. I’m not dizzy anymore.”

“You’re breathing okay, with all of that smoke?”

Birdie nods, but I make a mental note to grab the rescue inhaler and keep it on me for a few days, just in case.

“By the time we noticed what was going on, the fire was bad,” Blake says. “I have no idea when it started or who called 911. I didn’t see any signs of anything when I got to your place about an hour before.”

“It’s an old house,” Holden says, his arm around Dani, holding her close. “I’m no fire chief, but it doesn’t surprise me that it went up quickly.”

“You’re right.”

“I swear, I didn’t leave anything else on,” Dani says, shaking her head and turning pleading eyes up to her brother. “Just the lights. I never turned on the oven or a curling iron or even the TV. I don’t know how this could have happened.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Holden says, kissing her on the forehead.

“Mommy’s sad,” Birdie says to me, and we all quiet, turning our heads to her. “Don’t cry, okay? I’m sorry I got sick and we had to go home. Maybe it’s my fault.”

Dani pulls away from her brother and takes Birdie from me, hugging her close.

“This isnotyour fault,” Dani says to her as she kisses her cheek. “Don’t you even think that.”

Birdie takes Dani’s face in her tiny little hands and looks into her eyes. “Don’t cry, Mommy. It’s just an accident.”

“Well, damn,” Millie mutters as Dani starts to cry for all new reasons, and I just pull them both into my arms because I don’t know what else to do. “Might be the sweetest moment ever. I’m such a crier these days.”

Millie sniffles, so Holden wraps his arm around her. Then there’s a knock at the door, and Blake looks grateful to have something to do as he crosses the room to open it.

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