Page 6 of When We Burn

“If you spent all day school shopping, you need a beer.” Blake, one of my brothers, passes me a cold bottle, and I flip off the cap and take a pull. Yeah, I could use a drink, and not because of the shopping spree that I took my daughter on today. No, I need it because I just discovered that Dani is also at this pool party.

Which makes sense because it’s being held at a friend’s ranch, Ryan Wild, who Dani is now related to by marriage.

Of course, she’s here. I should have realized that she would be. But I didn’t think of it, and now here I am, sitting with a few of my brothers, Dani’s brother, Holden, and a couple of the Wilds, watching as kids run around, swim, and play while a whole bunch of people drift around.

It’s three families, and yet, it’s chaos.

Because apparently in Bitterroot Valley, no oneknows the meaning of having just a couple of kids and getting on with it. No, we’re overachievers here in this town. Someday, I’d like to have more kids. Maybe not five, though. That’s a lot.

“It actually wasn’t that bad,” I say to Blake. “I ended up getting her more shit than she needs, and we found everything on the supply list the school sent. She’ll be set for a few months at least. Until she has another growth spurt, and I have to replace it all again.”

“It’s good that she’s growing so well,” Blake, the doctor in the family, says. “It means she’s healthy, Bridge.”

“I know. I’m not complaining at all. Hell, I’ll buy her a new wardrobe every week if it means we keep her healthy.”

I glance over to where Birdie is playing with a few other kids just a couple of years older than she is. She’s laughing and running, and it wasn’t that long ago that we didn’t know if she’d be doing something so simple again.

No, I’m absolutely not complaining.

“How are things at the hospital?” I ask him. Blake is a doctor, splitting his time between the family practice clinic and the hospital. I always figured he’d move to a city and start a practice, but he came back to Bitterroot Valley, and I’m glad. He’s a damn valuable asset to this town. I’m close to all of my brothers, but since Blake is only two years older than me, we’ve always been tight, not to mention that, given our career choices, we’re like-minded, too.

“Busy. Always busy.” He sighs and sips his own beer,which tells me that he’s not on call today. And neither am I.

That never happens.

“Any good stories to share?” Brooks, our eldest brother, asks. “Anything particularly fucked up you’ve seen lately?”

Blake laughs and sits back, thinking. “Aside from a guy who almost tore off his face with a garbage can? Not really.”

“That’s disgusting,” I say with a scowl. But I know exactly who that was. I was on that ambulance call.

“Dinner’s ready,” someone calls from the outdoor kitchen area. I get Birdie’s plate made first and situate her with her friends at a little picnic table just for the kids at the side of the patio. She’s thrilled with a hotdog, chips, and some watermelon, and then I go back to fill my own plate and sit back where I was before. I can see Birdie from where I’m sitting and can keep an eye on her.

Not that there aren’t dozens of eyes on all the kids at all times, but I like being able to see her.

I also happen to notice that Dani’s sitting with Charlie, her youngest sister, in one of the lounge chairs by the pool. They’re eating, and Charlie’s obviously talking Dani’s ear off because Dani’s just smiling that beautiful smile as she listens. She’s in a different outfit this evening, some flowy white pants and a matching white button-down top that’s open over a cropped pink tank. One side of the white top falls over a shoulder, showing off golden skin. Her hair is still up, with loose pieces hanging down around her face, and she isn’t wearing any makeup.

She doesn’t fucking need makeup. It’s one of the things I like most about her. She’s naturally beautiful.

It makes sense that she’s not in a bathing suit. Who would want to be near the water after what she was put through? Fuck, it still affects me, remembering that summer when we were kids.

I-I-I forgot to get the eggs this morning, and when he said he was going to hurt me, I said n-n-no.”

I’ve never felt so fucking enraged.What sort of monster could do that to his little girl?

Mentally shaking my head, I take a pull of my beer and turn my attention back to the conversation going on around me.

“Are you guys going to the hootenanny tomorrow?” Beckett asks. “I’ll have a booth set up with milk and stuff for sale. Ice cream, too.”

“Fuck no,” Holden replies, shaking his head. “There are people there. I’ll just come get your ice cream from your house.”

“You’re so social,” Blake says with a chuckle. “It’s for a good cause, you know. Several, actually.”

“I’ll donate money. I don’t have to go there,” Holden replies, his eyes scouting the area for his wife. When he finds her, his shoulders relax.

He married one of my best friends, Millie, months ago. They’re stupidly in love, and it’s mildly nauseating.

“I have to go,” I reply. “I have to man a booth, too.”

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