Page 3 of One Hot Summer

Honestly when my brother told me that he agreed to let me stay here for a little bit, I didn’t know what to say. Staying withan ex is awkward, especially when only your best friends knows that he is your ex. Our history is filled with firsts together and that’s hard to ignore.

My shoulders relax a fraction. “Still,” I press on, “I appreciate it. More than you know. Especially after everything.”

Carson's gaze flickers over me, concern evident in the slight furrow of his brow. “You've been through hell,” he states. “Least I can do is offer you a safe place to land. No matter what happens, you know I’ll always be here if you need me.”

The sincerity in his words catch me off guard, and I blink back the sudden sting of tears. “Thank you,” I whisper again, not trusting myself to say more.

A ghost of a smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. “Come on,” he says, gesturing towards the door. “Let's get you settled in.”

As I trail behind Carson, my heart races traitorously. His broad shoulders and confident stride stirs something deep within, a feeling I thought I'd long since buried. I flashback to our high school days - stolen kisses behind the bleachers, hushed giggles as we snuck out past curfew, the thrill of keeping our relationship a secret from my overprotective brother. He would have killed both of us if he found out, but we kept it under wraps. Now, here I am, staying at his house, waiting for the insurance company to figure out what is going to happen with my claim since the fire.

The only thing I had left after leaving my abusive ex-husband was my business and my apartment above it, and now I have nothing. Everything is gone. The thing is I still don’t understand how the fire started, but that’s why they pay people to do that.

The only thing I have left to hold onto is my brother. He was nice enough to reach out to Carson to see if I could stay here for a while since he travels so much for work. Plus he just got married and has a newborn baby… and he just thought it would be better. I bet he wouldn’t say that if he knew about our past.

“Watch your step there.”

I stumble over the threshold, my cheeks flushing and he catches me, our faces mere inches apart. I perk up fast, not wanting to make this awkward in the first five minutes. “Guess I'm a bit distracted. It was a long drive.”

He searches my face. “Understandable. You've been through a lot.”

As we enter the living room, sunlight streamed through large windows. “It's beautiful,” I breath, drinking in the details. The floorboards creak comfortingly beneath my feet as I move further into the room.

Carson shrugs, but I catch a hint of pride in his eyes. “It's home.”

I run my fingers along the back of a plush armchair, savoring the soft texture. “You've done an amazing job with the place. It feels so... welcoming.”

Right after that slips out of mouth I realize that his ex-wife probably decorated. Yeah, she did, I can see it in his eyes. I am already screwing this up.

He clears his throat, looking slightly uncomfortable. “Make yourself at home. I'll grab us some coffee.”

As he disappears into the kitchen, I sink into the armchair, my mind reeling. How is it possible that after all these years, Carson still has this effect on me? I close my eyes, willing my heart to slow its frantic beating. This is supposed to be a temporary arrangement, nothing more. But as the comforting sounds and smells of the ranch house surround me, it seems more like a second home even after all these years of being gone.

Carson returns with two steaming mugs. As he hands me mine, our fingers brush, and my mind immediately goes to when those used to run through my hair. We had some good times back then… he was my first love. Hell, technically my first everything.

“Thank you,” I murmur, wrapping my hands around the warm ceramic.

Carson settles into the chair across from me, his piercing blue eyes never leaving my face. “So,” he says, “tell me what happened.”

I swallow hard, the weight of recent events pressing down on me. “Honestly, I’m still not sure. I was downstairs working my store and then the alarm started going off. I went to the staircase to head upstairs and saw smoke and bolted. By the time the fire department got there, it had wiped out the apartment and most of the downstairs.”

“And they haven’t figured out how it started? Did you leave a candle lit? A small heater running?”

“Of course not, honestly I’m dumbfounded. It just doesn’t make any sense.” I don’t say what I’m thinking. It could have been my ex-husband. He tried to contest the divorce, but when I turned in all the documentation I had been taking over our last six months of being married… the bruises, the text messages… he didn’t have a choice.

“Well, I’m just glad it didn’t happen at night. You could have gotten trapped up there. Scares me to death.” Carson leans forward, his expression softening.

“I lost everything,” I whisper, my voice cracking. “My home, my business... it's all gone. I have nothing left for me in the city. My brother is wanting me to use the insurance payout to buy a house here in Lawson Ridge and open my store here.”

His eyes brighten slightly. “Wait? Is that an option? I didn’t even think you would consider that.”

He’s right. I haven’t. My brother is hell bent on wanting me closer to him since he’s starting a family. He thinks the city is a dangerous place especially with my ex-husband roaming around.

“Let’s talk about something. My future right now is up in the air and it’s the only thing I’ve been thinking about the whole drive.”

He rakes his hand through his hair. “Okay, well I saw Mandy at the grocery store last week. Still giving her husband hell. Glad she found someone willing to put up with her.”

I laugh because I know they actually get along. He just likes to give her shit.

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