Page 81 of Burning Justice

Six weeks later

Maria flexed her fingers, finally free of the splint that had immobilized the broken bones until they healed. She walked out of the doctor’s office, into the waiting area.

Kane stood, setting aside the magazine he’d been reading. “How did it go?”

She lifted her hands. “All good.”

Kane said, “I’ll grab the car and pick you up out front.”

“Thanks.” She settled up with the receptionist and then headed outside, checking her phone as she went.

Her father had sent her another voice message, so she tapped the button to play it and listened to him say, “Well, you were right about that oatmeal. It is much better made with milk than with water.” He sounded like he was smiling. “I just wanted to tell you that.”

She tapped the button to reply with her own message. “I just got the all-clear from the doctor about my fingers. The breaks are all healed, and I only need to keep up with physical therapy.”

She didn’t need the steady hands of a surgeon or a professional safe cracker, but it would be good to have her fine-motor control back.

She added, “I think we’re going to the end-of-season party now, so I’ll catch you up on that later. Love you, Dad.”

Maria pushed out of the lobby doors where Kane was already at the curb. She took a second and just marveled that she had her father back in her life and they were working on getting to know each other again. And not only that, but she had Kane.

God had given her everything she’d dreamed of—and so much more.

She slid into the passenger seat.

“Good?”

She nodded. “Let’s go.”

He drove through Copper Mountain to the Midnight Sun Saloon, newly refurbished with all the damage repaired. The hotshots and smokejumpers who’d been able had spent the end of the season working with the Bureau of Land Management teams. They’d been all over, with Kane at the center of it working as a smokejumper.

Maria had been working on some things that could be next steps for her career, since she had to find a new job now. She had been offered a couple of positions—one at Jamie’s company and another working remotely for the organization that employed Crispin.

One was corporate security. The other got her closer to wherever her father was living, in a way.

Kane held her hand, and they walked into the fixed-up bar and grill.

The crowd turned at their entry and a cheer went up.

JoJo came over, laughing. “Don’t get too excited. They’re doing that for everyone.”

Crew came up behind her and slid his arm around her. “Did you decide?”

Maria said, “Did you?”

Kane shifted. “What’s this?”

Maria smiled at him. “Crew wants to work at the jump base over the winter before he tries out for the hotshots next year.”

“And Maria needs to decide if Crispin’s offer is good enough for her.”

Maria shoved Crew’s shoulder, laughing.

Music started up from the jukebox in the corner. She watched Orion tug Tori onto the dance floor, her face still healing. But Tori had told her that she wanted to get back to smokejumping next year.

Vince walked Cadee onto the dance floor as well.

“Those two have come a long way from arguing every minute of every day,” JoJo said. “Like some other people we all know, who turned out to be humans, not just superheroes.”

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