Page 21 of Wildfire
"So you met the way Cole and I met?"
Buzz and Callie look at each other mischievously.
"Sure did." She pipes up.
"Huh. Maybe that stretch of road is cursed."
"Blessed is more like it." Buzz wraps his arm around Callie's shoulder and presses a kiss on her head. "Those four were the best thing to ever happen to me."
"But it took a while for the town to warm up to me. Things were different then, and Buzz wasn't exactly an eligible bachelor. People thought I stole him from—"
"You did no such thing. I'd already made my intentions to part ways known. You were just the town scapegoat."
"You were dating someone else?"
"The mayor's daughter. And he didn't like that Buzz chose me, a woman with three children, instead of her."
"But I didn't. I had already ended it the day before. However, she decided to paint another picture to make herself a victim. Wanted pity, I guess."
"What happened to her? The mayor's daughter?"
"Married the owner of the hardware store instead."
"So she's still here?"
"Yup, she's got a lovely family of her own—something I couldn't have given her, so in the end, it was just water under the bridge."
"You couldn't give her a family?"
"Had testicular cancer as a young man. Made me infertile. I never would have been graced with a family if Callie hadn't come along."
I can't believe how forthcoming he is. My family is so guarded. Even my father, whose care I was in charge of, kept things from me. Especially how much he was drinking.
"That's quite a story. Thanks for trusting me."
They exchange looks again, and then Callie stands up to clear the plates.
"Please, let me get it." I shoot my hands out to clean up before Buzz stands up and lets out a friendly growl.
"You two have work to do. I'm clearing lunch."
Callie winks at me and waves so I can follow her back down to the garage. We settle into a companionable silence as we work. After several minutes, she pipes up.
"What are you running from, Renée?"
I choke on my breath and steal a glance at her. She's eyeing me, and I suddenly feel the temperature in the room change.
"I know a runner when I see one. I was running, too."
"What did Cole tell you?"
"Nothing. He doesn't have to say anything. I can tell by the way you hold your body. It seems to me you're protecting yourself from something. You're safe here."
"It's not… it's not like that. Nobody was hurting me."
"But youarerunning."
"I'm runningtowards, notaway."
