Page 14 of Wildfire
"Sounds like her."
"Is your whole family like this?"
"Like what?"
"So…I don't know. Kind? Generous?"
"You met my little brother, right?"
"Yeah."
"So we're not all the same. He's a good guy in his heart, but...I think I take after my mom and Buzz more. The twins are…two sides of one challenging coin." He grins with a sparkle in his eye. No matter their relationship, I can see his love for his brothers.
"Is that his real name?"
"Huh?"
"Buzz."
"Don't know."
My mouth falls open. "What do you mean you don't know?"
"I've never seen his driver's license, never heard anyone call him by anything else—just Buzz. And I guess I never thought to ask him. Listen, we better get moving. I've got some things going on at work I need to get a handle on."
I look at his handsome face. He's suddenly serious and seems worried about something.
"Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I just thought maybe I said something wrong."
"No, Wildfire." He squeezes my arm in reassurance, and I notice my body respond with tingles again. "You didn't do anything wrong. Let's get you to work."
We grab my tools from the garage and climb into the truck, driving to Callie and Buzz's place. I am excited to work with her. In my limited experience, there aren't many women carpenters—especially women who build boats.
She is already cutting pieces for the gazebo when we pull down her driveway. I hop out, grab my tools, and wave goodbye to Cole.
"What time should I pick you up?"
"I'll leave my tools here and walk home."
"Okay, what time do you want to eat dinner?"
"I need to go into town and buy groceries, Cole. You can't keep feeding me."
"Whatever you want, but I won't stop feeding you."
He winks and pulls away, and I swear to God, this man might be the nicest person I've ever met.
Four hours later, I realize he's tied for the nicest person I've ever met with his mom.
Even though we work our asses off, we chat the whole time like we're old friends. She tells me stories about all the trouble the twins got in when they were younger, the trouble Caleb still gets in occasionally, and how she and Cole built the house and garage where I'm staying.
And the whole time she talks about her family, the claws that have gripped my gut for years start to release. She's a fierce mama bear wrapped up in a squishy, smiley, gray-haired cuddle package, and I want to climb into her lap and never leave.
Having that thought doesn't even feel like a betrayal to the memory of my own mom. She left me so long ago that I have forgotten what tenderness and the comfort of non-sexual touch feel like.
