Page 87 of Ink and Ashes
I huff a nervous laugh. “All good things, I hope.”
“At first, I’ll admit you had this one”—she hikes her thumb over her shoulder toward Colson—“crawling up the walls. But more recently, yes. All good things.”
My lips quirk as I glance up at Colson, who’s shaking his head with a smile behind his mom. Then the four of us make our way deeper into the house.
“How are you holding up?” Stacy asks Colson.
Colson shrugs, and she pulls him in for another hug. He doesn’t need to use words for his parents to understand how he’s doing. After all, I think aside from his sister, they’re the two peoplewho know him best.
Conversation flows lightly as we take a seat around the table for dinner. Stacy serves up a massive platter of tacos with all the fixings, and we don’t waste any time digging in. The food is delicious, and hanging out with Colson’s parents is a nice distraction from everything going on.
But even still, I find myself sneaking glances at him all throughout the meal. He’s trying to put on a brave face, but I can tell he’s off. I’ve gotten good at reading his body language over the past few weeks, and Colson is so far from okay right now.
I don’t blame him. I just wish there was a way for me to help him.
But save for finally catching the arsonist, I don’t think anything is going to take the weight off his shoulders. And no matter how many times I tell him wewillcatch this guy, he’s not going to believe me until we actually do.
CHAPTER 31
Colson
Dinner with my parents was a nice distraction from everything that’s happened today, but the minute Holland and I get back into my truck at the end of the night, it all comes rushing back.
I’ve been trying to force myself to believe Holland when she says we’ll find this guy, but I’m questioning more and more whether we ever will. There’s a reason he’s gotten away with it for so long, and I’m not convinced that knowing he exists will be enough to catch him. Especially not now that one of our own has died because of it.
The last thing I want is for more of my team to get hurt, and I worry that if we continue hunting this guy, he’ll target us even more. But I also can’t in good conscience ignore this. Because we know now that it is someone on our team, and if I give up now, I’ll spend every single day questioning all of them.
Firefighting is dangerous enough as it is. Firefighting with a team of people who don’t trust each other is an accident waiting to happen.
Which means I need to suck it up so we can get this done. I justhave to be extra cautious on our calls until we do.
“I’m gonna go take a shower,” I tell Holland once we return to the inn. It’s been a day from hell, and all I want to do right now is wash off the memory of Brian Finnegan’s burned body.
“Okay,” she says. I turn toward the door to my room, but before I can open it, Holland adds, “Colson, wait.”
I turn back to face her at the same time her arms wrap around me. I exhale as she squeezes, then hug her back. She breathes deeply, and I bend down to press a soft kiss on the crown of her head.
“I’ll be right across the hall if you need anything tonight, okay?” she says, tilting her head back to look up at me.
I fix my gaze on her lips, imagining how easy it would be to kiss her. I’ve been thinking about it for weeks, and in my current vulnerable state, I’m not sure I have the will to stop myself.
That is, until her voice pulls my attention back to her eyes. “Okay, Colson?”
I swallow roughly. “Okay.”
With that, she pulls away and disappears behind her door, then I do the same with mine.
Thirty minutes and two extra-strength Tylenols later, I climb into bed. I toss and turn for what feels like an hour, but when I roll over to check the time, only ten minutes have passed.
I can’t stop thinking of Holland, her words from earlier flashing through my mind.I’ll be right across the hall if you need anything, she said, as if she were trying to torture me with the reminder of her proximity. But Holland isn’t cruel like that. I know she was saying it because she cares.
Which is exactly why I decide to take her up on it. Her presence calms me, and I need a bit of that peace now more than ever.
I pull myself out of bed and make my way over to the door, not giving myself a chance to second-guess what I’m doing. The moment I swing my door open, Holland does the same with hers.
Her brows pull together when she sees me. “I couldn’t sleep, so I was just going to come check on you. You okay?”
“Yeah,” I rasp. Now’s my chance. “Yeah, I’m okay.” I clearthe space between us in a rush, and the moment I reach her, I cup her face in my hands and crash my lips to hers.
