Page 105 of Ink and Ashes
I place my now-empty coffee mug in the sink, then rest my hands on the counter, staring out at the mountains. A vision of smoke billowing through them enters my mind, and in the nextbreath, I’m grabbing my keys and heading out to my car.
I can’t sit around here doing nothing any longer.
Once inside, I take off down Colson’s driveway with no specific destination in mind. At this point, I just need something to take my mind off of what today is.
But when I pull up in front of the fire station fifteen minutes later, not a single part of me is surprised that this is where I ended up.
I exit the vehicle, taking a quick glance up and down the street for anything out of the ordinary, then I make my way inside.
The bay is empty when I enter. It’s nearing lunch time, so I’m guessing everyone is up in the kitchen. I begin to make my way up there too when a voice stops me in my tracks.
“Holland?” Colson asks as he pokes his head around one of the fire trucks.
Our eyes connect, and a small smile breaks out on his face, my heart rate accelerating.
“What are you doing here?” he asks, wiping his hands on a rag.
“I, uh…” I roll my lips together, trying to think of an excuse. When I can’t, I admit, “I wanted to see you.”
Colson’s eyes darken at my response. “You just saw me this morning, Red,” he says, taking a step closer to me. The butterflies in my stomach take flight, and I curse my traitorous body for falling weak to him over a simple nickname.
But it works on me every time.
“I know, and I haven’t been able to get you out of my head since you left. I’ve been going crazy waiting for an update, so I decided to go for a drive, and, well…here I am,” I rush out.
Colson huffs a laugh, which prompts me to do the same. “Glad to know this thing between us isn’t all in my head then,” he mutters.
I swallow roughly. It’s definitely not.
“Where is everyone?” I ask.
“Up in the kitchen for lunch.”
“Why aren’t you up there with them?”
He shrugs, taking another step closer. “Not hungry.”
I hum. “No calls yet?”
“No, and no one has left. Dom, Beau, and I have been keeping a close eye, but no one is acting unusual. If the arsonist is someone here, either they’re waiting until after shift to set it, using an incendiary device, or the fire is already burning and just hasn’t been spotted.” He runs a hand through his hair. “Or Joseph Welland really is still alive and has been framing someone here all along.”
I blow out a breath. None of those are good options.
“Have you managed to find anything new since I left this morning?”
I shake my head. “I haven’t been able to focus enough to try.”
Colson grunts. “Feels like we’re never going to catch this guy, Red.”
“I know.”
I don’t bother trying to convince him we will. He’s heard that from me enough times by now, and each day that passes that we don’t makes me sound more and more like a liar. I wish I could tell him everything’s going to be okay, but even I’m beginning to wonder if that’s true.
It feels like we’ve been chasing a ghost.
Maybe we have been.
I stop in my tracks, the thought that I’ve had too many times since I arrived rushing back to the forefront of my brain. Only this time, I let it slip past my lips for Colson to hear.
