Page 43 of Ink and Ashes
Cassidy nods as she moves to the kitchen and pours us each a glass of Pinot Grigio. “She’ll be here soon. They had to finish their mop-up from the fire last night. I invited Jess, Kelsey, Blair, and Sam too. I hope that’s okay.”
I nod, taking a glass from her, but internally I’m screaming. I already know none of the firefighters want me here, and spending time with them for an impromptu girls’ night is anxiety-inducing, to say the least. But I don’t tell Cass that. “That’s fine. Thanks.”
We head into the living room, and I don’t hesitate to make myself comfortable on her couch.
“What did Colson do this time?” Cassidy asks, taking theseat next to me.
“He called me at four-thirty this morning and told me he wanted to hear more about my theory, so I showed up at the station and filled him in on everything Dom and I have found. It still wasn’t enough to convince him of arson, and neither was the note I found on my car afterward.”
Her brows furrow. “What did the note say?”
“To leave before I burn with the town. Colson told me it only said what the rest of the town was thinking.”
Cassidy rears back. “You’re joking.”
I shake my head, and she scoffs.
“What a fucking dick. Believe me, he’ll be hearing an earful from me about this. Goddamn it.”
I shake my head, my lips quirking up at her little outburst. “Honestly Cass, don’t bother. Nothing he says to me now will surprise me. And I’m past the point of caring if he believes me or not.”
“That may be so, but our parents raised him better than that. Regardless of how much he dislikes your presence here, he has no excuse for implying that the whole town thinks you deserve to burn.”
She shakes her head, chugging back the rest of what’s in her glass. She’s angrier about this than I expected, and it’s…reassuring. I’ve never had someone go to bat like this for me before.
“After our conversation the other night, I told Colson he was an idiot for thinking you’re a fraud because you’re using an alias. He told me he would hear you out, and I’d hoped that was all the convincing he needed to give you a shot. The last thing I expected was for him to say something even worse. I’m sorry he still hasn’t pulled his head out of his ass.”
I let out a sigh, shrugging. “It’s not your fault—I appreciate you trying. From now on though, I’m just going to work and do what I can to get to the bottom of this situation, and he’ll just have to deal with it.”
Cassidy nods, but her solemn expression remains, so I shift the subject topic. We get lost in conversation and somehow manage to finish nearly an entire bottle of wine by the time Liv, Sam, and theother three girls show up around seven.
They walk in the front door without knocking, bags of takeout in their arms. The moment they see us, Liv raises her brows.
“Drunk already?” she asks, inferring our current state based on the giggles filling the living room.
“You took too long with the food,” Cass whines, standing from the couch to give them a hand. She’s a bit wobbly on her feet at first, but she catches herself quickly.
“Sorry. Mop-up took longer than expected,” one of the girls fills in. Considering she was out cleaning up at the fire, she must be either Jess or Kelsey, since the other two are paramedics.
“Everything okay?” Cass asks as she takes the food from them while they make their way further into the living room.
“Depends on if you think finding nothing is okay or not,” Liv says before she turns to me. “You must be Holland.”
I send her a small smile. “And you’re Liv.”
She mirrors my smile, but I can tell it’s forced. I’ve seen Liv around the station and have heard about her from Cassidy, but this is our official introduction. I was hesitant when Cass suggested I join them for girls’ night, but she can be very convincing. Makes me wonder how anyone ever manages to say no to her—or if they even do.
So, here I am. Maybe if I’m lucky, I’ll come out of tonight with more friends. Like Colson, three of these girls are firefighters, but they’re clearly also close with Cassidy, so it’s hard to say whose opinion of me theirs is based on.
Selfishly, I’m hoping it’s the latter. I could really use more people from this town on my side. But from the skeptical look on Liv’s face, I’m guessing it’s the former.
Disappointing, but not all that surprising. It’ll no doubt make for an interesting girls’ night, though.
Brushing the feeling of judgement from Liv off, I introduce myself to the other four girls who I’ve had yet to see around town. Jess and Blair shoot the same hesitant looks my way that Liv did, but Sam—Cass’s best friend—and Kelsey are quick to welcome me in with open arms. Sam doesn’t surprise me given how closeshe is to Cass, but Kelsey does. She’s the other firefighter, so I was expecting more reluctance from her. But I accept it nonetheless. I’ll take what I can get.
Once I can safely name each of the women in the room, we move to join Cass in the kitchen. The four of them picked up food from the local diner, Marydale’s, for dinner, and it smells amazing.
“Thanks for getting food,” I tell Liv, an effort to mend the animosity between us. “How much do I owe you?”
