Page 11 of Burning for Alexander
After scurrying to my car, I hopped in and peeled out, not bothering to stop in at the lodge on my way past my family’s largeproperty. Instead, I headed straight home to my apartment over the restaurant and threw myself in bed.
Images of Kincaid’s large presence, his narrowed eyes, and the way his tight body looked in his uniform conspired to keep sleep at bay. Which meant the following day, I wanted to maim anyone who looked at me sideways.
I did a good job holding my tongue and playing happy host to our customers until Chief Fun-Killer walked through the door.
And announced my first “random” fire safety inspection.
4
KINCAID
DrunkenPoet:I was wondering if you ever want to meet IRL…
IndexEcho:Not if, Poet. But when.
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The last thingI wanted to do was see Alexander Marian again so soon. I was still irrationally angry at him for the little sparkler stunt he’d pulled the night before on his family’s land.
The man had a huge, filthy-rich family, and he dared to put their gorgeous Montana property at risk? How ignorant could he be?
I’d already heard about the Marian family from the sheriff and various members of my crew. I knew they were from California and had bought the historic Legacy Inn and all its surrounding property over twenty years ago, that they’d brought in enough money to help turn the town’s future around, and that Hazel Marian’s investment in a tech company here had brought in jobs, too.The influx of all that cash had apparently solidified Legacy’s reputation as a destination worth visiting. Restaurants, art galleries, and the single ski slope were enough to make tourism a significant portion of Legacy’s economy, and it was thanks in large part to the financial stability the Marians had brought.
So why would Alex be so careless? It made no sense.
But then again, when I remembered how careless he’d been with me in Amsterdam, how he’d arranged to come back to my room with me for the night and then taken a better offer the minute my head was turned, it made sense.
At the time, I’d wondered if it had been his youth. The man was clearly still in his twenties, while I was decidedly…not. So when he’d blown me off, I’d chalked it up to immaturity as well as selfishness. And so far, seeing him in his regular life had proved me correct.
When I’d gotten to the station this morning and had seen an alert pop up for a standard inspection due, I’d groaned in disbelief.
Timber.
I’d glared at the alert and clicked through to the details because this wasn’t related to the reports I’d filed after the drinks fire. It was something else completely.
“Hey, Sujo!” I’d barked after seeing the name on the notes.
Within moments, Javi had popped his head through my doorway. “Hey! I’m gonna have the Untrace incident report on your desk in an hour, tops, Chief, I promise?—”
I’d cut him off with a wave. “That’s not what I… wait, what incident?”
“Dumbass left his mug warmer on and lit a folder on fire yesterday.” Javi had rolled his eyes. “No damage, but I gave the guy a lecture. It’ll all be in my report.”
I’d nodded, leaning forward in my chair. “Put that aside for asecond and tell me about this commercial kitchen renovation at Timber.”
Forty minutes later, I’d found myself back at Timber, sparring with Alex Marian yet again.
“It’s already been inspected,” Alex said, looking more tired than angry today. “Don’t you have a record of it? I want to say it was back in April? Had to be. That’s when the renovations were done.”
“The suppression nozzle on the vent hood was supposed to be replaced after that inspection,” I explained. “This is a follow-up to make sure the work was done and everything is functioning properly for fire suppression. While I’m here, I’ll inspect your cleaning logs for the vent hood, test the alarm functionality and the shut-off feature of the wet chemical system, and double-check the location of your extinguishers.”
Alex gave me a blank stare. “Any way you can do that without interfering with the running of my business?”
“Absolutely not,” I said, flashing him a chipper grin. “Today’s Tuesday. Would you rather me come back on Friday or Saturday evening?”
He blinked. “Uh, no? I’d rather you come back never.”
“If wishes were horses… Anyway, I’ll help myself to the kitchen. Feel free to ignore me and continue doing what you were doing. Unless it involves butane, propane, kerosene, alcohol… or an open flame of any kind.”
