Page 19 of Flare (Bearpaw Ridge Firefighters #17)
Under His Roof
She ’ s going to let me protect her!
On the drive to town, Ward vacillated between happiness at the thought of Emily under his roof, and anger at that SOB Andrew.
He glanced in his rearview mirror and saw Emily ’ s Subaru still following close behind his pickup.
Before leaving the ranch, he ’ d phoned Pizza on Main and put in an order for an extra-large sausage, mushroom, and olive pizza and an antipasto salad to share.
When he turned off the highway and drove down Main Street, he saw that Maggie and the other members of the festival committee had been hard at work, setting up for tomorrow ’ s Lavender & Lilacs Festival.
Rows of white pop-up tents now lined both sides of Main Street from end to end, their tables still bare but ready for tomorrow morning ’ s vendor set-up. Swags of silk lilac blossoms in white, pink, and various shades of purple wound up the lampposts, and dried lavender garlands hung on the tents.
Signs promised honey, jams, handmade soaps, pastries, chocolates, candies, and local crafts.
Strands of fairy lights zigzagged overhead, waiting to cast a soft glow over the festival once the sun dipped behind the mountains tomorrow evening.
There would be live music throughout the day, and dancing after dark.
When he reached the end of Main Street, he pulled over to the curb in front of the pizza place, which was the last business before the street ended and the road became a bridge over the river. Emily parked right behind him.
Ward didn ’ t miss how her gaze darted around as she got out of her car, clearly looking for danger.
“ Andrew wouldn ’ t dare show his face in public like this, not after what he did,” he assured her, though he wasn ’ t completely sure what a shifter crazed by mate-separation might do.
No matter, he ’ d have to go through Ward first.
They walked into the pizza place together. It was crowded, as it always was on a Friday night, and he exchanged hellos with the people he knew.
Emily stuck close as he went to the counter to pick up the pizza and salad boxes already waiting there for them. He couldn ’ t resist slinging an arm around her shoulders, and was thrilled to feel her arm slip around his waist in return.
“ My place is just around the corner,” he assured her. “ It ’ s, uh, a work in progress, but the roof doesn ’ t leak and you ’ ll have a bed to sleep in.”
Emily turned toward him, her blue eyes serious. “ I ’ m sure it ’ ll be great. Thank you again for inviting me. I know Maggie and your grandmother mean well, but I just couldn ’ t …”
Her haunted expression made his chest tighten. “ I won ’ t let anything happen to you.”
∞∞∞
“ Here we are,” he said a few minutes later, after they ’ d both pulled into the long driveway that led from the street to the old detached garage-turned-workshop in his backyard. “ Home sweet home.”
Before they left the pizza place, Ward had suggested Emily pull in first. He parked behind her to block the sight of her car from passers-by.
As Emily climbed out of her car, Ward looked at his 1920s house with an internal wince, noting the weathered blue paint he ’ d been meaning to refresh, the half-finished front porch railing, the stack of reclaimed barn wood beneath a plastic tarp, and the sheets of plastic-wrapped plywood boards leaning against the garage that he was planning to use for new kitchen cabinets.
His home wasn ’ t just a work in progress. It looked like a fucking disaster zone, if he was going to be honest with himself. He braced himself for Emily ’ s disappointment.
Instead, she exclaimed, “ It ’ s so cute!” And Ward could hear the genuine appreciation in her voice. “ I just love old houses. They have so much character.”
“ And so many things that need fixing,” Ward replied, relieved she hadn ’ t hated his place at first sight.
“ My grammy used to say, ‘ The shoemaker ’ s children go barefoot,’” Emily said. “ I bet you spend most of your time fixing up other people ’ s homes.”
“ True. Because I ’ m a sucker for a paycheck,” he joked. He went over to the back of her car and lifted the hatch.
“ You don ’ t have to do that,” Emily protested as he pulled out her suitcases and bags.
She touched his arm. The momentary contact sent a jolt through his system. His bear radiated pleasure at her proximity. Kiss her again!
Ward sternly reminded it that Emily had just escaped one possessive shifter. The last thing she needed was another one making demands of her. Behave .
“ I don ’ t mind,” he said truthfully, starting towards the house. “ If you want to grab that box of books, I ’ ll show you to your room.”
He led the way up the flagstone path to the front porch.
“ Careful,” he warned. “ The second step has a case of dry rot. Been meaning to replace it for a while now.”
Emily navigated the uneven step carefully, and Ward unlocked the front door, pushing it open and reaching inside to flip on the lights. He stepped back to let Emily enter first, suddenly acutely aware of every unfinished project visible from the entryway.
The living room had a comfortable leather sofa and armchair in front of a tiled fireplace with original mantel, but the bookshelves built into the wall were only partially stained, and he ’ d installed crown molding on two walls but not yet on the third and fourth.
A drop cloth covered half the floor where he ’ d been patching and repainting the plaster wall. And his firefighter turnouts hung from an aluminum ladder next to the fireplace.
“ Sorry about the mess,” Ward said. “ I wasn ’ t exactly expecting company.”
Emily stepped fully into the living room, her gaze moving over the exposed beams of the ceiling, the scratched and worn hardwood floors, and the newly renovated bay window with its unfinished trim.
“ It ’ s beautiful,” she said. “ And it ’ s going to be amazing when it ’ s done.”
Warmth bloomed in Ward ’ s chest at her words. Not pity or polite dismissal, but genuine understanding. “ Thank you,” he said, suddenly feeling shy. “ This place has been a labor of love for the last two years. I work on it whenever I ’ m between jobs.”
“ This is gorgeous,” Emily said, running her hand along the edge of the built-in bookshelf. “ Is this original or did you make it?”
Ward grinned. “ I made it, but as a replacement for a built-in that used to be here,” he said.
“ Someone ‘ updated ’ this place at some point and removed all the original cabinetry. And the most recent owner let the place go pretty badly when she got old. When she passed away, her kids sold it to me for a steep discount because it needed everything —new roof, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, foundation repairs…”
He ’ d spent nearly every penny he ’ d earned over the past two years just on infrastructure while aching to tackle the projects that called to him—restoring the trim around the windows and doorways, building custom cabinets for the kitchen, refinishing the worn oak floors, and everything else that would make this house beautiful again.
“ You ’ re breathing life back into it,” Emily observed, and the simple truth of her words struck him.
Ward cleared his throat, suddenly finding it difficult to speak past a lump of emotion. “ Let me show you to the guest room,” he said. “ It ’ s one of the few completely finished spaces, actually.”
He led her down the short hallway.
“ Bathroom ’ s there on the left,” Ward explained, pointing at a door. “ My room ’ s at the end of the hall, and this—” he pushed open the nearest door “—is my guest room.”
It was small but airy, with a window that looked out over the backyard.
He ’ d painted the walls a soft sage green, and furnished the room with a queen-sized bed with a carved headboard, an antique oak dresser, and an old armoire.
A handmade quilt in shades of blue and green covered the bed, and a simple armchair he ’ d made from reclaimed wood sat in the corner.
“ This is nice,” Emily said, stepping inside and putting her box of books on the chair. “ Did you make the furniture too?”
Ward set down her suitcases and duffel and nodded, feeling an unexpected flush of pride. “ Some of it. The bed and chair.”
“ They ’ re beautiful.” A small smile touched Emily ’ s lips at that, but it faded quickly, replaced by a drawn look of exhaustion. The sight of it reignited Ward ’ s protective instincts.
“ Let me get you some fresh towels, and then I ’ ll fetch the pizza from my truck.”
He returned with an armful of thick cotton towels to find Emily sitting on the edge of the bed, her shoulders slumped. She looked up as he entered, and the vulnerability in her expression made his bear rumble with the need to comfort and protect.
“ Here you go,” Ward said gently, setting the towels on the bed. “ Ready to eat?”
∞∞∞
The pizza was delicious, as usual, but Emily only picked at her food.
“ Should I have ordered a different pizza?” Ward asked, concerned.
Emily shook her head. “ No, this is perfect. I ’ m just not hungry. It ’ s been… a day , Ward.” She sighed. “ I think I ’ m just going to turn in, if that ’ s okay. I have an early start tomorrow. I promised Maggie I ’ d help her set up the Cinnamon + Sugar booth and work as her cashier.”
He stared at her in disbelief. “ You ’ re actually going to work at the festival tomorrow? After everything that ’ s happened?”
“ I promised ,” Emily said. “ Besides, with Maggie there, and a bunch of other people around, I don ’ t think Andrew would try anything. He, uh, hates looking bad in front of… anyone who isn ’ t me , I guess.”
That asshole , Ward thought. “ Violet ’ s going to be there, too?”
Violet Tringstad was a wolf shifter and a member of the Jacobsen Pack. She ’ d been working at Cinnamon + Sugar for several years now.
Emily gave a short huff of laughter. “ Don ’ t tell me she ’ s a shifter, too!”
Ward hesitated. “ We ’ re not supposed to out each other to Ordinary humans, but I don ’ t think she ’ ll mind you knowing, since you ’ re already in on Maggie ’ s secret. She ’ s a wolf shifter, like Malia.”
“ That makes me feel better. Thank you,” she said again, her gaze meeting his briefly before dropping away. “ For everything. I don ’ t know what I would have done if—”
“ Hey,” Ward interrupted gently, “ don ’ t worry about that jerk. You ’ re safe here, Emily. I promise.”
Her smile made the prospect of a sleepless night ahead worthwhile. “ Goodnight, Ward. You ’ re the best.”
“ Goodnight, Emily. Sleep well.”
Ward rose from the table after she left the dining room. He packed up the half-eaten pizza and salad and took them into the kitchen while listening to the soft sounds of Emily brushing her teeth and moving around the guest room.
Like most of the other rooms in his house, his kitchen was a work in progress.
He had a new dishwasher and refrigerator but only half the custom cabinets installed.
A rolling wire-shelf rack along one wall held pots and pans, stacks of clean dishes, and small appliances.
His coffee maker and toaster sat on a temporary plywood countertop.
Ward went to the coffeemaker and set it up to brew an extra-strong pot. He didn ’ t plan on sleeping tonight—not with Andrew Brunborn somewhere out there, angry as hell and searching for his runaway mate.
As the coffee brewed, Ward leaned against the counter, the events of the evening replaying in his mind.
How dare Andrew threaten Emily? And worse, do so on Swanson territory, where she should have been safe! His inner bear had been outraged at the violation, and at the fear he ’ d seen in Emily ’ s eyes.
Ward wished he ’ d caught Andrew in the act.
Instead, all he could do now was stand guard over her, protecting her from the shifter who should have loved and cherished her above all others.
When the coffee machine chirped at him, he poured himself a mug of the steaming brew and carried it to the living room, settling into the armchair with a clear view of both the front door and the windows to the backyard.
His bear was restless beneath his skin, wanting to patrol the perimeter for threats. Ward took a deep breath, reminding himself that shifting now would only frighten Emily if she left her bedroom.
Ward hoped she ’ d get some rest before tomorrow.
Under different circumstances, the festival might have been the perfect backdrop for their second date.
Now, he ’ d be spending the day worrying about Emily, even with Maggie and Violet there to watch out for her.