Page 7 of Flare (Bearpaw Ridge Firefighters #17)

“ So, I got this great job as an executive assistant to the CEO at Brunborn Holdings,” she began. “ It was a pretty big promotion and salary increase for me.”

Maggie nodded, but said nothing.

“ They ’ re an up-and-coming real estate development company. My boss was so sweet at first,” Emily continued, keeping her voice low. “ We started dating. We fell in love… or at least I thought we did. But then, after we got engaged and Mom died—”

“ Your mom died? Oh my God, Em, I ’ m so sorry,” Maggie interrupted.

“ Thanks. It happened last November, just before Thanksgiving.” It was still hard for Emily to talk about it.

But Maggie had known Mom and deserved to hear what had happened.

“ She ’ d been fighting lung cancer for a couple of years, and the cancer won in the end.

Andrew proposed just before she passed away.

She was so happy, because she thought he ’ d take care of me. ”

Maggie frowned. “ But that ’ s not what happened?”

“ As soon as we were engaged, Andrew started getting very, uh, controlling. And then there was his family…” Emily shuddered.

“ They hated my guts, and I don ’ t know why.

I ’ m sure his grandma Katherine thought I was a gold-digger taking advantage of her precious grandson.

And then… things got weird.” Her throat tightened.

It was hard to get the next words out. “ We got into a big argument this afternoon after I found out he was involved in illegal stuff, and—and—he scared me, Mags. I thought he was going to do something bad to me.”

Maggie ’ s frown deepened. She inhaled deeply through her nose. “ Wait… you were working at Brunborn Holdings? You ’ re ma—I mean, engaged to Andrew Brunborn?”

Emily stared at her friend in shock. “ You know him?”

Maggie snorted. “ Yeah, sort of. I went out on a date with him once, a few years ago.” Her mouth twisted into a wry smile. “ Would you believe that ’ s how I met Cade?”

“ You dated Andrew? ” Emily asked in disbelief. Just when I thought things couldn ’ t get any weirder today…

“ Don ’ t hold it against me,” Maggie said.

“ We matched on an online dating site. Turns out I wasn ’ t his type.

But he thought I owed him sex because he ’ d driven all the way from Spokane to meet me.

And he wouldn ’ t take ‘ no ’ for an answer.

” She grimaced. “ What an asshole. Cade came to my rescue, and we, uh, got together after that.”

“ You figured Andrew out way faster than I did,” Emily said bitterly.

“ It took me eighteen months. I should ’ ve left sooner.

But he seemed so perfect in the beginning that when things got bad, I kept telling myself that I could fix things if I just tried a little harder and made myself a lot smaller. ”

“ Hey.” Maggie reached across the table, covering Emily ’ s hand with her own. “ You ’ re here now. You ’ re safe. That ’ s the only thing that matters.” She paused. “Do you, um, think he ’ ll try to come after you?”

She looked oddly tense. Emily felt a sick jolt of panic. What have I done?

“ He told me he ’ d find me wherever I went! I ’ m so sorry, Mags. I don ’ t want to make trouble—”

Maggie reached over and put her arm around Emily ’ s shoulders. “ You ’ re not responsible for anything Andrew-fucking-Brunborn does. It ’ s just… well, our family trespassed him from the ranch after my dating debacle. I need to let Grandma Elle know he might turn up here.”

She unplugged her phone from the charging station at the end of the island and added, “ I ’ ll be back in a minute.”

Feeling guilty about the trouble she was making for the Swanson family, Emily watched as her friend left the kitchen and walked across the entry hall to what looked like a home office, and closed the door behind her.

When Maggie emerged a few minutes later, she announced, “ Grandma Elle wants to see you.”

“ Right now?” Emily asked. A fresh dose of anxiety fizzed in her gut. It was nearly 11:00 p.m., and she knew ranch families woke up well before dawn. “ Is she really mad that I showed up here?”

Maggie shook her head. “ Of course not! She ’ s just really concerned about Andrew. And she wants to offer you sanctuary. It ’ s, uh, this special thing our family does when one of our friends is in trouble.”

I ’ m still considered a friend of the family, even after all this time? The thought warmed Emily and helped calm her nerves.

∞∞∞

Elle Swanson ’ s living room in the big yellow Victorian ranch house still looked like something out of a period drama—gleaming wood floors, a huge Persian carpet, a wide antique horsehair sofa, and rosebud wallpaper covered with framed family photos dating back to the 1800s.

Mrs. Swanson also looked unchanged from the last time Emily had seen her. Maggie ’ s grandmother still had short, light brown hair heavily highlighted with blonde, and the same warm smile. Tonight, she was dressed in a long fluffy robe over an ankle-length nightgown, with matching fluffy slippers.

To Emily ’ s surprise, Maggie ’ s dad, Dane, was there, too.

He was a big guy who was built like a football linebacker.

The smile lines around his mouth and radiating out from the corners of his hazel eyes were maybe a little deeper, and his dark brown hair had a few silver strands these days, but like Mrs. Swanson, he looked like he had aged little since Emily left Bearpaw Ridge.

He also had a mild case of bedhead, though he was dressed in worn jeans and a flannel shirt instead of pajamas.

Emily felt bad about getting them both out of bed this late in the evening. Especially when both of them reacted with visible surprise when she greeted them.

She ’ d just seated herself in an armchair when Mrs. Swanson ’ s husband—and Emily ’ s former boss from Wildcat Springs BBQ—Justin Long, entered the living room. He held a tray holding five steaming mugs of hot cocoa.

Like his wife, the lean, silver-haired Texan with his weathered, deeply tanned face and bright aquamarine eyes looked unchanged from the last time Emily had seen him.

“ Emily, you ’ re a sight for sore eyes,” he greeted her, handing her a mug. “ Maggie told us on the phone about what happened to your mama. My sincere condolences, darlin ’ . She was a lady with a mighty big heart.”

After he finished serving Maggie and her dad, he took the last mug and seated himself at his wife ’ s side.

Mrs. Swanson nodded. “ I ’ m so very sorry for your loss, Emily. I remember your mom from PTA meetings and church, and she was always so thoughtful and eager to help when she saw anyone in need.”

“ Thank you,” Emily said, touched by their sympathy. “ It—it doesn ’ t feel real yet, you know? Like, the phone rings, and I keep expecting her name to pop up on the Caller ID.”

“ After my first husband died, it took at least a year before I stopped rushing to the door every time I heard someone drive up to the house,” Mrs. Swanson said, her expression filled with sympathy.

“ Same here,” Justin added. “ My first wife died in a plane crash while on a business trip. It took a while before I stopped hopin’ for that phone call telling me it was all some horrible mistake and she was actually on her way home to Cassie and me.”

“ Does it ever get better?” Emily asked, feeling a renewed wave of grief roll over her.

Mrs. Swanson and Justin exchanged looks. “ Not gonna lie to you, darlin ’ ,” Justin said. “ It never completely goes away. It just gets a little less intense with every year that passes.”

Mrs. Swanson nodded.

“ Oh.” Emily stared down at the floating marshmallows slowly dissolving into her cocoa.

“ So, tell me about what happened with Andrew Brunborn and his family,” Mrs. Swanson commanded after a moment. “ Maggie told me he was your boss. And you were also engaged to him?”

She leaned forward, elbows on her fuzzy-robed knees, her brown eyes suddenly piercing. Maggie ’ s dad also straightened in his armchair, apparently on high alert.

What do they know about Andrew?

She wondered if Maggie had downplayed his past behavior when they talked earlier.

Emily took a deep breath. “ It all started going wrong after Andrew brought me to his family ’ s Christmas dinner, and introduced me as his fiancée…” she began.

She told them everything that had happened in the past couple of days… except the part about Andrew ’ s strange transformation.

The more time passed, the less Emily was convinced it had just been a hallucination. Because if the shapeshifting wasn ’ t real, then none of the other things had happened, either.

And the contents of her cloud drive said otherwise.

But she didn ’ t want Maggie ’ s family to think she was crazy, either.

Mrs. Swanson, Justin, Dane, and Maggie all listened intently as Emily talked.

When Emily finished her story, she waited tensely for their reactions. Would Maggie ’ s dad and grandmother think Emily was bringing trouble to their ranch?

“ The Brunborns have been a problem for years now,” Mrs. Swanson said, her normally warm voice flat and cold.

She suddenly looked… scary . “ We know they ’ re criminals, but no one ’ s been able to actually prove anything.

But this —” She shook her head. “ Gage and his boss will want to see those files.”

Emily wondered if she was talking about Gage Tringstad. He ’ d been the town ’ s resident Fish and Game warden back in her high school days.

Before she could ask, Dane spoke. “ If Andrew called Emily his mate, then he won ’ t let her go this easily,” he rumbled. “ Now that we ’ ve all, uh, seen Emily, we know what we ’ re dealing with.”

He wore a concerned frown. Mrs. Swanson, Justin, and Maggie all nodded.

Mate . What does that word really mean? It sure seemed to hold some special significance to the people in this room.

“ Assuming Andrew is actually stupid enough to trespass on our land.” Mrs. Swanson ’ s tone was icy enough to raise goosebumps on Emily ’ s arms.

“ I ’ m so sorry for dragging you all into this!” Emily said, overwhelmed with guilt. “ But I didn ’ t know where else to go.”

“ You came to exactly the right place,” Mrs. Swanson said firmly. “ We can protect you from the Brunborns.”

Dane nodded. So did Maggie and Justin. Justin shot Emily a reassuring wink that seemed to say, It ’ s not as bad as you think.

“ So, you ’ ll give Emily sanctuary, Gran?” Maggie asked.

Mrs. Swanson smiled reassuringly at Emily. “ That was never in question, Maggie. We Swansons protect our own.”

Sudden tears of gratitude stung Emily ’ s eyes, blurring everything. “ But I ’ m not a Swanson—” she began.

“ You are now,” Mrs. Swanson said, in a voice that brooked no contradiction.

“ I ’ m so glad you came to us, Emily. Maggie told me on the phone she had offered you one of our guest cabins.

You ’ re welcome to stay here as long as you want.

And we ’ ll notify the authorities in the morning. You remember Mary Jacobsen, right?”

Emily nodded. It had been big news in town when Sheriff Bill Jacobsen retired and his niece was promoted to his old job.

“ So, you know you can trust her. She and Gage will want to talk to you about those files you found on Andrew ’ s PC.” Mrs. Swanson rose to her feet. “ But all that can wait until you ’ ve gotten some rest. You look exhausted, sweetie.”

Maggie ’ s dad got to his feet, too. The interview was over. Mrs. Swanson opened her arms for a hug.

“ Thank you so much for everything, Mrs. Swanson,” Emily breathed, burying her face in warm, fuzzy fabric. “ I didn ’ t know where else to go.”

“ I ’ m glad you came here. And please call me Elle. Everyone else does.” Elle drew back and smiled. “ Come have dinner with us on Sunday. The whole family will be there. I ’ m sure you ’ ll see some familiar faces.”

Behind her, Emily saw Maggie suddenly frown, as if remembering something. Then, her troubled expression vanished, replaced by a determined smile.

“ C ’ mon, let ’ s get you settled in your new home,” she said. “ Our guest cabins have kitchens, so you ’ ll probably want to drive into town tomorrow and pick up groceries and anything else you need.”