Page 11 of Ink and Ashes

Colson

“ M om?” I call out as I walk through the front door of my childhood home, Dom and Liv following close behind me.

“In here,” she calls back from the kitchen. We remove our shoes before making our way deeper inside.

Normally, my family has a weekly dinner together—my mom and dad, Beau and Dom, Cass and usually Sam, Liv, myself, and sometimes Hannah all gather at my parents’ for a good, home-cooked meal.

We didn’t get to have one over the last few weeks because we were busy trying to get the fires under control, but now that they are, we have time for them again.

Knowing my mom, she’ll have whipped up one of her best meals, assuming it’s been a while since any of us ate well. My guess is her famous spaghetti. When I walk into the kitchen to find a loaf of garlic bread and a bag of croutons, I know I’m right.

I head over to where she stands at the kitchen sink, leaning down to press a kiss to her cheek. “Smells delicious.”

“Thank you, baby.” She turns off the tap, drying her hands on a nearby towel. “Hi, Dominic,” she says to the man next to me, pulling him in for a hug.

Through clenched teeth, he smiles. He hates being called Dominic, only tolerating it if it comes from my mom or his. “Hi, Stacy.”

“Livvy,” Mom says with a smile as she greets my cousin, hugging her too. Liv smiles back, wrapping her arms tight around my mom.

Liv Campbell is the daughter of our dad’s sister.

Her dad is the sheriff for the Ember Grove Police Department, and her mom is a primary teacher at the only school in town.

Our families spent a lot of time together when we were little, but as we got older, her parents slowly started distancing themselves more from us when they realized Liv was starting to show an interest in firefighting.

Caldwell women have always been part of EGFD, but Liv’s mom was one of the few that decided against it.

Her husband, Liv’s dad, is super controlling and views firefighting as a “man’s job,” which meant he refused to allow his wife or daughter around us for the better part of a decade.

He has effectively brainwashed Liv’s mom into many things over the years, from attending church every Sunday—my family has never been religious—to having the same beliefs about firefighting, despite the family she grew up in.

My grandfather wasn’t happy about that, and her “decision” to separate herself from the family legacy was the straw that broke the camel’s back. It put a huge strain on their relationship—and, by extension, her relationship with my father, my grandpa’s golden child.

Because of that, I consider us lucky that we had a relationship with Liv at all, though in a town this small it would’ve been hard for them to completely avoid us.

And thankfully, Liv eventually found her way out from under her father’s thumb and has since become one of the best firefighters I’ve ever known.

I can’t help but feel for her, though. She makes herself at home with my parents now, closer to them than she is her own, but I’m sure that sucks sometimes.

Dad is so disappointed in the way his sister has managed to alienate her only child, and I know we all wish that my aunt and uncle could be supportive toward Liv.

We’ve mended some fences since my grandpa died and now at least say hi to them when we see them, but their relationship with Liv is still rocky.

They’re set in their traditional ways, and I don’t see that ever changing.

Mom turns back to me. “Where’s your sister?”

“She’s on her way with Beau and Sam.” I toss a few croutons from the salad into my mouth. “She and Sam had a call run late, and Beau had to finish up some paperwork, so she said they’d ride with him.”

Mom smacks Liv’s hand away from the plate of garlic bread. “Well, they better hurry up before you three eat me out of house and home.”

I roll my eyes, laughing, but take another handful of croutons anyway. “Where’s Dad?”

“Out back. He should be in any minute.”

As if he heard us talking about him, Dad enters the kitchen a moment later.

“Hey, kids,” he says, pulling me in for a hug first, followed by Liv, then Dom.

“Hey, Dad.” I note the sawdust covering his shirt as he heads to the fridge, passing me and Liv each a beer and Dom a Gatorade, knowing he doesn’t drink.

“Working on a new project, Uncle Will?” Liv asks, popping the cap off and taking a sip.

He looks down at himself, chuckling. “Building a new deck, believe it or not.”

Liv and I glance sideways at each other before we both laugh and say, “Not.”

Ever since he retired from firefighting, he has a constant new task on the go.

He completely renovated the main floor of this house the year after he stopped, and the second floor the year after that.

He’s done odd jobs for people around town, but every year since he quit, he’s been saying he wants to build a new deck—the only thing that really needed to be done in this house.

He’s become the king of doing everything except the task that actually needs to be completed .

“I’m serious. Go look.” He gestures to his outfit. “I’m gonna get changed.”

I move toward the back door, shocked to see that the deck actually is being redone.

I laugh to myself. It’s about fucking time.

My parents bought this house right after they got married, when my mom was pregnant with me.

It’s a three-bedroom, three-bath farmhouse-style home with a gorgeous front porch and a high deck that looks out over the large backyard.

It has light-blue siding with dark-grey accents and a dark-grey roof.

The first floor holds a large living room, dining room, one of the bathrooms, and the massive kitchen—the biggest room in this house, per my mom’s request. Heading upstairs, you find another bathroom, two guest bedrooms—which were my and my sister’s rooms growing up—and the master bedroom with a three-piece ensuite bath.

Walking out the sliding glass door to the backyard, you land on the deck. The yard looks out over the Monashee Mountains, and it’s complete with a huge garden and a gazebo with a fire pit.

It’s a perfect family home, and I can’t imagine my parents ever moving.

My dad comes back downstairs at the same time that Cass, Sam, and Beau enter the front door.

“Honey, I’m home,” Cass announces, knowing that a family dinner is never complete without Cassidy Caldwell.

Dad greets them in the foyer, bringing them into the kitchen. Mom pulls them each in for a hug as she finishes setting everything up on the table. Dad grabs three more beers out of the fridge and we all take our seats for dinner.

Where I stayed in Ember Grove my whole life and learned on the job, my sister Cassidy did her EMT training in Kelowna and worked at a larger department down there for a few years before moving back.

She left right after she graduated high school, then moved home about five years ago.

She came back an even bigger know-it-all than she was when she left, and she continues to be our best paramedic .

Then there’s Samantha Robbins, Cassidy’s best friend since kindergarten and current paramedic partner.

They grew up attached at the hip and continue to be completely inseparable.

She followed her to college, they worked at the same station in Kelowna, and then moved back here together.

They’ve been each other’s favourite person since they learned the other’s name, and I doubt that will ever change.

“So, how are things going down at the station?” Dad asks as we eat. “The fires out yet?”

“BCWS has them under control. First one’s still burning, but the second one was put out this morning. We’re heading out tomorrow to check for hotspots.” I lean back in the chair, shaking my head. “Don’t even get me started on the rest, though.”

His brows pull together. “What’s up? Problems with the guys? I thought everyone was getting along with the new guy—what’s his name again?”

“Oliver Sharpe, or Ollie, as we all call him. But it’s not him who’s the problem.” Liv chuckles. “It’s Holllaaand .”

Dom, Beau, Sam, and Cass all burst out laughing.

“Give it a break,” I groan, sick of the constant teasing they’ve been dishing out to me since she started coming around. I mean, sure, Holland’s a gorgeous woman, and in another life, I’d be extremely attracted to her.

But this isn’t another life, and she’s really just a giant pain in my ass.

“Who’s Holland, sweetie?” Mom asks, looking to me.

“She’s a reporter—” Sam starts, but I cut her off.

I take a sip of my beer. “Not a reporter.” Great, now I sound like her . “Investigative journalist.”

“Hmm, she sounds fancy,” Mom says with a smile.

“Oh, she is. And she’s fine as hell,” Cass shares, only adding to my agony.

“Cassidy, language,” Dad scolds, but he’s laughing.

“She’s not wrong. She might be the hottest woman I’ve ever seen,” Beau adds.

Mom and Dad share a glance across the table, collectively humming.

“So, you like this Holland, hm?” Mom asks.

I shake my head. “God, no. She’s been my biggest headache over the past few weeks.”

Dad’s brows pull together. “More so than the fires?”

“More so than the fires.” I pause. “She’s here to investigate them. Thinks there’s more to the story than we’re seeing.”

Dad sits up straighter, his brows tight. “Well, is there?”

“No,” Beau, Liv, and I say at once.

“Maybe,” Cass says at the same time, while Dom stares down at the table.

Everyone is silent as we all direct our attention to her.

“What do you mean maybe ?” I ask my sister.

She shrugs, shifting in her seat while avoiding eye contact with me. “I’ve been talking to her a bit. I met her yesterday at the station, and she seemed like she needed a friend, so I gave her my number. We’re going to meet up for coffee later this week.”

“Cassidy…” I say, disappointment laced in my tone. I may not be able to stop the guys at the station from talking to her, but I thought, at the very least, I could count on my sister to listen.

She rolls her eyes in typical Cassidy Caldwell fashion. “Col, you can’t chase away everyone who has a differing opinion from you. And honestly, the stuff she told me at the station yesterday makes sense. You really should hear her out.”

I grit my teeth together. I’m damn well not going to hear her out, but I’m also not about to curse my sister out at my parents’ dinner table.

“What do you have against her?” Cass asks, sensing my tension.

My brows tighten. “You know what I have against her.”

Cass shakes her head. “We know what you have against the press in general. But not everyone in that field is predatory like the ones who?—”

I cut her off. “I don’t care. She’s sniffing around where she doesn’t belong and it’s only going to get her into trouble.”

“Sweetie, if your sister thinks this Holland woman is onto something, it might be worth listening.”

My shoulders fall. “Cass isn’t a firefighter, Mom.”

“I think me not being a firefighter lets me see things more clearly than you do sometimes,” Cass argues, rolling her lips together.

“Do you know her theory, Cass?” I ask, staring at my sister.

“Not fully, but?—”

“Well, I do.” I shake my head. “She thinks it’s arson.”

The room around me falls silent.

I hadn’t told anyone, not even Beau and Dom, about Holland’s theory.

After she left yesterday, Ethan and Hayden shared that she told them about it, and they both promised to keep quiet.

The last thing we need is for a rumour about arson to start spreading around town.

I’m not sure if she spoke to anyone else when she was at the station—aside from Cassidy, apparently—but I haven’t heard anything, so I’m guessing not.

I was trying to keep her theory under wraps. But considering my sister is jumping at the chance to befriend her when she doesn’t even know what she’s here for, I couldn’t keep it from her.

Cassidy has no clue what she’s talking about—just like Holland Rhodes.

“You didn’t tell me that,” Beau says, his brows furrowed.

I swallow. “I was trying to keep it quiet. We all know she’s wrong, and she’ll figure that out soon enough.”

“Do we, though?” Dom pipes up, and every head in the room turns in his direction. “Know she’s wrong?”

“What are you talking about?”

He shrugs. “This year has been wild. I know FI hasn’t labelled any as being man-made, but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been.

” He shrugs. “I’m not saying I think all the fires are arson—I don’t.

But I do think it’s worth it to consider human interference.

Specifically with these last two, since they’ve been labelled as ‘unknown causes.’”

My jaw tenses and I nod, but I don’t say anything more.

I’m not sure what to say. I never considered the possibility that these fires were more than what Fire Investigation has told us.

They’re the experts on the matter, so why would we?

We’re good at fighting the fires; they’re good at figuring out the cause.

I never thought cause unknown could translate to arsonist , and I’m not sure I want to consider the implications of what might happen if it does.

With that, the conversation topic changes, and chatter picks up again. I’ve stopped listening though, my mind continuing to race with thoughts of the absolute pain in my ass that is Holland Rhodes and the disaster she’s brought with her.

When we all say goodnight an hour later, Dad pulls me aside, out of earshot from everyone else.

“Colson, you know I trust your opinion more than anyone else’s when it comes to firefighting.

If this woman is just getting in your way and causing problems, you do what you must to put a stop to it.

” He pauses, placing a hand on my shoulder.

“But if there’s any part of you that wonders if your sister and Dom’s opinions might be of value in this situation, then you need to hear her out.

Arson suspicions aren’t something to take lightly. ”

“I know, Dad.”

His brows pull tight. “Are you denying her theory because you’re sure it’s just that, or simply because of your resentment toward the press?”

My shoulders tense. I’m not sure how to answer that.

“Think about it, son.”

I jerk my head, say goodbye to him and my mom, then make my way out to my truck.

Fuck .