Page 31 of Ink and Ashes

Colson

I wake the next morning in a bed that isn’t mine, and it takes me a minute to remember where I am.

I’m not sure who I surprised more by taking Holland’s suggestion to book a room here—her or myself.

All I know is that I meant it when I told her I wasn’t comfortable leaving her alone.

If me staying here is what it takes to make sure this son of a bitch doesn’t come after her again, I’ll do it as long as I need to.

I roll over in bed to check the time. I don’t remember the last time I slept past six, so I’m shocked when the clock on the side table reads seven forty-eight a.m. If this were a normal day, I’d be running very late for work right now. But for once, I have the day off.

If there’s one upside to everything going on, it’s that knowing when the next big fire will hit has given us some flexibility.

We don’t all need to be at the station every day unless we’re actively fighting fires, so today Beau and Liv are holding down the fort with a few volunteers.

If anything unexpected comes up, I’m only a phone call away .

I throw the covers back and swing my legs over the side of the bed just as my phone dings with an incoming text. I open my group chat with Beau and Dom to find I missed an entire conversation while I was asleep.

It’s Getting Hot in Here

DOM

Col, wya?

I’m at your house and your truck isn’t here

BEAU

Probably finally getting his dick wet

DOM

You know, you’re probably right. I’ll check the inn.

BEAU

Be sure to report back

I roll my eyes, but sure enough, fifteen minutes after that text came through, Dom sent another.

DOM

Confirmed - his truck is in the lot at The Scarlet.

BEAU

Fucking knew it

I flinch knowing Dom saw my truck here. I know he’s still upset with Holland for lying about who she is, and I’m not sure what he’ll think about me jumping to her rescue.

I type a text back to them.

ME

I did stay at the inn last night, but only because Jimmy confirmed her car was tampered with. Get your heads out of the fucking gutter.

And Beau, get back to work.

BEAU

Go boss someone else around, Lieutenant Killjoy ;)

DOM

Hero complex in action

Not a second later, another text from Dom comes through.

DOM

Wait, her car was tampered with?

Beau, you didn’t tell him?

BEAU

Slipped my mind. Sorry, brother.

DOM

Tell me what?

I ponder how to respond for a moment before deciding it’ll be easier to do it in person. Besides, Dom is the one firefighter who has never doubted Holland, and despite his anger toward her, I know he’ll look past it to help get to the bottom of this.

Come by the inn this afternoon. We’ll fill you in.

With a head shake, I shut off my phone and stand from the bed. There are only a few minutes until breakfast, so I dress quickly in a pair of grey sweatpants and a simple black tee. Then I make my way out to the dining room to join Mary and Emmett—and hopefully, Holland—for a meal.

I swing my room door open at the same time the door across the hall opens too, and I’m met with the view of flaming locks.

A pink tinge rushes to Holland’s cheeks as her eyes trail over my body, her bottom lip catching between her teeth.

She’s dressed in a pair of creamy linen shorts with a matching flowy T-shirt, her face dusted with light makeup and her hair pulled back in what looks to be a French braid.

The sun shines in the back window of the house at this time of day, and the yellow glow hits her perfectly. She looks absolutely radiant.

“Morning, Rhodes,” I tell her, my voice still raspy with sleep.

She swallows roughly, her eyes finding mine. “Morning, Lieutenant.”

“How’d you sleep?” I ask, taking a step toward her and letting the door shut behind me.

“Oh, um…” Holland flinches at the click of her door shutting too, glancing back at it before finishing her thought. “Fine. How about you?”

I smirk at the nervous lilt in her tone. She’s been so damn flustered around me in the past twenty-four hours.

“I slept fine too,” I tell her, though it’s a lie.

There’s a reason I slept in almost two hours later than usual, and it’s because I was tossing and turning until nearly three a.m., thoughts of Holland filling my mind.

It was one thing for thoughts of her to keep me up when I was sleeping in my own bed, either at home or the station, but knowing she was right across the hall was pure torture.

All night, I couldn’t stop wondering what she would do if I opened her door and snuck into bed with her.

It’s been a long time since I’ve felt that urge. But damn if Holland hasn’t screwed all of my plans since the moment she arrived.

I know she’s attracted to me—I can see it in her eyes every time she looks at me, just like I’m sure she can see my attraction for her in mine.

But like my hatred toward her has outweighed that attraction for the past month, she’s ignored hers in favour of doing the same.

I don’t blame her—I have been a total ass.

I just can’t help but wonder if, now that I’ve stopped resisting, she will too.

“Good. That’s good.” Holland clears her throat. “We should, um…” she trails off awkwardly, pointing in the direction of the dining room.

I gesture for her to lead the way. “After you.”

The blush in her cheeks returns as she takes a step forward, and I fall into step behind her—shamelessly checking out her ass in those shorts as we walk. I follow her into the dining room, finding Mary and Emmett already seated at the table as we enter.

“Good morning.” Mary’s smile is wide and knowing as her gaze flashes between the two of us. “I trust you both slept well.”

“We did. Thanks, Mary,” I tell her, glancing at Holland as she takes her seat.

She averts her eyes from mine as she loads food onto her plate, but the pink in her cheeks never leaves.

I take the empty seat next to her and do the same, then make small talk with Mary and Emmett as we eat.

The whole time, Holland stays quiet, her attention focused on her meal.

When we finish eating, Holland is the first to excuse herself. Mary and Emmett share a glance before moving to clear the table, so with a quick thank you, I rush after Holland.

I catch her just as she reaches her door, calling her name. She freezes with her hand on the doorknob.

“Is everything okay? You were awfully quiet during breakfast,” I ask as I approach.

She pauses for a beat before spinning around to face me. “I’m fine. I just have a lot on my mind.”

Understandable with what happened yesterday.

“Any word from Jimmy yet?”

She shakes her head. “He said he’d need a few days to determine if it’s even salvageable.”

I nod. Based on the state of it when we got the fire out, I highly doubt it will be. But she doesn’t need my negativity right now, so I don’t say anything.

“Did you need something?” she asks, gently crossing her arms over her chest.

I swallow, trying to think of something to keep her here. I didn’t need anything when I followed her, but now that she’s asking, a thought enters my mind.

“I was hoping we could go over the investigation. I looked at your files, but I’d like to talk it through with you if you don’t mind. You can fill me in on what you know so far and any leads you have.”

“Right, of course.” Holland stands up straighter. “Let me just freshen up and then we can meet in the dining room. Let’s say twenty minutes?”

“See you then.”

With a soft smile, she turns to open the door, disappearing behind it.

Twenty minutes later, I enter the dining room to find Holland already there with information from the investigation covering every inch of the table. There’s a map of our fire jurisdiction laying in the middle, with files and articles surrounding it.

I may have second guessed Holland at every turn so far, but based on the view in front of me, it’s clear she didn’t come to play.

Exhaling deeply, I make my way deeper into the room. Holland has her back to me, distracted by something on her computer when I approach.

“Hey,” I say to her.

She startles slightly before turning around.

“Hey,” she states, returning her attention to her laptop. I take a seat next to her at the table, my eyes flashing over everything laid out in front of me.

The extent of all this is way more than I’d prepared myself for.

Needing a minute before we jump into everything, I glance at Holland. “Dom is going to come by later today.”

Her brows pull together. “Really? He’s been ignoring me all week.”

I chuckle nervously. “That’s my fault. After I read your article last weekend, I was so angry that I impulsively told him you aren’t who you say you are. He doesn’t like being lied to.”

She swallows roughly. “I figured.”

I wince slightly. “I convinced him to come by so we can fill him in on your car. I know he believes your theory, so he’ll get over the lying.”

She rolls her lips together and looks back to her computer with a nod .

When she doesn’t say anything more, I add, “Now that you’ve managed to get me on your side, are you going to share why you’re lying about who you are?”

The question catches her off guard, her cheeks flushing pink again. Fuck if seeing her nervous and flustered doesn’t make me that much more curious about her.

“Cassidy didn’t tell you?”

I shake my head. “I asked, but she refused.”

Holland’s lip quirks up at the side momentarily before she masks it and turns to me again. “It’s…a long story.”

“So give me the CliffsNotes version,” I insist.

She eyes me cautiously. “If I tell you, you have to promise not to go look me up.”

My brows furrow, but I reluctantly agree.

“And I’m not going to tell you my real name.”

I huff a laugh. “Good thing I’m not asking for it,” I say honestly.

As much as I’d love to know, I’m trying to believe that the version of the woman sitting in front of me is all real aside from her name.

I want to give her the benefit of the doubt and believe she’ll tell me the whole story when she’s ready.