Page 4

FOUR

R idge had broken his leg last night but otherwise would be fine.

Bryce, not so much.

Penny was back.

Was that good or bad? An answer to prayer or a test?

“Dude, what are you doing?” Izan Collins walked out the door of the firehall with his duffel bag.

Bryce fumbled with his truck keys, barely catching them before they fell. “Just trying to decide where to grab some grub.”

Bryce looked over the hood of his truck, still parked outside the firehouse, at the mountains glowing in the early morning light. Too bad he couldn’t find answers there.

But wait. Pastor talked about a verse like that.

I lift up my eyes to the mountains;

Where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord,

The Maker of heaven and earth.

So maybe it wasn’t so crazy that he was staring at the morning sky, looking for answers.

Wouldn’t Penny get a kick out of that? The fact that he went to church, read his Bible now, and even remembered a couple of verses. Maybe this was all part of being a new guy.

Penny was part of his past. So probably best if he just let it go and moved on.

But something inside didn’t want to let it go. It clung to some minuscule, impossible hope. Which was crazy. Maybe he just needed to figure out why she’d left him so he could move on.

“She rattled your cage, didn’t she?” Izan’s question snapped Bryce back into the moment.

“Huh?”

“Penny. You haven’t been the same since she first showed up, back with all that Sosa stuff a couple years ago.”

Bryce blew him off. “Nah, haven’t given her much thought.”

“Right, cuz you’re too busy with all the other ladies, huh?” He dropped his duffel and leaned against Bryce’s truck. “Sure it’s not Penny that had you tossing all night long? I heard they kept her overnight at the hospital. You worried about her?”

No need to tell Izan he’d already found out she was still at Last Chance County Hospital on the second floor. “I had too much caffeine. That’s all.”

“Really?”

“Who are you? My mom?” Bryce opened his door. “I’m fine.”

“So Penny Mitchell showing up is no big deal? You were pretty serious about her two years ago. Never saw you like that with anyone before.”

Bryce shrugged. “That was then. If I’m off my game, it’s probably because of your snoring keeping me awake.”

Izan shook his head and laughed. “I got you. You don’t wanna get serious.”

Bryce’s back snapped straight and rigid. “I’m plenty serious. About a lot of things.”

“Yo, didn’t mean to offend.” Izan raised his hands in surrender fashion.

Bryce released a long breath. Why was he so cranky? “Sorry. I’m just out of it. And hangry.” He flashed a breezy grin to his friend. “I better go find something to eat.”

“You do that.” Izan picked his duffel up once more. “And for the record, I thought you and Penny were a good match back in the day. Ain’t no shame in falling for a good woman. They’re hard to find.” He got into his own car and left.

Izan was right. Bryce had fallen all right. At least back then he’d been completely serious about Penny. Not that anybody ever took him seriously, but he wasn’t nearly as reckless and shallow as people thought. They just never thought to look past the surface. And he made sure they didn’t have a reason to. Better to not set high expectations only to fail.

Bryce climbed into the cab of his truck. Penny being here was…weird. How could it not be? But that was because of the way she’d left. She’d never let him explain. She’d just…gone. And left him with questions. Had she not taken their relationship seriously?

But again, what did he know? Everyone else had their lives figured out. Where did that leave him?

It left him with a sleepless night worrying about whether Penny Mitchell was okay or not. And why she’d come back right now. It was probably best that they both leave everything in the past.

Then again, he could maybe find out with one little visit?—

His ringtone cut through the quiet morning. Bryce didn’t recognize the number, but he answered.

“Am I speaking to Bryce Crawford?”

“This is him.”

“This is Jason Woods. Not sure if you remember me, but we went to school together.”

Jason Woods? When Bryce had played football as a freshman, he’d looked up to Woods and some of his buddies. They’d been skilled players. Seniors. But they’d messed with his friend Iggy, who had a slight limp. After seeing that side of them, Bryce hadn’t had much to do with the group. So why was Woods calling now?

“Yeah, I remember you. What do you need?”

“I work at the governor’s office, and we want your help.”

“Help how?” Bryce started the truck’s engine.

“I’m here prepping for Governor Noble’s visit to Last Chance County. We’re putting together a task force to address this recent spike of arson and explosions happening. Your chief recommended you. Do you have time to swing by city hall?”

Macon had suggested him? A warmth built in Bryce’s chest. Huh. “When would you need me?”

“Now. We need to be on top of this before the governor comes. His wife and son will be here in a few days. He’ll be arriving later.”

Guess that answered his question about going to see Penny at the hospital. “I’ll be right there.”

At city hall, Bryce was ushered into a plush conference room. The long table polished to a high shine took up most of the space. His new brother-in-law, Jude Brooks, looked up from where he sat in one of the cushy chairs. A couple of cops and Allen Frees and Chief James from the fire department were already there.

Quick introductions were made, then the lanky man in the suit took command of the room and asked everyone to sit. It had to be Jason. He’d changed since high school. The once-thick brown hair had thinned significantly. The suit looked expensive, so different from the jeans and letterman jacket he used to wear.

“I’m Jason Woods with the governor’s office. You were all called here today because we have a problem, and we need to get to the bottom of it. Last night’s warehouse fire was the third explosion in this city in the last week. I understand the fire department will do their own arson investigation, but the governor wants extra effort put into collaborating to make sure we deal with this quickly.”

“Sure, we all want it dealt with, but why is the governor getting involved?” Chief James said.

“The big Memorial Day celebration is coming up with Governor Noble and his family to help kick off the event. It wouldn’t look good to have this threat causing problems for their visit. So, work together and get to the bottom of it. Let us know what you need, and we will do our best to expedite anything we can. Working at the capital with the governor myself, I can pull strings to get state resources if needed. Brooks, I’m assuming with the ATF you have access to the federal databases. Whatever it takes, folks.” He waited for nods of acknowledgment before looking directly at Bryce. “Crawford, come with me for a minute.”

Woods straightened his tie and left the room.

Bryce followed him out to the hall.

Woods held out a hand. “I just wanted to put aside whatever past we had and start fresh. I know we weren’t exactly friends back in the day, but I’m hoping for your cooperation.”

Bryce shook his hand. “I guess we all had a little growing up to do since then.”

“A lot has changed. What do you say? Shall we let bygones be bygones?”

“Sure.” Who was he to hold it against the man when it had been over a decade ago? Besides, he wanted to get to the bottom of whatever was going on just as much as the state. This was his hometown, and he wanted to keep it safe. It was a big deal to have this visit from the governor. Posters were plastered everywhere around town about the Governor’s Ball and other activities. His own mother, who had once met Governor Noble and his wife, was on the celebration committee. They’d been planning this for two years.

“Good. Let me know if you need anything.” Woods left, and Bryce walked back into the conference room.

Chief James stood at the end of the table. “So the explosions took place at three locations, all in different parts of town. One was a house out in the boonies. The other an electronics store, and then the warehouse last night. I’m not seeing an obvious connection between all three. Do you guys on the force know anything?”

“That warehouse block has been known to be a hangout for a Puerto Rican gang. It’s possible they used the store too.” Olivia Tazwell, with the police department, swiveled back and forth in her chair.

“But no idea where the house comes into it?” Bryce asked.

She shook her head.

“So far we haven’t had any deaths due to these explosions, but one of my men was injured in the secondary explosion in the warehouse, and a woman almost died. They’re escalating.” The chief leaned over the table. “We need to end this now.”

Allen spoke up. “Can we talk to this woman? Did she see anything? Or is she a suspect?”

Bryce sat up in his chair. “She’s not a suspect.”

Everyone looked at him. Okay, so maybe that came out a little stronger than necessary. Bryce cleared his throat. “She almost died in that fire. She’s a private investigator.”

“Then we need to talk to her and see what she knows. What do you say, Crawford?” Frees asked. “Can you go talk to her?”

Talk to her? A big part of him wanted to. Wanted it badly. But Bryce had seen her last night, and all it had done was bring up a lot of things in him that should’ve stayed buried. Maybe he really wasn’t ready for this. Because now that they were literally handing him the chance to see her, it sounded like a horrible idea. Like sending an alcoholic to a booze convention. He needed more time to shore up his resolve before he could see her.

“Uh, maybe you should talk to her, Jude.” Bryce’s thumb tapped the table.

“Why me?” His brother-in-law looked up from his notepad. “Oh. She must be married. Meaning you can’t flirt, huh?”

“Since when did that stop Fire and Rescue’s playboy?” Olivia grinned from across the table. “More likely she’s too old or something. What’s the matter, Casanova? Not your type?”

Oh, she was very much his type, and that was the problem. One minute with her and he’d probably be falling fast, while she would be counting down the seconds till she could leave. “She’s not married. But Jude knows her best. And I’ll go work with the chief and look at the fire scenes again.”

His job was fire. He’d already established he sucked at relationships. And yes, he was almost desperate to know Penny was okay, but if Jude went, Bryce could satisfy his curiosity about her well-being and avoid a re-emergence of his old self.

“Who is it?” Jude asked.

“Penny.” Bryce straightened up the papers in front of him and shoved them into the file folder someone had passed out. He stood, ready to leave.

“Penny Mitchell?” Jude stopped him. “What is she doing here?”

Bryce lifted his hands. “Thought you would know. She’s investigating something. Isn’t she working with your office again?”

Jude shook his head. “Haven’t heard from her in over a year except to get her regrets that she couldn’t make the wedding. But I’m slammed at work. You always got along great with Penny. Why can’t you talk to her?”

Why? Maybe because just when he’d started to think he’d found “the one,” she’d left him in the dust without a word. Because she’d gotten to him more than any woman ever had. And—fine—he was still sorting through the aftermath of it all. He didn’t have a chance at staying professional with her. And he didn’t want to mess this up. Being on a task force was a big deal. Something to show this town he was serious. He was more than a good-time guy.

“I…just thought since you and Penny worked together and know each other on a professional level, it would be best if you talked to her.”

“I actually took her statement last night.” Police officer Anthony Thomas perked right up. “I wouldn’t mind talking to her again. Getting more details to see if anything would help us.”

Of course he wouldn’t mind. Bryce bit back a growl.

Jude glanced at Bryce, then at the others gathered around the table. “I’ll talk to her.”

Good. That’s what Bryce wanted, after all.

So why did he feel so deflated?