Page 11 of Wildfire (Owl Creek #1)

By the time I return to the firehouse, take care of business, and make it back to Mom’s place, she and Renée are gone.

I find Buzz out back, drinking a beer and looking over the lake.

“Good night for it.”

“Grab a beer and join me.”

I pop the cap off a bottle sitting in a bucket of ice and pull up an Adirondack chair next to Buzz. He doesn’t even wait until I sit down before he starts in on me.

“That’s how many fires this month?”

“Four.”

“All the same profile?”

I watch as the light dances on the surface of the blue-green water, and fish start breaking the surface, catching late afternoon flies.

“This one was an empty house, but still...”

“People are starting to talk.”

I look at him, knowing what he is saying without him saying it.

I have to get ahead of this thing. I need to call in the mayor and the town council.

Losing control could ruin the boat festival and scare away the tourists who had transformed this town from a backwater to a thriving little town.

People’s lives and livelihoods are at stake.

“I’ll call an emergency meeting.”

Buzz turns to look at me with his teddy bear gaze. “You need to be careful. I don’t want some damn fool robbing me of my boy.”

He ruffles my hair like I am still a kid and then turns his gaze back to the water.

“So, where are Mom and Renée?”

“I was wondering how long you could last.”

Damn Buzz. There is nothing this man doesn’t see. That doesn’t mean I can’t have some fun with him.

“I’m just wondering if my new tenant is out causing trouble. You know how mom can get.”

“Ha!” Buzz guffaws. “Your mother is doing you a favor right now.”

“How’s that?”

He turns to me again with a gleam in his eyes.

“She’s introducing her to Frayed Edge.”

“How’s that doing me a favor?”

“Maybe they’ll fall for her as hard as you are and ask her to join them.”

“Wha—? I don’t know what you’re talking about, old man.”

“Son, I haven’t seen that look in your eye since Sadie.”

“And Renée has big dreams, just like Sadie did. I won’t make the mistake of trying to compete with that again.”

“What if you don’t have to?”

I take a swig of my beer and scratch at the scruff growing on my jaw. I’d been so wrapped up in work and Renée I haven’t gotten around to shaving.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“What if she decides this is where she wants to be?”

“Can we not talk about this?” I finish my beer and walk toward the recycling bin. “I’m going to head home and start dinner.”

“Better make it for one. Your mother is working her magic and won’t bring Renée home anytime soon.”

“She’s just a guest, Buzz. Not my girlfriend. Not my wife.”

“Not for long.” He winks at me, and I shake my head in disbelief. But I’d be lying if I don’t admit feeling lonely driving back home, knowing she won’t be there.

When I get home, I call the mayor, Serena Davis. Buzz was right. I need to get ahead of this.

“Davis, it’s Cole. I know it’s dinner time, and I’m sorry for interrupting…”

“I’m just now changing into my running shoes and was going to call you tonight. What’s going on?”

“Well, you’re aware of the fires, but I think something fishy is happening. I think we need to call an emergency town meeting.”

“That’s precisely why I was going to call you. People are starting to talk.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“I can arrange something tomorrow afternoon. Town hall at four o’clock?”

“I’ll be there.”

“Great. And Cole?”

“Yeah?”

“Has your brother mentioned anything?”

“My brother?”

“Cody. Has he had any problems up in the park?”

“None that I’ve heard of. Want me to invite him tomorrow?”

“N—No! Sorry… I didn’t... I just mean, if he hasn’t said anything to you, it’s probably fine. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow, Davis.”

Serena Davis might be the youngest mayor our little town has ever had, but she is damn good at it.

She is a third- generation shop owner by day— she runs the small mercantile down the street from the firehouse.

Being mayor doesn’t pay much, but she treats her second job like it is the most important thing she does. And I respect her for that.

It is still warm out, and I decide to swim before cooking dinner.

One of the things I love most about this place is the lake.

Fifty feet out my back door, and I’m knee-deep in cool mountain-fed water.

The land surrounding the lake is all private, so there isn’t a lot of traffic, and none of it is from motorized boats.

Once a year, there’s a rowboat race during the festival, and other than that, only the lucky few of us who bought land here years ago get to enjoy it.

I’d feel bad if it weren’t for the fact that there’s another, much larger lake just down the road, surrounded by parkland and wide open for the public to use.

I peel off my clothes, slip into my swim trunks and flip-flops, and grab a towel from the linen closet. The sun is still high enough in the sky to warm my skin as I go down to the lake’s edge. I toss my towel on the small dock we built last year and kick off my flip-flops before diving in.

I freestyle all the way to Avery’s family’s dock and rest in the water for a moment before turning back, doing the backstroke.

I didn’t notice my mom’s truck pull into the driveway or Renée climb the stairs to her apartment.

But when I reach my dock and pull myself out, I catch a movement on her balcony out of the corner of my eye and see her standing there watching me with her guitar in her hand.

She startles when I look her way, waves, and then ducks into the apartment before descending and hopping back in my mom’s truck. They both wave and then tear out of the driveway before I can walk over and chat with them.

I head into the house with a shitful grin on my face. I don’t know why, but catching her watching me makes me feel full of myself as I peel off my wet swim trunks to shower quickly.

And “little Chief” agrees. I’m flying full-staff by the time the water warms up, and I have no choice but to take care of things.

Thinking about the first time I saw Renée, with her spidery long legs and the curve of her ass framed by those perfect jean shorts, has me crossing the finish line in no time.

What can I say? It’s been a long time since I’ve been with anyone. But maybe Buzz is right. Perhaps that’s going to change.