Page 13 of Wildfire (Owl Creek #1)

I toss and turn all night. Everything about Renée drives me wild, and I don't want to think that way about her since I know she is leaving. But I also wonder if Buzz might be right. She might stay if she can play with the band. I mean, what if that's enough for her?

What if I'm enough for her?

I get up at half past one and go for another swim to exhaust my mind.

There is nothing like exercise to unwind the brain.

The moon is high in the sky and almost full.

It's glowing on the water's surface, making it look like glass.

Except for one spot about twenty feet out, I see something bobbing, breaking the surface.

It might be a piece of wood or the beaver my mother always complains about.

But as I draw closer, I see it's a person.

It's Renée.

"Can't sleep?"

Her head spins around as she paddles in place. A wide grin stretches across her face, which warms me in several key places.

"No, you?"

"Same."

"Well, get in then."

She swims toward the dock where I'm standing in my swim trunks, desire twisting me up in knots. I kick off my flip-flops and dive in, letting my body glide through the water like a dolphin.

When I pop my head up, I see her watching me, but this time, the grin is replaced with an intense gaze as she bites her bottom lip.

My eyes lock on her lips as we churn water, keeping a few feet between us.

I'm grateful the water isn't more transparent, or she might see that despite the cool temperature, I am sporting big wood.

"What's got you up so late, Chief?"

"Work."

Only a tiny lie.

"You?"

"Music." I see her eyes dart away momentarily, and I wonder if that is a 'tell' when she is being dishonest.

Maybe we both have something to hide.

"Want to swim to the other side? It always helps me deal with insomnia. At least in the summer. I couldn't do this year round."

"Sure. But I'll have you know, I'm the fastest swimmer in my family. I had to be, or my brothers would dunk me in the lake."

"I wouldn't dream of dunking you. Let's go."

Swimming is going to have to settle my mind, even though she is only a few feet away.

We lap the lake twice before hopping out and resting on the dock. That is when I see her in a cropped tank and underwear. Despite the unseasonably warm weather, it is chilly enough outside that her nipples immediately perk up, and all the headway I've made clearing my mind during the swim is lost.

I'm already a goner for her.

She doesn't seem shy about her body the way many other women are, and it's unnerving. There is something raw about her sitting there, legs draped over the edge, water dripping down her bare belly. I have to wrap myself in my towel to cover the boner that is forming again.

"Toss me my towel, Chief?"

I throw it at her and pretend to find something interesting in the other direction. Not only do I not want to see Renée towel off, but I am hiding. Little Chief is standing in full salute.

"I think I'm going to head in. Got a long day tomorrow."

"You mean today?"

"Yeah. Today. Goodnight, Wildfire."

"Night, Chief."

My legs can't carry me fast enough into the shower to rinse and whack off.

This woman.

In the afternoon, I meet Serena and the other two council members, Mr. Price and Mrs. Baker.

Two retired people with nothing better to do with their time than sit on the council.

I am grateful for their work over the years, but they can be exhausting.

Serena provides the much-needed balance to the three-person council.

"Thank you for meeting me, everyone. As you know, several fires have occurred in and around Owl Creek. At first, I thought it was just a careless driver tossing a cigarette—"

"Who's behind this, Chief?" Mr. Price interrupted as always.

"I'm not sure. But as you rightly suspect, I believe these are intentional."

"Do you have proof? Can we take something to the Sheriff?"

"I haven't gotten them involved yet—"

"Why not? If you are suspicious, we must stop this now, or the festival will be ruined, and who knows what else."

"I assure you, Mr. Price, I am trying to get to the bottom of things."

"But you haven't talked to the Sheriff yet."

"No, because there's scant evidence. It's just a hunch."

"Bring the Sheriff out. He'll find the evidence."

"You can't find something that isn't there, Mr. Price.

I'm looping them in after we have this meeting.

" I look over at Serena, who is chewing on the end of her pen.

Mrs. Baker is scribbling down notes as this year's secretary.

Each year, they rotate between treasurer and secretary.

It's been this way for years because other than Serena being voted in as the mayor four years ago, no one else has run for any of the three seats in recent memory.

We really need some fresh faces in local government. I vote to replace Mr. Price.

"I'm also going to connect with my brother, Cody. He might have some info about anything suspicious in the park."

Serena drops her pen as a scowl briefly crosses her face. I'm not sure what her beef is with my brother, but she's always kept him at a comfortable distance.

"Oh, that Cody. He's such a good park ranger. Do you know he's recording the sounds of the forest for a project?"

"Yes, Mrs. Baker. He's an acoustic biologist by training."

"A what? I thought he was our park ranger?"

"He is Mr. Price. But in college, he studied biology, and…

can we get back to the topic, please? I'd like to come up with a game plan.

If people are starting to talk, I don't want to mislead them, but I don't want anyone to panic and do something crazy.

You all remember when a bunch of garbage cans were rummaged through, and the Andersons thought they were under surveillance, which got the whole town in an uproar? "

"Yeah. That Anderson fellow is a strange man."

"He's ex-CIA and a bit paranoid. It was just bears, but he got everyone worked up before we caught them in the act. I'd like to avoid that happening, but I don't want to put anyone at risk."

Finally, Serena pipes up.

"I agree. Let's send out an email to the town listserv.

We'll tell them there has been an uptick in fires in the area and ask people to be vigilant about anything, such as backyard bonfires, cigarettes, and the like.

We'll also ask the county to come out and do the roadside brush-cutting early.

They talked about changing the schedule this year anyway because of the early heat.

I can also reach out to anyone with a private campground and ask them to cut wider perimeters around their fire pits. "

"And what about catching the guy who's doing this?"

"Like you said, Mr. Price, we'll leave that to the Sheriff."

"You haven't found any evidence, Chief?"

"Well, there is one odd thing that I found."