window of her mother’s kitchen. This had been her home for most of her childhood. It held memories that were both good and bad. Now… sitting here because someone had burned her entire life down meant she had nothing but time to think about her life.
“Zoey?” Her mom pulled a chair up beside her. “Honey, you need to get out. You’ve holed yourself up inside since the accident. It’s not healthy. And don’t think I haven’t noticed you’re avoiding that handsome man of yours.”
“Mom… I just need some time.”
“Ok—but can’t you take time with him? That man saved your life. Not to mention, I think he’s in love with you.”
“He isn’t in love with me.” Zoey turned away from her mother. “It was his job, mother.”
“Don’t give me that. Sure… he’s a fireman, but that man ran into that building, ignoring his captain’s orders to get to you. He didn’t care that he might lose his life, too. And not only that…” she stood and went to the sink. “He stayed by your bedside the entire time you were unconscious. Now try to tell me you were just a job, Zoey.”
Zoey laid her head down on the table. Her mother was right. She’d been hiding from Dawson since he brought her home. They’d exchanged a few text messages, but she’d asked him for some time, and he’d complied. Although he texted her daily that he missed her.
“I’ll text him. You’re right, mom, I’ve been avoiding him.”
“Why?”
“He doesn’t deserve to be caught up in this mess.”
“I don’t think that’s your decision to make. That man cares about you. Like I said… pretty sure he even loves you.”
“Loves me? Mom, we’ve only been dating a few weeks.”
But even as she said the words, Zoey’s heart did a pitter-patter. She’d come to terms before the fire that she was falling for him, so it wasn’t so farfetched that he could be falling for her too. Then her self-doubt trickled in, telling her she wasn’t good enough for a man like him. Zoey had a hard time believing Dawson could love her.
“Stop.” Her mother threw a dishtowel at her. “Call him.”
Zoey pushed back, stood, and grabbed her phone. Her mom had picked up a new one for her while she’d been in the hospital. Fortunately, she had backed up all her settings to the cloud, so nothing had been lost.
Stepping outside, Zoey sat down on the stairs of the front porch. Her mother’s house backed up into the water, giving her a beautiful view of the ocean.
Zoey smiled at Dawson’s contact picture. Pressing the phone to her ear, she waited.
“Zoey.” His voice filled the line, “You, ok?”
“I’m good. Are you busy?” She bit down on her lip.
“Not for you.”
“I’d like to see you, Dawson. I owe you an apology for how I’ve been acting.”
Dawson grunted. “You owe me nothing, woman. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
The line went dead, leaving Zoey to stare blankly at the screen. Closing her eyes, she wished things were back to normal. Everything had been going well until the fire. She still couldn’t piece together why someone would target her like they had.