Claire hung up the call with her mom after insisting she was fine and making her mother promise not to tell Owen what had happened. An almost five-year-old didn’t need to know that his mom had come close to dying in a fire.
She stared at the gray wall of the emergency room, anxious to leave. She hadn’t come to Timber Falls to sit around, and yet the doctor had insisted they observe her for a couple of hours while they checked her oxygen levels. She could feel the exhaustion settling over her body, but the experience had also left her with a sense of restlessness.
She didn’t have time to be tired or stuck in an emergency room. She now had two fires to investigate and the sooner she determined exactly what had happened in both cases, the sooner she could get back to Denver.
The fire, though, wasn’t the only thing that had shaken her. Reid O’Callaghan had managed to not just walk back into her life, but to save it. She drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t expected to see him or his family, because she’d known it was inevitable. Timber Falls was a small town—his hometown—and he was a fireman here. Thinking she could avoid him would have been ignorant. But that didn’t change the fact she’d hoped she could have.
Her hands fisted tight on the examination table. The O’Callaghan family had always been the family she’d never had. They’d weathered storms like serious health issues and military deployments by drawing strength from both God and each other. Her own family had never been that way. Stress had pushed her parents apart, eventually leading to a nasty divorce and custody battle. In reality, she knew that no family was perfect, but the O’Callaghans were the family she’d always wanted.
The family she knew now she’d never have.
Reid had made it clear to her the day he broke up with her that he wasn’t ready for a wife and family. Forcing a ready-made family on him when she’d found out she was pregnant a few weeks later had been out of the question. Her decision might have kept a son and grandson from the O’Callaghan family, but she’d had no desire to put her son in a similar situation to what she’d been in growing up. Owen had been and always would be her one and only priority.
The sound of footsteps on the tile shifted her attention. She sat up in the bed as Reid stepped through the opening in the curtain carrying a paper bag in his hand. Her heart fought against the reaction that seeing him brought, along with the flash flood of vivid memories. But her relationship with Reid—and any lingering feelings—had been over years ago.
“Hey...am I bothering you?” he asked.
“Reid...no. I... I’m just waiting for the doctor to release me.”
And stumbling like a dingbat in front of you.
She sucked in a deep breath of air, willing her pulse to slow down. He still looked just as she remembered. Short, light-brown hair and just a hint of a beard across his face. Fit from working out regularly. She’d always teased him about how he could have made the cover of the firemen’s calendar and raised a ton of money for the fire department. He’d always hated the idea, but he was still just as cover-worthy. Today, he was wearing a plaid, fleece-lined jacket, jeans and boots, while looking at her with eyes that had always been able to see all the way inside her.
Eyes that looked just like Owen’s.
She tried to shove down the reminder, because Reid finding out the secret she’d kept for close to six years could be almost as devastating as the arsonist she was trying to stop.
He set the bag he was carrying at the end of the bed, clearly feeling just as awkward as she did. “How are you doing?”
“Ready to get out of here. But I’m fine. Nothing more than some smoke inhalation, thanks to you.”
“I guess I am the last person you would have imagined coming to your rescue.”
“I owe you my life. Thank you.”
He shot her a dimpled smile. “You know I was always a sucker for a damsel in distress.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “I see you’ve still got your same sense of humor.”
But while his one-liners had always been corny, he was good at his job and she knew it. She just wished he didn’t affect her the way he did simply by being in the room with her. After all these years apart, she’d convinced herself she was completely over him and that seeing him again wouldn’t matter.
She’d clearly been wrong.
Which meant she was going to have to work harder to ensure the wall around her heart stayed erect and that they didn’t spend any more time together than necessary. That shouldn’t be very hard, since she’d insist on working with the captain and getting all her information directly from him. All she needed was a couple of days to run her investigation and get evidence from both fires, then she’d go back to Denver. Reid O’Callaghan didn’t have to be a part of the equation.
“I’m still trying to put together the pieces of what happened,” she said finally, needing to fill the pause between them.
“I listened to your 911 call,” he said, “but I thought you could walk me through what happened while it’s fresh in your mind.”
“Of course.” She pulled her legs up under her and tried to organize her thoughts. “I was asleep. I’d gone to bed early, planning to get up early and get to work. The fire alarm woke me. I went to the door, figuring it was just someone who’d gone down to the kitchen in the middle of the night and burnt some toast or something. But I couldn’t open the door.”
“Like it was locked?” he asked.
“Or jammed somehow. I should have been able to open it from the inside. The knob turned, but the door wouldn’t budge.”
“Okay.”
She cleared her throat. “It didn’t take long to realize that the house was on fire. Smoke was coming into my room, so I put a blanket across the threshold. Then I tried the window, but it wouldn’t open either. It still makes no sense.”
“Panicking would be normal in a situation like that, Claire.”
Except she knew that wasn’t what had happened.
“You should know me better than that, Reid. I was scared, yes, but I wasn’t in a panic. I knew what to do, but the door wouldn’t open. The window wouldn’t open.” She worked to curb the anger in her voice. She needed him to believe her. “Which is why I need to go back now and try to figure out what happened.”
“You don’t have to convince me. I agree there is something off about the situation.”
“You do?”
“Yes.” His fingers grasped the metal rail at the end of the bed. “Especially considering the fact that you’re trained to be the one doing the rescuing. This time, you were the one trapped in the room—and in the middle of an arson investigation. It’s a connection we have to look at. What if the arsonist doesn’t want you looking into this?”
“That’s exactly what we need to find out.” If someone had been behind this fire, that was going to change everything. “And thank you for not just assuming I imagined it.”
He let out a low laugh. “You’re hardly imagining things. In the meantime, I guess congratulations are in order. I understand you’re the fire investigator sent here to check into a recent fire. I always knew you’d go far.”
She smiled, thankful for the change in the subject. “I loved my work as a firefighter, but I love the investigative side even more.”
“I’ve heard you’re good at what you do.”
She stared up at him, wishing desperately that he didn’t still stir her heart like he used to, that she didn’t notice the dimple on his chin or the way his hair faded on the sides with a bit of volume on the top. Wishing he wasn’t trying to be so...so nice.
“Listen...” She forced the memories aside. “I’ve been hoping that this won’t become...awkward between us.”
“Of course not. That’s one reason I wanted to see you. First to check on you, but also to clear the air between us. You’re here to do a job, and my job is to help you. It won’t be a problem.”
“Good.”
“Just promise me you’ll be careful, Claire. No matter how things ended between us in the past, I don’t want anything happening to you.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that, but I’ll be fine.”
His concern over her safety didn’t surprise her. Even after all that had gone on between them, she remembered that Reid had always been different. He’d opened doors for her and brought her flowers. He’d had this old-fashioned streak that she’d loved. They’d dated for a few months, then she’d met his parents at Christmas here in Timber Falls, always believing she’d marry him.
But then everything had changed.
He’d broken things off with her after a fight and moved back to Timber Falls. Then she’d found out she was pregnant.
A sharp sigh escaped her lips. No. She couldn’t let thoughts of Reid interfere with why she was here. Not when she’d finally learned to forget him.
Or, at least, she’d thought she had.
But while he might be just as good-looking and nice as she’d remembered, that didn’t matter. Reid was a part of her past, not her future.
Reid shifted his weight at the foot of the bed, feeling awkward, because he’d yet to tell her the real reason he’d come the hospital to see her. And he knew she wasn’t going to like it.
He cleared his throat, needing to focus on the situation at hand, prepared for her inevitable reaction. “I came to give you a ride. I can take you back to the B&B fire, but also if you need to go by the store and get anything...”
“I planned on calling an Uber, but thanks. I can manage.”
Reid’s fingers tightened around the end of the metal bedpost.
“Am I missing something?” Claire asked.
“Sort of.”
She frowned. “That wasn’t suggestion, was it?”
“The captain asked that I drive you around, just in case there’s a connection between the arson fires and what happened at the B&B. He’s worried—as I am—that you might have been targeted. At least until we find out what happened, he’d rather be safe than sorry.”
He waited for her to argue again, knowing time with him wasn’t what she had in mind. She had to have known they were going to run into each other but had planned to make sure she saw him as little as possible. And now they were going to be stuck together—something neither of them wanted.
“So...you’re going to be my bodyguard?” she asked.
He shrugged. “That does sound better than a chauffeur, but don’t think of it as that. I was on the scene for both fires. If I can’t answer any of your questions, I will know who to ask.”
“So a bodyguard, chauffer and Siri all rolled into one. I always knew you were talented.”
He couldn’t help but chuckle. “Funny. You haven’t lost your sense of humor either.”
She smiled “No, but seriously, I don’t need a bodyguard. I’ll take an Uber there and hopefully find the keys to my car.”
“Humor me, will you? If you don’t let me drive you, the captain will be on my back. You don’t know how stubborn he can be. I’ll even throw in breakfast if you’re hungry.”
She shot him a grin. “That’s quite an offer, but don’t think that your charm is going to get me to change my mind.”
“Then what about my good looks?”
“You always were incorrigible.”
“So we’re good?”
Claire let out a sharp sigh. “You can take me there, because you’re cheaper than an Uber, but after that, I can drive my own car.”
“You’ll have to talk with the captain about that. He’s meeting us there.”
He continued to work to shove the memories of Claire back into the compartment where he’d kept them all these years. Just out of reach, at the edges of his memory, making sure he pushed them back anytime there was a reminder. He’d see that she complied with the captain’s orders, then she’d be gone within a few days. And he’d never again have to see the woman who’d once stolen his heart.
The doctor stepped around the curtain, breaking up the awkwardness between them. “Good news. I’m going to let you go home. But if you end up coughing, feeling any shortness of breath or a headache—anything, really, that you think that could have been caused by the fire—I want you to come back in.”
“I will,” she promised.
“Good. Even without any notable respiratory problems, you can still experience carbon monoxide poisoning. Just be aware of how you’re feeling in case something comes up in the next couple days.”
Claire swung her legs over the edge of the bed as the doctor left, then stopped and looked down at what she was wearing. “Just one problem. I arrived in these sweats with socks and no shoes.”
“I almost forgot. I was able to get you a few things.” He handed her the bag he’d brought. “My soon-to-be sister-in-law, Tory, is about your size and offered to let you borrow some clothes until you get yours sorted.”
“Wow... I appreciate this so much.” Claire dug out the jeans, a long-sleeved Christmas T-shirt, a black cardigan and a pair of boots.
She held up the T-shirt, which depicted a row of plaid Christmas trees.
“Too Christmassy?” Reid asked.
“Can a shirt be too Christmassy?”
Reid shook his head. “You don’t want to ask me that, but you’ll love Tory.”
“Good, and hopefully I’ll get to thank her in person. This will really help. It might be a few hours before I can get to my things, and I’d prefer not to smell like smoke that whole time.”
“I agree.”
“You always did think of everything.”
She looked up at him and smiled. Old, familiar feelings shot through him. How was it everything he’d worked to bury all those years ago still had roots? He shoved aside the ridiculous thoughts. Just because Claire was here didn’t mean she still had a piece of his heart.
Reid looked up as Shawn Torres, a fellow firefighter, stopped at the edge of the curtain.
“Claire... I hope I’m not interrupting.”
“Shawn? No. It’s been a long time. It’s good to see you.”
Reid glanced from Claire to Shawn, then back to Claire again. “You two know each other?”
“We actually went to high school together in Denver,” Shawn said. “We’ve run into each other a few times over the past few years.” He turned to Claire. “When I heard your name in connection with the fire...well... I had to come and make sure you’re okay.”
“I am. Really. Just some smoke inhalation.”
Shawn gave her a big hug, then sat down next to her on the bed. “I can’t imagine how terrifying that had to be.”
“The doctor says I’ll be fine. All I want to do now is get this investigation started and see if we can’t figure out what’s going on.”
“I heard someone say you were locked in the room. That doesn’t seem coincidental, considering the arson fires you’re investigating.”
She glanced up at Reid. “News travels fast, doesn’t it? I have been thinking the same thing. I’m not sure what happened. The fire alarm went off, but when I tried to get out, the door was jammed. I’m actually planning to head out there now and see what I can find out, though I heard the damage was extensive.”
“Sounds like the kitchen and main room are pretty much a total loss, with smoke damage throughout most of the house. Unfortunately, they’re going to be closed for a long time. In the meantime, how many days are you planning to be here? It would be nice to reconnect.”
“Originally I planned for just two or three, but now... I’m not sure. I need to figure out what happened at both places.”
“Are you up for lunch with an old friend? Or maybe a tour of the town? It’s beautiful around here, especially this time of year with Christmas around the corner and the snowcapped mountains in the background.”
Reid didn’t miss the hesitation in Claire’s eyes, making him wonder what she was thinking. Or maybe he was imagining things and it was nothing more than fatigue.
“Let me see how things go before I commit to anything, but I’d like that.”
“And in the meantime,” Shawn said, “I’d be happy to drive you anywhere you need to go.”
“That’s sweet of you, but the captain has already arranged something for me. Apparently Reid is now my chauffeur. At least until I can get things sorted on my end.”
“Sounds good.” Shawn stood up and nodded. “Looks like everything is working out, but if you do need anything, you have my number. Don’t hesitate to call.”
“I won’t, and thank you, Shawn. I appreciate it.”
“Sounds like the two of you go way back,” Reid said after Shawn had left the room.
“We do. He’s always been a good friend.”
“He’s a good fireman, as well.”
“I’m going to need a few minutes to get dressed and check out of here.”
Reid cleared his throat. “No hurry. I need to grab something back at my house, then I’ll meet you right outside the front doors.”
Reid closed the curtain behind him, then headed outside to his truck. He wasn’t jealous of Shawn. No. That would be ridiculous. Shawn might have a history with Claire, but so did Reid, and there was nothing between the two of them anymore. Whatever they’d had was long over and there was no going back. She was going to do her job and uncover who was behind these fires, and then she’d step out of his life again forever.