Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 71814 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71814 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
That was an understatement. I couldn’t keep up with all of these blasts from the past, but I was glad to see him. He and his brother made up a good, happy portion of my past, which was significant since I mostly felt sad when I thought about earlier years.
Before either of us could say anything else, Kit’s phone started ringing, prompting him to check the screen with a sheepish look on his face.
“Sorry, it’s the station officer from the local fire station here,” he explained.
My heart stopped.
“Cohen?” I blurted out the name.
Kit flashed me a confused look.
“Yeah, how did you know that?” he asked.
“How do you know him?” I pitched a question right back at him.
“Kieran and I just transferred from our old fire station to this one,” Kit explained.
Was someone playing a prank on me? I grabbed his upper arms as I leaned closer to him.
“You’re part of the fire crew now too?”
Chapter 18
Kit
Talk about a hell of a homecoming!
Don’t get me wrong. Kieran was a great friend, but he was also my older brother. He didn’t count. So, if anyone could be considered the best friend I ever had, it was Zoe Collins.
Book nerd, insanely competitive, ray of sunshine, Zoe Collins.
I remembered racing my brother to her house every day during summer breaks. Our moms were friends, so it was common to have lunch or dinner at each other’s houses or for us to carpool together to school. That was one of the most fun times in my life.
And then it all ended when we had to move to Texas… but now we were back, and so was she.
“We became firefighters in Dallas a while ago. We came back to town to check on the house and heard that the local station was having some trouble keeping up with all of the fires going on around here,” I explained to her. “So, we did a little thinking. We’ve always missed this place, our parents still own our childhood house, and they need more hands here. It felt right to come back.”
Zoe’s jaw dropped.
“That’s… wow. So, are you guys just moving back now?” she asked, blinking hard as she processed all of the information I just dropped on her.
“We got set up at home a few weeks ago, but we had to do some training and tying up loose ends back in Dallas before fully taking the plunge,” I replied. “We just got settled a few days ago.”
Zoe dragged her fingers through her hair, drawing the strands back from her face. Her noticeably beautiful face. Given the fact that years had passed, she looked different.
Different as in strikingly gorgeous. Captivating curves. Sleek legs. Full lips.
Full lips that were moving. She was talking. I mentally shook myself, making myself focus.
“I can’t believe you guys are living in your old house. We had so many memories there,” Zoe sighed in a wistful manner.
“Have you been back home?” I asked her before I could process my words.
In an instant, Zoe’s smile plummeted off her face, her warm glow growing cold.
“I actually just came from there,” she replied as her eyes shifted away from mine. “I actually hadn’t seen my dad in a while, so it was about time to visit.”
She stayed away on purpose. I could hear the tension in her voice, her attempt to rein in her emotions. I remembered how close she was to her mom, and when I heard that she’d passed away, I immediately wondered how Zoe was handling the grief. We had only been around each other for a few minutes, and I could already tell that it had destroyed her.
“I’m sorry,” I told her as I placed my hand on her forearm.
Zoe looked down at my hand, her eyes blinking rapidly for a second. She then swallowed hard, took a break, and moved her arm away.
“It’s fine. So, how’s the house?” she asked as she plastered a casual expression on her face. A cover.
Since it had been a while, I wasn’t going to push her to open up to me right now. Whenever we were sad as kids, we always tried to distract each other with fun and games until everyone was smiling. I was going to attempt the same strategy.
“Want to see it? Kieran is there now,” I inquired as I lifted an eyebrow at her.
A smile— an actual smile— crossed her lips as she nodded.
“I’m sure you remember where to go, so I’ll meet you there,” I called out as we split ways to go to our own cars.
“See you there!” Zoe shouted back before disappearing into her car.
I smiled to myself and drove home, my eyes flickering to the rearview mirror to catch sight of her behind me. My heartbeat quickened, my fingers tightening on the wheel. Was I in some sort of fever dream right now?