Or maybe he’d tired of Annie – whining about Roy, struggling with one new daycare illness or the next.Almost dying in a fire.
Such a drama queen.
She’d avoided him at the fundraiser, but that was only because she couldn’t bear to see him with another woman.It felt like daggers pressing into her heart.
Annie had hidden out on the beach, or when he almost spotted her, she ran into Margie’s house.Anything but having to face Miles withheragain.
Maybe that had offended him.Maybe he’d seen her for the immature woman she was.He’d still saved her life, but only because it was his job, like he said.
Duty.That’s all Annie had ever been.Someone who needed help, and now that she’d had it – more than she deserved – he’d moved on.
Why couldn’t she move on, too?Why couldn’t it be simple?To find a way to be grateful for the things he’d done, the things he’d shown her.The things he’d awoken in her.
And for literally pulling her out of a burning building.Saving her life.Couldn’t she find a way to be grateful for that?
Twenty-eight
Two weeks into the investigation, the local news reported the lab fire was suspected arson, and the island’s already-frenzied obsession with the fire exploded.
Though he tried, Miles couldn’t get away from it.A bystander had recorded a video of the fire and caught Miles running to the ambulance with Annie in his arms.Thankfully, her face was obscured, but his wasn’t.
It initially ran with the headline: “Hero Firefighter Arrives at Structure Fire without Firetruck.”
Talk about drama.He was getting recognized everywhere, even worse than with the ferry ads.People stopped him in the grocery store to thank him for being a hero, and his first thought was to ditch his cart and run.
Once the internet algorithm picked it up, the video got millions of views, and he got requests for interviews from across the country.
He declined them all.
Miles sat at the kitchen table, his laptop open, reading the newest slew of articles.The fire chief had no qualms about utilizing the press.In this most recent article, he went into detail about the fire truck failing to start, bemoaning that they still couldn’t get the parts to fix it.
The report went on to describe the failed antitrust lawsuit and the local judge who had dismissed it.There were calls for the judge to be investigated, and several legal experts stated there was ample evidence to at least hear a case.
At least that was interesting.He scrolled on, a full glass of water sitting next to his hand, a well-intentioned idea he had completely forgotten now that he was as engrossed in this fire investigation as everyone else.
Then, the video of him running appeared again, plopped into the middle of the article under “related.”
It landed like a slap.He couldn’t read anything about the fire without running into that video.
He hardly remembered that moment.He had been working on instinct.Panic, really, that something would happen to Annie.When he had found her, she had felt so small in his arms, and she couldn’t stop coughing, and he didn’t know if she would breathe again or if she was hurt.
Why had they added it to this article?Because people loved a feel-good story?
There was nothing feel-good about it.Their fire engine would probably never work again, and they still needed to raise more money to get another one.Even still, it would be years before a new truck was built.They had no idea if the state case would be successful, and as far as he knew, there were no suspects in the arson case.
Nothing to feel good about at all.
He slammed his laptop shut and stood up.
“Slow down there,” Bella said.
Miles jumped.“Oh, hey.I didn’t know you were home.”
“I snuck in, I guess.”She narrowed her eyes.“Were you watching the video of your rescue again?”
“No.I hate that video.”
He let out a breath, trying to dispel the tension in his voice.He pulled open the fridge door and grabbed the first thing he saw – a can of soda.He cracked it open.
