Was it possible?
I swiped my finger on the phone, my stomach suddenly in knots. Then I typed out six letters.
K-E-N-Z-I-E
I was allowed in.
“You’re kidding me.” I glanced at his screen saver and sighed, a cold shiver trickling through me. The picture was of all threebrothers in their smokejumper uniforms. The ache in my heart was worse than before when hearing about what happened.
With another groan, I quickly dialed Charmaine’s number.
“Hello?”
“Char. It’s me and don’t ask why I’m using a different phone. That’s a very long, twisted story. Are you up for company and a little shopping tomorrow afternoon?”
“Absolutely, girl. We could do it tonight. I can’t wait to see you.”
What I wouldn’t give to be able to avoid my father altogether. “I better face my dad and find out why he summoned me. I have a very bad feeling whatever he wants will require me to drink heavily afterward.”
“Don’t be too hard on him. All the ranchers have had a bad time as of late. And shopping?” Char asked, laughing. “You bet we can. Why do I feel a story coming on?”
“Because you’re clairvoyant and guess who it involves?”
She hesitated before answering. “No way! That man you’ve been pining away for more than half your life?”
“Don’t remind me.” I couldn’t take my eyes off the plane, already worried about him. What if something terrible happened? What if I’d had one chance to tell him how I felt? One chance and I’d blown it.
“Spill it, girl.”
“Not yet. We’ll talk over drinks. Lots of drinks.”
“Alright. See you tomorrow and I’m dying to hear what happened. And the story had better be juicy enough to wait for.”
“Trust me. It is.” I slipped the phone into the pocket of the sweatpants. At least I had an out with my dad.
Forcing myself to turn, only when I started heading toward his waiting vehicle did Wade rise from his perched position on the hood of his gleaming brand-new truck. I don’t what I expected after not seeing him for almost two years, but when he took long strides toward the driver’s side, jumping in without uttering a single word, I did my best to curtail the nasty words forming in my brain as I approached.
He glanced at what I was holding, half laughing as he scanned what I was wearing. To hell with him and his usual judgment of me.
While my brother started the engine, I took my time heading for the passenger door, not bothering to look at him when I climbed inside. But I caught his tense presence out of the corner of my eye. I’d seen that look before, the one screaming his disgruntlement about whatever topic was troubling him.
And usually involving me.
I’d wanted to think our differences were based on our age gap, but now that we were older, almost five years shouldn’t matter. Not enough for his spiteful expression at least.
He was a carbon copy of my father where I’d taken after my mom, freer spirited and hopeful. There were some who wondered what in the world my parents had seen in each other. The old opposites attract rule had seemed laughable.
Until yesterday.
Thinking about Axe, by the time I closed the truck door, my cheeks felt as if they were flaming. We sat quietly for a fullthree minutes while watching several smokejumpers load up into the bay of a cargo aircraft. I experienced a moment of angst, worrying about Axe’s safety.
Especially since the jumpers were all wearing parachutes.
After craning my neck and being unable to see any evidence of the fire, I pressed the button for the window, sticking my head out. In the distance, I could see smoke. Or maybe continued fog from the storm the day before. Either way, the sight was unnerving.
“What’s wrong? Worried about your lover?”
Hearing my brother’s gruff voice shocked the hell out of me. Stiffening, I took my time closing the window so I could try to collect my thoughts. If this was the way it was going to go, I would turn right around and head back to Billings.
