I frowned, my hands still busy with organizing. “What do you mean?”
Shawn chuckled a little. “Is she like…hot?”
My head snapped up. I pinned him with a look sharp enough that Shawn flinched, the humor draining from his face instantly.
“That’s not an appropriate question.”
Shawn flushed. “Sorry, Chief,” he muttered.
When he did, I set the papers in my hands down more carefully than necessary.
What the hell was that?
Shawn was a good man. He’d been working hard to make up for my absence and I knew he’d been joking, but the sudden surge of irritation had hit me out of nowhere.
I swallowed and forced myself to regroup.
“It’s fine,” I said, my voice softer. “And…thank you. For all the work you did while I was gone. I appreciate it.”
Shawn’s expression brightened as he lifted his chin. “No problem, Chief. But—yeah. I am glad you’re back.”
Despite myself, I smiled.
Yeah. This was home, too.
Snowstorms, long hours, bureaucratic headaches and all—I’d missed it. The firehouse promised routine and the simple clarity of knowing what was expected of me. There were problems to solve here, sure, but they were problems I understood.
It was good to be back.
9
Roman
Ireturnedtomyparents’house far later than I’d intended.
I paused at the front door, pulling out my phone to disarm the security system before stepping inside. A snowman—no, a snow woman—stood proudly in the front yard.
Palmer and Hailey must have played out in the snow while I was gone.
A pang twisted in my chest knowing I’d missed it, but beneath that was something else—a warm feeling I couldn’t quite place. I stared at the snow woman’s strategically placed twig-hair and the red coloring brushed across her cheeks and lips, and almost smiled.
I closed the door, eager to hear all about Hailey’s day.
But when I walked deeper into the house, the stillness around me was…unsettling.
It was later than I’d meant to be home, but Hailey had been having trouble falling asleep since everything happened. I’d expected her to tackle me the moment I stepped inside.
My heart rate spiked with anxiety.
I pulled out my phone and brought up the security camera feeds. I’d checked them sporadically throughout the day and hadn’t noticed anything unusual—but what if I’d missed something?
“Hailey,” I barked.
No reply.
I moved, checking every room on the main floor, even my parents’ bedroom. Nothing.
My pulse roared in my ears as I took the grand staircase two steps at a time, focusing on Hailey’s bedroom door down the hall. It was slightly ajar.
