Flirting With Fire (Hometown Heroes) (30 page)

“Look, I don’t
know what happened between you two but—”

“Nothing
happened, except that Liz is suddenly too busy to bother picking up the damned phone
to call or shoot me a measly text and let me know she’s still alive. With all
those fires going on you’d think she’d be a little more considerate.”

“A little more
considerate
?
What would you like me to do, Mitch? Call the pyromaniac and see if he can’t schedule
these fires to better align with your social calendar?”

He recoiled as
if struck by a whip, but I wasn’t done. Far from it.

“Better yet, why
don’t I just start setting them myself, so you know for sure I’m okay? You
could bring folding chairs and stuff to make smores, and we’d just have
ourselves a wonderful time.”

His widened eyes
narrowed. “Oh, you obviously don’t need
me
to have yourself a wonderful
time.”

“It wasn’t what
you think.”

“What wasn’t
what he thought?” Sarah asked, her gaze bouncing between us as if she were watching
a match at Wimbledon.

“Right,” he
sneered, ignoring her. “Next you’ll try telling me it was room service. Then
again, maybe it was.”

“Room ser—?
You’re out of line, Mitch.”

“I’m out of
line? I’m not the one sleeping with half the city, Liz.”

I charged forward
and drew my hand back to slap that shitty smirk from his face. But I caught
myself at the last moment, and instead I jabbed my index finger toward him then
toward the back door. “You. Garage.
Now
.”

* * * *

Mitch swiped his
beer off the counter and stormed out of the kitchen. I followed hot on his
heels, claws out and ready to fight. How dare he! And right there, in the
middle of the kitchen? No, this time he’d gone too far.

Sarah and Ron
had an older, detached garage with high windows along the main garage door.
They offered plenty of light for our conversation, though if I’d had my
druthers, I’d have picked a dark room with a single bulb swinging over Mitch’s
head for the interrogation I was about to lay on him. He entered first; I
followed, then slammed the door shut behind me.

“What the hell
is your problem?”

“My problem? I’m
not the one who’s trying so hard to become a big city girl that she’s throwing
her morals out the window.”

“For the last
time, I didn’t sleep with the guy!”
Before you saw me.

“What, you want
me to believe it’s totally normal for him to be in the neighborhood and let
himself in
with your keys
at eight in the morning?”

“No, not that it’s
any of your business.”

“Uh, huh. So,
where’s my hat?”

“Your…what?”

“You know: red
ball cap, has a little Cardinal stitched on it? Or were you too busy
entertaining your guest to think about my needs?”

“Your needs?
Hell, all I’ve done lately is hear about you and your needs. ‘Call me when you
get home’. ‘Text me if there’s another fire’. ‘Send smoke signals if rain is in
the forecast’. Honestly, Mitch, you’re running me ragged trying to please you and
nothing seems to be working!”

His eyes went
wide for a moment, then his shoulders slumped. “Shit, Liz. I’m sorry. I’ve just
been so worried about you lately that I’m going out of my mind.”

I exhaled a
breath I hadn’t realized I was even holding. “Well, I’ve been worried too, you
know. It’s not like it’s easy, being so far from you guys with all this going
on.”

“You miss us?”
He looked up, his eyes hopeful.

“Of course I
do.”

“We’ve been
missing you, too.”

He reached out
and took my hand. I thought he was pulling me into his usual big brotherly-type
bear hug. Instead he pulled me gently against him, tipped my chin up, and
claimed my mouth with his own.

I froze.

Mitch was
kissing me. Mitch, who’d been looking out for me since we were kids. Mitch who
taught me how to throw a football, how to de-hook my first bluegill. Mitch
who’d beat other kids up for picking on Sarah and me. He’d always been there to
protect me. Always.

His lips left
mine, but he didn’t release me. Instead, he gazed down at me and brushed his
thumb across my cheekbone. I just stood there, dumbstruck. And then, right or
wrong, I got pissed.

“What was that?”

“Um, a kiss? Has
it really been that long since you’ve had one that you can’t remember what one
is? Or were all the others just that weak in comparison?”

“Cut the crap,
Mitch. What, is this some kind of joke?”

“I was hoping
the kiss would say it all. Can’t you see? I’m in love with you, Liz.”

I stepped back
to give myself some space. And some breathing room. “But why wait until now to
come out and tell me? After I’ve left town and started a new life on my own?”
After
I’ve
s
tarted falling for someone else?

“Don’t you see?”
he said, a pleading look in his eyes. “I had to let you go. It’s the whole ‘if
you love somebody, set them free’ deal. But it’s killing me to have you gone.
It’s nearly killing you, as well. Please, come back home.”

“But if you’d
told me all this before, I might never have
left
.”

I raked a hand
through my hair and turned away from him. Mitch was in love with me? Never in
my wildest dreams would I have guessed. I guess Torrunn was right.

Ugh, Torrunn.
I’d kissed two different guys in the same day. And not that I’d tell either
one, but the first eligible bachelor was hands down the better kisser. Though,
he was also the one who didn’t want a long term commitment. Or kids.

“I’m gonna need
some time to process all of this,” I said, turning back around to study his
face. “It’s all just so…sudden.”

“We don’t have
time! Those fires are cropping up closer and closer to you every day.” He
closed the space between us in two long strides. “I can’t lose you, Liz.”

“But I can’t
just pack up and walk away from Fort Wayne. I have responsibilities. Commitments
to the spa and to my new lease.”

“What’s more
important: some damn temp job, or saving your own neck?”

I sighed. Much
as I wanted to stand my ground, he had a point. Never would I have thought a
year ago—hell, three months ago—that I’d have the chance to finally break free
from Autumn Lake, and then a month later seriously consider moving back home.

Consider, not
decide.

I reached up and
rested my hand against his cheek. “Let me think about it, okay?”

Mitch stared
down at me in silence. After a moment, he gave a small nod.

* * * *

We walked back
into the kitchen a few minutes later, Mitch following close behind me. Sarah
glanced up from setting the table and raised a brow. “You two get out what
needed to be said?”

“Yep,” Mitch
said, then pecked a kiss onto the top of my head. “Now, what can we help you
with, Cuz?”

She blinked a
few times, her gaze searching mine for a reason behind that unexpected bit of
PDA. “Well, someone could round up the kids—”

“I’ll do it,” I
cut in, then hurried off to find them. Anything to give myself a little space,
and some time to think.

Mitch had
feelings for me.

I just couldn’t
shake the feeling that something wasn’t quite right with his declaration. The
timing? His unusual, pleading demeanor? Something was up, and I just couldn’t
put my finger on it.

I found the kids
and tricked them all into thinking their hands were covered with cooties so
they’d actually use soap and scrub good when they washed up. Then we all headed
back to the kitchen with smiles on our faces (mine a bit less genuine than the
rest). Everyone took their place at the table, and the usual Collins family
mealtime chaos ensued.

Most visits, I
savor mealtime. Not just because of the food, but because I love sitting around
the table and watching my surrogate nieces and nephew. But sometimes my mind is
too full to process much more, and that was definitely the case tonight. I
caught myself missing pieces of conversation as I got lost in my own thoughts.
Thoughts about that kiss in the garage. Or about those naked shins outside my
shower…

“Liz?”

I looked up at
the sound of Sarah’s voice and blinked away the memory of Torrunn’s feather-light
kiss goodbye. But before she had a chance to repeat whatever it was she’d asked
me, my cell phone buzzed in my pocket.

“Oh, sorry, I
need to get this. Might be my mom.”

Which was highly
unlikely—my mother knew exactly where I was. Why? Because I’d told her about my
dinner plans earlier in the week, and the woman had the memory of an elephant.
Regardless, I scooted back from the table and hurried from the room. Finally
out of view, I chanced a look at the caller ID.

Yep, exactly who
I thought might be calling: Torrunn. I cringed. Breaking things off with him
before they really got started was going to be so incredibly difficult, and my
heart began to ache before I even heard his voice.

“Hello?”

“Liz, it’s me.
Where are you?”

The sound of his
voice instantly brought back memories of our time in the shower—a scene I tried
to block out, lest I allow my stupid heart to get tripped up by him yet again.
“I’m down in Autumn Lake, at Sarah’s. Why?”

“Who’s there
with you?”

“Um, well, Sarah
and her family. And Mitch.”

He cursed under
his breath. “How difficult would it be for you to slip out of there and come
back home?”

“What, now?
Why?”

“We’ve got a
lead in the case.”

“You do? That’s
great!” I lowered my voice. “But, why do you need me to leave now?”

“Because if our
suspicions about a key piece of evidence are correct, you might not be safe
there.”

I swallowed
hard. Lowered my voice to barely a whisper. “What key piece of evidence?”

“The ball cap I
found in your living room…”

CHAPTER
25

“Wait, you took something
from my apartment? When?”

“Before you woke
up. And I didn’t take. I borrowed.”

No wonder I
hadn’t been able to find it this morning. Never would I have guessed Torrunn
would have taken it. Or why. I peeked back over my shoulder and took another
step away from the dining room. “But why?”

“I’ll explain
later. Right now, I need you away from Mitch and back here where I can keep you
safe. How soon can you leave?”

“I don’t know,”
I said, glancing at a clock on the wall. “Five? Ten? Where should I go?”

“How about your
place?”

“Fine. My place
at seven. And this better be good—I’m passing up dessert for you.”

“Trust me,” he
said, his voice taking on an edgier tone, “I’ll make it up to you.”

I hung up and
fanned myself. Nope, breaking things off with Torrunn wasn’t going to be easy.
And the selfish side of me was definitely pushing to wait until
after
he’d done the making up part.

“Liz?” Mitch
stood in the doorway, a look of concern on his face. “Is everything okay?”

The sight of him
made me jump. I still didn’t believe Torrunn. Couldn’t. This was Mitch we were
talking about. And yet…

“Um, yeah.
Something came up, back at my apartment. I need to go.”

“Now?”

“Yes.” I grabbed
my purse, then passed him as I went to apologize to Sarah and Ron for having to
leave on such short notice. They were disappointed but thankfully neither put
up too much of a fight about it. Maybe the tension between Mitch and me had
been more palpable than I’d realized.

I decided I’d
better hit the bathroom before heading back into town, and so dropped my phone
and purse down on the little wooden table in their foyer. As I washed and dried
my hands, I stared into the mirror and worked to perfect my ‘normal’ look.
Didn’t want to give Mitch reason to suspect anything. Thankfully, he’d gone
back to the dining room, leaving me to slip out the door and hit the road
without any further discussion.

The drive I’d
made a hundred times seemed painfully long tonight, and my anxiety level rose
with each passing minute. Did they truly have enough evidence to believe Mitch
was the firebug? What would have driven him to do such a thing?

And why tell me
tonight, of all nights, that he loved me?

I zipped into my
basement parking space, then checked my watch as I hurried to the elevator. Ten
to seven—I’d made great time. Now all I had to do was get upstairs and wait.

But seven turned
into seven-fifteen, and then into seven-thirty. I began to wonder if I’d looked
at the time wrong when Torrunn called. I snatched my purse back up and dredged
through it, looking for my cell.

A knock at the
door interrupted my search. I tossed my purse aside and bounded for the door.
But when I looked through the peephole, I found it wasn’t Torrunn on my
doorstep.

It was Mitch.
Alone.

I debated not
opening the door. But of course he’d know I was here, and the last thing I
wanted was to give him reason to smoke me out. After a moment’s hesitation, I
pulled the door partially open.

“H-hey. What are
you doing here?”

“Nice to see you
again, too,” he said with a smirk, then held up my cell phone. “You left this
at Sarah’s—I figured you might be needing it.”

“Gee, I can’t
believe I did that!” Had I done that, or had my purse been looted? “Thank you,
though you really didn’t have to drive it up here—I could have come and got it.”
I reached out and took it from him. An awkward silence followed. “Wow, well,
thanks again—”

“I wouldn’t have
even noticed you’d left it until I heard it ringing after you’d gone.”

“Ringing?”

He nodded.
“Yeah, some girl named Julie, or Jamie, or—”

“Jessica?”

“Yes, that’s it.
She was trying to get a hold of you.” He paused, did a quick scan of the
hallway, then met my gaze once more. Happy-go-lucky Mitch had gone, and serious-concerned
Mitch had taken his place. “She asked me to give you a message. Something about
a background check her boyfriend ran on your fireman buddy.”