Page 29 of Melting for the Firefighter
“You crossed half the bay before dispatch finished reading her address. Stop acting confused.”
“I knew she was trapped.”
“So did everyone else.”
I stare at him.
He stares back.
Zain can hold a silence until another man confesses just to make it end.
I am not giving him the satisfaction.
He sets his mug on the desk.
“You’ve wanted her for two years.”
“Anything else, Chief?”
“Plenty.”
I open the door.
His voice follows me into the hall.
“Do not make her guess, Renner.”
I leave before he gets more helpful.
Cora is waiting on my porch when I pull into the drive.
The morning sun catches in her honey-blonde curls. Her blue dress moves around her legs in the breeze, and the green ribbon holding my spare key circles her wrist.
She looks soft and bright against the dark wood of my house.
Like she belongs there.
The thought settles somewhere deep and refuses to move.
I do not want this to end.
The flowers in my sink. Her voice filling rooms that have been silent for years.
I want all of it.
“Ready?” she asks.
I have been ready for her for two years. I spent most of that time trying to bury it.
“Let’s go.”
The greenhouse outside town is hot and damp. Sunlight turns the glass roof white above us, and rows of summer flowers spill across wooden tables.
Cora changes the moment we step inside.
She lights up.
She talks to the owner about stem strength, vase life, and color balance. Her hands move as she explains the arrangements she wants for Founder’s Day. She touches petals gently, checking each bloom before she adds it to the order.
