Page 16 of Startup Fire

“In that house, yes. After she died, Wayne just... stayed.” Grandma leaned forward. “Why all the questions, dear?"

Jess shrugged, trying for casual. “Just curious. We work together most afternoons, but I don't really know much about him.”

“Not much to know, from what I've heard.” Grandpa folded his paper. “Good at his work. Shows up when the fire department needs him. That's about it.”

“Has he ever... dated anyone? That you know of?”

Both grandparents looked at her sharply.

“Now that's an interesting question,” Grandma said, her eyes gleaming.

“I'm just asking.”

“Mmm-hmm.” Grandma sipped her coffee. “There was a girl a few years back—worked at the bank. Dated almost a year, then she left for Atlanta. Broke his heart. He's been alone ever since.”

Jess absorbed this. Dead mother. Broken relationship. Years of isolation.

What made you so scared of letting people in?

“Why the sudden interest in Wayne's love life?” Grandpa's tone was mild, but his eyes were sharp.

“No reason.” Jess forced herself to take a bite of bacon. “Just making conversation.”

The silence stretched. Finally, desperate to change the subject, Jess plastered on a grin.

“So! Guess who's a firefighting hero now?”

Both grandparents looked up.

“Yesterday at the barn, some steel wool caught fire. Poof!” She threw her hands in the air and made a sizzling sound. “I grabbed the extinguisher and boom! Put it out just like this!” She snapped her fingers. “Wayne didn't even have time to react. I was so smooth, Grandma, you should've seen it. Like I'd been training for it my whole life.”

She was going for lighthearted, funny, look-how-competent-I-am.

The joke died when she saw their faces.

Grandma had gone pale. Ken set down his coffee cup with a sharp click.

“There was a fire,” Grandma said slowly. “In Wayne's barn. Where you were working.”

“I mean—it was barely a fire. More like an aggressive spark, really—”

“Jessica Marie Hartley.”

The full name. Never good.

“Grandma, I promise it was fine. I handled it perfectly. The safety measures in that barn are top-notch. The extinguisher was right there, I knew exactly what to do, and it was out before there was any danger.”

“What if it hadn't been?” Grandma's face had gone pale. “What if you'd been hurt?”

“But it didn't.” Jess reached across the table to pat her grandmother's hand. “I know what I'm doing, Grandma. I've been working with fire for over a decade. This kind of thing happens sometimes. It's why you have safety equipment.”

“I don't like it.” Grandma looked at Grandpa, who was frowning deeply.

“I didn't mention it because it wasn't a big deal,” Jess said, kicking herself for bringing it up. “Seriously. Ask Wayne—he barely reacted.”

“Part of working with heat and metal and glass is almost burning down buildings?” Grandma's voice had risen.

“It is safe. Wayne runs that space like a professional operation. He's a volunteer firefighter, for heaven's sake. If anyone knows fire safety, it's him.”