12-Alarm Cowboys (99 page)

She nodded. “At least until I have a husband who will let me stay home while he works. Until then, I’m kind of stuck.”

John literally stepped back and she had to swallow her laugh.

“Right, well, I better get going. Meeting some of my buddies out at Lake Pleasant before we head north.”

“Of course. Have a great ride.”

He backed away. “I plan on it.” Then he swiftly turned and strode out of the lobby.

She chuckled at how quickly marriage could scare most men away. Would Cole feel the same way? She sobered and her belly flipped. Memories of writing Mrs. Lacey Hatcher in her notebooks at school flooded her. She’d always dreamed about them getting married.

How did she feel about it now?

*

After three hours
of driving, Cole exited his truck and stretched his legs. He missed Lacey, but coming to Orson was the right thing to do.

When he’d woken on the floor of Lacey’s casita, he’d been shocked to find her gone. That and the fact he was in serious danger of being late for his shift. After catching a ride with Wade to the garage and speaking to him about keeping Lacey safe, he’d barely made it to work. They had one kitchen fire and two ambulance calls, but other than that he’d had all day to think.

By time he’d made it back to Last Chance Ranch, Angel required his undivided attention. He even slept in the barn, not an unknown occurrence for him, which is why he had a cot set up out there. Luckily, her fever broke in the early morning hours.

After calling the vet and getting his visit confirmed, Cole left for Orson. It was time to learn the facts. Lacey insisted she was innocent. The town thought she’d set the fire and his parents said the Town Manager had the charges dropped, but he’d never talked to the fire department directly.

He had a very specific reason for going in person. Sean had called and said all the frat boys they’d caught denied building any campfires even though they copped to the theft charge. Since there was more than one campfire, the chances it was Price Construction making it look like it was someone else was very slim. That left Lacey as a prime suspect.

Striding into the firehouse, he followed the directions to the chief’s office upstairs. He knocked on the door and entered when told to.

Cole slowed as he approached the desk. The man who rose from the chair didn’t have enough stripes for a chief.

“Hi, I’m Lieutenant Hatcher.”

“The chief is off today, I’m Deputy Chief Reynolds. I can see you’re far from your station district. Please, have a seat. How can I help you?”

He glanced down at his firehouse t-shirt, glad he’d worn it. It just might help him obtain the information he needed. “Yes, I have family in town, but thought I’d stop by and see if I could get a little information to help the detective working on a case in my district.”

The deputy chief leaned back in his chair. “He could have called. I would have been happy to tell him what we know, or sent him the file if it’s recent information. We just started computerizing our cases a couple years ago. Getting the older ones into the system isn’t a big priority.”

Cole was ready for that. “I wasn’t sure if my memory was even worth him making the call. I worked a fire about a week ago and there was a woman there who I remembered being accused of setting a fire here about eight years ago. I thought I’d see if my memory was correct before sending Detective Anderson in the wrong direction.”

The deputy stroked his mustache. “That was a while back. Which fire was it?”

“It was the old carriage house at the Winters’ place.”

“Oh I remember that one. I worked it.” The deputy nodded. “Yes, wasn’t the daughter accused of setting the fire?”

Cole studied the deputy, trying to place him at the fire, but that evening he’d been too focused on Lacey to notice much else. When he’d arrived, she and her dad had been wrapped in blankets by the emergency crew. He was told they both suffered from smoke inhalation after trying to put the fire out. “That’s what I remembered, but for some reason the charges were dropped.” It would be like Lacey to try to fight a fire she accidently set. It
had
to be an accident.

The deputy walked to a door to his left and opened it. A small room filled with a dozen or so file cabinets was visible. “Do you remember when that fire was?”

The day before he broke it off with the woman he loved? He’d never forget it, April 29th. “I know it was in April. It was after Easter but before prom.”

The deputy raised a brow. “Interesting what’s important when we’re young, huh?”

Cole nodded.

“That narrows it down though.”

Cole heard the drawer of a cabinet open and then the man came out, a file in his hand. It took all of Cole’s willpower not to jump up and snatch it from him. Instead, he leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, and forced himself to remain seated.

The deputy sat behind the desk and opened the file. “Hmmm, oh yes, I remember, we let the building burn to the ground. Had a couple explosions and the captain didn’t want to risk anyone. Luckily, the girl got out before we arrived.”

Cole’s heart froze.
Lacey was inside?
“Do you mean the woman accused of the fire was in the building when it started?”

The deputy nodded absently as he perused the paperwork. “It says here that the father and daughter were treated for smoke inhalation. Apparently, he saw the flames and knew she was inside. He couldn’t get to her, but told her to wrap herself in a blanket and brave the doorway. That’s not an easy feat for a civilian. The father was trying to soak the door from the outside with his garden hose and the smoke got to him.”

His chest tightened. He’d almost lost her that night and didn’t even know it. Why didn’t she say anything? The answer came as quickly as the question. He never let her. He just broke her heart, never even asking her if she started the fire. He was such an idiot. “If she was inside then why was she charged with arson?”

“Good question.” The deputy chief turned a couple pages in the file. “It looks like those charges were originally based upon a witness. The neighbor had been driving into town and said she saw the girl spreading gasoline around the outside of the building.” The deputy looked up and shook his head. “Charges wouldn’t be made based solely on a witness today. If I remember correctly, the nearest neighbor was at least a mile away. She would have had to be driving pretty slow to see a gasoline can specifically.”

Cole nodded agreement, but clasped his hands tight to keep from leaning across the desk and taking the file out of the deputy’s hands. “So if those charges were dropped, did they ever determine what caused the fire?”

“Yes, I saw it here a minute ago.” The deputy shuffled the paperwork around. “Ah here it is. It was ruled accidental. They determined the fire started from hot charcoal thrown on the ground too close to the building. Probably a group of teenagers having a little barbecue. Didn’t even realize what they’d done. That girl was lucky to get out alive.”

Cole felt the blood drain from his face and his stomach rumbled. He’d almost killed Lacey.
He
started the fire.

“Hey, Lieutenant, you okay?”

Cole forced the single word past his constricted throat. “Bathroom?”

The deputy pointed. “Right across the hall.”

Cole spun out of the chair and ran for the bathroom. Slamming the door behind him, he knelt at the toilet. His stomach roiled and bile crept up his throat. He took deep breaths, trying to relax his insides while his mind took off like a wild mustang. All these years he’d thought Lacey started the fire and it was him.
Him.

Stupid teenager. One-track mind. He’d cooked her dinner on the hibachi, wanting to please her. She said she’d clean up while he took care of the coals and whoever finished first had to undress the other.

He ran outside and instead of digging a hole far away from the building, he threw the coals on the ground outside near the door, planning to cover them later. But by time he left, he’d forgotten all about them.

And she’d stayed.

His stomach stopped twisting and he stood. She could have died and it would have been all his fault. Shit, she’d been right to keep him at arm’s length. Some firefighter he was.

After splashing cold water on his face, he wiped it with a paper towel and looked at who he was today, seeing vestiges of that young, dumb kid he used to be. He didn’t deserve Lacey, but he still couldn’t imagine a life without her in it. Even if he had to spend that life making it up to her, he had to have her back. She was innocent. He was the guilty party.

Taking one more deep breath, he walked into the deputy’s office.

“You okay?”

Cole nodded. “Yeah, I don’t think the lunch I had at the truck stop on my way down here agreed with me.”

“I hear you.” The deputy grimaced. “I read the rest of this file and you won’t believe what prompted the arson charge. This little town was a regular Payton Place back then.”

“It isn’t anymore?”

“Good point.” The deputy grinned. “But listen to this. The neighbor’s daughter had a crush on the girl’s boyfriend, so the neighbor thought if she could break them up, her daughter could go to the prom with the boy. What some people won’t do.”

While the deputy shook his head, Cole tried to remember who the neighbor was. Hopefully, the name Hatcher was nowhere in the record. Actually, he’d bet his parents made sure that was how it was.

“So it looks like this girl being at your fire is no more than a coincidence.”

Cole nodded. “I guess so, but I had to check it out. It’s rare for the same person to be at two suspicious fires.”

The deputy snapped the file shut, and held it out. “If you want, you’re welcome to make copies of this. We have a machine down the hall.”

He stared at the damning file. His aversion to it was now as strong as his need to have it was just minutes earlier. “No, I’m good. Like you said, there’s no connection.” He stood, anxious to return to Poker Flat and Lacey. “Thank you for taking the time.”

The deputy stood as well. “No problem. It was a nice walk down memory lane. Now,” he pointed to a pile of paperwork on the right side of the desk, “it’s back to reality.”

Cole held out his hand. “I guess that’s what I have to look forward to if I get promoted too many times.”

The deputy grasped his hand and shook. “Captain is good. No politics until you move higher.”

“I’ll remember that.” Cole nodded and let himself out. He waved to the guys in the garage and strode to his truck. Turning the engine over, he set the air conditioner on full blast and leaned back.

Shit. He’d come to Orson to learn the truth, but the truth had changed his life on so many levels. It showed him what a stupid kid he’d been and how much time he’d wasted without Lacey in his life. But it also shone a light on his parents and their selfishness. If only he’d been a little smarter, a little more observant…like Lacey.

There was nothing he could do about the past, but there was a hell of a lot he could do about the future. Cole leaned forward and put the truck into gear. A three-hour drive back to Phoenix and another twenty-four-hour shift meant he had a long time to plan. One way or another, he would convince Lacey she was this cowboy’s match.

*

Cole parked his
truck in the garage and looked for Billy. It was early yet, but still the older man should have been ready for guests.

Striding past the barrier, his boots kicked up dry Arizona dust. The firefighter in him grimaced at the fire potential, but the cowboy in him just wanted to see Lacey.

He walked to the ridge and scanned the resort. Billy was nowhere in sight. One golf cart pulled away from the main building and headed for the stables. It was probably Wade. Cole waved his arms, but the cart continued across the fork and behind the barn.

He had two choices, piss off Kendra and drive his large pick up down over the bridge or call the front desk and risk Lacey hanging up on him. Then again he did have Wade’s cellphone number, but that would appear desperate. He wasn’t there…yet.

Taking a deep breath, he called the front desk.

“Good morning, Poker Flat Nudist Resort, Lacey speaking.”