A short while later, I looked at my feet where they rested on the curved edge of the bathtub. My toenails were painted a deep shade of purple. I’d wanted something to cheer me up, and I had plenty of nail polish. I laughed dryly with a touch of bitterness. For a woman who worried a lot about how she looked, I now lived somewhere where it didn’t seem to matter all that much. The joke was definitely on me.
I rolled my head to the side and looked out the window from the tub. I could see lights glittering in the distance through the trees. I couldn’t help but wonder if that was where Graham and his daughter lived. The moment I thought of him, I remembered our kiss. My skin was already flushed, but it felt like flames danced over the surface.
Chapter Seven
Graham
“Do what?” I asked.
“Toss me that chainsaw.”
“I’ll hand you the chainsaw,” I said dryly as I glanced over at Russell.
He rolled his eyes. “Fine. I didn’t figure you’d be throwing the chainsaw.”
I hefted the lightweight chainsaw and handed it over to him. We were working on clearing an empty lot and creating a giant pile of debris to burn. Planning ahead to manage fire-risk wilderness was part of being a hotshot firefighter. It was good for training and smart planning. Alaska was on the other side of decades of spruce bark beetle kill, which had wiped out swaths of the forests. We routinely cleared and had planned burns in areas to prevent fires from getting out of control.
We were still hiring for this crew and were up to ten so far. Today, I was out with Russell Dane. I’d known Russell for years. Like me, he’d grown up in Willow Brook. Unlike me, he hadn’t stuck around after high school. But then, he hadn’t been tied down with raising a daughter on his own. Not that I was complaining. I wouldn’t trade having Allie for a footloose life for anything. I loved her so much it hurt sometimes.
Russell winked as he took the chainsaw and strode away, calling over his shoulder, “I’m going to take care of this tree over here.”
I eyed the tree in question, a spindly and completely dead spruce tree. “Looks good. It’s clear all around so you can just let it fall.”
Leaning over, I fetched a water bottle off the ground and drained it as I watched him make quick work of the tree. It fell with a thump. I tossed the empty water bottle by my backpack and snagged a small ax and handsaw.
I set to work cutting off the small limbs on the fallen tree while he started the chainsaw again and cut up the lower portion of the trunk. We worked efficiently together. Once it was done, I asked, “You glad to be back in Willow Brook?”
“It’s been almost a year.”
I chuckled. “I know, but sometimes people come and go. You seem to be sticking around.”
Russell nodded, and when my eyes slid sideways to his, I saw a flicker of something there. He’d had a rough patch after his father died in a firefighting accident the very first month he’d returned to town.
“It’s good to be home. It’s kind of funny how much it’s the same while also being different.”
“What do you mean?”
He set the chainsaw on the ground and took his leather gloves off, swatting them on his battered work pants. “There are lots of the same people around, and it feels like home. But the town’s getting a little bigger. We’ve got that new pizza place and that art gallery.”
“Things stay the same and different everywhere in some ways, I suppose,” I replied.
He eyed me for a long moment. “You ever wish you’d moved away?”
I shrugged. “Not really. It would have been nearly impossible to raise Allie without having my family nearby. I love it here too.”
Russell nodded slowly. “You ever see Alison?” he asked, referring to Allie’s mother.
I rolled my eyes. “Not much. Once in a while, she blows through town.”
“Does she even know Allie?”
“Of course she does. I have full custody, though. I let her visit when she wants, but it’s hard on Allie because it’s never consistent. She’ll sometimes go more than a year without seeing her.”
He shook his head slowly. “That’s bullshit, man.”
I’d long ago come to terms with the situation with Allie’s mother. I didn’t want things to be different for me, but I wished they were for Allie.
“I shoulda known better. I thought she was hot, just didn’t know how easy it was to get someone pregnant. My only excuse is we were young and stupid.”
Russell’s brows hitched up.
I shrugged. “It’s pretty fucking easy when you’re not using birth control.”
He cocked his head to the side with a wry grin before his gaze sobered. “I gotta say, I never thought Alison was any deeper than a shallow puddle, but I didn’t tag her as the type who would bolt right after she had the baby. I’ve got nothing but respect for you, man. Allie’s one lucky kid to have you for a father.”
“Having Allie turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me. She’s an amazing kid.”
“I can’t even imagine having a kid, and you’ve got a fourteen-year-old daughter,” he replied, his tone wondering.
I chuckled. “The years just keep on rolling along. I’m worried the next few are going to be the hardest. I thought it couldn’t be harder than when she was a baby. But babies don’t talk back and throw serious attitude, and you don’t have to worry about guys.”
Russell threw his head back with a laugh. “Good luck with that, man.”
At that moment, Rowan Cole approached. He was a new hire and new to Willow Brook. He wasn’t new to firefighting, though, and seemed like a solid guy so far. “What’s so funny? Also, we got any water?”
“There’re a few bottles over there.” I thumbed over my shoulder to the small cluster of backpacks.
He crossed over as Russell replied, “Just laughing about Graham dealing with a teenage daughter.”
“Good luck with that,” Rowan said as he returned to us, water in hand. “I’ve got a teenage sister, and that’s freaking stressful. The worry is endless, and I’m not even her dad.”
I sighed. “Allie’s a good kid. I’m just hoping she’ll stay that way.”
“Keep that shotgun close,” Russell offered.
I cast him a glare. “I do, although she knows how to use it too.”
Late that afternoon, I pulled up at my house and pocketed my keys, hoping Allie didn’t have too much homework tonight. Lately, she’d been struggling with math and asking me for help. I’d freaking hated math in high school, but I was still trying. When I entered the house, it was quieter than usual. I peered in the kitchen, and there was no sign of her. She usually did her homework at the kitchen table.
I toed off my shoes and called out, “Hey, Allie-cat.”
Walking down the hallway, I heard her respond, “Hey.” Her voice was muffled through the door.
I showered when I got home from work because I was usually filthy, so I hustled into the bathroom. A few minutes later, I was walking back out and noticed her door was still closed, which wasn’t the norm. When I came home, she usually came out of her room if she wasn’t already. I knocked lightly on her door.