Fire, page 1
PRAISE FOR ABBY BROOKS
“Abby Brooks is a wizard with Beyond Us—entertaining and pure enjoyment!”
ADRIANA LOCKE—USA TODAY AND WASHINGTON POST BESTSELLING AUTHOR
“A masterful blend of joy and angst.
PRAISE FOR ABBY BROOKS
“As a voracious reader it is not unusual for me to read 5-7 books per week. What is unusual is for me to be thinking about the writing and characters long after I've finished the book. With just the perfect amount of angst and remarkable character development, Abby Brooks has crafted a masterpiece…”
PRAISE FOR BEYOND WORDS
"Once again Abby Brooks creates a world filled with beautifully written characters that you cannot help but fall in love with.”
PRAISE FOR BEYOND LOVE
"A lovely story of growing beyond your past, taking control of your life, and allowing yourself to be loved for the person you are."
MELANIE MORELAND—NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR, IN PRAISE OF WOUNDED
“Abby Brooks writes books that draw readers right into the story. When you read about her characters, you want them to be your friends.”
PRAISE FOR ABBY BROOKS
FIRE
A HUTTON FAMILY ROMANCE
ABBY BROOKS
Copyright © 2022 by Abby Brooks
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover image copyright © 2022 by WANDER AGUIAR PHOTOGRAPHY LLC
Cover design by Abby Brooks
THE HUTTON FAMILY SECOND GENERATION
Fate
Fire
WILDROSE LANDING
Fearless
Shameless
Reckless
THE HUTTON FAMILY
Beyond Words
Beyond Love
Beyond Now
Beyond Us
Beyond Dreams
It’s Definitely Not You
The Hutton Family Series - Part 1
The Hutton Family Series - Part 2
A BROOKSIDE ROMANCE
Wounded
Inevitably You
This Is Why
Along Comes Trouble
Come Home To Me
A Brookside Romance - the Complete Series
WILDE BOYS WITH WILL WRIGHT
Taking What Is Mine
Claiming What Is Mine
Protecting What Is Mine
Defending What Is Mine
Wilde
THE MOORE FAMILY
Finding Bliss
Faking Bliss
Instant Bliss
Enemies-to-Bliss
THE LONDON SISTERS
Love Is Crazy (Dakota & Dominic)
Love Is Beautiful (Chelsea & Max)
Love Is Everything (Maya & Hudson)
The London Sisters - the Complete Series
IMMORTAL MEMORIES
Immortal Memories Part 1
Immortal Memories Part 2
AS WREN WILLIAMS
Bad, Bad Prince
Woodsman
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Epilogue
Micah’s Parents
Family Tree
Emotional Abuse - Domestic Abuse Hotline
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by Abby Brooks
CHAPTER ONE
Micah
Flames burst from a single window on the side of the house, lashing for the stars amidst a tower of writhing smoke. A woman—pale legs, pale hair, flimsy nightshirt—dashes toward the house. Toward the fire. Lights from my firetruck and the ambulance parked on the road flash red and blue, chaos dancing as palm trees bend in the wind.
Carson stops the truck, brakes hissing and squealing. I leap out, yanking my helmet in place as I race for the woman, catching her around the waist a heartbeat before she reaches the front door.
She shrieks. Gasps for air. Turns to me, the whites of her eyes vivid against a soot-covered face. “My grandma’s still inside!”
She doesn’t recognize me.
Not in my gear.
Not through her fear.
But this frail, terrified creature is Ivy Cole. The woman I thought was the love of my life. She’s been gone for years and—
“You can’t go in there,” I bellow, as smoke belches through the door and Carson pulls up beside me, Probie trailing behind. “Let the EMTs check you out. Take care of yourself and let us take care of your grandma.”
Tears well in Ivy’s eyes and she nods. A child coughs in the distance.
“Mommy!”
Ivy turns toward the sound, long blonde hair whipping around her shoulders, and I enter the house with my crew.
A hitch of fear draws me up short. The last time we entered a burning building, Tucker came out on a stretcher, broken, charred…
The nightmares still—
No time for that.
I scan the scene.
Acrid smoke hangs heavy and black in a small living room. I turn down a hallway. Three doors. All open. Smoke and flickering light pours out of one. I point Carson in that direction. He and Probie dash for the smoking door with the hose while I pass the bathroom. No signs of flame. No signs of Grandma. I find her in the last room, on the ground, coughing, clutching her chest. I sweep her into my arms and carry her outside while Carson and Probie address the flames. Ivy’s little girl is in the ambulance, sucking oxygen through a mask that engulfs her face, while Ivy strokes her golden hair. She looks up as I arrive, blinking through tears. Through shock.
She’s every bit as beautiful as I remember.
I place her grandma on a stretcher, relinquishing her to Lucy—the EMT who saved Tucker’s life—then rejoin Carson and Probie in the house.
“You got salvage and overhaul?” I ask Carson, after the flames have been extinguished. “I want to check on the residents.”
Ivy. Fucking Ivy Cole and the daughter that should have been mine.
He huffs a laugh as he scans the charred remains of a little girl’s bedroom. “I’ll make Probie do it. That’s what your probationary year is for, right? Doing shit work while us senior officers collect the glory?”
Normally I’d be the last to leave the scene, but Ivy’s out there. It’s been years since we’ve talked, but man…
My Ives.
Here. Now.
I have to see her. I won’t relax until I know she’s okay.
I knock my fist on Carson’s helmet then take off down the hallway. The destruction is contained in the little girl’s room. The rest of the house has smoke damage, but Grandma’s room seems livable, as does the living room—which looks like it’s doubling as a bedroom, given the blankets and pillows strewn on the couch. Was Ivy sleeping there?
What the hell?
This house is old and small. The Coles have always been big and grand with so much extra space you could go a day without crossing paths with a family member.
Something isn’t right.
Ivy glances at me as I step outside, like some part of her is aware of who I am despite the helmet covering my face. She makes her way over, wringing her hands, jittery, tense, but unharmed. Thank God for small miracles. A smile lifts my lips as sweat trails down my cheek. It’s so good to see her. Like the seven years between who we were and who we are don’t exist at all. Like I could draw her into my embrace and run my hands through her hair like I used to when we were younger.
“Are you the man who saved my grandma?” Her voice is low. Tremulous. Her eyes tight and wary. “Thank you so much. Just…” She swipes at her face, as if suddenly aware of the soot streaking her cheeks. “Thank you.”
“I promised I’d always be there for you.” Smiling like a lovestruck fool, I remove my helmet. “And you know better than anyone else that I keep my promises.”
I don’t know what I expected from my grand reveal. Surprise. Excitement. Maybe a gigantic smile that matches my own. Shit, part of me thought she’d leap into my arms and scream for joy.
High school sweethearts finally reunited.
Instead, the warmth and gratitude drains from Ivy’s face.
“Micah.”
It isn’t a question. It’s an accusation.
Shit. I’ve looked forwa
I cough, raking a hand through my sweat-soaked hair. “Hey, Ives. It’s been a minute.”
She glances over her shoulder, towards her kid and her grandma. Steps back. Purposefully putting distance between us. Considering we spent our teenage years joined at the hip until her family moved to Seattle before our senior year, I would expect…well, not this.
“It’s been seven years.” Another accusation. Her lips a thin line. Her sky-blue eyes hard and unwavering. “Anyway, thanks for saving my grandma. I know you were just doing your job, but…” She lifts a trembling hand to tuck a strand of pale hair behind her ear.
“Ivy…”
I don’t know what I want to say. Anything to thaw the frozen divide growing between us. We used to be inseparable. Part of me always thought she’d come home, and we’d fall right back into the way things used to be.
And here she is.
Home.
But my Ivy never looked this angry.
“I don’t have anything to say to you, Micah.”
I place a hand on her arm and smile into her storm ravaged eyes. “How about we start with hello and then you can follow up by letting me know the EMTs checked you out and gave you the all clear.”
She shrugs away from my touch, like she’s disgusted by my presence. “Thank you for saving Grandma.” Palms up. Stepping back. “But please, don’t talk to me about your stupid promises again.”
Ivy turns on her heel and strides away, her hands balled into fists before she wraps her arms around her stomach and drops her gaze to her feet. I stare after her, dumbstruck.
What the shit was that about?
Sure, we fell out of contact, but that’s on both of us. She could have reached out just as easily as I could. And as I remember, I reached out a hell of a lot more than she did. I drove myself crazy waiting for her texts, her calls. My grades started slipping—and I never had room for mistakes in that department. My mental health fell to shit. It was bad.
Bad enough for my family to intervene…
Besides, she’s the one who showed back up with a kid. The lighting is terrible and the little girl is hidden behind the oxygen mask, but she looks old enough to assume Ivy moved on not long after she moved away.
If anyone’s holding a grudge, it should be me.
But still…
One glimpse of her sunken posture…
Of her pale legs sticking out of that useless shirt…
Her hair limp and covered in ash…
Something isn’t right.
The Ivy I knew was determined. Willing to fight the whole damn world if it got in her way. The woman walking away from me seems…smaller. Fragile.
I take a step in her direction, but a hand drops onto my shoulder. I turn to find Carson, helmet in hand, soot streaking his cheekbone. “Probie’s in there making a mess of Salvage. You wanna rip him a new one or can it be me? Come on, Tower. Let it be me.”
His grinning face juxtaposes the tension draped across my shoulders.
I risk one last glance at Ivy. She’s hugging her kid, rocking, and rocking, and rocking…
Her shoulders shake. Is she crying?
“Hey. Tower. You in there?” Carson leans into my field of view, grinning as he trots out the nickname Tucker gave me years ago. Everyone at the station thinks it’s hilarious, like calling the tall guy Tower is original or something.
I arch an eyebrow before returning my attention to the woman who should’ve been happier to see me.
“Probie just ruined a bed and he’s eyeballing that couch like he thinks he’ll do better this time. You wanna do something about that or keep ogling that hot piece of ass all night?”
Any other time, I’d give him shit for giving me shit, but not when he’s talking about Ivy. I whirl, glaring, then let out a long breath. Carson doesn’t know our history and there’s work to be done. It’s time to get my head in the game. Whatever’s going on with Ivy won’t get better if I let our probationary firefighter ruin all her furniture.
“Come on. Let’s show the Probester how it’s done.”
CHAPTER TWO
Ivy
“Ivy?”
Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no…
Grandma’s coming.
I shove my phone between my leg and the arm of the couch that’s been Nell’s bed in the week since the fire. Before that, this was my bed, but I’ve moved myself to a cot on the floor so my daughter can be as rested as possible for school. Which wasn’t exactly the case this morning, thanks to the one hundred and one questions about fires and firefighters she whispered my way last night—and every night since the fire. Nell’s curious mind doesn’t come with an off button.
Grandma pauses in the doorway, shaking her head. “We passed the point where you need to hide things from me right around the time you became an adult. Don’t you agree?”
I do agree. But it’s been a while since I felt comfortable doing anything without permission.
“I don’t know why I did that.”
“I do.” She leans on the wall, arching an eyebrow and looking feistier than ever. Her salt and pepper hair is cut short and tucked behind her ears. Jeans and a T-shirt highlight a trim frame and better posture than mine. She’s modern and strong and it suits her.
“Because I’m a silly woman who does everything wrong?” I cringe at what was supposed to be a joke but sounds exactly like the outlook I’ve been trying to erase since I moved in with her a month ago, right before Nell started school.
Thankfully, Grandma doesn’t call me on it. Her support has been everything I needed, almost like she’s gone through a situation like this herself.
Because she has.
“When your grandpa was alive, I felt like I had to hide everything from him, too. My likes, dislikes, thoughts, wishes, daydreams for the future…” She rolls a hand through the air to encapsulate everything she didn’t name. “It took years to feel comfortable existing my way.” She pats the wall almost lovingly, its vivid teal color something Grandpa never would have agreed to.
I spin a gigantic engagement ring around my left finger. The day it slipped into place felt like a promise of a beautiful future. Now, the damn thing feels like a leash.
A short one.
“You think me hiding my phone from you is because of Julian?”
Grandma shrugs. “I think a lot of things you’ve changed about yourself are because of Julian. We just haven’t uncovered them all yet.”
Her soft smile makes me love her all the more. She’s on my side, even when she’s pointing out hard truths. Though, in this situation, she missed the mark.
“I don’t think we can blame this on him.” I slide my phone out of its hiding place and wave it guiltily. “I was stalking Micah Hutton. And didn’t want you to know.”
Stupid Micah Hutton and his stupid broken promises.
And his stupid smile. And his stupid firemen self saving my grandma, reinforcing the hero complex he definitely hasn’t earned.
“Why didn’t you want me to know? I’d say it’s natural to be curious what the father of your child is doing with the time he’s definitely not spending with his daughter.” Grandma tilts her head, looking oh so sweet even though she’s as angry with Micah as I am. She fell for his lies, the same way I did.
