Igniting the Flame (Firebrand Series) (2 page)

Against his better judgment, he swiveled toward her and placed his arm along the back of the bench. His fingers were only inches away from her shoulder, and she slid away.

He smiled. “Tell me about Lainey Simpson.”

She took a deep breath and shrugged. “Not much to tell. I came to St. Claire to live with my grandmother when I was twelve years old. After high school I went to the University of North Carolina. I graduated last month with a degree in business.”      

He grinned. “And knew me in high school,” he interrupted.

She shook her head. “I didn’t know you, I knew who you were. A big difference there.”

There she went again. Saying something he couldn’t quite understand. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that I only knew you by sight and reputation. I had no idea what you were really like, and you didn’t know I was alive. So we didn’t know each other. In fact I wonder if. . .” she hesitated and shook her head. “Never mind.”

He frowned and leaned closer. “It sounded like you were going to say something else about me. What is it?”

She waved her hand in dismissal. “No, really. It’s nothing.”

Now he was interested. He smiled in what he hoped was an encouraging way. “Now you have me hooked. You have to tell me.”

Her cheeks grew redder, and his gaze dropped to her bottom lip. She was biting down on it again. That small movement set his pulse pounding. “Sometimes I speak before I think. Just forget it.”

There was only one reason she wouldn’t want to tell him, and the thought made him sad. “Then it must have been about me. Did I do something to you in the past that I don’t remember?”

Her eyes opened wide, and she shook her head.“No, it wasn’t about you. It was about what I believe about relationships. You’d think I’m crazy, just like my grandmother did. She always said I was too quick to offer my opinion.”

He chuckled. “Opinionated, huh? Now I’m really intrigued.”

She took a deep breath. “Oh, all right. I told you that I really didn’t know you in school because I wonder sometimes if we can ever really know someone else. We say we do, but I think the idea of knowing someone is usually too general when it should be very specific and different with everybody who’s special in our lives.”

He laughed and shook his head. “Now you’ve lost me. What do you mean?”

She pursed her lips for a moment like she was trying to decide what to say. Then she inhaled. “It’s sort of like an experience I had when I went to Hawaii on a school trip last year. We went snorkeling, and the water was the clearest I’d ever seen. When I stared down at it, I could make out some squiggly things on the bottom, and I thought it was just beautiful. But when I actually swam down in the water and came face-to-face with the fish, the coral, the green turtles, and all the wonders of ocean life hidden underneath the surface, I came to realize what snorkeling was all about. It was taking delight in all the things you couldn’t see from the outside. That’s what truly knowing someone is like. Only when you discover those things deep in a person’s soul, those things hidden beneath the surface, can you come to understand the wonder of how their mind and heart works.”

Her words sent chills up his spine, and he swallowed as he stared into her blue eyes. They looked like deep pools of water, and he felt he might drown if he got too close. “So you’re saying you can’t really know someone until you reach the depths of their inner soul and touch their most sacred, hidden places.”

Her cheeks flushed. “I know I sound crazy.”

He shook his head. “I’ve never really thought about it, but I think you’re right.” He mulled over her words for a moment before he spoke. “Have you ever known anyone that intimately?”

“No, but I hope to someday.”

He exhaled and rubbed the back of his neck. “I never have either.”

They stared at each other a moment, unable to break the bond he felt they’d just forged before she cocked her head to one side and grinned. “And you never will if you keep saying that cheesy line every time you meet someone.”

He laughed and nodded. “I guess you’re right.”

Her eyes crinkled at the corners. “And now you can understand why I wasn’t friends with any of your crowd in high school. I mean, who sits in the rain with a guy she remembers from six years ago and talks about exploring the depths of the ‘hidden places inthe soul?’”

He took a deep breath, and his gaze raked her face. “A fascinating woman who I’m glad I met today. And I might add, one I’d like to get to know better.” She ducked her head as a shy smile pulled at his lips. Disappointed that she hadn’t responded to his statement, he took a deep breath. “Okay, tell me more about yourself.”

She smiled and shrugged. “There’s not much more to tell. My mother gave me her maiden name of Delainey, but my parents called me Lainey from the time I was born. We lived in Colorado until I was twelve, when my parents were killed in a rock climbing accident. My dad’s mother was my only relative. I lived with her until I left for college.”

“And now you’ve come back to live with her again?”

She shook her head. “She died last summer. I inherited her house.”

“Are you planning to stay in St. Claire?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know,” she said, “I liked growing up in a Smoky Mountain resort town, and I’m starting a job at Hathaway and Morrison Accounting Services tomorrow. But if that doesn’t work out, I may sell and go somewhere else. What about you? Are you home to stay?”

He swiveled on the bench to face the open side of the shelter and stretched his legs out in front of him. After a moment he sighed. “I don’t know. After being in the army for six years, I’m not sure I can settle down at all.”

He glanced back at her, and she tilted her head to one side as she stared at him. “Ever thought about going to work for your father?”

“I’ve thought about it, but I haven’t decided yet.”

“I’m sure you have a lot of choices, and you’ll make the right one. The people in St. Claire look up to your family, and everybody’s proud of you for the bravery you showed in combat.”

Ash shook his head in disgust. “They shouldn’t be,” he growled.

Lainey gasped “And why not? I read the articles in the paper how you risked your life to evacuate wounded soldiers. I’m sure those you saved are thankful for what you did that day.”

He gritted his teeth. “What about the ones I couldn’t save? They’re the ones I think about.”

He closed his eyes for a moment and tried to ignore the memories. All he’d done. All he’d lost. Then he felt her cool hand on top of his, and he opened his eyes to see a sad smile pulling at her mouth. “You’re home now. And you have a family who can help you.”

If only she knew, but that was one of those things he’d buried beneath the surface that no one could see. And he wasn’t about to open up to a girl he’d just met. He tried to smile and stood up to shake off the memories. “Yeah, I’m home all right.”

He walked to the edge of the shelter and looked out. In the few minutes he’d talked with Lainey, he’d told her more than he’d ever shared with anyone else, but he couldn’t voice the thing that was tearing him apart.

He felt rather than saw her move to stand beside him. For some unexplained reason, he wanted to reach out and lace his fingers through hers. Just touch her but she would think that was too forward.

Instead he turned to her and smiled. “Lainey, I’m glad we met today, and I really meant it when I said I’d like to get to know you better. Would you have dinner with me tomorrow night?”

A slight frown wrinkled her forehead. “Dinner? I don’t know, Ash. I’m starting a new job tomorrow.”

He smiled. “Then it can be a celebration. How about it? I’d like to spend some time with you.”

The frown vanished, and her wet pony tail swished against her shoulders as she nodded. “I’d like that. What time?”

“I’m not sure.” He pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “Give me your number, and I’ll call you tomorrow.”

She recited the number as he programmed it in his phone, then told her his. Neither spoke for a moment as they tucked their phones back in their pockets. She didn’t meet his gaze as he glanced first at her, then outside. The rain was letting up. “Should we head to the parking lot?”

She nodded, walked over to where her wet shirt still hung on the back of the bench, and picked it up. She stared down at the shirt for a moment before she draped it over her arm and turned to face him. Her eyes bore into him, and he swallowed hard.

“Ash, you said you left your campsite this morning. Where did you camp last night?”

He frowned and tilted his head to one side. Why would she care where he camped? He gestured toward the mountains in the distance. “Up by White Oak Creek. I’ve been there a week. Why?”

She didn’t say anything as she stepped beside him. Then she stared in the direction he’d pointed, her eyebrows pulled down in concentration. “That’s mighty rugged country. No trail. Lots of climbing over boulders to get there. It’s a perfect place for someone to be alone and think.” After a moment she smiled, reached out, and patted his shoulder.

At her touch, chills raced up his arm. How could she know exactly why he’d been up at White Oak all week? Maybe because she had just scraped off the first layer that covered all those things he’d hidden for years. Reeling from the look of sympathy she’d given him and the burning touch of her fingers on his arm, he followed her as she headed down the trail to the parking lot.

This day had turned out differently than he’d thought when he left his campsite this morning. He’d started home with the intention of telling his father that he was leaving St. Claire and wouldn’t be taking his expected place at DeHan Enterprises. But now he found himself rethinking that decision, and all because of his encounter with Lainey Simpson.

Did he really know what he wanted out of life? Maybe the answer lay with this woman who intrigued him. If so, he was going to enjoy every minute discovering what it was.

Chapter 3

Lainey took a sip of coffee and stared at Ash over the rim of her cup. Never in her wildest dreams would she have believed that she’d be on a date with the guy who still reigned as the local legend on the football field as well as the most decorated soldier to ever come out of St. Claire, North Carolina.

Since their chance meeting three weeks ago, her friendship with Ash had been like a whirlwind. They’d had dinner together at least twice and sometimes three times each week. On other nights he appeared content to sit on her den sofa and watch old movies on TV as they shared a bowl of popcorn.

It was during those quiet evenings that they’d come to know each other better as they shared memories from their growing-up years in St. Claire, and he never tired of hearing about her college experiences and how she liked her new job. Although he never talked about his combat missions, he was quick to regale her with stories about his off-duty exploits with Reese Alexander and Colt Hanson, his two best friends in the military. In fact she’d almost begun to feel like she knew them personally.

      The more time they spent together, the more she realized that she genuinely liked him. She loved the way his mouth curled up when he smiled, and his dark brooding eyes had the power to sap the strength from her body. He was still that cocky boy she’d watched from afar in high school, but she was beginning to see he was so much more. He was smart, confident, and kind.

No doubt about it, Ash DeHan had wedged his way into her heart, but she had to be careful. There were times when she detected a faraway look in his eye, as if his mind were somewhere else. When she’d asked him if something was troubling him, he’d been evasive and changed the subject.

Throughout dinner tonight he’d been especially quiet, and she’d had time to study him more carefully. She had to admit he’d matured a lot since their high school days, but he still was a puzzle to her. She wished she could see what lay behind the hooded expression of his eyes, but so far he hadn’t let her in.

Even so, she had to confess that every time she looked at him her heart pumped faster, and her stomach clenched as she wondered what it would be like to kiss those lips. They looked as if they’d been molded to fit perfectly against hers. So far that hadn’t happened, but dreaming of a kiss from Ash was always a pleasure.

As she sat there studying him, he glanced up from scraping the last bite of chocolate cake from his plate and grinned. “What?”

The cup slipped from her fingers at his question, and she grabbed at it before it crashed to the saucer. Setting it back down, she smiled. “I was lost in thought.”

He smiled, reached up, and raked back the hair that tumbled across his forehead before he pushed his plate aside. Then folding his arms on the table, he leaned forward, and his dark eyes stared into hers. “Thinking about those things you’re still keeping hidden from me, no doubt.”

She reached across the table and covered his hand with hers. “It’s more like the things you’re keeping hidden from me.”      

He stared down at her hand for a moment and frowned as he looked back up at her. “What are you talking about?”

“From the day we met in that trailside shelter, I’ve sensed something is troubling you. I’d like to help, if I can.”

He wrapped his fingers around hers and shook his head. “It’s nothing to concern yourself with.”

“I didn’t mean to pry.”

She started to pull her hand free, but he tightened his grip on her. “You’re not prying. It’s just that I haven’t talked with anyone except my family and Reese and Colt about this.”

“Then you don’t have to—”

“Lainey,” he paused and swallowed before continuing, “I need to tell you. But not here.”

Before Lainey could respond, he glanced around the dining room and motioned for the waitress.

The woman hurried over, ignoring Lainey as she had done ever since they arrived, and beamed down at Ash. “Yes, sir, Mr. DeHan, what can I do for you?”

“The check, please.”

The young woman glanced from Lainey to Ash. “Yes, sir. I’ll get it right away.”

Lainey let out a heavy sigh and shook her head. “I’m sorry if I upset you. But I just thought. . .”