The Fire We Started | Wildfire Series Book 2

FORTY-ONE

Not that I was doing a great job.

Stuck at a stalemate, we wrapped up our conversation with the cop. He planned to seek approval from his superiors, but he also impressed upon me that making some kind of contact with Luke was paramount for setting up an operation.

The problem was that I didn't know how to fucking do that.

Officer James finally left in a wave of cheap-smelling cologne, and I pushed my fries away, suddenly not hungry.

"Oh!"

I glanced over at Caroline, wondering why she made that weird little gasp. Her mouth had popped open in surprise, but other than that, she remained unmoving, staring over my shoulder.

"Car?"

At her name, she jumped before beginning to robotically smooth down her hair. She smiled and waved, her eyes following someone behind me.

I twisted around, but a giant fake plant blocked my view. And then I heard the door jingle as it opened and closed. I turned back to Caroline, my brow cocked.

"Who were you waving at?"

Caroline shrugged, relaxing again. But her smile lingered as she took a sip from her glass. "Just a friend."

I rolled my eyes, not in the mood for it today.

"Caroline, I know you're seeing someone. Was that them?" She froze, and I followed up with, "Why are you being so secretive?"

"I—what—"

"You're blushing like fucking crazy," I pointed out.

"I—fine," she huffed, visibly flustered. Pulling her purse out, she slapped a twenty on the table before saying, "I just didn't really think you needed anything else on your plate right now. It didn't seem like a good time to introduce anyone new."

"But you could have at least told me."

Caroline sighed. "It's honestly not a big deal, Bren."

I scoffed. "The giant grin on your face says something different."

"Well, I like him. But it is not a big deal."

"So it's a he?" I asked. I'd never known Caroline to date, so I had no idea what to expect. Mumbling, I added, "At least that narrows it down a bit."

"Yes," Caroline said with a smile and a shake of her head. "It's a he. As much as I'd like to swear off men completely, there are certain parts of them—"

"Nope, you're right," I said quickly, pushing up from the booth. "We don't need to talk about your dating life."

"Should we talk about yours instead?" Caroline teased.

"No, we shouldn't." I lowered my voice and waited for her to join me before we walked toward the door together. "Because that would make me think about Madie crying again, and then I'll lose my shit. Because I wanted everything to be over this week, Car. I want to be there for her."

"And you will be," she said softly, reassuring me. "Soon."

I hoped to fucking god Caroline was right. Changing the subject, I said, "I gotta get back to work."

Caroline gave me a brief hug, and then we went our separate ways. The diner wasn't that far from St. Paul's, so I decided to walk, kicking at the rocks as I made my way across town. Peeking at my phone, I pushed away a wave of disappointment when I didn't see a notification from Madie. She was probably in class.

When I got to the church, Collins immediately ambushed me.

"Bren! Thank god you're back."

My lunch date with Officer James had definitely taken longer than I'd planned; glancing at my watch, I realized two hours had passed since I'd left, and it was now nearing 3 o'clock. Collins didn't sound annoyed, though—just relieved as fuck.