Touch of Fire (3 page)

“She’s beautiful.”

“She looks like her mother.”

Nicole’s eyes connected with his in the mirror. “She has your eyes.”

An awkward silence filled the room. Garrett shoved his hands into his pockets and studied the floor. “I should look at your foot.”

“You aren’t going to put the stinging stuff on her boo-boos, are you?” Sam asked as she bounded back into the hallway. “Which is better, the pink or the yellow?” Dressed only in a pair of panties, she held up two otherwise identical sundresses for Nicole to inspect.

Nicole smiled. “I like the yellow.”

Sam placed the dress over her head. “Me too! Can we play later? When I get back from the zoo? I’m going to meet the new panda.” Despite her best efforts, she couldn’t seem to find the hole for her head. “Dad, the dress is winning again! I can’t find my way—”

Garrett knelt down beside her and tugged the dress into place, then guided her head and neck through. “There you go.” He smoothed down her mussed hair. “Go get your bag with your hat and your sunscreen. And no ice cream unless you have real food first. Got it?”

Sam looked up at him hopefully. “Does popcorn count as real food?”

Garrett touched the tip of her nose with his fingertip. “No, but good try.”

Sam frowned then walked back to her room.

“You’re good with her,” Nicole observed.

Garrett slipped his arm around Nicole’s waist, offering her support. “You’re just buttering me up so that I don’t use the stinging stuff. I wasn’t born yesterday, Miss Brooks. I know this trick.”

“How’s it working?”

“Not very well, I’m afraid. We’ve got to get that glass out.”

“Maybe it’ll just work its way out on its own?”

“Doubtful. Let’s go out on the back deck where the light is good. Then I’ll get the first aid kit.”

*****

As they moved slowly down the hallway, Nicole took in her surroundings. Directly across from the bathroom was a small linen closet. To the left of that was the doorway to what appeared to be a fairly large kitchen. There were two bedrooms, as far as she could tell, the one at the end of the hall where Sam had disappeared and the one adjacent to the bathroom. The living room that they’d entered through was back down the hallway to the right. Drawings almost completely covered the walls of the hallway from floor to ceiling.

“You have quite the budding artist.”

“You have a keen eye.”

“I should. My mother adored art. It was her passion.”

“What about you?” he asked, unlocking the French doors to the back yard. “What’s your passion?” He gestured to one of the deck chairs.

Nicole limped outside. The morning sun had already warmed the wooden boards beneath her feet. “I don’t think I’ve found it yet,” she said before taking a seat.

The space outside was small and intimate. A rustic fountain bubbled away in one corner. To the right of the table, a set of steps led to a built-in hot tub. In virtually every direction she turned, there were pots filled with lush, green plants and vibrant flowers.

Garrett emerged carrying a large, plastic box.

“You really have a first-aid kit?”

“Firefighter,” he replied, as if that should explain it. “Got an earthquake kit too.”

“Like with jugs of drinking water and cans of Spam? I thought those were just some urban legend.”

He set the kit down on the table. “Spam? No. I went with Evian and cans of Alaskan King crab.”

“I’m moving in.” Nicole smiled. “Your home is lovely.”

“I put a lot of work into this place. More than I should have.”

“Why do you say that? Everything’s beautiful.”

“Had I known then what I do now, well, my priorities would have been a bit different. Let’s have a look at that foot, shall we?”

Garrett sat down in the chair across from Nicole, lifted her foot into his lap, then leaned forward to inspect her injury closely. “There are a couple shards of glass in there. That’s probably why it’s still hurting so badly.”

Sam bounced out onto the back deck. “Nurse Sam reporting for duty.”

Garrett chuckled. “I think the patient’s going to live. Honey, can you go get Daddy’s glasses? They’re on the nightstand in my room.”

“Right away, Doctor!” She took off, running.

“Aren’t you a little old to be playing doctor?” Nicole asked coyly.

“Yeah, well, I like a little variety. Candy Land. Candy Land. Candy Land. Doctor Flint and the Naughty Nurse. Candy Land. Candy Land.”

Sam ran back out onto the deck and handed Garrett his glasses. “I’m not naughty. I’m a good nurse!”

He put them on and picked up a pair of tweezers. “Yes, you are, darlin’. You’re aces, you are.”

Nicole stared warily at the tweezers. “Those look dangerous.”

“Here, you can hold my hand,” Sam offered.

Nicole reached for it. “You are a good nurse.” She resisted the urge to pull her foot back as Garrett removed several small shards of glass that were embedded in the cuts.

“You’re being very brave,” Sam said solemnly. “Here comes the stinging stuff part. I can help blow.”

“I got it.” Garrett sprayed on the antiseptic, then pursed his lips together and blew.

Nicole hissed. “It burns.”

He looked up, eyes connecting with hers. Again, he lightly blew over the cuts.

“Better?”

She nodded.

Garrett reached for a roll of gauze. Expertly, he wrapped Nicole’s foot.

As he secured the bandage and began to return the supplies to the first-aid kit, Sam announced, “Now for the best part.”

“Best part?”

“Daddy will give your boo-boos the magic healing kiss and then you get a spoonful of ice cream for being brave.”

Garrett cleared his throat. “Sam, I don’t think—”

“I was awfully brave,” Nicole teased, her eyes wide in a purposeful attempt to appear innocent. “I think I deserve the full treatment. Don’t you?”

Sam looked at her father, confused. “Don’t we want her boo-boos to get better?”

Garrett slid one hand up, over Nicole’s calf, placed his other under her heel and raised her foot. “That we do, darlin’.” Leaning down, his eyes fixed on hers, Garrett placed a soft, slow kiss on Nicole’s exposed ankle.

“Any other boo-boos that need kisses?” Sam asked.

Nicole was suddenly at a loss for words.

*****

Garrett gently placed Nicole’s foot on the chair where he’d been sitting, then stood up. “I’m gonna grab a quick shower.”

He didn’t wait for a response and walked into the house. In the bathroom he took off his shirt and tossed it onto the floor. He caught his reflection in the mirror and paused. Who was that man? He looked tired.

Through the closed door he could hear Nicole’s laughter, followed by the welcome sound of his daughter’s unrestrained giggles. Alone, in private, he slid to the floor. Garrett closed his eyes, let his head fall back against the door, and finally…finally released the breath that he had been holding for the past three and a half years.

Chapter Three

“Hey, you must be Nicole! I’m Brenda and this is Angela.” The perky redhead’s eyes raked Nicole over from head to toe.

“I lost everything in the fire,” Nicole said, suddenly acutely aware that she only wore one of Garrett’s shirts. “What I was wearing got torn and—”

“We can loan you some clothes. Garrett should have said something. Is there anything else that you need?” Angela reached out and touched Nicole’s shoulder. The compassionate gesture instantaneously brought tears to her eyes.

“Sleep,” Nicole said. “I feel like I could sleep for a week.”

Angela smiled. “You rest. We’ll have Sam back in time for her two o’clock nap and we’ll bring you over some clothes then.”

“Thank you.”

“Sam! Come on!” Brenda called out.

“Wait!” Garrett flew, half-shaven, out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped loosely around his waist, a wallet in hand. “Lunch money.” He pulled a ten-dollar bill out of his wallet and handed it to Brenda.

“Daddy, where’s my zoo past?” Sam tugged gently on Garrett’s towel.

“Fridge,” he replied as he cinched the towel more securely around his waist. “Run and grab it. You be a good girl for Angela and Brenda. I’m gonna finish up.”

Brenda craned her neck and watched him walk back to the bathroom. “Wow, who knew Flint was such a hottie?”

Sam ran back into the room. “I’ve got the past!”

Angela picked the little girl up. “Great, sweetie, let’s go.”

“Oh!” Garrett leaned out into the hallway, this time wiping the last of the shaving cream from his face. “I told her no ice—”

“Cream. We know,” Angela said.

“Real food first,” Brenda added as they proceeded onto the porch and climbed down the steps. “Try to get some sleep, Nicole.”

The ticking of the clock on top of the fireplace mantel drew Nicole’s attention. In the silence that followed Sam’s departure it seemed suddenly loud. It was ten o’clock, four hours until Sam would return.

“You take the bed. I’ll take the sofa. Just give me a minute to get dressed,” Garrett said.

Nicole gave him a minute and then made her way down the hall toward his room. The door was partially ajar.

“I don’t want to kick you out of your own bed,” she called out. “I’ll lie down in Sam’s room.”

Garrett opened the door fully. He’d slipped on a pair of sweatpants, but his smooth, sculpted chest and feet remained bare.

“First of all, Sam is still in a toddler bed; it’s too small for anyone to sleep comfortably in. I keep meaning to get her a twin, just haven’t gotten round to it. Secondly, I’m bound to be out on the sofa in twenty minutes anyways. I…um…I don’t sleep anymore,” he confessed. He walked over to the bed and began to remove some of the decorative pillows that adorned it. “Please, take my bed.”

“What do you mean you don’t sleep?” Nicole stepped further into the room.

“I nap, an hour or two at the most, here and there.” Garrett grabbed a pillow. “The sheets are clean.”

Nicole climbed into the bed and slipped under the covers. “Why don’t you sleep?”

Already on his way out of the room, Garrett paused in the doorway. “I don’t know.”

Laying her head down on the pillow, Nicole closed her eyes. “Yes, you do,” she murmured softly.

*****

Garrett sat on the sofa in the living room, watching the news with Nicole’s words ringing in his head. When had he stopped sleeping? He used to sleep, but that seemed like a lifetime ago.

He realized, quite suddenly, he had no idea what the newscaster was saying. Though he didn’t really need to know. The pictures were enough. Plus, he’d been there in the thick of it. He’d seen the fire up close and personal.

His mind drifted back to the first time he saw Nicole, framed in the window of the pool house. An angel spread out before him. He had been drawn there, to that place, to her. Garrett stood up and silently walked down the hall to his room. The door was only half-closed. He pushed it open further, then paused.

Nibbling on his bottom lip, he quietly crossed the threshold and ventured inside, his bare feet silent on the polished wooden floor.
Like a moth to a flame.
Crouching down at the edge of the bed, he could smell the scent of her shampoo and could feel the warmth of her breath as she exhaled through her nose. Her golden hair, almost completely dry now, was spread across his pillow. He imagined for a moment what it would feel like to run his fingers through it. As he moved his hand slowly toward her, he glimpsed his wedding ring. Garrett swallowed down the lump in his throat, stood up, and turned away.

“You’re just going to walk away?”

He froze in place, halfway to the door. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“I know. You were just watching. Checking. That’s why you don’t sleep. You’re afraid.”

“I’m not afraid!” His voice was louder and sharper than he intended. He spun around. “I’m not afraid,” he repeated, only softer this time.

Nicole slipped from the bed and walked over to him. “It started with Amanda?”

Garrett nodded. His body tense, his heart rate increasing. He pushed back the memories, guarding against the pain.

“I’m right here. I’m fine, thanks to you. You can rest, Garrett.” Nicole reached for his hand and pulled him toward the bed.

He yanked it away as if he’d been burned. “I can’t.” His face turned red with shame and he turned to walk away.

Nicole rounded on him quickly, stepping in front of him and blocking his path. “You need to sleep. Just lay down.”

Garrett shook his head. “You don’t understand.”

“Then help me to.”

“I don’t even understand!”

Nicole looked around the room and Garrett followed her gaze, taking in the light blue walls, floral chintz chair, and white eyelet comforter and dust ruffle that his wife had so loved.

“Have you changed anything in here since she died? I know you said that the sheets were clean and that your mother removed Amanda’s clothes. Otherwise…”