A Firefighter in the Family

A therapist was probably what she’d needed, but Miranda Leann Cooke had enough of her father and older brothers in her to avoid a shrink and convince herself she could handle it on her own. For the most part, she’d done okay. For now, that would have to suffice.

As the sun dipped below the horizon and the first dim stars twinkled, Randi wondered if her walk on the beach had been the right choice. Couples soaking in the romance of the scene lined the shore, nuzzling on blankets or walking hand in hand. Other than a couple of joggers, she was the only solo stroller.

Not only could she not find comfort in family, the latest man in her life had decided that her job kept her away too much and had moved on to someone else. Pete hadn’t been her great love, but the loneliness still got to her during weak moments. And reinforced the fact that if she cared about someone, they always let her down.

Twenty-nine and unattached. It wasn’t as if her biological clock was ticking—she wasn’t even sure she had one. Still, it would be nice to have someone to share life’s ups and downs with, someone with whom to stroll on the beach, go on a dolphin-sightseeing cruise, someone to jog with in the mornings. Someone who wouldn’t abandon her.

Again, Zac’s face popped into her mind, only adding to her foul mood. Romance with Zac Parker was a long-gone possibility.

She stopped and watched a pelican glide through the air before nosediving into the water. Thor nuzzled her hand and looked up at her. “Not that you’re not a wonderful companion,” she said to him. “It’s just not the same.”

Randi sat down and let the edge of the cool water tickle her toes each time the waves rolled in. She thought of her brothers. Will, married and the father of a two-year-old son. Josh, married. Karl, engaged. When Eric finally paired up, she’d be the only one left alone. Why did she suddenly feel as if a dark, hungry chasm was growing inside her heart?

Normally she stayed too busy to be lonely, but being back here, seeing her family—not to mention Zac—brought that buried loneliness to the surface where it stung and ached.

The breeze brought the sound of giggles. She turned to see a young couple kissing and laughing a few yards up the beach.

She wondered what that would be like—to be that carefree, that happy, that in love. She’d been that girl once, before she’d dared to follow in her brothers’ footsteps, before she’d gone into that fire, before Zac Parker had sided with the Cooke men against her despite how close they had grown. She’d been that girl once, but no more.

A WARM SUMMER Saturday night, and the joint was hopping. Just the way Zac liked it, especially after the day he’d had. Keeping busy was key to not focusing on his latest encounter with someone looking to make him an arson suspect—or the fact that person was Randi. What the hell was it with his karma?

He handed three beers to a customer and turned to the next only to find Randi Cooke standing there. His jaw muscles tensed.

She held up a hand. “I just want a bottle of water. And do you have an empty bowl?”

“An empty bowl?”

“So I can give Thor half the water.”

Zac looked across the packed bar but didn’t see the dog.

“Don’t worry. He’s on the beach.”

Zac fished a bottle of water out of the cooler and handed it to her along with one of the disposable peanut bowls.

In return, she handed him three dollars, said thanks and walked toward the front corner of the bar. He watched as she poured part of the water into the bowl then stepped down into the sand and walked a short distance. She bent out of sight before standing back where he could see her.

After the way he’d wronged her, the only reason she could be here was the investigation. It certainly wasn’t to reconnect, no matter how much he’d once wanted that.

“Hey, can I get a cosmo?” A girl wearing a tiny, lime-green bikini top stood at the bar.

An influx of new customers and those seeking seconds…and thirds…kept him busy, but his eyes continued wandering back to where Randi had taken a seat and appeared to be eating. The Beach Bum’s menu included only beverages and peanuts, so she’d brought it with her. Sometimes she caught him looking, other times she was either eyeing the crowd or staring toward the whitecaps of the waves against the much darker expanse of water. What was she up to?

Fifteen minutes passed, then thirty. Finally, he broke. “Be back in a minute,” he said to Suz, the other bartender. He wove his way through the laughter, but it didn’t penetrate his sour mood. What rolled inside him was more like a potent mixture of anger, frustration and a dash of the desire to flee. She had yet to accuse him of anything, but he couldn’t banish the feeling that it was only a matter of time. She was, after all, a Cooke. And she’d probably relish some payback against him.

Not for the first time, he wondered if he should’ve left Horizon Beach after he’d been cleared of the arson charges two years before. But he liked the little town and didn’t want to look like a coward. And he’d savored the idea of the Cookes having to see him and live with their mistakes. Petty, yes, but he wasn’t any more perfect than the next guy.

When he drew closer to Randi, he noticed how much prettier she was in her casual clothes. And when she wasn’t questioning him. Her ponytail hung down her back, looking so silky he wanted to touch it. Man, he had no right to make fun of Adam’s hormones with the way his reacted to Randi—despite their past and the reason she was back in Horizon Beach. She appeared oblivious to the reveling going on around her. Rather, she stared toward the Gulf, her forehead creased.

“Trying to figure out how to bust me?”

She turned her head to look at him. A moment passed before her look of concentration faded. “No.”

The simple answer, combined with her more casual attire and the appearance that her thoughts had been elsewhere, alleviated some of the tension knotted in his shoulders. She looked like just another bar customer, though normally such a beautiful woman wouldn’t be sitting alone.

“You’re not staking me out?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“So you are?”

“I didn’t say that either.” She raised her eyebrows, and the barest hint of a suppressed smile curved her lips.

Very nice, intensely kissable lips.

Snap out of it, Parker. You destroyed that path a long time ago.

“I don’t want you harassing my customers.”

“Have you seen me talking to any of them?” The semismile was gone, as if she’d remembered who he was and what he’d done to her.

He stared at her, trying to figure her out.

She pointed at the chair opposite her. “Have a seat.”

“I’m working.”

“And yet you had enough time to come over to talk to me.”

She didn’t miss a beat, damn it. He looked back toward the front of the bar. Suz did seem to have the flow of business under control. Maybe he could do some questioning of his own. He pulled out the chair and sank into it.

Randi scanned the crowd. “Looks like you’ve got a good business here.”

He examined her face, her eyes, looking for the hidden meaning. “Can’t complain.”

She turned back toward him and leaned forward, propping her forearms on the table. “Listen, whatever you might think, I’m not in the business of railroading people—no matter who they are. And I’m pretty good at figuring out who the real culprit is.”

Had she just insinuated she thought he was innocent?

“Are you always right?”

“As an investigator, so far, so good.”

He noted her qualifier but chose to ignore it. Instead, he glanced toward the water and saw Thor snoozing in the sand. “Guard dog or accelerant detection?”

“Both.”

“He find anything in the rubble?”