Page 60 of Flare

We sat on the deck, Sammy and Rory’s dog, Zach—she brought him for a visit—between us, each getting loves and pets and scratches behind their ears, as I told her the story.

She had to get up a few times, go inside.

I asked her later if she was getting sick. She said no. That she just had to be alone for a minute to recap everything and wrap her head around it.

I’m not even sure I told her all of it.

“And Callie knows all of this?” she said.

“According to Donny, she does. They’re engaged now. They have no secrets.”

“I don’t want us to have any secrets either.”

I widen my eyes.

“No, I’m not asking for an engagement ring, silly. You’re so funny, Brock. I can see from a mile away that you want to run away screaming when you think about commitment.”

“Actually, you’re wrong,” I said. “I do want to go running away screaming, but not at the thought of committing to you.”

She laughed then. We both laughed, because sometimes, when things seem insurmountable, all you can do is laugh.

Now we sit, hand in hand, in posh first-class seats on the plane.

The flight attendant brought me a beer and Rory a Diet Coke before takeoff.

“My nerves are a mess,” Rory says, taking a sip.

“Welcome to the club.”

“Oh, no. I mean because of the flight. I’ve never flown overseas before. What if we crash and plunge into the ocean?”

I smile at her. “You’re safer up here than you are in your own car. You know that, right?”

“Yeah. I mean, but…”

I kiss her cheek. “I promise you that you’re safe. Just like I promised I would keep you safe from Pat Lamone.”

“Yeah. Except now Pat Lamone may be your long-lost cousin.”

“All that means is that we share a relative somewhere on our family tree. It doesn’t mean I owe him any loyalty. He sure as hell doesn’t feel like he owes me any.”

“That’s for sure.”

“He said something to Dale or Donny a while back. I can’t remember which one. Probably Donny because it involves Callie. He said he wouldn’t put it past your family to have started that fire themselves.”

She gasps. “Just when I thought he couldn’t sink any lower.”

“Yeah. He’s pretty much proved how low he can go.”

“You know, Callie said something a few weeks ago about him and the fire. She said what if Pat started that fire?”

“At this point, I wouldn’t put anything past him,” I say. “But…I’m not sure he has any beef with you guys. I mean, it’s high school drama, right? What brings him back now?”

“Callie thought he may have gotten wind of her dating Donny and thought he could get some Steel money for the photos.”

“Yeah, that made sense at one time, but now? It’s so much bigger. If he thinks he’s a Steel, and that he’s entitled to part of our fortune, I could see him having a bone to pick with us. Like setting our land on fire. But why yours?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it was easier access. I mean, you guys lost stuff in the fire too. Maybe that was the ultimate goal, but it didn’t work out that way due to the way the winds blew.”