Nash Brothers Box Set - Carrie Aarons Page 0,107

time.

16

Bowen

I keep thinking about those first moments with Lily.

Ever since her father came into my shop and basically threatened to ruin my life if I didn’t stay away from her, I couldn’t stop thinking about those early days. It was like his visit had brought on memories of how much he’d disliked me even from the start, and those could only be accompanied by how brand-new our relationship had been.

Back in those days, we had been shiny. Untarnished. I remember the first time we hung out outside of school. Like the typical cocky, sophomore jock that I was, I’d sauntered up to her at the end of ninth period in the cafeteria and invited her to an upper-class party that one of the seniors was throwing that Friday. When she’d showed up with her friends, innocent little freshman, I’d stolen her away with two red cups of beer and a devilish smile.

We’d spent the whole night on the back porch, flirting. Well, more like me trying to get to know her, and Lily answering shyly as she gulped down her beer for confidence and stared at her feet.

Halfway through the conversation, I’d interrupted in the middle of her telling me which book she was reading and kissed her. Planted one right on her. When I pulled back, my lips and fingers and spine tingling with some indescribable gut feeling, Lily was stunned …

“Why did you do that?” she’d asked.

“Because you’re nervous. And I’m nervous. And I wanted to get that out of the way because I plan on doing it a lot more. But first I want to know everything about you,” I’d said.

“That was my first kiss.” She’d blinked.

“Good,” I’d said. “I want to be your only.”

Jesus Christ, I’d been a cocky little shit. But I hadn’t been lying. Lily and I, we were love at first sight. Once we’d locked eyes, there was no way to stop it from happening.

“Four-alarm …”

HISS, crackle, a beat of silence.

“Explosion, all units respond …”

Radio static, crackle … hiss …

Toothpaste coats the bowl of my sink from where I just spit, and I turn the faucet on to wash it away and rinse my brush. I got lost in my thoughts of Lily in between my bedtime routine and missed something on the police scanner I keep by my bed. But it keeps cutting in and out, and something sounds fishy.

Did I hear the word explosion?

Walking through the hall of my second floor, I turn into my bedroom, where the police radio sits on the corner of my desk. The piece of furniture is against the wall across from my bed, a king-sized monster which was the only splurge purchase I made when I bought my house.

Two years ago, I’d finally saved enough money and could afford a mortgage without defaulting on my business. The barbershop was making good money, and I’d decided to invest in Fawn Hill. Not that the small Pennsylvania town had a booming real estate market with out-of-towners vying for a plot of land, but this was my home and I knew I would stay here forever, so I might as well live in a place where I didn’t have to share a wall with loud neighbors, or worse, my brothers.

Just as I’m about to turn the radio up to listen closely, my phone rings on the nightstand beside my bed.

Quickly, I move for it, grabbing it as I see Keith’s, the town fire chief, name flash across the screen.

“Keith, what’s going on?” I’m already up, pulling a pair of basketball shorts on over my boxers.

“Bowen, sorry to call you in like this, but I need you here now. You know that suspected meth house out past the county line?”

Did I know it? Without a doubt, I did. I’d dragged my brother out of that place half-alive not less than a year ago.

But I don’t say as much. “Yeah, I know the place.”

On the other end of the phone, it sounds like the sky is falling down. “Damn fools went and got themselves blown up. The fire is bad, at least a four-alarm, and it’s spreading to the trees. We need to contain it before it gets to the surrounding farms. We need all the hands we can get.”

“I’ll be there in twenty.” I’m nodding, knowing the drive takes thirty-five.

The phone goes dead before I can end the call abruptly. I run to my closet, shuck off the basketball shorts and dig in the back to find the spare