Igniting the Flame (Firebrand Series) Read Free Page A

And you have a family who can help you.”
    If only she knew, but that was one of those things he’d buried beneath the surface that no one could see. And he wasn’t about to open up to a girl he’d just met. He tried to smile and stood up to shake off the memories. “Yeah, I’m home all right.”
    He walked to the edge of the shelter and looked out. In the few minutes he’d talked with Lainey, he’d told her more than he’d ever shared with anyone else, but he couldn’t voice the thing that was tearing him apart.
    He felt rather than saw her move to stand beside him. For some unexplained reason, he wanted to reach out and lace his fingers through hers. Just touch her but she would think that was too forward.
    Instead he turned to her and smiled. “Lainey, I’m glad we met today, and I really meant it when I said I’d like to get to know you better. Would you have dinner with me tomorrow night?”
    A slight frown wrinkled her forehead. “Dinner? I don’t know, Ash. I’m starting a new job tomorrow.”
    He smiled. “Then it can be a celebration. How about it? I’d like to spend some time with you.”
    The frown vanished, and her wet pony tail swished against her shoulders as she nodded. “I’d like that. What time?”
    “I’m not sure.” He pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “Give me your number, and I’ll call you tomorrow.”
    She recited the number as he programmed it in his phone, then told her his. Neither spoke for a moment as they tucked their phones back in their pockets. She didn’t meet his gaze as he glanced first at her, then outside. The rain was letting up. “Should we head to the parking lot?”
    She nodded, walked over to where her wet shirt still hung on the back of the bench, and picked it up. She stared down at the shirt for a moment before she draped it over her arm and turned to face him. Her eyes bore into him, and he swallowed hard.
    “Ash, you said you left your campsite this morning. Where did you camp last night?”
    He frowned and tilted his head to one side. Why would she care where he camped? He gestured toward the mountains in the distance. “Up by White Oak Creek. I’ve been there a week. Why?”
    She didn’t say anything as she stepped beside him. Then she stared in the direction he’d pointed, her eyebrows pulled down in concentration. “That’s mighty rugged country. No trail. Lots of climbing over boulders to get there. It’s a perfect place for someone to be alone and think.” After a moment she smiled, reached out, and patted his shoulder.
    At her touch, chills raced up his arm. How could she know exactly why he’d been up at White Oak all week? Maybe because she had just scraped off the first layer that covered all those things he’d hidden for years. Reeling from the look of sympathy she’d given him and the burning touch of her fingers on his arm, he followed her as she headed down the trail to the parking lot.
    This day had turned out differently than he’d thought when he left his campsite this morning. He’d started home with the intention of telling his father that he was leaving St. Claire and wouldn’t be taking his expected place at DeHan Enterprises. But now he found himself rethinking that decision, and all because of his encounter with Lainey Simpson.
    Did he really know what he wanted out of life? Maybe the answer lay with this woman who intrigued him. If so, he was going to enjoy every minute discovering what it was.
     

Chapter 3
    Lainey took a sip of coffee and stared at Ash over the rim of her cup. Never in her wildest dreams would she have believed that she’d be on a date with the guy who still reigned as the local legend on the football field as well as the most decorated soldier to ever come out of St. Claire, North Carolina.
    Since their chance meeting three weeks ago, her friendship with Ash had been like a whirlwind. They’d had dinner together at least twice and sometimes three times each week. On other nights he