WE BELONG TOGETHER EXCERPT
All books in this series are stand alone stories, but are best enjoyed in order.
Chapter 1
Luke Trainer stuffed his hands in the pockets of his uniform pants as he walked down the main street of his hometown Ryker Falls.
Fall was here with a vengeance, and the air had a bite to it. That and the scent of pumpkin spice that meant every young woman in town pulled on those furry head bands and boots that looked like they could do a five-day trek through the mountains in thick snow.
“Hey, Miss Marla.”
“Hello, Luke. I’m just doing a quick recce on the competition, but I think we have the best window display this year.”
“My money’s on you.” The woman, her sister, and her niece owned the local tea shop. A tea shop wasn’t something you expected to find in a small town like this, but it worked. Plus, it had the best lemon and blueberry scones around.
“You’re such a sweetie.” She patted his cheek. Her pumpkin-colored pants suit and boots in green leather shouldn’t have worked, but always did on a Robbins sister.
Halloween brought out the true crazy in this town. Shop owners competed for the best window displays, and the locals for the home and yard that looked the best. Kids ramped up that excitement by dashing about the place shrieking at the displays and entering shops in the hopes that candy was already on offer.
“Well, hell, if it isn’t the last man standing,” a big man holding two spray cans said. He had one foot on a ladder, bracing it for his girl who was seated above. Standing beside him was a pony wrapped in a plaid blanket. In any other town, that might appear odd.
“Hey, Monica.” Luke scratched her behind a long ear. “Where’s your duck?”
“M.D. is not big on being social.” Nash Winter sprayed an arc of pumpkin color along the base of the glass. The pony had arrived on Nash’s doorstep with a duck and never left.
“Can’t say as I blame him. And what was that last-man-standing comment about?”
“You’re single.”
“Hi, Luke,” the girl sitting on top of the ladder said.
“And now you two are loved up, you’re suddenly a little ray of sunshine aren’t you, bud?”
Nash gave him a wide smile that reached all corners of his face. “It was always in me.”
“Why are you doing that?” Both were decorating Mrs. L’s window. Luna was perched on the ladder, and Nash was below. “Don’t tell me, let me guess.” Luke raised a hand as Luna opened her mouth. “She’s too mean to pay someone to decorate it, and Rory was busy?”
“On the money—or not, as it turns out,” Luna said. She had a spray can in one hand and a lot of orange paint on her fingers.
She’d come to Ryker to visit a friend and fallen for the grumpiest asshole here. The man at her feet. She had honey-blonde hair and a pretty face and was a social media influencer who ran a company worth a considerable sum of money. Luke liked her, even though he didn’t understand what she did.
“Do either of you actually know what you’re doing?”
“No,” they both said. “But you get what you pay for, which in this case is nothing,” Nash said.
“Fair to say she’s not winning the comp then.”
“I heard that, Luke Trainer, and I’m winning this year. The prize is a month’s supply of those chocolate pain thingies from Albert and two dinners at A.S. Plus, Ted’s throwing in a night for two at the lodge.”
“Pain au chocolat,” Luke corrected her at the same time as Nash. “Who are you taking for the sleepover?”
Mrs. L’s smile was sneaky. “A lady never kisses and tells.” She gave her window a look, nodded, then headed back inside.
“I think she’s got her sights on you,” Nash said. “Being the last man standing and all.”
“Fuck off, there are plenty of single guys in town.”
“But none are the assistant chief of the Ryker Falls Fire Department and hot,” Luna said.
“You can’t call him hot with me standing here!” Nash looked outraged.
“Where is that rule written?” Luna asked.
“I-It’s a given,” Nash spluttered.
“Oh, now my day just got a whole lot better,” Luke said. “Thanks, Luna, you’re pretty hot too.”
Luna giggled, Nash growled, and Luke thought his job there was done, so he walked on after giving the pony a final scratch, leaving them arguing.
“What I didn’t add was no one is as hot as you, Nash Winter.”
Luke looked over his shoulder in time to see Nash pluck Luna off the ladder and kiss her.
“Loved-up people are nauseating,” he muttered. He was surrounded by them, and normally he didn’t mind it—in fact he loved seeing those closest to him happy. But lately it was getting harder to stomach. Possibly because his aunt, sisters-in-law, cousin, and friends had asked him when he was going to find that special someone and settle down.
Never, he’d wanted to reply. Instead he’d simply smiled and said, “Soon.”
Yawning because he’d pulled two double shifts already this week, Luke headed into A.S., his brother’s bar. Apple Sours had been Joe’s first step into becoming the man he was today. Strong, loyal, and a brother he could always count on.
“Hey, Em. Joe in?”
“Sure, he’s working the bar tonight.”
Nodding, he headed that way.
The place was filling up. Tourists visited Ryker year-round, so the businesses thrived. They’d recently renovated in here after a lot of debate. The Trainer family liked to debate and generally interfere in each other’s lives. This had been no different.
Piper, their cousin, had said Joe needed more of a statement with wall colors. She’d suggested teal and tan accents with a wood-paneled feature wall. Joe had gone for cream walls with deep blue trim.
“Luke.”
He nodded to those who called his name. When you were born and raised in a town, you were on nodding terms with most people.
The bar was a huge slab of wood a friend had made for Joe, and it was where he and his family had spent many hours talking and hanging out.
“Bro.” His big brother was behind the bar. Dark like all the Trainers, Luke and Joe were the most alike.
“What’s with the face?” Joe added, reaching over to slap his hand.
“Nothing. Just been a long few days, and I’m on call. So a coffee and burger would be good.”
“Okay, I’ll put your order through.” Joe shot him a look, then headed away to do what he’d said.
Joe was one of his people. Luke had a handful that he trusted, and yeah, in recent years that had expanded, but the nucleus of his support centered around his brothers, his cousin Pip, and his aunt Jess.
The beeper on his belt went off.
“Well, fuck,” he muttered. “Save it, Joe. I got a call out!”
“Come in after!” Joe’s words followed him.
Luke ran out of A.S. and up the street to where he’d parked his Jeep. He did a U-turn and headed toward the station. He was there in minutes. Pulling into a parking spot, he leapt out.
“What’s up, Milly?” he said to the dispatcher.
“Harper place. Shelly Harper said they have a fire in one of their barns.”
Luke grunted something and ran to his locker to pull on his gear. Minutes later, he was in the driver seat of the fire truck, and they were heading out of Ryker Falls.
“Ten minutes,” Mani was saying into his phone from beside him. “Tell her we’ll be there in ten.”
He turned into the drive of Harpers’ Berry Farm and put his foot down on the gas pedal. To the left and right he saw the land the family owned. Ivan Harper had an airstrip and often took tourists on private tours. They also had lots of goats.
“What’s the deal with the goats?”
“Not really sure,” Luke said. “But apparently they’ve always had goats on Harpers’ Berry farm for as long as it’s been here.”
He saw the flames as they passed the long, low homestead.
“At least the barn isn’t close to the house,” Mani said as Luke drove as close as he could.
Four of them were in the truck. Luke jumped out and ran with Mani while the others got the gear ready.
“Oh thank god! Ivan’s in there. Him and Quinn!” Shelly Harper screamed at Luke as he approached. She was crying and wringing her hands.
“In the barn?”
“Yes.” Her word was choked on a sob. “Quinn is home. She went in there when the fire started to find her father.”
Running around the burning building, he noticed the rear hadn’t caught yet but didn’t think the roof would hold for long. He only had minutes.
“Luke!”
He turned to find Mani on his heels.
“I’m going in,” he called. “Get the hoses working!”
“That roof isn’t going to last!”
“Yeah, on it!” Running in through the opening, he yelled, “Quinn!”
The flames were catching fast, especially with the piles of hay and wood stacked in there. Calm settled over him. It was always like this when he walked into a dangerous situation. All his training took over, and he focused on what needed to be done.
“Ivan!”
He heard coughing to the left and headed that way. He found two people. Ivan Harper was lying on his side with a little dog licking his face, and Quinn was trying to pull him to his feet. Both were coughing as the smoke cloaked them.
“Get out!” Luke told her. “I’ve got him.” He grabbed one of Mr. Harper’s hands and bent to lift him, then hoisted him over a shoulder.
“Move it, Quinn!”
She grabbed the dog as Luke heard the creak of the roof and knew he only had seconds.
“Faster!”
She ran with him on her heels. They burst out of the barn just as the roof collapsed.
The noise was loud in the night air as Luke lowered Ivan to the ground. He hauled in a deep breath as he eased the man onto his back.
“I’m okay.” Ivan’s cough was more a ragged exhale. “Sit me up.”
He did as he was asked. It was then he noted the full leg cast.
“You okay, Luke? Ambulance is on its way,” Steph, another of his crew, said.
“Look him over, then get him to the ambulance,” Luke said.
“Quinn?” Ivan rasped. “Help my girl, Luke.”
Luke did as he asked and found Quinn sitting with her head between her knees.
“I got her, Steph, you get Mr. Harper to the house.” Luke dropped down beside Quinn.
Her eyes went to his. Dark, he thought, but as the light wasn’t good he couldn’t tell the exact color. Last time he’d seen this woman she’d probably been in grade school, seeing as he hadn’t put in much time at high school, and was still wearing those pigtails her mom loved. The truth was he couldn’t remember much about her, because Luke had been one of the bad Trainer boys, that everyone avoided.
“You okay, Quinn?”
“Dad?” Luke held her down as she tried to rise.
“He’s okay and getting checked over. You got any burns?”
She shook her head. “I want to see him.”
“Just take a minute to get your breath, then I’ll help you up.”
She inhaled, then exhaled with a cough.
“You sure you’re not hurting anywhere, Quinn?”
“No. I need to go to Dad.” She got to her feet.
“He’s okay.” He tried to push her back down, but she resisted. “Steph is taking him to the house. The ambulance should be arriving any second. You need to sit and rest.”
“I have to go to him.” She was quick and slipped out of his grip before he could stop her. Luke didn’t follow, instead moving to check progress in putting out the fire. Steph was with her father, and she’d check her over before the ambulance arrived.
He and the rest of his crew worked in dousing the flames and finally managed to get it under control.
“You got this now?” he asked.
“Got it,” they yelled back.
He left two crew to check for hot spots and headed to the house. When he reached it, he found the ambulance had arrived and Mr. Harper was seated inside. One of the paramedics was with Quinn a few feet away.
“How’s she doing?”
“Okay. Some smoke inhalation but good otherwise. No burns,” the paramedic said.
Mrs. Harper was standing a few feet away, her gaze going from her husband to her daughter.
“They’re going to be okay,” he said, moving closer.
“I can’t thank you enough for saving my family, Luke.”
“Your daughter had it covered, I just helped.”
“She was not strong enough to get Ivan out.” She looked close to tears. “If you hadn’t come, I don’t know what would have happened.”
“Does Ivan have crutches?” Luke asked Mrs. Harper.
She clamped her lips into a tight line. “He has crutches but seems to think he can hobble about without them.” Mrs. Harper moved closer to her husband when he called her name.
Luke looked at Quinn, who was watching her parents walk away. The paramedic was back at the ambulance so she stood all alone now. She wore a military cap with the word “Quinderella” on the back. Curls came through the opening and poked out underneath. It topped her outfit of jeans and a sweatshirt, and on her feet were tan leather boots.
“Things are under control, Luke.”
“Thanks, Mani.”
Luke took off his helmet, and shrugged out of his heavy coat, then moved to stand in front of Quinn. Shock was setting in; he could see the signs. She was shivering. Her knees seemed to give out, and she fell onto her butt.
“Hey, Quinn, you doing okay?” He crouched before her.
“Yes. Thank you for saving my dad.”
“You’d have got him out.”
“Maybe.”
“He’s going to be okay, Quinn.” Her face was pale and smeared with dirt, but there was no mistaking what lay beneath that dirt. Quinn Harper had grown up pretty, he thought as his pulse kicked up a beat.
“I’m Luke Trainer. You probably don’t remember me.”
No reaction came over her face to suggest she remembered the reputation he and his brothers had had.
“Thanks for helping us.” She held out her hand, and he took it. It was slender inside his; he shook it gently.
“Let’s go check on your dad.” Luke reached for her.
“I got it.”
“Sure you do.” He picked her up and helped her stand. “But after something like that, you have to be a bit rattled.”
He put her height at about five foot seven, as she came to his nose and he was six foot three.
“I don’t get rattled easily, but thanks anyway.”
“A person who can be calm in the face of crazy is a treasure,” Luke teased her.
“Thanks.”
“I can see the girl you were in that face. Just the pigtails missing these days.”
She winced. “I hated those pigtails.”
“Yeah, well, we all have stuff from our youth we don’t like.”
Her eyes skimmed over his face, and he knew she was remembering who he’d once been. “I remember you had a left cheek dimple, and I have a right one. Miss Marla used to call us her dimple twins.”
“I’d forgotten that,” Luke said.
“Plus, you still have those eyes.” Quinn’s words came out fast, running over each other as if he made her nervous.
He studied the dimple that bracketed her mouth. His did the same on the right, and he’d always hated it. On her it looked real nice though.
“Eyes?” He nudged her toward the ambulance and kept pace.
“Really green, and long lashes that seemed a crime for a boy to have,” she said.
“I’m trying to work out if that’s a compliment or not.”
She snorted.
He went back to check on the fire briefly and walked around the now incinerated barn. What had started the fire? Heading back to the ambulance, he spoke to Mr. Harper.
“You doing okay, Mr. Harper?”
“Thank you, Luke.” He held out a hand. “You saved my life, and that of my daughter.”
“Quinn would have got you out.”
“She would have.” He nodded.
“How did the fire start?” Luke asked.
He looked down at his feet.
“Mr. Harper?”
“My husband is forgetful sometimes,” Mrs. Harper said.
“I didn’t start the fire, Shelley.”
“Now, Ivan—”
“I did not start that fire,” Mr. Harper said in a stronger voice. “I know I’m getting older, but contrary to what you think, my mind is not going. I know I didn’t start that fire.”
“If you say so, dear.” His wife patted his arm.
“Perhaps it was a spark from something?” Luke asked, his eyes moving between the Harpers.
“Dad.” Quinn joined them. “We’ll talk about this later.”
“We’ll talk about it now.” Mr. Harper looked from his daughter to Luke.
“What’s going on, Mr. Harper?”
Quinn closed her eyes briefly, and Mrs. Harper looked in pain.
“Nothing.” Mr. Harper sighed.
He didn’t know what he was missing, but he knew tension, and there was a tone of it vibrating from the Harpers.
Fall was here with a vengeance, and the air had a bite to it. That and the scent of pumpkin spice that meant every young woman in town pulled on those furry head bands and boots that looked like they could do a five-day trek through the mountains in thick snow.
“Hey, Miss Marla.”
“Hello, Luke. I’m just doing a quick recce on the competition, but I think we have the best window display this year.”
“My money’s on you.” The woman, her sister, and her niece owned the local tea shop. A tea shop wasn’t something you expected to find in a small town like this, but it worked. Plus, it had the best lemon and blueberry scones around.
“You’re such a sweetie.” She patted his cheek. Her pumpkin-colored pants suit and boots in green leather shouldn’t have worked, but always did on a Robbins sister.
Halloween brought out the true crazy in this town. Shop owners competed for the best window displays, and the locals for the home and yard that looked the best. Kids ramped up that excitement by dashing about the place shrieking at the displays and entering shops in the hopes that candy was already on offer.
“Well, hell, if it isn’t the last man standing,” a big man holding two spray cans said. He had one foot on a ladder, bracing it for his girl who was seated above. Standing beside him was a pony wrapped in a plaid blanket. In any other town, that might appear odd.
“Hey, Monica.” Luke scratched her behind a long ear. “Where’s your duck?”
“M.D. is not big on being social.” Nash Winter sprayed an arc of pumpkin color along the base of the glass. The pony had arrived on Nash’s doorstep with a duck and never left.
“Can’t say as I blame him. And what was that last-man-standing comment about?”
“You’re single.”
“Hi, Luke,” the girl sitting on top of the ladder said.
“And now you two are loved up, you’re suddenly a little ray of sunshine aren’t you, bud?”
Nash gave him a wide smile that reached all corners of his face. “It was always in me.”
“Why are you doing that?” Both were decorating Mrs. L’s window. Luna was perched on the ladder, and Nash was below. “Don’t tell me, let me guess.” Luke raised a hand as Luna opened her mouth. “She’s too mean to pay someone to decorate it, and Rory was busy?”
“On the money—or not, as it turns out,” Luna said. She had a spray can in one hand and a lot of orange paint on her fingers.
She’d come to Ryker to visit a friend and fallen for the grumpiest asshole here. The man at her feet. She had honey-blonde hair and a pretty face and was a social media influencer who ran a company worth a considerable sum of money. Luke liked her, even though he didn’t understand what she did.
“Do either of you actually know what you’re doing?”
“No,” they both said. “But you get what you pay for, which in this case is nothing,” Nash said.
“Fair to say she’s not winning the comp then.”
“I heard that, Luke Trainer, and I’m winning this year. The prize is a month’s supply of those chocolate pain thingies from Albert and two dinners at A.S. Plus, Ted’s throwing in a night for two at the lodge.”
“Pain au chocolat,” Luke corrected her at the same time as Nash. “Who are you taking for the sleepover?”
Mrs. L’s smile was sneaky. “A lady never kisses and tells.” She gave her window a look, nodded, then headed back inside.
“I think she’s got her sights on you,” Nash said. “Being the last man standing and all.”
“Fuck off, there are plenty of single guys in town.”
“But none are the assistant chief of the Ryker Falls Fire Department and hot,” Luna said.
“You can’t call him hot with me standing here!” Nash looked outraged.
“Where is that rule written?” Luna asked.
“I-It’s a given,” Nash spluttered.
“Oh, now my day just got a whole lot better,” Luke said. “Thanks, Luna, you’re pretty hot too.”
Luna giggled, Nash growled, and Luke thought his job there was done, so he walked on after giving the pony a final scratch, leaving them arguing.
“What I didn’t add was no one is as hot as you, Nash Winter.”
Luke looked over his shoulder in time to see Nash pluck Luna off the ladder and kiss her.
“Loved-up people are nauseating,” he muttered. He was surrounded by them, and normally he didn’t mind it—in fact he loved seeing those closest to him happy. But lately it was getting harder to stomach. Possibly because his aunt, sisters-in-law, cousin, and friends had asked him when he was going to find that special someone and settle down.
Never, he’d wanted to reply. Instead he’d simply smiled and said, “Soon.”
Yawning because he’d pulled two double shifts already this week, Luke headed into A.S., his brother’s bar. Apple Sours had been Joe’s first step into becoming the man he was today. Strong, loyal, and a brother he could always count on.
“Hey, Em. Joe in?”
“Sure, he’s working the bar tonight.”
Nodding, he headed that way.
The place was filling up. Tourists visited Ryker year-round, so the businesses thrived. They’d recently renovated in here after a lot of debate. The Trainer family liked to debate and generally interfere in each other’s lives. This had been no different.
Piper, their cousin, had said Joe needed more of a statement with wall colors. She’d suggested teal and tan accents with a wood-paneled feature wall. Joe had gone for cream walls with deep blue trim.
“Luke.”
He nodded to those who called his name. When you were born and raised in a town, you were on nodding terms with most people.
The bar was a huge slab of wood a friend had made for Joe, and it was where he and his family had spent many hours talking and hanging out.
“Bro.” His big brother was behind the bar. Dark like all the Trainers, Luke and Joe were the most alike.
“What’s with the face?” Joe added, reaching over to slap his hand.
“Nothing. Just been a long few days, and I’m on call. So a coffee and burger would be good.”
“Okay, I’ll put your order through.” Joe shot him a look, then headed away to do what he’d said.
Joe was one of his people. Luke had a handful that he trusted, and yeah, in recent years that had expanded, but the nucleus of his support centered around his brothers, his cousin Pip, and his aunt Jess.
The beeper on his belt went off.
“Well, fuck,” he muttered. “Save it, Joe. I got a call out!”
“Come in after!” Joe’s words followed him.
Luke ran out of A.S. and up the street to where he’d parked his Jeep. He did a U-turn and headed toward the station. He was there in minutes. Pulling into a parking spot, he leapt out.
“What’s up, Milly?” he said to the dispatcher.
“Harper place. Shelly Harper said they have a fire in one of their barns.”
Luke grunted something and ran to his locker to pull on his gear. Minutes later, he was in the driver seat of the fire truck, and they were heading out of Ryker Falls.
“Ten minutes,” Mani was saying into his phone from beside him. “Tell her we’ll be there in ten.”
He turned into the drive of Harpers’ Berry Farm and put his foot down on the gas pedal. To the left and right he saw the land the family owned. Ivan Harper had an airstrip and often took tourists on private tours. They also had lots of goats.
“What’s the deal with the goats?”
“Not really sure,” Luke said. “But apparently they’ve always had goats on Harpers’ Berry farm for as long as it’s been here.”
He saw the flames as they passed the long, low homestead.
“At least the barn isn’t close to the house,” Mani said as Luke drove as close as he could.
Four of them were in the truck. Luke jumped out and ran with Mani while the others got the gear ready.
“Oh thank god! Ivan’s in there. Him and Quinn!” Shelly Harper screamed at Luke as he approached. She was crying and wringing her hands.
“In the barn?”
“Yes.” Her word was choked on a sob. “Quinn is home. She went in there when the fire started to find her father.”
Running around the burning building, he noticed the rear hadn’t caught yet but didn’t think the roof would hold for long. He only had minutes.
“Luke!”
He turned to find Mani on his heels.
“I’m going in,” he called. “Get the hoses working!”
“That roof isn’t going to last!”
“Yeah, on it!” Running in through the opening, he yelled, “Quinn!”
The flames were catching fast, especially with the piles of hay and wood stacked in there. Calm settled over him. It was always like this when he walked into a dangerous situation. All his training took over, and he focused on what needed to be done.
“Ivan!”
He heard coughing to the left and headed that way. He found two people. Ivan Harper was lying on his side with a little dog licking his face, and Quinn was trying to pull him to his feet. Both were coughing as the smoke cloaked them.
“Get out!” Luke told her. “I’ve got him.” He grabbed one of Mr. Harper’s hands and bent to lift him, then hoisted him over a shoulder.
“Move it, Quinn!”
She grabbed the dog as Luke heard the creak of the roof and knew he only had seconds.
“Faster!”
She ran with him on her heels. They burst out of the barn just as the roof collapsed.
The noise was loud in the night air as Luke lowered Ivan to the ground. He hauled in a deep breath as he eased the man onto his back.
“I’m okay.” Ivan’s cough was more a ragged exhale. “Sit me up.”
He did as he was asked. It was then he noted the full leg cast.
“You okay, Luke? Ambulance is on its way,” Steph, another of his crew, said.
“Look him over, then get him to the ambulance,” Luke said.
“Quinn?” Ivan rasped. “Help my girl, Luke.”
Luke did as he asked and found Quinn sitting with her head between her knees.
“I got her, Steph, you get Mr. Harper to the house.” Luke dropped down beside Quinn.
Her eyes went to his. Dark, he thought, but as the light wasn’t good he couldn’t tell the exact color. Last time he’d seen this woman she’d probably been in grade school, seeing as he hadn’t put in much time at high school, and was still wearing those pigtails her mom loved. The truth was he couldn’t remember much about her, because Luke had been one of the bad Trainer boys, that everyone avoided.
“You okay, Quinn?”
“Dad?” Luke held her down as she tried to rise.
“He’s okay and getting checked over. You got any burns?”
She shook her head. “I want to see him.”
“Just take a minute to get your breath, then I’ll help you up.”
She inhaled, then exhaled with a cough.
“You sure you’re not hurting anywhere, Quinn?”
“No. I need to go to Dad.” She got to her feet.
“He’s okay.” He tried to push her back down, but she resisted. “Steph is taking him to the house. The ambulance should be arriving any second. You need to sit and rest.”
“I have to go to him.” She was quick and slipped out of his grip before he could stop her. Luke didn’t follow, instead moving to check progress in putting out the fire. Steph was with her father, and she’d check her over before the ambulance arrived.
He and the rest of his crew worked in dousing the flames and finally managed to get it under control.
“You got this now?” he asked.
“Got it,” they yelled back.
He left two crew to check for hot spots and headed to the house. When he reached it, he found the ambulance had arrived and Mr. Harper was seated inside. One of the paramedics was with Quinn a few feet away.
“How’s she doing?”
“Okay. Some smoke inhalation but good otherwise. No burns,” the paramedic said.
Mrs. Harper was standing a few feet away, her gaze going from her husband to her daughter.
“They’re going to be okay,” he said, moving closer.
“I can’t thank you enough for saving my family, Luke.”
“Your daughter had it covered, I just helped.”
“She was not strong enough to get Ivan out.” She looked close to tears. “If you hadn’t come, I don’t know what would have happened.”
“Does Ivan have crutches?” Luke asked Mrs. Harper.
She clamped her lips into a tight line. “He has crutches but seems to think he can hobble about without them.” Mrs. Harper moved closer to her husband when he called her name.
Luke looked at Quinn, who was watching her parents walk away. The paramedic was back at the ambulance so she stood all alone now. She wore a military cap with the word “Quinderella” on the back. Curls came through the opening and poked out underneath. It topped her outfit of jeans and a sweatshirt, and on her feet were tan leather boots.
“Things are under control, Luke.”
“Thanks, Mani.”
Luke took off his helmet, and shrugged out of his heavy coat, then moved to stand in front of Quinn. Shock was setting in; he could see the signs. She was shivering. Her knees seemed to give out, and she fell onto her butt.
“Hey, Quinn, you doing okay?” He crouched before her.
“Yes. Thank you for saving my dad.”
“You’d have got him out.”
“Maybe.”
“He’s going to be okay, Quinn.” Her face was pale and smeared with dirt, but there was no mistaking what lay beneath that dirt. Quinn Harper had grown up pretty, he thought as his pulse kicked up a beat.
“I’m Luke Trainer. You probably don’t remember me.”
No reaction came over her face to suggest she remembered the reputation he and his brothers had had.
“Thanks for helping us.” She held out her hand, and he took it. It was slender inside his; he shook it gently.
“Let’s go check on your dad.” Luke reached for her.
“I got it.”
“Sure you do.” He picked her up and helped her stand. “But after something like that, you have to be a bit rattled.”
He put her height at about five foot seven, as she came to his nose and he was six foot three.
“I don’t get rattled easily, but thanks anyway.”
“A person who can be calm in the face of crazy is a treasure,” Luke teased her.
“Thanks.”
“I can see the girl you were in that face. Just the pigtails missing these days.”
She winced. “I hated those pigtails.”
“Yeah, well, we all have stuff from our youth we don’t like.”
Her eyes skimmed over his face, and he knew she was remembering who he’d once been. “I remember you had a left cheek dimple, and I have a right one. Miss Marla used to call us her dimple twins.”
“I’d forgotten that,” Luke said.
“Plus, you still have those eyes.” Quinn’s words came out fast, running over each other as if he made her nervous.
He studied the dimple that bracketed her mouth. His did the same on the right, and he’d always hated it. On her it looked real nice though.
“Eyes?” He nudged her toward the ambulance and kept pace.
“Really green, and long lashes that seemed a crime for a boy to have,” she said.
“I’m trying to work out if that’s a compliment or not.”
She snorted.
He went back to check on the fire briefly and walked around the now incinerated barn. What had started the fire? Heading back to the ambulance, he spoke to Mr. Harper.
“You doing okay, Mr. Harper?”
“Thank you, Luke.” He held out a hand. “You saved my life, and that of my daughter.”
“Quinn would have got you out.”
“She would have.” He nodded.
“How did the fire start?” Luke asked.
He looked down at his feet.
“Mr. Harper?”
“My husband is forgetful sometimes,” Mrs. Harper said.
“I didn’t start the fire, Shelley.”
“Now, Ivan—”
“I did not start that fire,” Mr. Harper said in a stronger voice. “I know I’m getting older, but contrary to what you think, my mind is not going. I know I didn’t start that fire.”
“If you say so, dear.” His wife patted his arm.
“Perhaps it was a spark from something?” Luke asked, his eyes moving between the Harpers.
“Dad.” Quinn joined them. “We’ll talk about this later.”
“We’ll talk about it now.” Mr. Harper looked from his daughter to Luke.
“What’s going on, Mr. Harper?”
Quinn closed her eyes briefly, and Mrs. Harper looked in pain.
“Nothing.” Mr. Harper sighed.
He didn’t know what he was missing, but he knew tension, and there was a tone of it vibrating from the Harpers.
READ THE COMPLETE RYKER FALLS SERIES
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