Fight my fire, p.1
Fight My Fire, page 1
Fight My Fire
Copyright
First Edition, July 2023
Copyright © 2023 by Colleen Darley
Copyright notice: All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author or the publisher.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and incidents either are product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Warning: The unauthorized reproduction of distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and is punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Printed in the United States of America
Published by: Carxander Publishing
Minnesota
Dedication
This book is dedicated to my husband.
Thank you for putting up with the long hours,
tears, and endless caffeine runs.
In loving memory of our precious Thunderdog.
Eleven years with your smiling face
wasn't nearly long enough.
Playlist
Can’t Help Falling In Love by Gustixa
Somebody To Love by Queen
Love Story by Taylor Swift
I Hate The Way (stripped) by Sofia Carson
Lavender Haze by Taylor Swift
Somewhere Only We Know by Gustixa
Last Night by Morgan Wallen
Stay Stay Stay by Taylor Swift
All of Me by Davina Michelle
Circles by Post Malone
Heat Waves by Glass Animals
Prologue
㊋ Aly ㊋
(Ten Years Ago)
Defeat seeped into Aly Ortiz's bones, making her feel decades older than her sixteen years. Eight hours ago, her world had been perfect. If not perfect, it had at least felt close to it. The day had started with her abuela making her favorite breakfast of migas. Her long, straight dark hair held a curl for once. Her older sister Estrella had given her a tube of lip gloss that made her full lips look kissable. And there had been hints that Luke Bradley was going to ask her to be his girlfriend. In her teenage mind, it had felt like a reasonable assumption. They'd been on six or seven dates, not counting all the times they had hung out at lunch. Even her normally cautious best friends, Morgan and Savannah, had been sure he was going to make things official. His text message saying he had something really important he needed to tell her had been confirmation. Or so she had thought.
When Luke wasn't at what had become their normal morning meeting spot, Aly hadn't let that get to her. There were several legitimate reasons why he hadn't been there, the least of which was running late. She'd floated through first period, excited for whatever Luke's important declaration was. Second period, when she still hadn't seen or heard from him, her bubble of happiness started to deflate. Third period, when the whispers of Luke getting back with his ex-girlfriend, Cara, started, her stomach started to churn. Fourth period had her questioning everything she thought she knew. By the time lunch rolled around, Aly's stomach was twisted in knots, and not the good kind. She'd been right to be scared. Instead of Luke asking her out, his best friends, Blake and Keelan, had met her at the cafeteria doors. By the time Blake was done listing all the reasons Luke and Aly would never work, Aly's stomach fully rebelled. There, in front of the whole cafeteria, the eggs and red sauce she'd enjoyed for breakfast, spewed out of her mouth and onto Blake's white Nikes. When her stomach was done heaving, she ran. No way she could face her friends or the rest of the school after that humiliation.
'You should have known better,' she silently berated herself as she leaned against a traffic light pole, waiting for the next city bus to arrive. Tucking her chin against her chest, Aly let out a small sniffle. She scrubbed a hand down her face, wiping away any trace of tears. 'Get it together Aly. What would Estrella say if she saw you crying over some boy?' Her older sister would tell her no boy, or girl for that matter, was worth looking a hot mess in public. Luke wasn't just some boy though. Yeah, he'd been hot, but he'd also been easy to talk to. He'd listened, like really listened, when she talked about how screwed up she felt over her mom dying giving birth to her, and her dad leaving before she'd even been named. He'd even promised to always be there for her, that she would always be able to count on him. 'What a joke that turned out to be.'
Wordlessly, Aly pushed away from the pole as the bus she had been waiting on rolled to a stop. She offered the driver a brief smile, flashing her bus pass, before finding a seat near the rear exit. Her body slouched, the humiliation of the day making her leery of anyone glancing her way. She knew what they saw. There were puke crusties caked on the ends of her hair, she could feel them scratching her cheek, and there was no hiding the smear of vomit on her light pink sweater. For a moment she thought about texting Morgan and Savannah to see if one of them could meet her with something clean to wear, but then thought better of it. Morgan would mother hen her, and Savannah would tell her there were other guys out there. She couldn't deal with their good intentions, not when she was still covered in the evidence of her humiliation. How was she supposed to go back to school after this? Everyone would be talking about how Luke had Blake tell her to stay away from him, like she was some sort of stalker, and how her response had been to puke all over Blake. 'Stop thinking about it.'
Her stomach started to twist again as the bus pulled up to the stop closest to the animal shelter. Between home and the shelter, the shelter felt like the easiest choice. She wasn't ready to deal with the overwhelming “support” that her family would smother her with once they were through asking why she wasn't at school. They meant well, and everything they did was out of love but she was sixteen not six. She didn't need her older brother, Eduardo, threatening to beat up Luke or Blake. She didn't want one of Estrella's motherly pep talks about the right person was out there for her. And she especially couldn't handle any of their abuela's sympathetic looks and cheek pats. At the shelter, she could avoid reality by socializing kittens or walking dogs. She could cry into their fur without fear of judgment or pity.
Aly took a deep breath, hitched her backpack higher on her shoulder and stepped off. She ducked her head against the freezing rain that had started to pour and hurried towards the older but well kept brick building that housed the Piper Falls Animal shelter. She muttered a string of curses under her breath as she tried and failed to side step a puddle. Frigid muck seeped through her ankle boots and instantly soaked her socks. 'Could this day get any worse,' she sniffled, only to mentally kick herself when she caught sight of a familiar tall, muscular form lingering near the entrance of the shelter. Her steps faltered, landing her in another freezing cold puddle. Everything in her screamed to turn around and run after the bus. It was an appealing idea. One that she seriously considered for all of five seconds. The animal shelter was her safe place, not his. She never would have told him about going there when she felt sad if she had known he was going to humiliate her by having his friend tell her to leave him alone. If one of them was going to leave, it was going to be him. Head held high, she stomped towards the shelter doors, determined to walk in without acknowledging him.
“Aly.”
Her resolve to ignore him started to waver, only to be renewed when a puke encrusted strand of hair scratched her cheek, reminding her that he was an asshole that needed to be avoided. “Leave me alone,” she bit out through gritted teeth.
“I just need to explain.”
“Blake explained plenty.” Her eyes started to burn, unshed tears collecting on her lashes. Blake hadn't explained anything, really. He'd just started listing reasons why Aly needed to accept that her and Luke were never going to happen. He hadn't been cruel about it, she would give him that, but he hadn't been nice either. Blake wasn't the villain, though. That role belonged to Luke himself. No, not a villain, a coward. Luke was a coward. Instead of talking to her, and just saying, 'hey I think you're cool, but I only see you as a friend” or “I'm sorry, I realized I still have feelings for my ex,” he'd had his friend do it.
“He didn't explain anything,” Luke insisted. “Not the way I...” His words trailed off, a frown marring his handsome face as his gaze seemed to travel over her. Without saying another word, he unzipped his hoodie and draped it over her shoulders. “I shouldn't have asked Blake to talk to you. It just seemed easier at the time.”
“Easier for who? Not me. Not Blake.” She did kind of feel bad for puking on him. Blake hadn't deserved that. 'Yeah, well you didn't deserve being dumped by proxy.' “I thought you liked me,” Aly whispered. “You invited me to places. You kissed me. And I thought...” She shook her head. What was the use? Nothing either of them said was going to make her feel better or take away the humiliation of puking on Blake Falcon outside the cafeteria. “You know what, it doesn't matter. I thought wrong. Lesson learned.”
“No. That's just it, I did like you... I still do...” Luke jammed his fingers into his sandy colored hair. “It's just complicated. Cara...”
Cara Emerson. The mention of Luke's ex-girlfriend brought the taste of bile back to her mouth. Of course Cara was the reason for wh
“She's sick,” Luke interjected before she could ask if they were getting back together or if he just realized he still had feelings for his ex. “Some form of leukemia or something. I don't know. I sort of freaked out once I heard cancer.”
Cancer. It wasn't something Aly had much experience with, other than Facebook posts asking for prayers or some older person in the community had it. She wasn't naive, she knew it was possible for people her age to have it. She'd just never known anyone. Until now. Her throat constricted. “I'm sorry.” The words felt weak, hollow even, like a cop out because she felt like she needed to say something but didn't know what.
“She's scared. Says she doesn't think she can do this alone. This isn't how I wanted things to go, Aly. I just...” Luke's voice trailed off. He didn't need to say anything else. Aly understood. She also understood that this hurt worse than if he had decided he liked Cara better.
“You need to be there for her.” Taking a deep breath, Aly wrapped her arms around his waist. He hesitated for a moment before gathering close and burying his face against the top of her head. “I'll be there too,” she blurted out. “For both of you.” If the only way she could have Luke in her life was a friend, then so be it.
Chapter One
㊋ Aly ㊋
(Present Day)
Luck had never been Aly Ortiz's friend. If the first twenty-six years of her life hadn't already made that clear, her car running out of gas on a semi-deserted road five miles from her Abuela's certainly did. Fighting back the urge to cry, she barely managed to pull to the side of the road before her little SUV sputtered to a stop. When she'd put in her last twenty dollars just outside of Austin, she'd known there was a chance it wouldn't be enough gas. Each mile she had crept closer to Piper Falls, she'd convinced herself maybe she'd calculated wrong and it would be enough. Like everything else in her life, it had been another delusion that blew up in her face.
“Why, why couldn't you do your job just this once,” she whispered, her gaze darting toward the swinging Saint Michael medallion that hung from her rear view mirror. The only response was a raspy meow from Magic, the elderly cat she'd impulsively adopted off a Facebook pet rehoming page. She'd been lonely and it hadn't seemed fair that the black and white fluff ball was doomed for the shelter if someone didn't step up. The post claimed there was a new puppy that was scared of the cat, so of course it was time to ditch the fourteen year old cat.
Aly knew all too well what it felt like to be replaced. Ten years of putting up with Peter's temper tantrums and gaslighting, only to have him leave her for one of his barely eighteen-year-old students. His infidelity didn't sting as much as the fact that he'd ended the relationship. She hadn't been strong enough.
“Not the life you were expecting, huh,” she smiled ruefully as the overweight cat climbed over the console and flopped down in the passenger seat. “Oh sure,” she murmured, scratching his head, “now you want to sit up front.”
Magic blinked before yawning and curling in a ball that vibrated as he purred. She leaned her head against the steering wheel, eyes closed, as she tried to come to terms with the fact that she was going to have to call one of her siblings for help. Most likely her sister. Estrella wouldn't lecture the way their brother Eduardo would. Much as she loved Eduardo, she didn't think she could handle a round of 'I told you that Peter Snelling was nothing but scum. You should have listened Alejandra.' What sucked was he would be right. Eduardo had warned her, but she'd ignored him.
At sixteen, Aly had barely known Peter existed. He'd been a faceless classmate of her older brother. Their worlds collided by chance at a fundraiser for the local animal shelter. She'd been there to take her mind off Luke Bradley, and Peter had wanted to score bonus points with some scholarship board. They'd bonded over taking photos of adoptable dogs. The fact that he was older, with a Clark Kent sort of sexiness about him, hadn't hurt. It was innocent at first; mostly walking shelter dogs at the park or asking local businesses to donate to the shelter. Her brother had seethed over those interactions, but kept his grumbling to a minimum when their grandmother warned him that the more he spoke against Peter, the more Aly would run towards him. Abuela had been right, of course. For every negative word Eduardo said about Peter, Peter was singing Eduardo's praises. 'He's only looking out for his younger sister.' 'He's struggling to see what a beautiful woman his sister had grown up to be.' Defending Eduardo had been part of the trap, Aly knew that now, but back then it had felt like another point in favor of Peter.
'Stop thinking about him,' she silently berated. Shutting down thoughts of Peter felt like an impossible task. For a decade, he had consumed her life; sometimes willingly, but mostly out of self-preservation. Gaslighting had been his weapon of choice, and he'd wielded it like a pro. There wasn't a part of her life that he hadn't torn apart or made her question. At her lowest, she'd actually started to believe maybe he was right, maybe she was the problem. 'Stop thinking about him.'
Aly lifts her head, grimacing when she catches sight of her reflection in the rear view mirror. Her once golden skin was the color of wet bread dough, and dark circles formed half moons beneath her gray eyes. A tangled mess of hair that used to be the color melted chocolate but now resembled dull mud lifelessly hung over shoulders that had become accustomed to being slumped. She looked away, unable to look at the pathetic woman in the reflection. She had once been beautiful, with a ready smile on her lips and a twinkle in her eyes. “We'll get there again, won't we?” She couldn't help but smile when Magic trilled in response.
“Everything okay?”
Aly jumped at the sound of the muffled voice. Eyes wide, she turned in her seat to find a tall muscular guy with close cropped dark blonde hair and eyes the same color as the Texas sky above standing next to her window. Slowly, she let the hand that had been petting Magic inch towards the keychain sized pepper spray her sister insisted she carry. “We're great,” she lied, her fingers curling around the small tube. She'd never sprayed anyone before, but how hard could it be? “I pulled over to call my sister. She's expecting me.” It wasn't entirely a lie. She had been on the verge of calling Estrella, she'd just needed a moment. Her sister wasn't expecting her though. The last time they had talked, it had been after their abuela was admitted to the hospital with a heart scare that turned out to be a bad case of indigestion. Essie had begged her to come home. Abuela wasn't getting any younger, and Aly needed to be with her family, not some narcissistic bastard who didn't appreciate her. “In fact, my sister is on her way to get me right now,” she continued. Maybe if this stranger thought someone would be showing up at any moment, he would back off.
“You might be waiting a while,” the guy teased, his lips stretching into a quirky grin that felt familiar somehow. “Last time I spoke to her, she was on her way to Austin.”
Wasn't that just great. If she had called Estrella before leaving Austin, and told her that she wanted to come home, she wouldn't have run out of gas on one of the back roads leading into Piper Falls. Nor would she be contemplating using pepper spray on the sexy stranger hovering outside her door. Everything in her stilled as she took a closer look at him. He was taller than he had been in high school, and years of being a firefighter had filled him out, but there was no mistaking that quirky grin.
