18. Kit

Talk about a hell of a homecoming!

Don’t get me wrong. Kieran was a great friend, but he was also my older brother. He didn’t count. So, if anyone could be considered the best friend I ever had, it was Zoe Collins.

Book nerd, insanely competitive, ray of sunshine, Zoe Collins.

I remembered racing my brother to her house every day during summer breaks. Our moms were friends, so it was common to have lunch or dinner at each other’s houses or for us to carpool together to school. That was one of the most fun times in my life.

And then it all ended when we had to move to Texas… but now we were back, and so was she.

“We became firefighters in Dallas a while ago. We came back to town to check on the house and heard that the local station was having some trouble keeping up with all of the fires going on around here,” I explained to her. “So, we did a little thinking. We’ve always missed this place, our parents still own our childhood house, and they need more hands here. It felt right to come back.”

Zoe’s jaw dropped.

“That’s… wow. So, are you guys just moving back now?” she asked, blinking hard as she processed all of the information I just dropped on her.

“We got set up at home a few weeks ago, but we had to do some training and tying up loose ends back in Dallas before fully taking the plunge,” I replied. “We just got settled a few days ago.”

Zoe dragged her fingers through her hair, drawing the strands back from her face. Her noticeably beautiful face. Given the fact that years had passed, she looked different.

Different as in strikingly gorgeous. Captivating curves. Sleek legs. Full lips.

Full lips that were moving. She was talking. I mentally shook myself, making myself focus.

“I can’t believe you guys are living in your old house. We had so many memories there,” Zoe sighed in a wistful manner.

“Have you been back home?” I asked her before I could process my words.

In an instant, Zoe’s smile plummeted off her face, her warm glow growing cold.

“I actually just came from there,” she replied as her eyes shifted away from mine. “I actually hadn’t seen my dad in a while, so it was about time to visit.”

She stayed away on purpose. I could hear the tension in her voice, her attempt to rein in her emotions. I remembered how close she was to her mom, and when I heard that she’d passed away, I immediately wondered how Zoe was handling the grief. We had only been around each other for a few minutes, and I could already tell that it had destroyed her.

“I’m sorry,” I told her as I placed my hand on her forearm.

Zoe looked down at my hand, her eyes blinking rapidly for a second. She then swallowed hard, took a break, and moved her arm away.

“It’s fine. So, how’s the house?” she asked as she plastered a casual expression on her face. A cover.

Since it had been a while, I wasn’t going to push her to open up to me right now. Whenever we were sad as kids, we always tried to distract each other with fun and games until everyone was smiling. I was going to attempt the same strategy.

“Want to see it? Kieran is there now,” I inquired as I lifted an eyebrow at her.

A smile— an actual smile— crossed her lips as she nodded.

“I’m sure you remember where to go, so I’ll meet you there,” I called out as we split ways to go to our own cars.

“See you there!” Zoe shouted back before disappearing into her car.

I smiled to myself and drove home, my eyes flickering to the rearview mirror to catch sight of her behind me. My heartbeat quickened, my fingers tightening on the wheel. Was I in some sort of fever dream right now?

It felt like I was traveling back in time, but things were also so different. Her mom was gone. We were all grown up. When I looked at her, I didn’t just see my childhood neighbor and friend. I saw a beautiful woman with pain and determination in her eyes.

I had to get to know her all over again, and I was interested to see what I would learn. If she let me.

I parked in front of my parents’ two-story brick house, a wave of nostalgia rolling over me. Damn, it was nice to be back. Dallas was cool and all, but there truly was no place like home.

“We’re doing a little renovating, so it’s kind of a construction zone inside,” I told Zoe once she joined me on the porch.

Zoe gave me a little pout.

“Aw, are you changing a lot?” she asked.

I chuckled and shook my head as I led her inside, hearing a few beats and bangs from the kitchen.

“Just changing out countertops, some cabinets, and most of the flooring,” I reassured her before leading her out of the foyer toward an open doorway on the left. “Kieran! You won’t believe who I ran into while I was out!”

“Who?” my brother’s voice echoed from the kitchen.

I paused at the doorway and motioned for Zoe to go inside first. Kieran was going to freak!

Zoe stepped into what used to be our functioning kitchen. Now, most of the old tile was torn up, and the countertops were gone. It looked like Kieran had ripped out one of the old wooden cabinets too. The smell of wood and metal infected a space that used to smell like lemons.

“Hey, Kieran,” she greeted him.

Kieran spun around from inspecting the sink, his eyes widening at the sight of her after a second of hard staring.

“Wait… Zoe?” he asked as he froze in place, probably trying to make sure that she was real.

Zoe held her hands out like she just performed a magic trick.

“Looks like we’re all back in town for the same reason,” she said with a wry look on her face.

Kieran’s eyes darted between me and Zoe as stunned silence rang from him.

“She’s doing a story on the arson incidents we were told about,” I explained to my brother, hoping to pump some life back in him.

Kieran snapped his fingers in realization.

“Right! Holy shit. You’re a writer?” he asked Zoe, his eyes doing a quick sweep of her. Something glinted in his eyes, and I was pretty sure he was mentally checking her out too. A lot had changed since we moved away.

Zoe nodded.

“And you two are firefighters. Remember your old treehouse? How you guys would rescue me from it?” she reminisced, quoting ‘rescue’ with her fingers.

“Hey, we were brave for nine-year-olds,” Kieran laughed as he stepped closer to her, his hand brushing her arm.

Zoe echoed his amusement and returned the touch, her eyes doing a sweep of their own.

While I kept mine short around my ears, Kieran let his dark hair curl past his ears. He had more of that rugged look than me, opting for flannel shirts and jeans over button-downs and khakis. We were only two years apart, so people always mistook us for twins when we were younger.

“Since we’re going down memory lane, I do request a tour of all the renovations you guys are doing,” Zoe said as she gestured around her.

“So you can approve or disapprove?” I teased her.

Zoe laughed, her eyes shining like they used to.

“Exactly,” she replied. “And you can tell me how you guys came to choose firefighting. I thought you would be scientists or artists or something.”

Kieran motioned for her to follow him to the dining room, which was only a room over.

“That was a long time ago, Zoe,” he chuckled. “But it’s not too far off. I went to school for engineering.”

“Engineering? What do you work on?” Zoe asked as she admired the new coat of pale green paint that I put on yesterday.

“Urban development. I actually want to do some work here once someone stops burning down everything,” Kieran muttered as he walked around the new dining table.

“This place could use a little TLC,” Zoe agreed as she passed by me, her arm brushing mine. She looked over her shoulder at me, my heartbeat stalling. “And what were you up to?”

“Criminology,” I replied with a proud look. “All those mystery games we played as kids helped a lot.”

“Put those detective skills to the test and figure out who’s causing all these fires,” Kieran told me, prompting me to chuckle. That was part of the plan.

Zoe placed her hand on her cheek and shook her head as her eyes darted between us.

“I can’t believe it! We’re all so grown up,” she sighed.

I shared a look with Kieran before holding my hand out to her.

“Want to see something cool then?” I asked her, my fingertips tingling as they longed to feel her touch again.

Zoe smiled and took my hand. As I led her out of the dining room, she grabbed Kieran’s arm on the way out, tugging him along with us. Some things hadn’t changed between us. The jokes. The closeness.

But a lot had changed too.

The tension in the air as our eyes met. The warmth of her touch. The desire that stirred in my chest.

Did she feel it too when she snuck a glance at us? When she purposely touched us too?

I took her down the hallway and stopped in front of mine and Kieran’s old bedroom, my hand resting on the doorknob.

“Ready?” I asked her, noticing how she still clung to Kieran’s arm.

Zoe shot me an impatient look. The same look she gave me when I teased her over presents or secrets.

“Don’t tease me, jerk.” She smirked as she nudged me.

My hand automatically found the small of her back to steady myself, our eyes locking for a second. Unfamiliar jolts of desire fired through me that I was forced to fight. With a casual smile on my face, I opened the door and stepped to the side.

Zoe gasped as she walked inside. Her head snapped back and forth as she explored the space.

“It looks exactly the same!” she exclaimed, reaching out to touch our old baseball posters and the spinning globe I had on my desk.

Kieran and I followed her inside, taking a moment to admire the same blue bedsheets and our action figures meticulously lined up on hanging shelves on the walls. We had a lot of good memories in this room and having her here with us just made everything come full circle.

Zoe plopped down on my bed in front of us, a look of wonder dazzling in her eyes. It was nice seeing her so happy, especially after how sad she looked when I brought up her mom.

“Zoe knows Cohen,” I told Kieran.

Kieran’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Really?” he asked her.

Zoe nodded and smiled in a manner that I couldn’t quite pinpoint. Shyness? Excitement? Nervousness?

“I’ve been working with the crew to investigate the fires… which means I’ll be working with you guys too,” she informed us.

It was like someone tied a rope around my chest and pulled, squeezing the air right out of my lungs. So, we were going to see her a lot. Heat burned low in my stomach as I gazed at her, watching the way her fingers pressed into the sheets.

I shouldn’t think of her like that… right? We were childhood best friends.

But the more I was around her, the more I saw her as the grown woman she was. Enticing. Sexy. Especially in that dress of hers.

Kieran finally broke the silence, tearing his eyes away from her.

“So, have you found out anything?” he asked her.

Zoe lowered her eyes and shrugged.

“There’s one thing… my mom was investigating a batch of arson incidents that happened around the time she died. It’s… weird,” she explained. “I’ve been trying to look for her research because she evidently found proof of who was doing the fires.”

My heart stopped. Of course, her mom had found something. She was a genius! Whenever I needed any help with my homework, she was there to explain things to me.

“She didn’t keep it in her office?” I asked.

Zoe shook her head.

“I checked the attic and her filing cabinets. The proof is somewhere, but I don’t know where,” Zoe sighed as she shook her head in defeat.

Kieran and I moved forward at the same time, sitting on either side of her.

“We’ll help you,” Kieran told her.

“We’ll find it,” I assured her, our arms brushing.

Zoe looked between us, a smile steadily appearing on her lips. She looped her arms with ours and rested her head on my shoulder.

“You guys are the best,” she murmured.

Would she still think that if she could hear the thoughts in our heads about her? Telling from the look in his eyes, Kieran felt the same way as me.

We wanted her in a way that was twisted. In a way that I wasn’t sure we could resist.