Into the Fire - SAMPLE

Chapter Two

Chris stood up when he heard the bathroom door open. It had been hellish sitting in the living room listening to the shower running. He'd started to worry when she seemed to be taking so very long. Now, as she came down the hallway carrying her dirty clothes, he understood why the shower had been a long one. Her eyes were red-rimmed and slightly puffy. She'd had herself a cry in there and Chris was a bit relieved, to be honest. It was far better to get her emotions out than hold them inside to fester like an uncleaned wound. Ally had lost the shelter and not all the animals had been saved. He knew she was traumatized. Her tears were a sign she was starting to deal with it.

"Thanks for the use of the shower," she said quietly. It looked like she was trying to smile but her lips only curved up briefly before falling again.

"Here." He reached down and picked up a glass. "I got you a glass of wine."

Her eyebrows lifted. "You have wine?"

"I keep the odd bottle around." He held out the glass until she came forward and took it.

"You were always a beer man," she mentioned, holding the glass in one hand and her dirty clothing in the other.

So she did remember. There were times he saw her around town that he wondered. She had a way of looking at him that was so bland, so impersonal, it was like they'd never been lovers. In love. Engaged. He swallowed. Asking Ally to marry him had been a miscalculation at the least, a colossal mistake at the worst.

And the knowing way she was looking at him now spoke volumes. He wondered if she'd be surprised to learn that in the two months since he'd taken possession of the house, she was the first woman to set foot in it?

"Still am a beer man," he answered. "Here, let me put those in a bag for you."

He reached for her clothes, realizing too late that, while neatly folded, her panties and bra peeked out from beneath her shirt.

Funny. He didn't usually find women's underwear intimidating. And she wasn't even wearing it...

Which made him realize that she couldn't possibly be wearing anything beneath the pants and T-shirt he'd given her.

His body went hard.

"Chris? The bag?"

"Oh, right." He took the clothes from her hands, went into the kitchen to grab a shopping bag from the broom closet and dumped them inside. He let out a breath. Maybe bringing her back here had been a mistake. But he'd seen the glazed look in her eyes and he knew how her parents could be. Suffocating. It all stemmed from losing their older daughter. They tended to be on the overprotective side. What Ally had needed was space to breathe, to get her balance again.

He counted to ten, reminded himself that she had broken up with him, and hoped that the embarrassment and pain would be enough to deflate the situation. He was wrong. And he couldn't stand in the kitchen forever. He'd have to just hope she didn't notice. Things were awkward enough.

He kept the bag in front of him and once he'd handed it over, he sat down on the sofa. "Come, sit, drink your wine," he suggested. He picked up his glass of ice water.

She sat on the opposite side, not quite pressed up against the arm of the sofa but with the centre cushion separating them. It was the only place to sit in the room, and the distance between them was obvious.

"You look better. Smell better." He angled her a teasing look, hoping to dispel the tension that had filled the room ever since she'd come out of the bathroom. His heart twisted a little at the sight of her puffy eyelids.

"I feel better. I had a minor meltdown in there."

"I figured. You took quite a while."

"I can't believe it's gone, you know? And Chester, and the kittens..." Her eyes filled with tears again. "It is...was...a no-euthanize shelter. It doesn't seem fair that after all that, they're gone anyway." She sniffled.