Light up the Night (Firehouse Three #2)(10)

It wouldn’t stay that way, however. She wouldn’t stand for it.

“Belinda!”

At the sound of her name she turned, the pale pink train of her satiny gown swirling out with the movement. There. Only about fifteen feet from her, an older woman with dark hair and an olive complexion was waving to her. The sapphire and diamond bracelet on her wrist sparkled with the movement.

Her target.

“Darling, I didn’t expect to see you here.” Drake’s mother, Vivian Hammerfell, pressed an airy kiss to Belinda’s cheek. “Is Drake with you?”

The question made Belinda’s chest squeeze uncomfortably. “No, he’s not.”

Vivian frowned, the dark-blue sparkles of her gown making her dark eyes look stormy. “I’d hoped he would at least turn up for the gala. He’d said he wasn’t going to make it, but I never quite believed him.”

Belinda took a deep, steadying breath that she hoped looked like a disappointed sigh. “Me, too. I wanted to talk to you about him, honestly. Do you have a minute?”

Vivian glanced over her shoulder at her husband, who was talking animatedly with an old friend while gesturing with his mostly-empty Scotch glass. “Of course.”

Together they walked to an empty corner of the ballroom, and on the way, Belinda silently recounted her plan.

This would work. It had to work.

“I had hoped that he would give up this fireman job and come back to work with us,” Vivian said, her full lips pulled down at the ends. She looked much younger than she was, only the tiny crow’s feet at the corners of her eyes giving away the fact that she wasn’t in her forties any longer. “It’s such a dangerous job.”

“I feel the same way,” Belinda said, patting Vivian’s hand. “And that’s why I think you and Mr. Hammerfell should really consider cutting him off.”

Vivian’s perfectly plucked eyebrows arched. “Cutting him off? What do you mean?”

Belinda gave a sad smile. It was go time. “Well, if you stopped supporting him while he’s off on this wild fireman adventure, then he’d be forced to come back home to us. It’s none of my business, but don’t you think you’re enabling his reckless behavior this way?”

Vivian’s surprised laugh took the wind from Belinda’s sails. “Oh, darling, we aren’t supporting him financially, if that’s what you mean.”

Belinda blinked. Then blinked again. “You’re not?”

Vivian shook her head, her glossy dark curls catching the light. “Absolutely not. We haven’t paid for a thing since he left for college. He’s done it all on his own. It was a point of pride for him, actually.” Her voice went soft and her eyes faraway as she said, “I’m proud of him for that. Even though I wish he would come home and work for us because it’s safer, I can’t ever fault him for the way he’s forged his own path.”

Belinda’s mouth fell open for a moment. She pictured the luxury apartment they’d shared, her father paying for her half. The brand-new pickup Drake had driven. The expensive vacations, the extravagant gifts.

The person bankrolling all that was—Drake?

“I’m sorry,” Belinda said, her spine going cold. “I just thought—”

“It’s okay, dear,” Vivian said, pulling Belinda in for a hug. “We miss him too. And Hunter. Lord knows we love that boy like he was Drake’s brother instead of best friend. And if there was an easy way to convince them to come back, we would. But for now perhaps it’s best if we just let Drake be. He’s happy, and doing what he loves, so we’ve got to stand back and let him.”

Vivian patted Belinda’s back for a moment, and Belinda fought the urge to jerk away.

“That tiff you had will blow over soon. Don’t worry.”

As Vivian continued to murmur kindness and sympathy, Belinda’s wheels spun wildly.

This wasn’t right. It couldn’t be right. Vivian was lying to her, wasn’t she?

“Excuse me,” Belinda said. “I need to go to the ladies’ room.”

Without waiting to hear Vivian’s response, Belinda turned on her heel and swept out of the ballroom. Skipping the door to the restroom, she ducked into a private alcove with two cushioned couches and a large potted plant.

Her cell phone was in her hand and dialing before she could stop it.

Not that she would have.

“Daddy, I need a plane ticket to Dallas. As soon as possible.”





4.

Friday…

The butterflies in Everly’s stomach had somehow transformed into an angry cloud of buzzing wasps since lunchtime.

The first eight firefighters to pull a shift at her tent had been super nice, helpful people. Of course, two of them had been female. Six of them had been guys who were scheduled to take part in the bachelor auction later that afternoon, and Everly had cheerfully let Charlie handle them.

Charlie hadn’t minded being the liaison with the guys, however. Naturally flirtatious anyway, Charlie really turned it on when faced with the hunky firefighters. Everly? She’d had to fight off a panic attack.

Everly sighed as she kneeled beside the next cage, reaching in past the excited hound-mix puppy to grab his overturned water dish. She was used to feeling like this. After all, she’d always been this way. She froze when it came to attractive members of the opposite sex. It was why she and Jesse got along so well. Neither of them could really handle people the same way they could animals.