Free Igniting the Flame (Firebrand Series) by Sandra Robbins Page B

and he gritted his teeth. “Ash, I won’t let you destroy everything I’ve ever wanted for you. You can’t do this.”
    “Don’t make this harder than it already is. I’m leaving in the morning, and you can’t stop me.”
    His father stepped closer and jabbed him in the chest with a finger. “If you walk out of this house, don’t you ever bother coming back. You won’t be welcome here.”
    Ash had been expecting to hear those words for half his life, but he hadn’t realized how they would hurt when they finally came. He blinked back the moisture in his eyes and nodded. “If that’s the way you want it, I guess that’s the way it’ll be. I know now I could never live in St. Claire. I don’t think I’ll wait until the morning. I’ll grab a few clothes and stay over at Lainey’s until it’s time to leave tomorrow.” He started to walk from the room but stopped at the door and turned back to his father. “And for the last time, Firebrand is not a group of mercenaries. It’s a group of patriotic soldiers wanting to help their country.”
    Ash trudged up the stairs to his room and walked inside. He sank down on the side of the bed, clasped his hands between his knees, and took a long look. Nothing much had changed in here since he was in high school. He’d never really thought about it before, but now he recalled how every time he’d ever thought of home, it was this room. His sanctuary. A place that was his alone. And now he was leaving it.
    He didn’t know how long he sat there. He heard his father come upstairs and listened for his footsteps in the hall. The soft pad of his father’s shoes on the carpet stilled as he paused outside the door, and Ash wondered if he would come in. He held his breath, wanting him to come in one minute, willing him to walk on the next.
    After what seemed an eternity, the footsteps resumed, and Ash heard the door to his father’s room close. He exhaled. The message had been delivered loud and clear. His father wasn’t going to take back what he’d said, and neither was he.
    He’d been trying to earn his father’s approval all his life, and it had always been just out of reach. Working at his father’s office was supposed to bring them closer, but it hadn’t worked out that way. He was a soldier, and that’s all he’d ever be.
    Sighing, he got to his feet, walked to the closet, and pulled out his suitcase. He threw in a few clothes and then snapped it shut. He wouldn’t need much where he was going. Everything like food and clothing would be taken care of. The only thing he dreaded was the loneliness.
    He jerked his desk drawer open and grabbed his passport. Holding it in his hands, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief. He wouldn’t be chained to a desk anymore. He’d be doing what he was born to do.
    The only thing remaining was to tell Lainey. He had to make her see that he wasn’t deserting her, but he couldn’t abandon Firebrand and his brothers either. There had to be room in his life for both. Now he had to make her understand that. He prayed he could do it.
    He pocketedhis passport and grabbed his suitcase. After a long look at the room, he walked downstairs and out the front door of the place he’d always called home. Would he ever see it again? He stopped on the front porch and tried to memorize the way everything looked before he headed to his car and to Lainey’s house.
     

Chapter 11
    Lainey woke to pounding on her front door. She jumped out of bed and grabbed her robe before she ran into the living room. Who could be banging on her door at three o’clock in the morning?
    “Lainey, it’s Ash. Open up, please.”
    She reached for the door, but the relief she’d felt at hearing his voice turned to fear. She threw the door open, and he brushed past her to enter before she could say a word. She hadn’t taken time to turn the lights on, and he strode into the darkened living room without speaking.
    After closing the door, she walked back