Free Let It Burn (A BBW Paranormal Erotic Romance) by Sierra Summers, VJ Summers Page B

truths,” she quipped.  The idea of another discussion about the validity of her gift made her head hurt and her heart ache.
    “I want you to tell me the truth.”  He sounded sincere.  Hell, he felt sincere.  But he’d felt sincere before.
    “Okay.”  She decided to go for broke. The worst that could happen was he wouldn’t believe her, and since they’d already walked that path, she really didn’t have any compelling reason to refuse to answer.  “That boy started the fire. His dad,” she indicated the man rapidly approaching the boy, “was about to catch him smoking, and he dropped the evidence up against the store.  The cigarette was still burning, and it ignited the wood siding.”  She sighed at the sad and unnecessary tragedy.  “The rest, as they say, is history.” 
    “That explains so much,” he commented, causing her to lift her head in surprise.  She’d truly expected him to shut down again, refusing to believe in her gift.  Instead, he put his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him.  “They never conclusively proved it was arson.  In fact,” he frowned as thought lost in thought, “the story goes that the old Chief was pretty sure it was an accidental fire.  Some random spark that hit the wrong place at the wrong time.”  He nodded at the sketch.  “This makes a lot more sense.”
    He looked down into her eyes, utterly sincere, and Jo waited for the other shoe to drop.
    *
                  For a moment there, Kevin had been sure Joanna wouldn’t let him in; sure he’d damaged their budding relationship beyond all repair.  Now, looking down into her wary brown eyes, he realized that he was going to have to risk everything, bare his fucking soul, if he wanted to keep her.
                  Keep her?  Hell, if he wanted to get her in the first place. One mind-blowing, life altering afternoon of sex didn’t mean he had her. But, dammit, he wanted it to.
                  “I’m no good at protecting the people I love,” he blurted out.  She stared at him in wide-eyed amazement, and he gave a wry smile.  “Yeah, I know.  Kevin Kryszenski, high-school football champion, magna cum laude college graduate and super firefighter.  But, Jo, when it comes to the things that really matter, the people that really matter, I’ve fucked it up every time.”
                  She shook her head and laid her hand over his heart.  “You’re talking crazy, Kevin.  You’re a care-taker down to your core.”
                  He laid his hand over hers, savoring the warmth of her touch.  “You know about the fire that killed my dad and my sister.”  It wasn’t a question, but a statement of fact.
                  “Kimmy,” she agreed.
                  “Kimberly Lynne.”  He smiled in bittersweet memory.  “Her bedroom was right by mine.  I should have got her out.  I could have got her out if I hadn’t spent so much time hiding in my bedroom.”  He dropped his hand and turned back to her work, staring blindly at the storyboard.  “If I’d gotten her like I should have, my dad would still be alive today.  Hell,” he laughed bitterly, “my mom would probably still be here, too.”
                  “You don’t really believe this.”  She ducked around him, staring up into his face and forcing him to meet her eyes.  “Kevin, that’s insane.  You were twelve years old!  If you hadn’t gotten out when you did, you would have died in that fire, too!”
                  “Jo, you don’t understand.”  He speared his hand through his hair, mussing it into golden spikes.  “I was right there.  I was there before my dad, before anyone.  I could hear her crying.”  His own voice was rough, he realized, ravaged by the tears he didn’t deserve to shed.  “If I’d gone to her first, before worrying about myself, I could have got us both out.