Free Amongst The Flames: A Contemporary Christian Romance (Embers and Ashes Book 1) by T.K. Chapin

Amanda is the one with the issues.”
    Tom sat back in his recliner and rubbed his chin. “You don’t know…” he said with a scoff.
    Cindy came into the living room and placed her hand on Tom’s shoulder. “Knock it off, Tom.” Cindy looked over at me, “She said she told you, Cole… she must have lied to us.”
    “Told me what?” I asked, standing up. I went red in embarrassment as I already knew my gut feeling was right about this being more than a vacation. It wasn’t just to go visit Amanda. Tom and Cindy remained speechless with blank looks. I shook my head and made a dash for the door. Tom chased after me and pushed the front door closed as I tried to open it. I looked him dead in the eyes.
    “Cole, come sit down…” he insisted.
    “I need to call my wife and figure out what you two are talking about since you two don’t want to say anything.”
    Cindy came over to us. “Cole, she left you.”
    I looked down and away as I tried to process the sentence.
    “I’m sorry you had to find out this way. It wasn’t our intention,” Cindy said, placing her hand on my shoulder.
    “Of course it wasn’t…” I replied, looking up at her and then over to Tom. “You just randomly invited me over for dinner and then sprung the news on me… all by some kind of accident, right? Oh wait, you thought she already told me.” I grabbed for the door again, but Tom pushed it shut forcefully. It took everything in me not to shove him backwards and cold cock him in the face.
    “Knock it off, you little punk! We brought you over to see how you were handling things. We care about you.”
    Tom care? He was lying. “Save the story time for your grandkids, they’ll actually believe what you say.” I grabbed for the door again. This time he didn’t stop me.
    As I stepped out the doorway, I felt a strange feeling inside of me. Like I wasn’t supposed to leave. Glancing back at Cindy, I saw her eyes welling with tears in each one of them. I couldn’t just leave, even if Tom was a jerk. Tom being mean wasn’t anything new to me.
    “Okay, I’ll stay,” I said coming back inside.
    Tom said nothing.
    “Thank you,” Cindy said. “Just ignore Tom’s bitterness. He’s jealous of your youth you know.”
    “Hardly,” Tom added.
    I laughed. “I’m twenty-eight, not really young anymore.”
    Cindy laughed. “I’d kill to be twenty-eight again! Anyway, take a seat at the dining room table; it’s time to eat.”
    As Tom and I took our seats in the dining room, Cindy came into the dining room and poured us both glasses of water. Tom asked, “Do you know why Megan would leave?”
    Hating the conversation before it had really even began, I said sharply, “No. You’re the one that seems to know everything… why don’t you tell me?”
    “She didn’t really say much about it. Just that she needed a break. I know you hang out with the guys at the station a whole lot in your free time. Maybe not now, but before you were on bed rest, you’d be out constantly with the guys in your free time. You think that could be getting at her?”
    Shaking my head, I said, “I hang out with my friends, yeah, so what? I’ve been going bored out of my mind just lying in bed and that’s why I came into work today for the tour! You know that, Tom! And where is Megan now? While I’m home on bed rest? She’s in Seattle? That logic you’re trying to spin is utterly stupid!” I could feel my anger getting away from me, so I paused and took a drink of my water.
    I couldn’t help myself from continuing to talk about Megan. “Megan wants me to have friends anyways and do things without her. She’s even told me that before. I think she just doesn’t like worrying about me while I’m at work. She said she spent her whole childhood worried about you.”
    Tom looked up at Cindy as she set down his plate of food, “Thank you.”
    “You’re welcome, babe,” she replied as she came around to me and set my plate of food