Racing Home (Dirt Track Dogs Book 3) (Paranormal Wolf-Shifter Romance)
contemplating.
    With a sigh, the words tumbled out quickly. “They drowned. In a flash flood five years ago. They went to cross a low bridge and the current was too much. It swept them into the creek and they didn’t make it out alive.”
    Blister remembered that year. Cedar Valley had a record rainfall of more than twenty inches in the span of a month. The many creeks and rivers had swollen to twice or three times their size. Heavy continuous rain was dangerous in areas like Cedar Valley because flash floods were so uncommon, people didn’t know to be careful.
    Annie picked up a towel, wringing it nervously. “There. Now you know.”
    “I’m sorry you’ve lost people you love.”
    He was overcome with a fierce need to protect her. From her past and whatever pain it might have caused her. Up until this moment, he’d only been concerned with protecting her from the future, from any pain a relationship with him would bring. Now there was another side to the coin.
    She gave him a sad grin. “You know exactly what that’s like, yeah?”
    The irony wasn’t lost on either of them. His family had died by fire, hers by flood. Flame and water. It was oddly serendipitous. He was horror and she was beauty. He was rough and she was soft.
    But they were both scarred in their own ways.
    He leaned back, bracing his hands against the counter and focusing on the tiny vase of flowers that sat on the bar. Yellow. Something wild that she’d clearly picked on a whim.
    “We knew the fire was coming. Knew it was going to be bad. We’d already heard of people on the other side of the valley dying. Bridgette, my sister… Ella’s mom… she was furious with my father for choosing to keep us all there. It was dangerous and she had a brand new family to think of. But he…”
    Blister shook his head at the memories. He dredged them up plenty in the privacy of his own mind. Telling someone else was a whole new kind of pain.
    “He wouldn’t listen. And he wasn’t the only one. No one in the family wanted to leave except Bridgette and Ella’s father. But see, getting down the mountain was dangerous too. The base was already taken by the fire. We were damn near trapped at that point. There was a fight. Between my father and Ella’s. It was brutal, but Charles was taking Ella and Bridgette down the mountain whether my father liked it or not. They were going to leave in the morning.” He hardened his jaw. “But no one made it that far.”
    Blister ran a rough hand over his destroyed face. He needed to finish this fast. If she said a word to him, he’d be done. He couldn’t listen to any hint of pity or disgust that would come with whatever platitude she’d give him.
    “In the night, the fire spread so rapidly, none of us had time to act. Our homes were engulfed before we could wake. I was young, and my first thought was to escape, save myself. I didn’t scream or alert anyone. I didn’t think of it. I just ran. But outside, I woke up. Realized what I’d done, and I… I went back in. Over and over, trying to save them. Found my mother first. Dragged her halfway to the door before I couldn’t breathe. I was afraid I’d pass out, so I ran outside for air. I… I… came back in to find her under a fallen beam. Burning. She was burning. I left her there to burn.” His voice rasped to a stop. He couldn’t make anymore words come. This had to be enough. It had to be.
    He stared at those damn flowers, shaking like all hell, embarrassment and shame making him weak. He needed to go. Needed to be a wolf. To feel the wind through his fur. To let the animal deal with the pain for a while.
    A soft hand landed on his shoulder and he jerked away.
    “Don’t. Don’t touch me.”
    “Okay.”
    He couldn’t look at her. Wouldn’t. But her voice was careful, patient. More than he deserved.
    He told her about his family because he’d thought it might help in some way. The idea seemed absurd now. How could any of his shit help her? He had

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