Black Creek Burning (The Black Creek Series, Book 1) (12 page)

When Brie heard the happy noise her dog made on the other side of the door, she relaxed.
Still a little breathless, she opened it to Macey dancing around with her regular
end-of-the-day greeting and Nathan Reed standing in her foyer with his thumbs in his
pockets. It wasn't hard to see he was angry.

She took a deep breath, lifting her chin as she hung up her coat and dropped her bag.
"Thank you for getting my dog back, but what are you still doing here? Where are the
boys?" she asked while trying to think of what needed to be said here.

"My mom's with them. Why didn't you tell me your tires were slashed? In your garage?
With the door closed and locked?"

"Listen, I appreciate you getting my dog back and your worry, but I can take care
of myself and... I hardly know you. You hardly know me." The bottoms of her low-heeled
pumps clicked as she made her way across the hardwood and onto the ceramic of the
kitchen floor.

"We need to take a step back here, Nathan. Not only do I not kiss the parents of my
students, I don't entertain them in my house. We're going to need to set some boundaries
if I am going to continue to be Andy's teacher."

Red filled his face. He jammed his hands firmly in his pockets. "I'm not talking about
you and me, although I have my own ideas about that. I'm talking about some nut-case
putting at least a half-dozen slashes in each of your tires in your locked garage.
And I don't care for you threatening me with Andy."

"I'm not above doing that. You should know that. I can take care of my own car." She
turned as she thought of just how she was going to do that, and reached up to pull
out a single tea bag and mug. "And there is no you and me. It was just a kiss. Now,
we have to move backward for Andy's sake." And mine, she thought.

He made his way to her in three long strides, picked her up by the shoulders and plopped
her on the kitchen counter, smashing his mouth to hers. Framing the side of her face
with one hand, Nathan laced his fingers in her pinned up hair with the other.

She couldn't think and for the first time in her life let go. Slipping away from her
blessed control, she blocked out the possible consequences and surrendered to the
now. Her skin nearly ignited from the feel of his body as she pulled him in closer.
She held onto his lanky back, his strong arms, feeling his rough hands on her face,
in her hair. His mouth and his tongue emptied her mind. She clamped her eyes shut
and wanted to stay right there.

As he'd done at the midnight hour in her basement, he pulled away as quickly as he
took her.

Nathan whispered close to her face, "Just a kiss my ass."

When she tried to speak, he put his fingers to her lips.

"You're right. I don't know you... well... but I plan to. The parts I've picked up
so far tell me you work with animals using unnatural patience. You took a lot of extra
trouble to get this house rebuilt as it would have looked when your parents lived
in it.

"Yet, you don't want to spend time here. You spend more time outside in the cold than
most people do in the summer. You've not made it your home. You invite a hundred people
here but only pretend to enjoy it. You love your family completely, and your job is
the only thing that makes you truly smile."

Her eyes remained on his, and she didn't speak when he moved his fingers from her
lips.

"But I want to know you. Tell me about the tires."

She looked at him in silence for a long time. He pegged her in ways that should have
made her uncomfortable and normally would have made her push away. Instead, she just
laid her forehead on his shoulder and answered, "I don't know."

He slid an arm around her waist while picking up the phone and dialing his mother.
"It's me. I'll be longer than I thought. Yes, I'll be back in time to go through all
that. I owe you—again."

"Come." He eased her down from the counter. "Let's get something to eat. You have
nothing. I checked."

"I can't be seen with you, Nathan. You shouldn't even be here. My boss got after me
today. Unprofessional this and that.
She'll be watching
written all over her face. We don't get along."

"Okay. Pizza delivery." He picked up the phone again.

Brie let out a heavy sigh. "I'll go change."

* * *

She came down wearing faded jeans and a sweatshirt. Her feet were bare, Nathan noted,
but she left her hair up.

"Tea?" she asked as she walked through the kitchen.

"That'll work." He sat at her kitchen table with Macey at his feet. Scratching the
dog's head, he began with a question. "You have no idea who would have done this?"

"No, not
no
idea." She pulled down a pot for water and an extra mug. "There may be some disgruntled
parents. I'm not sure."

"Would some kid's dad get so mad he would break into your house and go crazy on your
truck?"

He walked to her and reached for the teapot. "I'll get it."

"Already done," she said as she filled it with water. "Parents can go off the deep
end. There's one that makes sure to give me an earful about retaining his gifted child.
There's another that lost custody due to abuse I reported. Who reported him should
be confidential, but it's not unheard of for that information to be leaked. I'm not
so sure it isn't just ornery kids and I'm not just letting my mind wander." She handed
him a full mug and tea bag.

"You've put thought into this." He sat back down and leaned back in the chair.

Taking a sip, he watched her face.

She nodded.

"This isn't the first time," he said as a statement.

"No. It's not. I mean it is for the tires, but there are other things. They're probably—"

"What other things?" he interrupted as he pushed the mug aside and put his hands on
his legs under the table, gripping his thighs.

"Animals. Broken windows." She didn't move her head, but turned her eyes to his.

It took some effort to keep his temper from showing on his face. "I'm listening."

"My windows at work have been shot out with a rifle. Well, the first time a rifle
and the second a rifle and rocks." She paused. "Some animals have been... I don't
know... killed. And left strung from my deck. On my porch. Over my deck rail. I realize
this sounds crazy, and I'm not saying it's all connected. Most of it's probably kids
and—"

Nathan pushed away from the table and walked to her family room, running his fingers
through his hair. She's lived here alone, he thought. Dealing with this alone.

"Listen, I'm all right. It mostly just makes me annoyed and angry."

"Whoever did that number on your tires isn't trying to annoy you. They're trying to
scare you."

"I'm not scared."

"I called a friend. He's a cop."

"You're a pushy man, Reed. I don't need your help."

"I don't need your permission to ask around. You should know I'm not above doing that.
I know a guy who can get you new tires—"

"I'm going to let you talk to your cop friend, because I can't stop you. I guess I'd
really like to know if he thinks any of this is connected, but you're not fixing my
car. I can take care of it myself. I can take care of me. I won't like it if you crowd
me."

* * *

Nathan sat with Dave at his card table in folding chairs drinking dark beer from glass
bottles. Goldie snored at his feet.

"I requested the case to my captain if Brie ever decides to move forward with any
kind of investigation. I'm not up for detective for a few months yet, but my captain
thinks this would be a way to get my feet wet. I've pored over the files."

"Anything linking then to now?"

"What makes you think this could possibly be linked to an arson that happened six
years ago?"

"You think she just happened to be victim of an arson that ended in the death of both
of her parents and then just happens to have another nutcase leaving her mutilated
animals, shot out windows and slashed tires?"

"Okay, okay. But what doesn't make sense is why someone would wait six years in between."
Dave sat back, took a drink of his beer and flipped through his notes. "Confirmed
arson. One witness. Called in by the next-door neighbor at eleven forty-two. A Lucy
Melbourne. Says she made the call because of the noise from the explosion, before
looking out her window. Some kind of backdraft was set in what was, at that time,
Brie's bedroom. The file suggests that whoever set it knew what they were doing."

"Backdraft?"

"Set especially so it can't spread at first. Uses all the oxygen from the room. When
the fire gets a new dose of air, such as opening a door... boom. The parents were
the ones that opened the door. Died instantly. Brie was blown back from the kick.
Hit her head. Knocked her out. Treated for head injury and smoke inhalation.

"It said in her formal statement she saw two people walking as she pulled up in a
cab but couldn't remember anything about clothing or faces. Not even gender. Both
her sister's and her alibis for the evening were confirmed."

Nathan leaned forward. "You suggesting they might have blown up their own parents?"

"Just saying what I read. They were seen that night by several bar patrons. Bartender
remembered them, too. A neighbor also said she remembered seeing someone out walking.
Not so strange to take a late night walk if you ask me, but both Brie and the neighbor
said it was odd for the neighborhood." Dave tossed his empty bottle in the paper grocery
sack next to the dog and opened the cooler for another. "Have you talked to her since
the tires?"

"Just stuff about Andy. She's touchy about the whole getting-involved-with-parents-of-students
thing."

"That is weird. If I had a kid, I wouldn't want his teacher running around with some
classmate's dad. Shit, it's still weird to think of you as a dad."

"She supposed to be the Pope? And being a dad's still weird for me, too. I don't know
what the hell I'm doing."

"Is that why you came back?"

"Pretty much, yeah. My ex wanted the divorce. Andy's teachers basically told me I
was doing a rotten job. The shop was taking all my time." He looked into the paper
sack at the growing stack of empty bottles. "They're piling up in there."

"Yeah. I think I'm sleeping on your fucking filthy floor tonight."

"It's not a fucking filthy floor. It's just a fucking unfinished floor and don't talk
about fucking. It's been too long for me." He stood up slowly. "You're welcome to
my extra mattress, and I have a Spiderman sleeping bag that might fit your right leg."

Chapter 11

Nathan had Duncan pulling orange and white stickers from the new windows and working
on installing the screens.

"The windows are all different sizes. There are too many screens. I'm only eight."
Ironically, Duncan tried to reason like an adult about his young age, but Nathan wasn't
budging.

"Mmm hmm. You
are
only eight. That's why I'm only giving you this one project for your Saturday." He
continued spreading stain on one of the twenty-seven interior doors. "And remember
to only put in the screens on the first floor and basement day-lights. Just lean the
screens next to the windows upstairs."

He stacked doors on drying racks throughout the garage. They, too, were different
sizes but all matched in design, each with three flat panels boasting the straight
lines that fit a Mission-style home. The wood, however, differed depending on which
room it belonged. The master bedroom, bath and closet doors were made of quarter-sawn
oak, the boys' rooms in distressed oak and the rest in riff-sawn.

Andy's chores stayed in the garage where Nathan could keep an eye on him. The younger
boy's job was to replace router and drill bits to their proper spots. Since it was
much like completing a puzzle, it was just the right task for him.

He knew the house didn't look like much had been done, but he'd checked off plenty
from his list over the weeks. Besides the new windows, the electrician had finished.
The plumbing was ready for sinks and fixtures. He'd changed his mind and decided on
a shower that had both high and low spigots for all three upstairs bathrooms. The
plumber wasn't too happy about the change and took his time making the extra return
trip. Nathan didn't mind. He wouldn't have the new sinks picked out for some time
anyway.