Page 77 of Wild Fires

For hours I'd worked hard to try not to fixate on that one simple fact. Gracie was out there somewhere in the thick of danger and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. So I'd hyper-focused on everything within my control instead.

“Okay,” I conceded, feeling completely deflated. “But if it comes within five hundred yards, you evacuate immediately.”

“Deal. Want a burger?”

“Yes,” I begrudgingly admitted. “But one more thing.”

“What?”

“Absolutely no customers and you set up food distribution on the other side of Main.”

She laughed but smiled. “Sure thing, big brother. And I heard they were setting up a base camp expecting to battle through the night. I'll have food delivered there.”

“That would be great. Thanks.”

I hugged her.

“Any word on Gracie?”

“No.” I didn't even question why she was asking me that. She knew the truth, and even though I told her I wasn't going to proceed with mating her, Gia wasn't going to just let it go.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

This caught me off guard. Why would she be asking about me?

“I'm fine,” I snapped.

I hadn't meant to snap, but it just came out that way.

“Why would you even ask that?”

“Ryan, I know you. You can't be okay. Your town is like your baby and is in threat of burning down. And I know you're trying hard not to care about Gracie, but she's your true mate. I know from experience it isn't that simple.”

“What's not that simple?” David asked.

“A true mate bond.”

He nodded and wrapped his arms around my sister's waist, pulling her back against him and nuzzling her neck. They make it look so easy.

“Nothing simple about a mate bond, but it's worth it.”

“Do you even remember how the two of you met?”

He'd suffered a massive case of amnesia. No one had even known he'd gotten his memories back at all.

“I remember everything,” he confessed.

The two of them shared a secret smile. I wasn't sure I wanted to know. But worse, I was jealous of their closeness.

It would be so easy to let Gracie into my life. Sure, there were little things that would inevitably drive me nuts. She could be messy and didn't care about having things in order the way I did. But then she'd just laugh and tease a bit while letting me do my thing without complaint.

She was easy to talk to and be with. She was smart and witty. I really appreciated that about her.

But there were also things I didn't like. I hated seeing her burn. I despised her gift and loved it at the same time. It kept her safe even in a fire like this. But I hated knowing she could go through that again. It killed a piece of my soul just thinking about it.

Was that the only thing I didn't like about Gracie?

No, of course not. She could be stubborn and bossy at times. Not that I minded it all that much. She was wild, but not entirely as reckless as I'd once thought. She'd push my comfort zone every time, but only as much as she thought would be okay. I was pretty certain of that at least.